11/23/2009

Make the Most of Your Farmland at the OSU Extension Southern Ohio New and Small Farm College

Writer:

Tony Nye
nye.1@osu.edu
(937) 382-0901

WILMINGTON, Ohio – Small farm landowners interested in expanding their agricultural or horticultural enterprises, or are looking for other options for land uses have the opportunity to attend the Ohio State University Extension Southern Ohio New and Small Farm College in January 2010.

The Southern Ohio New and Small Farm College is an 8-week program that introduces new and veteran farmers to a wide variety of topics on how to make the most on a few acres. The program will teach participants how to set goals, plan, and budget, and where to find resources available for them if they chose to start a small farming operation. OSU Extension educators will illustrate over 15 different enterprises that can be profitable on land as small as one acre.

To round out the experience, a bus tour will be held around area farms so that participants can see first hand how small farm life works, and also network with practicing farmers in the area.

Many program participants don't expect to make a living off the land, but do want to recoup something, said organizer Tony Nye, OSU Extension educator in agriculture and natural resources.

“First time farmers want their interaction with their land to be productive,” said Nye. “They like living in the country, getting their hands dirty. That has been their motivation for buying land."

The Southern Ohio New and Small Farm College will be offered at two locations:

• OSU Extension office in Fayette County, 1415 US Rte 22, SW, Washington Court House, OH. Classes start Jan. 4 and run from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, call 740-335-1150.

• Mid-East Career Center, Guernsey County, Buffalo Campus, 57090 Vocational Rd., Senecaville, OH. Classes start Jan. 7 and run from 6:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. For more information, call 740-962-4854.

Registration is $150 person and $50 per additional family member, and includes resource material, a soil test, refreshments and the bus tour. Registration deadline is Dec. 18 and limited to the first 50 participants per location.

Course topics include goal setting, business planning, budgeting, county resources, fence laws, taxes, record keeping, assessing natural resources, crop and horticulture options, animal production and marketing alternatives.

Since 2005, OSU Extension New and Small Farm Colleges have helped 357 individuals representing 295 farms from 35 Ohio counties improve the economic development of their small family-owned farms.

For more information or to register, contact OSU Extension, Clinton County at 937-382-090l, e-mail Tony Nye at nye.1@osu.edu, or log on to http://www.clinton.osu.edu.