Sustainable Agriculture Starts with a Sustainable Business The sun, soil and glory called you to the farmer’s vocation; a well-organized desk might just keep you there. Join the Farmers Guild along with an all-star line-up of agricultural advocates, educators and experts for a weekend-long business intensive to prepare new and aspiring entrepreneurs aiming to make an honest living growing our food.

"We farm because we care about our social and ecological communities. But we can only benefit these communities into the future if we’re also economically viable. Having strong business and marketing skills has allowed us to focus on what we really care about: developing a successful farm that feeds our community and benefits our local ecology." Paul Kaiser, Singing Frogs Farms

ABOUT THE INTENSIVE From community gardens to WOOF’ing, agriculture today is attracting a whole new wave of passionate recruits. But what often awaits them is a gaping chasm between that on-farm internship and the establishment of a successful agricultural business. For many, the allure of farming rarely entails hours at a desk grappling with spreadsheets. But ask the very best farmers and they'll all agree: success comes from managerial acumen as much as from a green thumb—and perfecting the former leaves more time to focus on the latter.  These weekend-long series of workshops seek to provide new and aspiring farmers with an interactive introduction to the entrepreneurial tools required to succeed, as a necessary supplement to their on-farm training. Workshops are not intended to be comprehensive, but will provide the basic tools, incentive, and community support to pursue further study, activities and structured preparation for their career or a new farm. By partnering with local Granges, organizations and local businesses, we'll keep costs at a minimum, making this training accessible to even those on a farm intern’s budget. And as part of the wider Farmers Guild network, the education received during this weekend will ripple out, as these new entrepreneurs will return to their respective communities to share knowledge among their peers and keep each other on track.

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"I didn't start farming to be a successful businessman. I didn't even start farming to make money. I farm to grow beautiful food that nourishes my community and allows me on a daily basis to touch what is most elemental to all of us: our dependence on nature. After farming for two seasons, I had to come to terms with the fact that if that's what I wanted, my farm had to be economically viable so that I could live the way I wanted to live: planning, record-keeping, budgeting have become critical tools to fulfill my ultimate goals as a farmer." -Alan Haight, Riverhill Farm