Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

fingerlakespermaculture - LAST CHANCE: Plan your new farm business this winter with Groundswell!

fingerlakespermaculture AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Fingerlakespermaculture mailing list

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Rachel Firak <rfirak AT gmail.com>
  • To: fingerlakespermaculture AT lists.ibiblio.org, sustainable_tompkins-l AT list.cornell.edu, fingerlakespermaculture AT lists.mutualaid.org
  • Subject: LAST CHANCE: Plan your new farm business this winter with Groundswell!
  • Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:42:04 -0500

Time is running out to apply for the Groundswell Farm Business Planning Course!

In collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County and Alternatives Federal Credit Union’s Business CENTS Program, Groundswell will offer an intensive Farm Business Planning Course in the winter of 2013. The class covers all major aspects of the farm business start-up process, including assessing your resources; legal and regulatory issues; production planning; marketing; financial feasibility, budgets and record keeping; and more. It is also appropriate for established farmers who want to improve their business planning and management skills.

Groundswell Farm Business Planning Course

Dates: January 10 - March 14, 2013 every Thursday evening for ten weeks
Time: 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Location: Ithaca
Sliding Scale Tuition: $120 to $400


The course is designed for those who:

  • Have at least a year of hands-on farming experience, OR have completed Groundswell’s Sustainable Farming Certificate Program;

  • Have a clear business concept and expect to get started within a year, or are in already in business;

  • Can fully commit to an intensive ten-week course with substantial outside research and homework.


The class will run for ten weeks, meeting every Thursday evening from 6-9pm from January 10 through March 14. Instructors are Monika Roth, Agriculture Program Leader and Matt LeRoux, Agriculture Marketing Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, and Leslie Ackerman, Director of the Business CENTS Program of Alternatives Federal Credit Union, along with area farmers and business owners whose stories illustrate the benefits of business planning and financial management skills.

"This is a rigorous course for the serious farming entrepreneur,” says Joanna Green, Director of the Groundswell Center for Local Food & Farming. “We are really pleased to be working with Monika, Matt and Leslie. They are very skilled teachers with a lot of practical knowledge to offer.”

Groundswell is committed to supporting a new generation of farmers that reflects the diversity of culture, color, and class in our community. Tuition for the class is on a sliding scale, from $120 – $400 depending on household income. It is NOT a requirement that you own land or have the financial resources to own land. This course will examine opportunities to lease land for farming in the Tompkins County area, and to secure financing through ag and commercial lenders or local “Slow Money” investors.

Farm Business Planning Course 2013
2013 Class Schedule and Topics

Week #  Date          Topics

1           Jan 10       Orientation, Setting Your Goals

2           Jan 17       Farm Business Basics

3           Jan 24       Production Planning

4           Jan 31       Marketing Basics & Strategy Development

5           Feb 7         Accounting Basics & Financial Feasibility

6           Feb 14       Financial Statements & Sources of Funds

7           Feb 21       Mechanics of Marketing

8           Feb 28       Loose Ends: Taxes, Legalities, and More

9           Mar 7         Final Projects

10         Mar 14       Final Projects


Online applications are now available. If you have any questions, contact us atinfo AT groundswellcenter.org or call 607 319 5095.

Groundswell is an initiative of the EcoVillage at Ithaca Center for Sustainability Education, which is a Project of the not-for-profit Center for Transformative Action, Tax ID: 16‐0990318


--
Rachel Firak
New Farmer Training Coordinator
Groundswell Center for Local Food & Farming
PO Box 6679
Ithaca, NY  14851
607-319-5095
www.groundswellcenter.org

I am generally on email MWTh 9 am - 5 pm.

*Helping diverse learners develop the skills, knowledge and access to
resources they need to build more equitable and sustainable local food
systems*




  • LAST CHANCE: Plan your new farm business this winter with Groundswell!, Rachel Firak, 12/18/2012

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page