ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell Small Farms Program’s current season of online courses is well underway, and our fourth and final block of courses will start live instruction at the end of February. With courses on farm business, grazing management, woodlots and more, this is a great opportunity to learn before the growing season begins.
Our suite of online courses is offered on a user-friendly platform, which grants registrants permanent access to their course content. Also, courses have tiered pricing based on household size and income to make access to the courses more affordable and equitable for everyone.
Registration is now open for all courses, with live content starting the week of February 20 for our final block of courses:
​Farm Woodlot Management​
Thursdays: February 23 – March 30, 2023
Whether monetizing the effects of silvopasture, learning the logistics of cutting for firewood, tapping for maple syrup, or venturing into mushroom production, this online course will give you the tools necessary to tap into the potential profit of your woodlot.​
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​Grazing Management​
Tuesdays: February 21 – March 28, 2023
Grazing is more than simply turning livestock out onto a green pasture and hoping for the best. With sound grazing management, you can reduce workload, keep animals happier and healthier, and improve the overall productivity and profitability of your farm.
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​Introduction to Tree Fruit Production​
Thursdays: February 23 – March 30, 2023
Tree fruit are an important component of the agricultural and homeowner landscape. This course trains beginning tree fruit growers in fundamental concepts in orchard planning and management.
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​Taking Care of Business​
Mondays: February 20 – March 27, 2023
Are you trying to navigate the legalities of owning a farm? This course helps early stage farmers assess and manage a variety of risks that they will face, including the business, tax, and regulatory implications of your farm.
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​Writing a Business Plan​
Mondays: February 20 – March 27, 2023
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 course is designed to help you build your plan, including developing financial statements.
​Our program offers more than two dozen online courses to help farmers improve their technical and business skills. These courses cover a range of topics any farmer needs to succeed, such as beekeeping, holistic financial planning, soil health, vegetable farming, and so much more. Experienced farmers and extension educators guide students through course content, including weekly live webinars, videos, and resources.
New additions to our online course suite include “Goat Production,” which will guide beginning farmers through the production and marketing of goats for dairy, meat and fiber. Also, we’ve added “Identification and Use of Mushrooms in Farms, Gardens, and Forests” to teach you basic ID, species, life cycle, and potential applications of mushrooms to solve community-level challenges.
In recent years we’ve also added: “Access to Capital” for anyone seeking funding for a farm enterprise; “Cut Flower Production” on the business of flower farming; a course on “Beef Cattle Management;” a primer on “Social Media & Online Marketing” for your farm business; and a 4-week intensive in how “Reading the Land” can help you monitor its health.
The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in Teachable, our online course platform. To add to the experience, webinars will be woven into the interface of the course for a dedicated time slot each year to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from presenters and ask questions in real-time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing.
You can browse all of our course offerings on our website. You can learn more about our courses, including answers to common questions, on our course FAQ.
–Cornell Small Farms Program
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