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Providing Skills and Knowledge to New Farmers with the Maryland Beginning Farmer Success Course

Teaching & Educational Technologies

Emily Zobel
Associate Agent for Agriculture and Food Systems
University of Maryland Extension
Cambridge

Abstract

Starting a farm is challenging, with significant obstacles including acquiring land, securing capital, marketing challenges, climate and pest issues, and navigating regulations.  New farmers often lack the skills and knowledge to manage their farms effectively. The Maryland Beginning Farmer Success Project provides new farmers with resources and contacts to be able to explore enterprise options, refine ideas, develop plans and strategies, and implement their farming practices. An annual course is offered each winter by the University of Maryland Extension (UME) to aid people in Maryland and the surrounding states who are either considering getting into farming or are in the beginning stages of starting a farm as a business. The Beginning Farmer Success Course (BFEC) is a 10-week course that combines work-at-your-own-pace homework and weekly virtually live classes using Zoom software. The course covers business planning, marketing, crop production, livestock husbandry, soil health, integrated pest management, food safety, and regulations. The course partners with regional nonprofits, agricultural organizations, and experienced farmers to provide beginning farmers with easily accessible tools and practical experience-based training on farm production, marketing, land management, business planning, and financial resources. Each virtual class started with a short talk from a regional partner focusing on what resources they offer to the agricultural community.  This was followed by a more in-depth lecture from a faculty member from the University of Maryland or the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.  Some classes also had a guest farmer speaker who would speak about their farming operations, the challenges they face, and how they overcame them. BFSC participants responded in the end-of-course surveys that they learned a lot regarding farm regulations and policies, resources, and agencies available to start your farm business and create a farm production plan. Over 75% of BFSC participants responded that due to the course, they were likely to develop farm financial statements and enterprise budgets and use best management practices for conservation.

Authors: Emily Zobel, Haley Sater, Neith Little, Shannon Dill, Andrea Franchini
  1. Emily Zobel Agriculture Agent, University of Maryland Extension , Maryland, 21613-0299
  2. Haley Sater Agriculture Agent, University of Maryland Extension , Maryland, 21801
  3. Neith Little Extension Educator--Urban Agriculture, University of Maryland Extension, Maryland, 21215
  4. Shannon Dill Extension Educator , University of Maryland Extension, Maryland, 21601
  5. Andrea Franchini Extension Program Management Specialist, University of Maryland Extensio, Maryland, 21215