Agriculture of the Middle Accelerator Program Application 2020-2022 Cohort
Thank you for your interest in Ecotrust’s Agriculture of the Middle Accelerator Program. Please fill out the information requested below; this will take approximately 30-45 minutes of your time. Your responses will serve as your application to the accelerator program. Submit your responses by October 16th, 2020 (extended deadline) to be considered into the program.

NOTE: Individual business information will not be shared without explicit permission on the part of the business owner. Information collected in this application will only be shared in aggregate (e.g. a cumulative total of XXXX acres are managed by cohort members). This application is designed to help us better understand your business, develop strategies for potential future impact, and in part to provide information reporting and that will be necessary for demonstrating future funding support needs.

Questions? Contact Tyson Rasor (trasor@ecotrust.org) or Yolimar Rivera Vazquez (yolimar@ecotrust.org).

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Name of business representative(s) *
Phone number(s) *
Email address(s) *
Business name *
Business mailing address (please include zip code) *
Business physical address *
Business website, if existing
Please tell us if the owner(s) of your business identify as any of the following:? (Select all that apply)
Do any of the following apply to your business? Please check all that apply
Scholarship
Limited funds are available to support producers whose only barrier is affording costs associated with participating virtually in the program (e.g. lack a computer or reliable internet access). Do you wish to request a scholarship for technology support? *
If you are requesting a scholarship, please explain your request.
Getting to Know Your Business
Please give a short history of your business operation including who owns and operates the current business, and any closely related businesses (such as a packing or custom farming business), if the farm, ranch, or fishing entity is incorporated, when it was incorporated, and any prior history of farming, ranching or fishing for you, your family and the land/sea where you currently operate. *
What describes you best? *
Required
What are the primary products you produce or harvest? (if more than one, rank your top three, with 1 being the primary product)
1
2
3
I also grow/harvest this, but it's not in my top 3 products
Beef
Buffalo
Dairy
Eggs
Fruit
Goat
Grains & Beans
Herbs or Medicines
Lamb
Nuts & Seeds
Pork
Poultry
Fish
Shellfish
Seaweed
Value-added Products
Vegetables
Other
Clear selection
If you grow/harvest other product(s) not mentioned in the previous question, please mention it here
Understanding Your Business
What is your approximate annual production? Use whatever unit of measure makes the most sense for the product(s) you grow, harvest, or raise (pounds of seafood harvested or sold, head of cattle, etc.) *
What were your gross sales in 2019? (note: all business info will be kept confidential, including sales data) *
Are you processing and/or distributing products that you purchased from other businesses? *
If you are processing and/or distributing products that you purchased from other businesses: A) Which products are you processing/distributing? B) Who are you getting them from? and C) How much of your sales (e.g. percentage) comes from these products?
Have you recently invested in processing or distribution infrastructure? If so, tell us more about it.
If farming or ranching (including aquaculture), how many acres do you use in your operation? Please include acres owned and acres leased
If you are a fishing/seafood business, what fisheries do you participate in and what types of permits or quota do you have access to? Please specify if permits/quota are owned, leased, or fished through another established arrangement.
If you are a fishing/seafood business, how many fishing vessels do you have currently operating under your ownership?
If you are a fishing/seafood business, what method(s) do you use to fish? (Select all that apply)
How many full-time, part-time and seasonal staff or crew do you currently employ? *
Are you using the H-2A or H-2B guestworker program? *
If you are using or considering any of the H-2 guestworker programs, please tell us more: A) How many H-2 workers do you employ, if applicable? B) Who is/are your labor contractor(s)? C) Why do you use the program or why are you considering it?
Sales Channels
What are your current sales channels? Check all that apply. *
Required
In what ways are you making your food affordable/accessible to folks across the income spectrum (e.g. offer SNAP payment, selling to buyers who actively promote and use SNAP, donate to food banks, etc.)?
Business Goals & Planning
Please describe your current business growth goals over the next 1-5 years and how participation in the accelerator program would support these goals. *
To what extent are you thinking about succession planning in relation to your business, either via the transfer of ownership within a family or via the solicitation of new farmer(s)/rancher(s)/fisher(s) that might someday take over? *
Business Philosophy/Approach
Mission and Vision: If you have them defined, please share your business vision, mission, and/or values
Production and harvesting standards: Tell us more about what values drive your decision-making regarding how do you manage your land, livestock, or fishing operations? *
Social benefits: Please describe any social/community benefits your business provides (examples: job creation, paying above the minimum wage, training new/beginning producers, creating opportunities for socially-disadvantaged community members) *
Please describe the extent to which you are currently engaging or are interested in engaging in anti-racism, food justice, and/or food sovereignty work, whether that is as an individual or through your business *
For farmers and ranchers, do you implement any of the following practices?
Certifications or third party audits: do you maintain any of the following currently?
Education & Learning Goals
Please describe your formal and informal education in farm, ranch, or fishing business management and your learning goals in this area. Mention any courses you have taken in finance or accounting, business law, human resources management, marketing, agricultural or managerial economics, etc., as well as years of learning by doing in your own operation or others. *
What subjects in farm, ranch, or fish management do you most want to learn about? What specific issues do you most hope to address by participating in this program? *
Please indicate your level of expertise using Microsoft Excel as a tool in your business *
Accelerator Logistics
By applying to this program, business leaders (owners and key business managers) are committing their time and energy to full participation in the program from December 2020 - December 2022.  We recommend having at least two key people dedicated to attending all trainings. Additionally, we recommend you bring in other business managers for focused training sessions, for example, having the business’ finances manager or bookkeeper participate in all the training sessions regarding business finances, but not necessarily other business aspects (e.g. food safety training).   Do you have any concerns about the ability of your leader(s) to commit to their participation in the program? *
Please list the names and roles of all key business leaders that will participate in the program. *
From prior training experience working with producers and for consistency, we have scheduled our accelerator sessions to occur weekly at 9:00am (PT) on Tuesdays and sometimes on Wednesdays (starting in Winter 2021).  Are you able to attend all the virtual trainings currently scheduled [Dec 1, 8, 15; Jan 5, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27; Feb 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24; Mar 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23]? If you can not attend one or more specific dates, please tell us why. *
Ecotrust would like to issue a press release announcing the launch of the accelerator program. If selected to participate in the program, may we include your business name and a short overview of what you do and how/why you do it, in our press release and in any future media? *
Closing Thoughts
Anything else you’d like us to know?
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