Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

livingontheland - [Livingontheland] Sustainable Small Farming & Ranching Courses

livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Sustainable Small Farming & Ranching Courses
  • Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:53:53 -0600

From: Colette DePhelps [mailto:colette@ruralroots.org]
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 10:51 AM
September 19, 2007
Register Now for Sustainable Small Farming & Ranching Courses


This fall, local farmers and those interested in becoming farmers have a
unique opportunity to learn about new farming models. Selected county
extension offices in Washington and Idaho are now taking registrations for
a
weekly course on Sustainable Small Farming & Ranching. This evening course
is part of an expanding series developed by the Cultivating Success program
of Washington State University and the University of Idaho.

This 12-14 week course combines classroom and on-farm experience to give
students lessons in technical aspects of farming along with practical whole
farm management skills. Guest speakers that range from soil and compost
research scientists to local successful producers help to facilitate this
learning environment. Students get a chance to tour local farm and market
operations, meet key community resource people, and build a network of
resources and connections. In addition to this, learners explore internet
resources to provide critical production and marketing information.

"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 that they can turn to
for advice and support."

Course topics include:

* Sustainability Concepts
* Whole Farm Planning
* Resource Evaluation
* Direct Marketing
* 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


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

"The beauty of this course is that it gathers people with different
backgrounds into a participatory learning environment," Ostrom said. The
WSU-UI partnership was launched six years ago. So far, over 800 people have
taken the course in several locations throughout Washington and Idaho. A
second course on business planning will be offered after Christmas.

The cost of the 12-14 week course ranges from $125 - $200. Some
scholarships
are available. Courses can be taken for continuing education units or
college credit.

Funding for Cultivating Success is made possible by The USDA Risk
Management
Agency, USDA SARE, and USDA Higher Education Challenge Grants.


For information on additional course locations or for more details about
the
Cultivating Success Program see www.cultivatingsuccess.org
<http://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) 885-2049

The following locations have confirmed fall 2007 class offerings that start
as early as September - please contact local sites immediately to sign up:

Washington

Franklin County
Vicki Contini
vcontini@wsu.edu
(509) 545-3511


Jefferson County
Katherine Baril
kbaril@wsu.edu
(360) 379-5610



Kitsap County
Arno Bergstrom
awbergstrom@wsu.edu
(360) 337-7225



Lewis County

Gary Fredricks and Sheila Gray

gary.fredricks@clark.wa.gov

(360) 740-1212


Mason County
Kirsten Workman
kworkman@wsu.edu
(360) 427-9436

Okanogan County

Norman Suverly

suverly@wsu.edu

(509) 422-7245


Pierce County

Jenifer Harte

hartej@wsu.edu

(253) 798-7028



San Juan County

Candace Jagel

candace_jagel@wsu.edu

(360) 378-4414


Skagit County
Don McMoran
donaldm@co.skagit.wa.us

360-428-4270 ext 225



Snohomish County
Gabrielle Roesch

gabrielle90@wsu.edu

(425) 357-6011

Stevens County

Terry Swagerty

tswagerty@wsu.edu

509-684-2588


Wahkaikum County

Carrie Kennedy

(360) 795-3278

kennedyc@co.wahkiakum.wa.us



Whatcom County
Colleen Burrows
cburrows@wsu.edu <mailto:PMalone@iel.spokane.edu>

(360) 676-6736


Idaho

Latah County
Amanda Snyder
amsnyder@uidaho.edu

(208) 885-2049

Bannock County
Paula Jones
Paula.Jones@id.usda.gov <mailto:Paula.JOnes@id.uisda.gov>
(208) 237-4628 ext. 104



Ada County

Mary Rohlfing

morningowl@cableone.net

208-387-0131



Lewis County

Ken Hart

khart@uidaho.edu

208-937-2311



Bonner County

Diane Green

greentree@coldreams.com

208-263-8957



* --Washington Family Farm Resources (WFFR) is a service of the WSU
Small Farms Team. For more information and a calendar of events, visit
www.smallfarms.wsu.edu <http://www.smallfarms.wsu.edu/>


You are currently subscribed to wffr as: colette@ruralroots.org
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
leave-1175915-410942.f43c5f84802b301345d238cb1f1e545b@lyris.cahnrs.wsu.edu
To send a farm resource to ('List.Name'), write to wffr@lyris.cahe.wsu.edu

Colette DePhelps
Executive Director, Rural Roots, Inc
PO Box 8925, Moscow, ID 83843
208-883-3462 phone 208-882-7834 fax
colette@ruralroots.org
www.ruralroots.org <http://www.ruralroots.org/>

Rural Roots mission is to support and enhance sustainable and organic
agriculture and community-based food systems in the Inland Northwest.






  • [Livingontheland] Sustainable Small Farming & Ranching Courses, TradingPostPaul, 09/25/2007

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page