Grow Your Production Skills With Farm Courses Starting in November

If you want to enhance your business and technical skills to progress toward your farming goals, consider joining one of the Small Farms Program’s online courses during the live instruction season this fall and winter.

You will learn from experts and experienced farmers and gain practical knowledge on a variety of farm production topics, including berries, cut flowers, maple syrup, mushrooms, and more.

“The CSFP courses were key to us taking our small sheep farm from a dream to a now-profitable livestock operation. We couldn’t have done it without the help and knowledge of the CSFP course materials and instructors,” past student Henry O’Connor shared.

More than 32,000 students have taken at least one of our courses over the last seven years. Nearly 70% of those students who are actively farming decide to further invest in growing their farm operations after taking a course with us.

Don’t miss our next block of live instruction; enroll now and join us for webinars beginning the first week of November! See below for upcoming offerings: 

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Farm Woodlot Management: Assessing the Economic Potential of a Managed Forest

• Mondays at 6:30 p.m. November 2 – December 7
• Farmers and woodland owners need to recognize the potential values of their woodland. This course will teach you methods to assess forest resources and discuss common activities such as cutting firewood, harvesting logs for mushroom cultivation, and support for wildlife and long-term forest health

 

Poultry Production: Profiting from Layers, Broilers, Turkeys, and Ducks

• Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. November 3 – December 8
• Many new farmers get started with poultry, but the margins can be slim and farmers need to develop the necessary skill set to produce a product that is both safe and profitable. This course will help you get started with all the basic information to build a successful poultry enterprise

 

 Outdoor Mushroom Cultivation: Growing Mushrooms on Logs, Stumps, and Woodchips

• Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. November 3 – December 8
• Mushrooms are an emerging crop with many benefits, including improving farmer stewardship of forested lands and the ability to offer a unique and highly desired product. This course trains new and experienced farmers in the background, techniques, and economics of outdoor mushroom production

 

Vegetable Production II: From Season-Long Care to Market

• Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. November 4 – December 16 (no class on Nov. 25)
• Continue where Vegetable Production I leaves off – expand upon production from transplanting to harvest, including information on in-season fertility, integrated pest management, weed control options, harvesting strategies, and tips for marketing your products

 

Berry Production: Getting Started with Growing and Marketing Berries

• Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. November 4 – December 9
• Explore the idea of adding berries and bramble fruits to your farm, from growing to marketing the fruits, with our berry production course. This course will help you consider all the aspects of this decision, from varieties and site selection through profit potential and marketing

 

Cut Flower Production: Introduction to the Business of Flower Farming

• Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. November 5 – December 17 (no class Nov. 26)
• Flowers can be costly unless you have background knowledge on production techniques and a solid plan for selling them. This course will introduce you to the topics, resources and questions you’ll need to answer if you intend to operate a flower farm or add flower production to your farm

 

Intro to Maple Syrup Production: Sugaring for Profit

• Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. November 5 – December 17 (no class Nov. 26)
• Maple syrup production is rapidly growing around the Northeast and offers a sound financial opportunity to utilize woodlots. This course explores the range of possibilities of maple sugaring on your land, including “alternative” trees for production

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Our growing team of online course instructors includes experienced farmers, extension educators, and agriculture service providers. The online courses are offered on a user-friendly platform, which grants registrants permanent access to their course content.

“It’s hard to explain how valuable the courses I took have become!” past student Arthur Shertzer shared. “The instructors couldn’t have been more knowledgeable, helpful and friendly! I couldn’t recommend the program more enthusiastically and I look forward to taking more classes in the future.”

You can browse all of our course offerings on our website. You can learn more about our courses, including answers to common questions, on our course FAQ.