| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Sunny |
Posted - Aug 28 2008 : 3:49:50 PM
Hi Everyone!
This course is one I took a couple of years ago, and it was fantastic! If there are any farmgirls (or guys) in this area that would like to learn how to get started with, or how to improve the profitability of, a small farm, I highly recommend it.
Here are the details:
So, You Want to be a Sustainable Farmer, but You’d Like More Training?
Courses Offer New & Experienced Farmers an Overview of Small Acreage Sustainable Production and Marketing Options
Small- and mid-sized family farms have unique advantages that larger-scale operations don’t. They can quickly adapt to new markets. They tend to be viewed positively by their neighbors. Smaller farms can also meet what appears to be an insatiable demand for local and sustainably raised food. But how do smaller farms identify and use the advantages of their size? This is a key question in a semester-long course offered this fall in Idaho and eastern Washington. The Cultivating Success course series is a collaboration of Washington State University's Small Farms Team, University of Idaho Extension, and the nonprofit, Rural Roots.
The course covers such topics as:
• Sustainable Agriculture Concepts
• Whole Farm Planning
• Resource Evaluation
• Development of a Market
• Enterprise Assessment
• Sustainable Crop Production
• Ecological Soils Management
• Integrated Pest & Weed Management
• Sustainable Livestock & Poultry
• Intensive Grazing Management
• Equipment & Facilities
• Enterprise Budgets
• Tools for Whole Farm Success
Northern Idaho course instructor, Cinda Williams, University of Idaho Extension Educator in Latah County, has been teaching a version of this course since 2001, and says, “The course gives students a broad overview of production and marketing options on today's small farm. Participants learn the process of matching their goals and resources to determine what is feasible. An essential part of the class is the network developed between classmates and with established area organic and sustainable farmers.”
Course presenters include successful local producers and university specialists with expertise in direct marketing, value-added processing, production planning, and more. Participants will go on farm tours to see different operations up close.
Classes in northern Idaho start on Wednesday, Sept. 3, from 5:30 to 8:30 P.M. The class will meet for ten Wednesday night sessions, plus three field tours, between early September and mid-November. Course fee is $165, which includes a comprehensive resource manual. A limited number of scholarships are available upon request.
Northern Idaho Contact:
Cinda Williams
(208) 833-2267
cindaw@uidaho.edu
Classes in southern Idaho start on Tuesday, Sept. 2, from 6 - 9 P.M. The class will meet on nine Tuesday nights and on three Saturdays between early September and mid-November. Course fee is $200, which includes a comprehensive resource manual and several farm tours.
Course instructor, Mary Rohlfing, a retired professor and farmer of 8-acre Morning Owl Farm in Boise, says, “Participants get to meet and network with established area organic and sustainable farmers as well as farmers like them who are just starting out.”
Southern Idaho Contact:
Mary Rohlfing
(208) 850-6798
morningowl@cableone.net
Classes in Spokane, WA will run Monday evenings 6 - 9 P.M. from Sept. 29 to Dec. 15, 2008 at the WSU Spokane County Extension Office, 222 N. Havana, Spokane. Cost will be $200 per farm family.
Course instructor, Pat Munts, says, “[Participants] leave this class with a network of professional contacts and farmer mentors that they can turn to for advice and support.”
Spokane, WA Contact:
Pat Munts
Small Farms and Acreage Coordinator
(509) 477-2173
pmunts@spokanecounty.org
For more information about Cultivating Success, visit www.cultivatingsuccess.org
For more information about Rural Roots, visit www.ruralroots.org
If you don’t live in this area, maybe you can get your local universities to learn more about it and offer it in your area, too!
Happy Growing!
~Sunny
Farmgirl Sister #4 |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Sunny |
Posted - Sep 10 2008 : 4:12:40 PM
My pleasure, and thank you for spreading the word!
~Sunny
Farmgirl Sister #4 |
| marcy jo |
Posted - Sep 10 2008 : 3:35:24 PM
I needed to contact my extension office for native plants but this makes another great reason to get with them! Thanks Sunny! |
| Sunny |
Posted - Sep 09 2008 : 09:42:11 AM
Please do spread the word in all areas. I know that the contacts listed above would be glad to help get programs going all over the country. This is the power of Farmgirls networking!
~Sunny
Farmgirl Sister #4 |
| Sandra K. Licher |
Posted - Sep 08 2008 : 7:18:14 PM
I'm movoing back to my hometown and farming area in Illinois and I want to work cloely with the extension office to promote this kind of thing since that area is depressed in the farming arena. My relativea all farmed that area and I wish I had some the land they had to sell. But even if it's too late for me to start farming maybe I can help others. I will come back to this when the time is right! Thank you for the websites!
Sam in AR..... "It's a great life if you don't weaken!"
Farmgirl Sister #226 |
| lilwing |
Posted - Aug 30 2008 : 7:41:32 PM
I Sure wish there were something like this in TX!
~~~~
"The Higher the Hair, The Closer to Jesus!" - Paula Deen
http://maggie.ecrater.com
http://maggiemerch.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/hh_reiki
http://www.myspace.com/brookealyson |
| Sunny |
Posted - Aug 29 2008 : 09:45:06 AM
My pleasure! The course was fantastic, and the notebook full of resource material was over three inches thick. That, plus the wonderful mentor connections, made it definitely worth the fee. I hope courses like this start in every area.
~Sunny
Farmgirl Sister #4 |
| Huckelberrywine |
Posted - Aug 29 2008 : 09:09:15 AM
Now this looks like a "don't miss" opportunity. Thanks for sharing, especially the multiple locations and times. That is really going to help us make a decision about attending.
We make a difference. http://huckleberrywine.blogspot.com |
| Alee |
Posted - Aug 28 2008 : 9:11:49 PM
Wow! Thanks for the information, Sunny! What great opportunity!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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