Grow Your Farm-A Business Development Course Every other Wednesday Jan. 28-May 4 6:30-9:30 pm  at the Platte County Extension Center, 11724 NW Plaza Circle, Suite 300, Kansas City, MO 64153

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. Local farmers and agency representatives will present on the topics below, connect participants to local, state and federal resources and upon conclusion of the program, participants will have the tools to develop a working business plan for their agri-business or farm.

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.

* Two farm visits to local farms in the KC metro area.

The class cost of $250 per farm operation (covers TWO individuals per farm), covers all class materials and two Saturday farm visits. For more info, to register or to get a referral from a past participant, contact Crystal Weber at 816-876-2790 or Katie Nixon at 816-809-5074 or visit the Grow Your Farm website.