Starting at Square One (BF 101)
Building a Farm to Match Your Values, Goals, Skills, and Resources
Evaluating what you want to do and what you have available to work with are key elements to a successful new farm enterprise. This course will help you take the first steps toward setting goals, assessing the resources you have available for farming (physical, financial, and personal), and exploring what enterprises are the best fit for you and your land.
Target Audience
People who have already decided to make some or all of their livelihood from farming. People who are actively planning how to approach farm start-up. NOTE: Students who already have land access often feel that they got more out of this course than those who don’t, but we believe it’s important to go through this course BEFORE you buy or lease land to ensure that you get the right piece of land for your goals. Each participant will be gathering information about their own resources and will begin to create a Farm Start-up Plan. This is an intro-level course.
Course Objectives
At the end of this course you will have:
- Created a draft farm mission statement and several farm goals
- Developed a written compilation of the physical, financial, and social resources and skills that form the resource base for your farm
- Developed a clearer sense of the factors to consider when choosing an enterprise
- Begun developing a Farm Start-up Plan (pre-business plan) to guide your first few years of the farm business (The Farm Start-up Plan can be completed by taking BF 102: Markets & Profits, which touches on marketing, enterprise budgets, pricing, and feasibility issues not covered in BF 101)
Webinars
The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in MOODLE, our virtual classroom. To add to the experience, webinars will be woven into the online interface of the course to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from outside presenters, ask questions, and collaborate with other participants and the instructor to address your farm issues in real time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing.
Qualifying for Loans
If you are considering applying for a low-interest beginning farmer loan though the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), completing this course may help you qualify, if you meet other eligibility requirements. For farmers in NY who have already applied for an FSA loan and been told they need borrower training credit, all of our courses are pre-approved to provide you with this credit, if you complete all course requirements. For more information, visit the FSA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Loans website.
Instructors
Laura Biasillo, Cornell Cooperative Extension Educator in Broome County, NY and Dianne Olsen, Cornell Cooperative Extension Educator in Putnam County, NY.
Dates
Next offered Oct. 2012, with registration opening in mid-August 2012.
Course Outline
- Week 1: Welcome and Introduction
Topics covered: introduction to Moodle (our on-line “classroom”), introductions to each other, begin work on goals and mission - Week 2: Goals, Skills and Resources
Topics covered: farm mission and vision, and identifying skills and resources. - Week 3: Site Evaluation
Topics covered: site evaluation, including soil type, climate, water, location - Week 4: Enterprise Evaluation
Topics covered: exploring suitable crops based on goals, skills, and land characteristics - Week 5: Enterprise Evaluation (continued)
- Week 5: Wrap-Up and Evaluation
Topics covered: wrap-up goals, site evaluation, and enterprises and compile everything into the start of a Farm Plan.
Cost and Registration
Fee for this course is $175. This course will be offered again in Fall 2012.
