Grow Your Farm Business Course

Instructors: Steve Gabriel, Amina Omari

Part 1: Why Farm in the Finger Lakes? (Steve Gabriel)

Steve will help students answer the question “When Am I a Farm?” and cover the logistic and legal conditions to establish a farm business. He will also share about the complex history of farming and land use in the region and US, important foundational information for new farmers to know.

Part 2: Laying out a Business Plan (Amina Omari)
While this course does not walk students through the writing of a formal business plan, the sessions do cover all of the elements you will need to write a business plan or otherwise present your business. In this first week, we will discuss possible ways to lay out a business proposition. What do you need to think through? What are your options on lay out? When and to whom should you bring this plan? Anyone wishing to plug the weekly course sessions into the writing of a business plan now or in the future can use this class segment to prepare.

Instructor: Mary Kate Wheeler

As the operator of a startup farm, you face an infinite number of decisions about how to allocate your precious resources. Are you making good choices about how to spend your time and money? Are you utilizing your land and equipment well? Is your business headed in the right direction? The answer to all of these questions depends on what you hope to accomplish, not just in your farm but also in other areas of your life. This class will introduce students to a holistic approach for setting goals and evaluating management decisions. Through activities and demonstrations, students will develop a draft Farm/Family Goal, and practice using a Farm/Family Goal to guide decision-making.

Instructors: Leslie Ackerman

In Leslie’s first of two Finance sessions, she will guide the class to understand finance and accounting concepts and will explain tax basics intelligibly. She will also help students consider the financial feasibility of their individual farms or farm plans.

Instructor: Leslie Ackerman

In Leslie’s second Finance session, she will go over financial statements and how to use them and walk the class through a cash flow projection. She will also discuss various sources of financing a farm business.

Instructor: Matt LeRoux, CCE Tompkins County

Learn how a focused strategy and specific efforts can reduce your marketing labor needs and make every step count. Matt will discuss the components of a basic marketing plan and how a plan leads to efficient and innovative marketing.

Instructors: Alexas Esposito, Natalie Hughes

Agri-culture is based on the relationship between humans and the land, focusing on the way in which land is cultivated to provide sustenance for a community. Tracing a history from colonialism to modern industrialization, conventional agriculture has evolved into a largely exploitative practice across race, gender, and class.

If we broaden the horizon to gain perspective on the history of agriculture as it relates to land and race, we can begin to understand what equity and justice mean in our farming practices, and explore ways in which we can implement equity in farm businesses.

In this session we will deepen our knowledge on the intersection of agriculture, race and land, and explore different ways farmers are incorporating their commitment to justice into their business models.

Join 4 local farmers representing a variety of farm businesses as they discuss their business start-ups, lessons learned, marketing strategies, and more. Farmers TBA depending on student interests.

Instructors: Amanda David, Heather Sandford

Drawing from their own experiences, Amanda David and Heather Sandford, will talk about their marketing techniques. How does a reluctant social media user create free and easy marketing for their business? How does a small-town pig farmer keep a local shop and farm while growing to wholesale regionally and nationally? What marketing techniques can we use to communicate values as well as quality? What specific programs are available on social media to help you get started?

Join these two local rock-star farmers to learn how they market their businesses!

Students enrolled in the 9-week course present their business ideas. Each student will give a 15-20 minute presentation on their farm business to the cohort and to a selection of farmers and instructors. Time will be given for feedback.

This session is only for cohort students taking the 9-week series

In the event of a class cancellation, we will make up the class on this date.