Small Farm Family Program

According to the last census, small farmers make up the majority of all Missouri's farmers and of the full-time farmers, too. However, these operate under a lot of constraints not felt by the larger farm. The Small Farm Family Program educational assistants work one-on-one with the limited resource and minority small farm families and rural residents who would not otherwise access Extension programs.

With land as a resource, improved quality of life is the result when families are assisted in exploring their goals and resources and provided with practical on-farm/at-home "how-to" information aimed at meeting those goals. Each staff member works with 40-50 families. The SFFP is a cooperative project between Lincoln University and the University of Missouri System with funding and leadership from Lincoln Cooperative Extension.

Over 25 years ago the program was piloted in Wayne and Polk counties and grew to 40 positions in many parts of the state. Today the program has 20 staff positions (2 vacant) in Southern Missouri.