When people think of Convoy of Hope they often recall disaster response, but the nonprofit also operates an agriculture hub near Springfield, Missouri that supports field work worldwide. The Center for Agriculture & Food Security runs an 80-acre farm to research regenerative practices, train farmers and package findings for use by Convoy field teams and local partners. The farm’s work targets low-input contexts where farmers may lack improved seed, commercial fertilizer or pesticides.
CAFS leaders say the farm’s priority is practical, asset-based practices that farmers can adopt with local materials and labor. Senior director Tammy Holder says the emphasis is on using what’s available — crop residues, manures and compost — and teaching simple techniques that lift production without costly inputs. “Learning how to use what we have, whether it’s crop residues and manures or we can compost,” she said. “Teaching them how to do that, so that they have access to things that are going to help increase their production.”
Farm manager John Van Loan describes keeping a living root in the soil year-round through crop rotations and diverse cover crops, and integrating livestock after harvest to build soil organic matter. The Center is participating in a Natural Resources Conservation Service study on seeding rates aimed at improving soil health and is reevaluating soil-test recommendations for corn–soybean rotations. Those trials feed directly into the outreach materials CAFS distributes.
Field research and outreach
CAFS translates on-farm trials into short demonstration videos and concise guides intended for Convoy field staff, churches and local agricultural leaders. Van Loan, who travels to meet farmers, says the training is intentionally collaborative: “We want to come in there and say, ‘Hey, what do you got? What assets do you have on your farm?’” He recently visited Guatemala to work directly with farmers and specialists and to tailor recommendations to local conditions.
The research site includes cropland, produce beds and a chicken coop for studying livestock integration, plus two high tunnels used for temperature management and fertility comparisons. One ongoing project compares biological fertilizers with commercial products in protected environments, and specialists have exchanged photos and set-ups with European growers seeking frost-management advice.
Mission and targets
Convoy of Hope sets specific global goals tied to its agriculture work: feeding 1 million children every school day, expanding women’s empowerment programs and training farmers as part of broader food-security efforts. CAFS positions its research to support those targets by creating low-cost, replicable practices that stabilize farm incomes and school-feeding supplies. Holder said, “We really are just a conduit to making sure that those resources get to where they need to go, and to the people that need them most.”
The farm’s research and outreach model supports programs in roughly 30 countries, and Convoy has set a measurable target to Train 100,000 farmers by 2030.
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