Growing Your Farm Business Planning Course

Katelyn Parsons

Tuesday evenings, January 11 to March 8, 2022 – Location to be determined


MDAR offers a hands-on course to help established farmers develop a business plan and financial projections for their farm business. This course covers topics including resource assessment, marketing strategy, financial management, risk management, quality of life, and goal setting. The course is taught by professional business planners with years of experience working with Massachusetts farms and guest speakers on current topics such as succession planning and online marketing. The cost is $200 per farm. Enrollment is open to farmers who have been operating a farm business in Massachusetts for at least the two prior years. Eight weekly classes will be held on Tuesday evenings starting January 11 and ending March 8 (with one vacation week).


Plans are for in-person class. Final decision in January based on current COVID conditions. Applications will be accepted until November 19 or until the course is full.


Farmers that complete a business plan by participating in the Growing Your Farm business planning course and then apply and get accepted to MDAR’s APR Improvement Program or Matching Enterprise Grants for Agriculture may be able to waive the business planning phase of these programs, enabling them to move to the contract phase earlier to start implementing their projects.


The Growing Your Farm business planning course has been approved as a certified USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) borrower training for financial management.


TO APPLY: For a Growing Your Farm application, click here, or contact Michael Parker at [email protected], 857-895-0023.