BF 101: Starting at Square One

Creating a Farm to Match Your Values, Goals, Skills, and Resources

So you're thinking about starting a farm, but feeling overwhelmed by all the decisions? Have your online searches turned up piles of information, but you still feel a bit lost? This course can help. It was designed to assist new and aspiring farmers in taking the first steps in thinking through farm start-up (whether you already have land access or not). As Ben Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Thoughtfully defining your goals and strategy before you start farming can prevent wasted time & money.

Target Audience

Aspiring/Beginner – This course is for those who want to make some or all of their livelihood from farming, and those who are actively planning the start-up of a farm in the next few years. Each participant will be assessing their own resources and will begin developing a farm start-up plan. You do not need to have land or know what you will grow – just that you want to explore the possibilities and learn about the steps you need to take to begin farming.

NOTE: This course covers some of the same material as BF 202: Writing a Business Plan, but at a much more introductory level. We recommend taking BF 101 first to prepare for the more advanced material in BF 202, unless you already have some business and farming background. We also recommend following this course with BF 102: Markets and Profits in order to complete your start-up plan.

Webinars

The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments here in Teachable, our virtual classroom. To add to the experience, live webinars will be woven into the online interface for 6 weeks each Fall to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from presenters and ask questions in real time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing.

Webinar Schedule

Live instruction next begins Thurs Sept 22, 2022 from 6:30-8pm Eastern, with the final webinar on Thurs Oct 27. While we encourage live attendance so you have the opportunity to engage with the presenters and ask questions, all webinars are recorded and posted in your online classroom for students to watch anytime. Once you have enrolled in this course, you will retain access to all materials indefinitely, and can return to participate in the live webinars in future offerings of the course if you wish.