Grow Your Farm Begins Sept 14 in Parks Hill

Have a creative farming idea? Need practical guidance to help turn your farm into a profitable business?

If you answered yes to these questions, then the Grow Your Farm course is right for you. Grow Your Farm will help you translate your farming ideas into a successful business venture.

The Grow Your Farm course will start Tuesday, Sept 14 in Parks Hill at the Mineral Area College. The schedule includes:

Sept 14 - Identifying Values and Goals with Debi Kelly, MU Extension Associate and Eric Lober, farmer who grows vegetables and direct markets beef.

Sept 21 - Planning Your Farm with Lynn Heins, MU Extension Ag Business and Baetje Fars who raise dairy goats and make goat cheese and goat milk.

Sept 25 - Planning Your Farm and Farm Tours with Dean Wilson, MU Ag and Rural Development will guide you on the farm tour of Ben and Julie Davis who graze beef intensively and direct market their beef.

Sept 28 - Assessing Opportunities with Katie Kammler, MU Horticulture and Norman and Karin Ladd, farmers who grow produce, eggs, goats milk, dairy cows, flowers and rabbits.

Oct 5 - Keeping Track of Finances with Lynn Heins, MU Extension Ag Business along with Mike Hinkebien, Farm Loan Manager with Farm Service Agency and Matt Hardecke, FCS Financial.

Oct 9 - Farm tour to be determined

Oct 12 - Marketing Your Farm Products with Paul Shnare, Southeast Missouri State University and Paul Krautmann, farmer who grows organic produce, pasture raised beef and pork and markets to chefs.

Oct 19 - Understanding Legal Issues with the St. Francois County Health Department and Doug Halbert who owns a vineyard and winery.

Oct 26 - Presenting Your Farm Plan

To find out more information or to register, email Dean Wilson or call 573-756-4539.

Course specifics
Grow Your Farm is designed for prospective farmers, beginners with some experience and seasoned farmers who want to make a "new beginning" with alternative farming methods. MU Extension specialists and experienced, innovative farmers teach the sessions.

Grow Your Farm meets 11 times over a 12-week time frame. Classes include eight seminars with three farm tours.

Course objectives
Information on production techniques is relatively easy to find and use, but what many landowners need is help to develop the farm as a profitable business. With this in mind, Grow Your Farm is designed to assist you, the producer, in creating and planning your farm as a business.

This course will help you:
* Identify and prioritize personal and family values and use them as the foundation for the farm mission statement and goals.
* Learn how to "walk the farm" to assess the land and its facilities.
* Learn to evaluate the feasibility of particular farm opportunities.
* Understand the components of a business plan and create one of your own.
* Understand financial aspects of a business plan and review popular tools to manage financial records.
* Consider different types of agricultural marketing and draft a marketing plan.
* Become familiar with a variety of legal issues that pertain to farming enterprises.
* Network with other farmers.