MADISON, Ohio — The OSU Extension offices in northeast Ohio will offer the Northeast Ohio Small Farmer College for new and aspiring farm businesses. The college will be held Monday evenings Oct. 6, 13, 20 & 27 from 6-9 p.m. This college is designed to help landowners examine potential ways to increase profits on their small acreage.
The college is open to all new or aspiring farmers, new rural landowners, small farmers, and farm families looking for new ideas. The small farmer college is split into four sessions designed to challenge participants to plan for success.
The first session, Oct. 6, is titled “Getting Started,” and is designed to help participants build the foundation for their farm business. Some of the session topics will include: developing real-life expectations for your small farm, developing goals and objectives, developing an agricultural business plan, and tax and financial management of small farms.
This class will be held at Grand River Cellars Winery located 5750 South Madison Road in Madison, Ohio.
More classes
The second session, on Oct. 13 titled “Enterprise Selection,” will help participants decide what to raise/grow on their farm and how to develop realistic budgets for these enterprises. This session will be tailored-made based on the interests of the group.
Learn more about vegetable, greenhouse, fruit, nursery and bio-fuel crops, as well as aquaculture, livestock, hay, traditional and alternative farm enterprises. Let your passions lead you to the right agricultural enterprise to raise or grow.
This class will also be held at Grand River Cellars Winery. The third session, to be held Oct. 20, is titled “Marketing & Resources for Small Farms,” and will help participants build a marketing direction for their business.
Learn how agricultural products are being marketed across northeast Ohio. Learn about product pricing, selling at farm markets, and Community Supported Agriculture subscriptions. This class will again be held at Grand River Cellars Winery.
The fourth session, titled “Learning from the School of Hard Knocks,” will be held Oct. 27 at Sirna’s Farm, operated by Craig and Anne Marie Sirna. Since 1997, Sirna’s Farm has been offering quality fresh home grown, seasonal vegetables, herbs and local products.
The registration fee for this college is $100 for the first registrant from each family and $60 for each family registrant thereafter. Call the Ashtabula County OSU Extension office at 440-576-9008 to make your reservations.
Reservations are requested by Sept. 25, 2014. Space is limited to the first 35 registrants. A registration flyer can be found at http://go.osu.edu/ne-events.
