Files
Abstract
Market interest in local produce continues to expand and provides new opportunities for produce farmers to grow, maintain and expand their businesses. These farmers look both to other farmers and service providers for technical assistance. A technical assistance program, the Georgia Organics Accelerator Program, gave an opportunity to examine the impact a program that combined capital and consulting had on farmers and provided clues as to what type of outreach, education, and technical assistance was most meaningful for produce farmers selling to local markets. This thesis addresses the needs and motivation of produce farmers using the process of narrative inquiry, capturing their stories to lead the discussion of results and next steps.