Congratulations to Seth Wilner, this year's recipient of the Maynard and Audrey Heckel Extension Educator Fellowship Award, for his Whole Farm Planning Using the Holistic Management Process in New Hampshire. Seth receives a $1,000 award to "support/enhance the continued work of the chosen fellow within UNH Cooperative Extension" as designated by the Heckels.

At the April 30 State Advisory Council meeting, Seth will highlight the program and receive his award.

Over the five years Seth has been conducting this program, there have been numerous accomplishments. Participants increased their ability to define what they are managing their farms and lives towards, developed a three-part goal to guide and monitor their decisions, increased their farm and family profitability, and improved the quality of their lives. Additionally, participants improved environmental conditions on their farms, and many became more involved in their communities.

To date, over 220 participants and 28 farm families developed and implemented at least part of a whole farm plan as a result of this program. Below are some examples of its impact:

• Farms hold weekly meetings to communicate about major issues and decisions and have increased their farm efficiency, saving them valuable time as a result.
• Participants developed family budgets and monitor these regularly, reducing overspending and debt levels.
• A land trust consisting of five farm families and a 12-member board of directors used this process to construct new governance procedures and as a result significantly reduced conflicts between board members and the average meeting time by an estimated two hours per meeting.
• Three land trust board members used the organizational plan developed through this process to apply for a $195,000 grant for low income communities to put in a commercial food processing center.

Participants come from Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island to attend. Wilner also has been asked to teach and consult in New York, Virginia, Massachusetts and New Mexico. He also wrote or co-wrote four grants exceeding $246,000 to fund these programs and offset costs to participants.

As Pooh Sprague of Edgewater Farm noted in his letter of recommendation, “The holistic management has addressed this as well as made us all think about and work towards improving the quality all our lives as well as all who work here. We truly feel that we are on the right track as we look to the future and the farm transfer, and Seth has been
a large part of getting us to this point.”

Congratulations, Seth!