MDAR Growing Your Farm Business Planning Course

Course Details:

• When: Tuesdays, January 9 – March 5, 2024, 6-8:30pm
• Where: MDAR office in West Springfield, or alternate western MA location dependent upon interest
• Registration: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. $150 per farm. If interested, please complete the brief Growing Your Farm application and email it to Diego.Irizarry-Gerould@mass.gov, or mail a hard copy to: MDAR, Attn: Diego Irizarry-Gerould, 138 Memorial Ave, Suite 42, West Springfield, MA 01089.

A hands-on course to help established farmers develop a business plan and financial projections for their farm business. This course covers topics including resource assessment, marketing strategy, financial management, risk management, quality of life, and goal setting. The course is taught by a professional business planner with years of experience working with Massachusetts farms and guest speakers on topics such as succession planning and online marketing. Enrollment is open to farmers who have been operating a farm business in Massachusetts for at least the
three prior years, but participating farmers could also have 20-30 years of experience and utilize the course to plan for growth or adding a new enterprise. Eight weekly classes will be held in person in West Springfield on Tuesday evenings from January 9th through March 5th, (no class February 20th). The Growing Your Farm course has been approved as a certified USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) borrower training for financial management.

For more information, see ABTP program webpage or contact Diego at 857-248-1671. It is important to us that course fees do not create a barrier to participation. If the fee would prevent you from participating, please contact Diego at the number or email above and we can discuss waiving the fee.