“This course was designed for beginning farmers and for current producers who are interested in taking their farm in a new direction,” said Marcy Ostrom, director of WSU’s Small Farms Program and a co-instructor at WSU.
“The final product is a whole-farm plan that students will use to evaluate their goals and resources, and help them to assess what type of small farm enterprise is right for them,” Ostrom said. “They also leave this class with a network of professional contacts and farmer mentors they can turn to for advice and support.”
Students learn how to apply successful whole-farm management principles to small-farm operations, farming principles that focus on environmentally sustainable practices, marketplace profitability trend identification, and skills to assess the feasibility of a potential on-farm enterprise. More than 800 people in Washington and Idaho have taken the course. A second course on business planning will be offered after the holidays.
For information on course locations and more details about the Cultivating Success program visit www.cultivatingsuccess.org or contact:Mary Kempfert in WA at mkempfert@wsu.edu or (253) 445-4565 Amanda Snyder in ID at amsnyder@uidaho.edu or (208) 885-204
Funding for Cultivating Success is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency, USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, and USDA Higher Education Challenge Grants.
