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| Mr. Ware, left gives a tour of his farms |
Baton Rouge, LA, Jan. 28, 2013-Louisiana Small
Farmer Boatner Ware of Richland Parish farms about 400 acres of wheat, which he
double crops with soybeans, on some of the richest soil Louisiana has to offer.
Ware has attended trainings and classes offered
by the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center on and
off for years. But, it wasn’t until he enrolled in the Louisiana Small Farmer
Agricultural Leadership Institute that the trainings paid off in a big way.
He cites a particular training that has had a
major impact on him, his business and his family. At that training, the
leadership class participants had a round table discussion with the leaders of
the United States Department of Agriculture agencies in Louisiana, namely, the
Farm Services Agency, Rural Development and the Natural Resources Conservation
Service. At this meeting, Ware learned about the Environment Quality Incentives
Program (EQIP) offered through NRCS. He
once visited the local NRCS office many years ago and was told that the agency
had no programs that he could benefit from, so he never returned. NRCS:
Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Mr. Ware is one of a few African American farmers
in his parish. He saw the improvements that were being made on the larger
farms, but just assumed that those farmers were having improvements made to
their land. He had no idea that there were government programs assisting with
land improvements. As a result of
hearing about EQIP during the leadership class, he visited the office and
enrolled in the EQIP program.
Several practices were employed on his farm.
Through the EQIP program, more than over half of his 400 acre farm was
precision leveled. This one practice increased his wheat yield two-fold and his
income by $100,000 annually.
Another benefit of the Small Farmer Agricultural
Leadership Institute that Mr. Ware said he received was an increase in
self-confidence and motivation. During these training sessions, he realized
that he wasn’t just a minority farmer, or an ordinary farmer. He indeed was
just a very good farmer and that was something to be proud of.
The Louisiana Small Farmer Agricultural
Leadership Institute was funded through the Outreach and Assistance of Socially
Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (2501) program. Dawn Mellion-Patin, Ph.D.,
MBA, Agricultural Specialist, serves project director and can be reached at
225-771-3532.
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Contact:
Bridget
Udoh
(225)
771-5714
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