Farm Business Planning Course Starts October 25th 2008

We are glad to present this year’s farm business planning course and excited to help you start or transition your farm business. This season the Farm Business Planning Course has increased in hours to create more space for group work. This will allow us to get deeper into topics such as financial and long term planning. The farm business planning course covers all aspects of developing a useful and effective farm business plan.
 

As a participant of the farm business planning course you may be eligible for a grant (called an original placement gift) of 30 hours of mentorship and up to $4,000 to start your farm business. The conditions are that for the value of the placement gift we ask you to ‘pass-on’ that ‘value’ through seeds, compost, livestock and services which are intended to enhance your local food and farming community, while encouraging and supporting other new farmers. For more information read the following files ‘Placement Gift Pass-On Contract.doc’ and ‘Using the gift.doc’. The contract has not been finalized for this season, stay tuned for an updated version in a few weeks.

Click here for Course and Program Fees

Click here for Course Location and Directions

Download an Information and Application Package

Eligibility Criteria for Participants in the Farm Business Panning Course

• Committed to starting your own farm business in the next year or two, and have at minimum a general idea of the structure of that   farm (general location, crops, marketing strategy, etc
• In the spirit of Heifer, course participants are open to sharing their experiences as new farmers through future class presentations,      mentoring and/or farm tours;
• Committed to Ecologically sound farming (though organic certification is not a requirement);
• Committed to being an active participant in the learning process.

Course Time Commitments

Classes will run on Thursdays and Saturdays.  Please ensure you have at least three hours between sessions for homework and research.  Sessions to be held at Everdale are just over an hours drive north west of the city.  Car pooling will be arranged if needed.   Please let us know if transportation is an issue.  We will organize car pooling where possible.  See www.everdale.org for directions.  Farm tours and optional sessions are not required however they are important aspects of the course.  

Program and Course Philosophy

The FGF program is designed as a social and information network that fosters partnership and equality. Participants, mentors, and facilitators contribute their own knowledge and experience to form a community of learners. The aim is to break from the conventional notion of teachers producing knowledge for the passive consumption of students within a classroom. Instead, the program recognizes and activates the indispensable knowledge of established farmers, those new to farming, and others involved in the food system.

As a partner of Heifer International, who has sponsored this program, FGF embraces their philosophy of “passing on the gift”. FGF asks that participants be open to sharing their experience as new farmers through future FGF activities (class presentations, mentoring, farm tours). As participants move on and establish a farm business, their experience will become invaluable to those who are at an earlier stage of planning.