Business Planning: BF202

Planning for Long-term Success

Whether you intend to borrow money or not, heading into a farm venture without a business plan is like setting out on a long-distance journey without a map. Arm yourself with a business plan and you will have a guide to aid your farm decision-making and demonstrate to yourself and your family that your ideas are feasible. This steady-paced course is designed to help you build your plan, including developing financial statements.

”The most valuable thing about this course was that it made me hash out and put on paper each section of my business plan. It is so easy to put business plan writing on the back burner, and this course made it move to the top of my to-do list and allowed me to get all my ideas and financials into one organized document.” –Courtney S, Paloma, CA

Target Audience

ALL LEVELS – This course is geared for new farmers as well as those expanding or transitioning from one farm enterprise to another. Before enrolling in this course you should already know the type of farm you want, some short-term and longer-term farm business goals, and the geographic area or state where you intend to farm. You should have at least some first-hand experience with farming, including personal research into the type of farm you will operate.

NOTE: If you are new to farming or are still exploring ideas, it may be helpful to take BF 101: Starting at Square One before enrolling in BF 202.

Course Objectives

Upon completing this course, you will have a full business plan in a format ready to be implemented on the farm. The business plan may be used to guide you in decision-making in the course of running the farm business. Additionally, the business plan will be in a form ready to submit to a banker, private investor or grantor, in the event you are seeking outside funding.

Graduates of BF 202 have obtained equipment and operating loans, and mortgages, for start-up and expanding farms.

Webinars

The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in MOODLE, our virtual classroom. To add to the experience, webinars will be woven into the online interface of the course to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from outside presenters, ask questions, and collaborate with other participants and the instructor to address your farm issues in real time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing. Access details will be posted in MOODLE once you have registered and logged in.

Instructors

Rebecca Schuelke-Staehr co-owns Cayuga Pumpkin Barn and has worked for Cornell Cooperative Extension and the NY Farm Viability Institute.

Steve Hadcock is the Beginning Farmer and Market Development Educator for the Capital Area Agricultural and Horticultural Program for Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Dates

March 2 – April 6, with Webinars on Thursday evenings from 6:00 – 7:30pm EST

Course Outline

Week 1: Welcome and Introduction
Topics covered: Introductions. Overview of our online “campus” (Moodle), course outline, and business plan template. Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) farm analysis. Business plan cover page and farm supporting information statement.

Week 2: Mission and Goals
Topics covered: Writing mission statement, goal and vision statements. Farm business structure. Bank lender guest speaker.

Week 3: Organizational and Operational Plans
Topics covered: Writing organizational and operational plans. Guest speaker on farm business structure, defining job duties.

Week 4: Marketing Planning
Topics covered: market channels, volume, pricing, etc. Enterprise budgeting. Farmer guest speaker.

Week 5: Financial Statements
Topics covered: balance sheet, cash flow, profit and loss, business development plan.

Week 6: Financial Statements
Topics covered: loans, grants, crowd-source funding. Farmer guest speaker.

Cost and Registration

Fee for this course is $250. Sign up a month or more in advance of the start date and receive $25 off. Sign up for three or more courses and received $50 off your total.