MSU Organic Farmer Training Program

The MSU Organic Farmer Training Program (OFTP) is a 50/50 mix of hands-on learning in the field and interactive learning in the classroom. Join a community of beginning & aspiring farmers, farmworkers, homesteaders, educational gardeners and food system changemakers every Monday from March to November. Make your farm vision a reality with these core elements:

Hands-on learning at the 15-acre MSU Student Organic Farm: skills for tractor-scale field systems, year-round hoophouse production and permaculture techniques in our Edible Forest Garden
Field trips to 20+ farms in Detroit, Traverse City, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and SW Michigan
Writing a Farm Business Plan to fit your values, goals, farmland, markets and skills: assignments build the plan one step at a time, starting with Values & Goals and adding plans for Soil Management, Marketing, Production and Financials
Interactive classroom learning community where brainstorming, discussions, shared slide sets, small group activities and guest speakers ensure diverse perspectives and deep personalized learning

Check out the full schedule to see all the learning themes, including 27 days of hands-on learning and the following themes: farm business planning (10 days), farm production (7 days), soils (3 days), marketing (3 days) and 6 days for field trips.

As Loretta Crum explains, “The give-and-take of comments and discussion I've received in this course have convinced me that I can make my farm match where I am in my life and what I want to accomplish over the next 10-20 years. It's been fun to watch the rest of the students go through a similar process." Email msufarm@msu.edu or call/text Katie Brandt at 616-885-7776.

Tags: organic farmer training programstudent organic farmbeginning farmerfarmlearning

Appears In: Public Media Agriculture MSU Media Agriculture

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MSU Organic Farmer Training Program

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