Cohort to support veteran and civilian owned small businesses

The WSU Food Systems Program with support from the Veteran’s Affairs office and in collaboration with 18 WSU Extension locations from across Washington State are launching Cultivating Success™: Whole Farm Planning, a bilingual online event utilizing interactive virtual platforms over a 9-week curriculum to create, sustain, and grow viable small farms.

Cultivating Success™: Whole Farm Planning is a 9-week, step-by-step course, to help prepare a well thought out plan for land, life, and farm business. Learn how to use a whole systems lens to create a living plan for a small farm future. Classes will meet weekly through Zoom, in an online classroom environment. Participants can connect to a collective statewide cohort for main topics and lectures from experts in sustainable practices, direct market farming, value-added processing, integrated pest management, livestock, and more. Opportunities for discussion and community building in smaller regionally based groups with local farmers and ranchers will build a solid network and a whole farm plan to suit any operation, with local groups facilitated by WSU Wahkiakum County Extension.

The course is $125 for a 9-week series offered fully online through Zoom with 100 percent scholarships available for military veterans. Class starts October 20 running through December 15 (with a break November 3). Class meets every Tuesday from 6-8:30 p.m. ¡Curso traducido al Español! This course will be available with Spanish language interpretation and facilitation.

Course objectives include gaining knowledge of the practical aspects of whole farm planning for a wide variety of enterprises, understanding the various components of sustainable small-scale farming systems and gaining skills in assessing the feasibility of developing a viable, sustainable, small-scale farming enterprise including how to evaluate personal and family goals, evaluate land and personal resources, and improve environmental outcomes. Participants will learn about available resources and support networks for sustainable farming and develop a whole farm plan that meets social, environmental, and financial goals.

This course builds on the foundational elements of Cultivating Success™: farmer mentorship, experiential learning, community place-based, and whole systems thinking with a small farms focus.

Foundational contributors and supporting funds came from WSU Extension, the Washington State Department of Veteran’s Affairs, Rural Roots, the Veteran’s Affairs Office and University of Idaho Extension.

For more information visit foodsystems.wsu.edu/whole-farm-planning.

To register visit tinyurl.com/wholefarmplanningfall2020.