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.