Farming course offered by UMaine cooperative extension
Mar. 142017
BANGOR — A four-session course for farmers and those hoping to farm will begin April 3 at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Penobscot County office, 307 Maine Ave., Bangor. Live streaming of the course will also be available.
“So You Want to Farm in Maine?” continues from 6–9 p.m. every Monday in April. Appointments for individual consultations will be made at the conclusion of the course, according to a news release from the cooperative extension.
Participants will gain the knowledge and skills to start, adapt and maintain a profitable land-based business, the release said. Topics include evaluating farm enterprises, developing a business plan, assessing soil and other resources, record keeping and market research. Scheduled instructors for the course are UMaine Extension staff members Donna Coffin, Rick Kersbergen, Caragh Fitzgerald, Kathy Hopkins and Gary Anderson, as well as guest instructors.
The course is approved for FSA Borrower Training — educational training in financial and farm management concepts associated with commercial farming — and is required as a condition of eligibility for new loans for all FSA borrowers of both direct and guaranteed loans, the release said.
The $50 per person fee includes the text “Starting and Running Your Own Small Farm Business” by Sarah Beth Aubrey. Two members of the same household may attend for one fee, provided they share course materials. Register online at extension.umaine.edu/Penobscot/sywtfim2017. For more information or to request a disability accommodation, call 207.942.7396; theresa.tilton@maine.edu.
