Farmer Mentorship Program

We are not currently accepting application for the Mentorship Program. We hope you will consider applying for our next round. Be the first to know when we're accepting applications by signing up for PIFF's email newsletter, and by following us on Facebook or Instagram.

To be eligible to be a mentor, you must meet all three criteria:

1. Grow “specialty crops” in Indiana (that’s veggies, fruit, mushrooms, honey, etc.).

2. Have completed 7+ years of farming on your own operation

3. Farm for a significant amount of your time or income (at least 20 hours a week)

Mentors are expected to:

• Participate in a training session prior to or during the kickoff

• Attend four in-person sessions: A kickoff gathering, a 1:1 visit to your mentee's farm, a 1:1 tour of your farm with your mentee, and a wrap up gathering Participate in a midway virtual full-group gathering

• Participate in six ~1 hour phone calls or video calls with your mentee

• Trade emails, texts, or calls with your mentee to field real time Q&A (1-2 times per month over the course of the mentorship)

Mentors will:

• Show an honest, unfiltered look of their farm when hosting their mentees: what's working, what's not, what's next

• Share knowledge, experiences, and insights regarding personal career trajectory and professional path

• Suggest specific tools and resources that might help your mentee meet their farming goals

• Help build confidence by offering critical encouragement

• Remain engaged and respond to communication from your mentee in a timely and consistent manner

• Show up on time for meetings (including in person, or via phone or virtual) and communicate any unforeseen circumstances that may impact meetings

• Listen well and be attentive to mentee's unique needs (based on their current stage in farming and stated professional goals)

• Provide thoughtful feedback at the conclusion of the program about what worked, and what didn't so we can continue improving the program for future cohorts.

• Communicate with the facilitators of the mentorship program if any issues arise in the mentoring relationship or if you can no longer participate in the program

• Be paid $1,200 to compensate for the time they spend on this program (30-40 hrs).

Mentors will not:

• Be expected to know everything. Instead, mentors will serve as a resource, and help mentees by actively listening, asking questions, sharing their experience, and pointing them to knowledge sources, field days, etc. that might help

• Be expected to provide their mentees with a job

• Be expected to offer advice on topics that extend beyond the bounds of professional development (e.g., advice on personal relationships, serious financial issues, etc.).

• Discontinue communication when their schedules get busy and other demands outside the mentoring relationship increase. Instead, they will let their mentees know what’s going on and work together to amend the meeting schedule

To be eligible to be a mentee, you must meet all three criteria:

1. Grow “specialty crops” in Indiana (that’s veggies, fruit, mushrooms, honey, etc.).

2. Have completed between 2-7 years of farming on your own operation.

3. Farm for a significant amount of your time or income (at least 20 hours a week on average).

Mentees are expected to:

• Attend four in-person sessions: A kickoff gathering with all ten mentor/mentee pairs; a 1:1 visit to your mentee’s farm; a 1:1 tour of your farm with your mentee; and a wrap up gathering with all ten mentor/mentee pairs.

• Participate in a midway virtual full-group gathering

• Attend one Field Day hosted by PIFF or another farming organization

• Participate in six ~1 hour phone calls or video calls with your mentor

• Trade emails, texts, or calls with your mentor to ask real time Q&A (1-2 times per month over the course of the mentorship)

Mentees will:

• Show an honest, unfiltered look of their farm when hosting their mentors: what’s working, what’s not, what’s next

• Be proactive in reaching out to their mentors throughout the mentoring relationship

• Clearly communicate goals and expectations for the mentoring relationship including the frequency and mode of communication

• Be eager to receive and show appreciation for advice and constructive feedback.

• Show up on time for meetings (whether in person or via phone or video conference) and communicate any unforeseen circumstances that may impact scheduled meetings

• Provide thoughtful feedback at the conclusion of the program to what worked, and what didn’t so we can continue improving the program for future cohorts.

• Communicate with the facilitators of the pilot mentoring program if any issues arise in the mentoring relationship or if they can no longer continue in the program

• Be paid $800 to compensate for the time they spend on this program (about 30-40 hours total).

Mentees will not:

• Receive guidance or advice on topics that extend beyond the bounds of professional development (e.g., personal relationships, serious financial issues, etc.). Mentees should feel empowered to ask for resources related to farm finances, farmer mental health, etc.

• Expect their mentors to know everything. Instead, mentors will serve as a resource, and help mentees by sharing their experience, pointing them to knowledge sources, and asking questions.

• Discontinue communication when their schedules get busy and other demands outside the mentoring relationship increase. Instead, they should let their mentor know what’s going on and work together to amend the meeting schedule as needed

Read all about our 2023 cohort and 2024 cohort.