WSU Clallam and Jefferson county extension offices are offering “Cultivating Success: Whole Farm Planning,” an eight-week series for local farmers and producers, held simultaneously in two locations.
The course is scheduled for 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays from this Thursday through Dec. 14, at Peninsula College, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., in Port Angeles and at the Jefferson County Extension classroom at 97 Oak Bay Road in Port Hadlock.
Participants do not need to own the land they farm on to sign up.
The course is $275 per farm and up to two people per farm may attend the course together. Pre-registration is required. Pre-register at cswhole farmplanning.brownpapertickets.com.
Whole Farm Planning is a course for existing farmers who are seeking whole farm planning tools and/or new and beginning farmers starting a farm or farm enterprise, regardless if they are leasing land to farm or own it outright.
Gain skills
Throughout the course, participants will gain skills in assessing the feasibility of developing a viable, small-scale farming enterprise including how to evaluate personal and family goals, evaluate land and personal resources and improve environmental outcomes.
“Our Small Farms Program has spent the last four years offering services for the new and beginning farmer or rancher,” said Kellie Henwood, Regional Small Farms Coordinator for WSU Extension.
“We’ve seen more and more people of all ages and backgrounds buy or lease land and start a farm on the Olympic Peninsula.
“We urge everybody considering a farm operation or are in production already to take this course to plan for success and ask those hard questions, such as, do I want this farm to provide my sole income?”
Henwood added, “We’d love to see farmers set themselves up for long-term success and evaluate their current resources, assets and plan for the future.”
A unique feature of the course, coordinators said, is web simulcast technology connecting audiences of both locations in Port Angeles and Port Hadlock.
For more information, see http://extension.wsu.edu/jefferson/ or contact Henwood at kellie.henwood@wsu.edu or 360-379-5610 ext. 201.
