Workshops set for Veterans and Other New Farmers

As with any small business, starting a farm requires thoughtful goal setting and a good grasp on basic financial management and marketing. Three "Planning for Profit: Marketing and Financial Management for New Farmers" workshops are being put on by the National Center for Appropriate Technology in Iowa during July. As interest in farming increases among returning veterans and others, the workshops will help participants:

• Clarify overall goals for starting a farm
• Set specific short, medium and long term household income goals for the farm
• Understand basic accounting concepts and practices
• Explore strategies for marketing and selling farm products through Community
Supported Agriculture, farmers markets, grocery stores, restaurants, and wholesale
channels.

The FREE workshops are funded by the USDA Risk Management Agency.  

Workshop dates
July 12, 2012:  5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI Center for Energy and Environmental Education
NCAT Program Specialist Terrell "Spence" Spencer will lead the workshop.
For more information or to register for this workshop, contact NCAT at 515-288-0460, email hannahl@ncat.org or click on the following link: http://goo.gl/PBjLt

July 23, 2012: 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Decorah, Iowa. ISU Extension Office, 325 Washington Street  
NCAT Program Specialist Tammy Hinman will lead the workshop.
For more information, contact NCAT at 515-288-0460 or email hannahl@ncat.org.
To register, call 563-382-2949 or register online by July 17.

July 24, 2012:  5:30 to 8 p.m.
Council Bluffs, Iowa. Iowa Western Community College, Dodge Hall, Room 1205
NCAT Program Specialist Tammy Hinman will lead the workshop.
For more information, contact NCAT at 515-288-0460 or email hannahl@ncat.org.
To register, call 712-325-3255 or click on the following link: https://www.iwcc.edu/ce/classes/GoGreen.asp

About the presenters
Tammy Hinman has worked in the sustainable agriculture field  for more than 20 years as a farmer, with Cooperative Extension Service, and for various not-for-profit organizations. Tammy is currently a horticulture specialist with NCAT and works on projects related to beginning farmers, business planning, farmers markets, and market gardening. She also runs a small diversified vegetable and flower farm in Bozeman, Montana.

Terrell "Spence" Spencer is an NCAT livestock specialist and a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spence grows several thousand broilers per year on pasture for restaurant, retail, and individual customers in northwestern Arkansas. The family farm also sells eggs to its markets as well as vegetables produced in its high tunnel. Spence provides farmers, especially livestock producers, with information and assistance on business and financial planning for the vital early years of starting a farm. He also has a degree in Soil and Water Science.