The Living Farm, LLC
Small Farms Program
Overview
Our Small Farms programs are exciting, total immersion programs designed to involve students in as many of our animal, vegetable, farm production and marketing activities as possible. Our Summer Seasonal Program is for anyone who wants to experience an organic sustainable farm but is not interested in having their own farm. Our three year Professional Small Farms Program is designed to take a person from novice to farming proficient in small farm skills. Once you have completed the Professional Small Farms Program, you may apply for the mentorship program that follows the Professional Small Farms Program that will help you to get started on your own farm.
Training
Part of the training will be hands on and part of your training will be book work. Our goal is to have you ready to start your own business in 3 years if you want to do so.
Professional Small Farm Program
This is a three year program that has been developed to teach a person how to become a professional small farmer. You will learn how to run a successful small farm sustainably and profitably. It will give you a place to spread your wings within the confines of support and guidance. At the end of the third year you will qualify to have us mentor you in your new farming endeavor. We will help you to find land if you don't have any to start with.
Summer Seasonal Farm Program
This program is for people who want to have the farm experience but don't want to learn all the skills to run a farm. You will participate in the year 1 basics.
| Year 1 the basics | |||
| Food production
(vegetable, year round) |
Animals ( sheep, chickens turkeys and more) | Business skills | electives |
| planting | Sheep: feeding, health, birth, milking, milk handling, observation, shearing, wool handling | How to live the farm
life.
The small farms quandary and how to win. |
Wool crafts: spinning, knitting, weaving, rug hooking, felting |
| Picking/ processing | Pigs: raising, housing, feeding, health | Basic business models | Food preservation: canning, dehydrating, freezing |
| Watering | Laying hens: raising, health, feeding, egg collection and handling | Parts of the farm business | Dairy products: cheese making, yogurt, ice-cream |
| Maintenance | Meat birds: raising, moving, feeding, health | Types of income | Gluten free cooking |
| Seasonal differences | Turkeys: raising, housing, feeding, health, breeding | regulations | Extensive reading material |
| Seed saving | Worms new program for 2010 | Sales: retail, wholesale, Farm's Market, CSA | Local farm tours |
| Edible landscaping | |||
| Basics of Bio dynamic farming and beyond | |||
| Year 2 The aha year | |||
| Food production
(vegetable, year round) |
Animals ( sheep, chickens, turkeys and more) | Business skills | electives |
| Planting systems | Sheep: all above plus, deliver babies, genetics study | In depth study of customers | Sprouts and micro mixes |
| Soil makeup
Compost and fertilizers |
Cow handling | Farm accounting | Tractor driving and running of equipment |
| Bees new for 2010 | Yearly crop planning | Farm irrigation | |
| Plant language | Marketing program | Willow furniture making | |
| Plant varieties | |||
| Crop rotation, insect control | |||
| Year 3 Bring it all together | |||
| Food production
(vegetable, year round) |
Animals ( sheep, chickens, turkeys and more) | Business skills | Electives |
| Create and run your own program in one of the greenhouses | Chicken breeding program, incubating eggs | Create your first products | Mushroom production |
| Flower and bedding plant production | Create feed rations for all animals | Write a business plan | Tree and shrub propagation |
| Value added food production | sustainability | Fish farming | |
| Fodder production | |||
| Year 4 and beyond | |||
| Mentoring to help you start your own successful farm | Help with selection of stock for your farm. | Help you to create a successful business plan and start it. | |