Planning for Long-term Success Whether you intend to borrow money or not, heading into a farm venture without a business plan is like setting out on a long-distance journey without a map. Arm yourself with a business plan and you will have a guide to aid your farm decision-making and demonstrate to yourself and your […]

Funding Your Farm Plans Do you have good ideas for a farm business you'd like to start, or for expanding or diversifying your existing farm business? Do you have access to all the funding you'll need to bring your ideas to fruition? If not, this course is for you. It can be very difficult to […]

Developing a Successful Farm Business with Pigs This course is formatted to guide beginning farmers through the production and marketing of pigs raised in pasture settings. Pigs can function as a profitable stand-alone enterprise or can be integrated into your existing farm structure to provide a variety of products and make use of marginal lands […]

Growing Mushrooms on Logs, Stumps, and Woodchips Mushrooms are an emerging niche crop with many benefits, including improving farmer stewardship of forested lands and the ability to offer a unique and highly desired product. With a bit of practice, mushrooms can be easily grown in the woods on many products that can be the surplus […]

Building Farm Profit Into the Picture If you’ve been struggling to make your farm operation profitable without driving yourself into the ground, this financial planning course is for you. Ultimately, it will help you with the delicate balancing act that all farmers must succeed in: balancing healthy profits with healthy land and a healthy farm […]

Know Before You Grow Adding weeks to either end of your growing season can mean attaining a premium for having products available well before (or long after) other local growers. But the structures that make this possible–unheated plastic-covered “high tunnels” or “hoop houses”--can cost a lot of money, and they bring special management considerations that […]

Getting your hive operation off the ground Whether you are currently keeping honey bees, or are considering adding them to your farm, a basic knowledge of bee biology, diseases, pests, and setting up your colony are essential for success. Understanding the difference between a drone, queen and nurse bee, knowing how to site your apiary […]

From Season-Long Care to Harvest This course continues where BF 120 ends, and covers vegetable production from transplanting to harvest, including information on in-season fertility, integrated pest management, weed control options, harvesting strategies, and tips for marketing your products. Be prepared to create an in-season fertility and pest/weed control plan as part of this course. […]

Attract More Customers with a Strategic Farm Presence Online Are webpages still useful? Does Facebook drive sales in real life? What do hashtags do? What kinds of photos do customers respond to? What are good strategies for low-cost online sales/marketing? What is Square and should I be using it? If you’ve been struggling with questions […]

Testing the Feasibility of Your Farming Ideas Have an idea for a farm enterprise but not sure if it’s feasible? This course will help you explore the potential markets and profitability of your ideas, picking up where BF 101: Starting at Square One left off. (You do NOT have to take BF 101 before taking […]