02/01/05 Alternative ag careers for Idaho farmers

Daunya Peterson says it's very clear to her. Without the Alternative Careers for Idaho Farmers program she wouldn't be still be living on her Wendell farm with her husband Curtis and their two kids. PETERSON "We would not be farming. We probably would have taken out bankruptcy." The Peterson family's financial struggles aren't new or rare as many producers have watched commodity prices plunge while input costs continually rise. PETERSON  I'm a farmwoman. I raise a big garden. I do all my own home canning. I sew a lot of the kids' clothes. You know cutting corners we still just weren't making it." Daunya saw a notice about ACIF, the Alternative Careers for Idaho Farmers program and inquired. With federal funding through the University of Idaho Extension the program tries to help farm families' stay put says coordinator Brad Jahn. JAHN "We do that through providing financial support to farmers who want to take education and training either to make their operations more profitable or to develop a supplemental career that they can use to support their farm income. And for those people who are having to leave agriculture for whatever reason our program provides transitional support to help farmers and farm spouses develop new careers and find employment in their new field." And that's happened. One farmer got the training and became a paramedic, gave up farming and now leases his land to a neighbor. In Daunya's case, she returned to school and is now a registered nurse at a Twin Falls hospital. Husband Curtis got training and is a truck driver in the winter for a local company. Its put them and their farm on a solid financial footing. PETERSON "I just feel like I'm contributing to the family, I'm contributing to the farm, I'm contributing to the people that made an investment in me. We all have a lot of ideas on how to make the farm better but this is one that they just give you enough so you can improve yourself. It ultimately comes down to yourself. You have to make the decision and take the steps improve yourself and then improve the family farm." Nearly 200 Idaho farmers or their spouses have taken advantage of the program which helps pay for tuition, books, childcare and transportation costs and there appears to be adequate funding to keep ACIF going at least through the end of 2007. Line on Agriculture Bill Scott