Exploring Your New Farm Dream
If you are interested in our fall courses, please fill out an application form today
Exploring Your New Farm Dream is a course for people who are thinking about starting a commercial farm business (farming with the intent to make a profit rather than as a hobby or a pastime). Developed by the New England Small Farm Institute (NESFI), the course helps aspiring farmers learn what it would take to start and manage their own “farm dream” and decide whether this the right path for them.
Course Description
Over 12 hours (four three-hour sessions) and one day of farm tours, the Explorer course takes a learner-centered approach to exploring agriculture as a career. As a participant in the course, you will be guided through an in depth self-assessment process, designed to help you identify the specific aptitudes, interests, skills and resources that you can bring to a new farm business. You will receive support through the process of researching opportunities in agriculture. And you will meet other serious gardeners, livestock enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs who are also asking themselves, “Is starting an agricultural business right for me?”
Who Should Attend
If you are considering…
- full-time farming,
- farming part-time while continuing other employment,
- changing your career to start farming,
- taking over an existing farm business,
- developing an existing but informal agricultural pastime into a more serious business activity,
- re-strategizing an existing farm business.
…then Exploring Your New Farm Dream is the ideal learning and networking opportunity for you!
The course will enable you to…
- set personal and farm goals,
- assess available resources,
- determine if farming as a business is a good fit for you,
- develop an action plan to guide your next steps.
This course is not about developing a farm plan or business plan. It’s about answering the very important question: Is starting an agricultural business right for me?
Fall 2010 Schedule
Course Fee
$300/person or $400 for two people from the same “farm dream” (ex: family, business partners). Thanks to Heifer International, we have scholarships for New Canadians, who can take the course for $60/person or $100 for two people coming as a team. Payment for the course is done by credit card online (PayPal) or by cheque and will be arranged once an application form has been submitted (see below).
Application & Registration
If you are interested in taking the course, please click here to fill out the application form. The new farmer coordinator, Monika Korzun, will then contact you to make sure that the course is suited to your situation and arrange for payment. Space is limited to 12 farm dreams and 20 participants (maximum of 2 people per farm dream), so please apply soon! Your spot will be secure when we have received your application form AND payment.
Testimonials
For a list of comments made by past Explorers, please click here.
Contact Information
For more information about the course, please contact the Monika Korzun at monika@farmstart.ca or (519) 836-7046 x 110 For more information on the course you can also visit the Explorer Course website.
April 28th, 2010
It would be great if you could offer some of your events in Eastern Ontario! Everything always seems to be held in the West. There are a large number of new and interested farmers East of Kingston!
May 16th, 2010
I am a 45 year old healthy guy who is dreaming of a farm but with no idea where to start. Before taking a training course to learn the basics to operate a farm I need answers to the following questions: How many acres of land can one guy farm? What is the minimum number of acres to be profitable and what is the expectation? Where and how can I get a loan while I do not have a job?
Thank you very much,
Johnnie
May 23rd, 2010
I would like to know why it is that you only provide reduced course fees to “new Canadians” when many of these “new Canadians” as you call them, have much, much more money/income/government financial support than people like myself who are thinking about starting farming. The company I worked for was closed permanently while I was on maternity leave, I am a single mother, and despite using my entire savings to pay for my own way back to school, I have not been able to obtain enough work to financially survive and so am now having to think about opening my own business in order to obtain enough income to support my family. So I would like to know why reduced fees are only offered to “new Canadians” and not to “low income” individuals in general regardless of citizenship. It seems rather prejudiced to only offer it to “new Canadians”.
June 17th, 2010
I agree with Shanna, you need to offer courses in Eastern Ontario. Perhaps take a poll and see where potential students are from? Out here in the extreme east I bet there is plenty of interest.
June 22nd, 2010
Hi Laura,
As much as we want to provide financial support to all, we provide funding when we have access to funding, which is often targeted to particular groups or projects.
August 9th, 2010
I suspect the funding for new Canadians is because of subsidies – Farm Link is not showing preference to newcomers; rather, there are government funds available to organizations like Farm Start who offer any kind of opportunities to newcomers, who face discrimination as they attempt to settle in their new country. There is enough that needs to be done in Canada to make sure we can transition to a sustainable way of living, and feeding ourselves — it’s taking time as people move around, make choices and settle in to new occupations.
I understand from personal experience the frustration of spending hard-earned, precious dollars on courses, certifications, upgrading, etc. and then find that making a living wage is impossible, and that you’re a disposable worker. I think you’re on the right track with looking at farming as an option — have you googled “homesteading” and “off the grid” — there are so many opportunities in this re-emergence of a farming as a lifestyle, and so I wish you all the best.