Starting a Farm in Alachua County – Education opportunities

Ag Entrepreneurship Series

If you are interested in further developing your entrepreneurial skills, plan to attend our Ag Entrepreneurship series designed to help you make informed decisions as you start your new agricultural enterprise in north Florida. This series is made up of 3 hybrid short courses offered on an annual basis. This series is the 2021 winner in Search for Excellence in Young, Beginning or Small Farmers by the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA). We encourage you to attend one or more events to get the most out of the content of the workshops described below. In these hybrid courses, you will have access to the class materials for two weeks before attending a live meeting either in-person or through Zoom (your choice!). If you are planning to register for 2 or more courses, reach out to athearn@ufl.edu or tatiana.sanchez@ufledu for a promotion code.

These short courses are offered in a partnership between UF/IFAS Extension, Farm Credit of Florida, and the Center for Rural Enterprise Engagement. Dates for the 2023 cycle are posted below. You can register for one or all three courses in the IFAS catalog. Course enrollment may close prior to the deadline if capacity is reached.

Workshop 1: Starting a Farm – Online access starting on 6/16 and live meeting on 6/30.
Course online access for two weeks followed by a Zoom class.

Articulate your vision and goals; assess your resources; evaluate the suitability and feasibility of farm enterprises; and learn about business structures, registration, and regulations.

Workshop 2: Farm Business Planning – Online access starting on 8/10 and live meeting on 8/24.
Course online access for two weeks followed by a Zoom class.

Conduct market research and a SWOT analysis. Develop a mission statement, marketing plan, operations plan, human resource plan, financial plan, and risk management plan.

Workshop 3: Marketing for your small farm – Online access starting 10/13 and live meeting on 10/27.
Online access for two weeks followed by a Zoom meeting.

Define a marketing strategy and competitive advantage, create promotional support, evaluate pros and cons of different types of market channels, take orders and accept payment online, selling through CSAs, farmers’ markets, roadside stands, u-pick/agritourism, farm-to-school, and wholesale.

You can request to join our Ag Business listserv by emailing alachua@ifas.ufl.edu to be notified about the upcoming series. Please include in the email subject: Please add to Ag Business listserv. Listserv subscribers can occasionally receive emails about field days, workshops and other educational events offered in the Suwannee Valley area that are relevant to beginning and aspiring farmers.

Other Educational Opportunities

Hands-on at NFREC-SV in Live Oak

For hands-on courses available on specific topics consult the Small Farms Academy website. These courses are offered at the North Florida Research and Education Center-Suwanee Valley in Live Oak. You can request to get added to their listserv by sending an email to Kimberly Glasscock at kglasscock@ufl.edu or follow us on social through Facebook and Twitter.

Online options

Learning center by SARE – https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center
IFAS Catalog – https://ifas.catalog.instructure.com/