Program Helps New Farmers Find ‘Entrepreneurial Edge’

By: The Daily Yonder

Starting a farm comes with risks. After long careers in the military and education, Troy and Annette Allan, 47, knew this when they opened their Utah fiber mill during the pandemic. They often heard the assumption that most new agricultural operations don’t survive even two years. But becoming students of the Beginning Farmer Institute (BFI) gave them the confidence to push through the unknown.

“Although we grew up in agriculture settings, neither of us were [and] neither of our families were in agriculture,” said Troy. “So we said, if we’re going to do agriculture, we better get some education.”