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The Beginning Farmer of the Year award, sponsored by Routes to Farm, a Farmer Alliance of which AUA is a proud member, seeks to celebrate and promote YOU the amazing folks who are entering sustainable farming! How does it work?

Simply submit a 3-minute video to in**@au********.org by January 12th, 2018. We’ll post all videos on our website, and the video that wins the most votes wins AUA’s nomination! From there it’s on to the Good Food EXPO, where the winner takes home $1,000 and great publicity!

Award Details:

  1. Beginning Farmer of the Year receives a $1,000 award in a public ceremony and a free pass to Industry Day at the Good Food EXPO (Friday) in Chicago!
  2. Finalists (one farmer from each farmer alliance in Routes to Farm) will receive honorable mention, a $100 award, and a free pass to Industry Day at the Good Food EXPO (Friday)!

Additional Benefits of Participation:

  1. Broaden your farm’s visibility through features on routes2farm.org, FamilyFarmed.org, GoodFoodFestivals.com AUAChicago.org and LearnGrowConnect.org as well as inclusion in materials at the Good Food EXPO & Conference which reached 7500+ individuals in 2017 and farmer alliance websites and social media outlets.
  2. Build credentials with your customer base.
  3. Benefits from using the video submission in your own marketing and social media.
  4. Your farm featured in alternative agriculture publications and local press in collaboration with staff support at Angelic Organics Learning Center and FamilyFarmed.
  5. Build connections for your farm through attendance at the Good Food EXPO & Conference.

Video Details:

Each video must be 3 minutes or less and answer these ten questions to be eligible:

  1. What is your name and what is your farm’s name?
  2. Where is your farm?
  3. How long has your farm been in operation?
  4. How much land do you farm and what is it like? Is it urban, peri-urban or rural?
  5. What does your farm produce/sell and to whom?
  6. Why do you farm?
  7. What farmer alliance in Routes to Farm (routes2farm.org) are you a member of and for how many years have you been a member?
  8. How has your farmer alliance helped you launch or grow your farm?
  9. What is the biggest obstacle you face or have overcome as a beginning farmer?
  10. What is new on your farm next season? How are you innovating or growing?

Criteria for Selection:

  1. Video is 3 minutes or less and all eligibility questions are addressed
  2. Video shares a compelling, creative, humorous, or inspiring story
  3. Video demonstrates how farmer has been a leader, innovator, or community-builder
  4. Video features footage of the farm and the farmer
  5. The farmer is a member of at least one farmer alliance in Routes to Farm (routes2farm.org)
  6. The farmer is in the first 10 years of farm business operation
  7. The awardee agrees to attend and participate in the award ceremony at the Good Food EXPO in Chicago
  8. The video raises the public profile of beginning farmers, mentor farmers and the farmer alliances that support them

View simple videos from past awardees:

See further details here: www.routes2farm.org/about/farmeraward/

Questions? Contact AUA at in**@au********.org or 773-850-0428!

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