Small Farms Classes (click above)

Cultivating Success for Small Acreage Farmers

The WSU Small Farm class will help you learn what it takes to have a successful small agricultural enterprise, and help you to acquire many of the skills to make that happen. Whether you're interested in sheep, chickens, berries, asparagus, goats, vegetables, herbs, potted plants, or value-added products, this unique program will help you make your small farm dream come true!

This 12-14 week course combines classroom and on-farm experience to give students lessons in technical aspects of farming along with practical whole farm management skills. Guest speakers that range from soil and compost research scientists to local successful producers help to facilitate this learning environment. Students get a chance to tour local farm and market operations, meet key community resource people, and build a network of resources and connections. In addition to this, learners explore internet resources to provide critical production and marketing information.

"This course was designed for beginning farmers and for current producers who are interested in taking their farm in a new direction," said Marcy Ostrom of WSU's statewide Small Farms Team and a co- instructor at WSU.

"The final product is a whole farm plan that students will use to evaluate their goals and resources, and help them to assess what type of small acreage enterprise is right for them," Ostrom said. "They also leave this class with a network of professional contacts who they can turn to for advice and support."(see website; www.cultivatingsuccess.org for more information.