Did you know that 35% of farms in Georgia are qualified as new or beginning operations by the USDA? Furthermore, did you know that 58% of Georgia farms produce less than $5000 in goods each year? A critical role of agricultural support organizations including UGA Cooperative Extension is to help improve small farm sustainability and profitability for long-term success in the industry. Journeyman Farmer was developed by UGA Extension and partners to provide comprehensive training to a growing new and beginning farmer audience- individuals how have been farming less than 10 consecutive years. This program is best suited to those who are interested in starting a farm business or those who have recently begun farming and want to improve their operation.
The Journeyman Farmer Certificate Program has two parts- small business training and production training. For the business training component, counties are able to choose between a 4-class series titled “Small Farm Business Planning” with UGA’s Small Business Development Center, OR they may offer a one-day AGAware workshop in conjunction with AgGeorgia. The 2022 Journeyman Farmer program offered in Lincoln County will offer the AGAware workshop. The program will cover farm business topics including financial statements and recordkeeping, financing opportunities, risk management, marketing, and business plan development. Participants also have the option of passing an exam to receive FSA borrower credits and all attendees will receive a certificate of completion. The AGAware workshop will be held on March 11, 2022 from 9AM-4PM at the Lincoln County Agriculture Center (2080 Rowland-York Dr, Lincolnton GA 30817). Registration is free and can be found at https://www.aggeorgia.com/services/agaware-workshop-series/course-registration.
The second part of Journeyman Farmer includes seven classes of production training. Counties are able to choose whether to offer training in small fruit and vegetable production OR small ruminant production. The 2022 Journeyman Farmer program offered in Lincoln County will follow the small fruit and vegetable curriculum. The program will cover soil health and fertility, cover crops and ground covers, crop rotation and pest management, crop selection, propagation, and management, irrigation and equipment, food safety, and marketing. Participants who complete all seven classes will receive a certificate of completion. The Small Fruit and Vegetable Production Training will be held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from March 15th through April 5th from 6-8:30PM. Registration is $70 per person for the series with meals and materials provided. Interested parties can register at: https://journeyman2022pt2.eventbrite.com
Journeyman Farmer is offered several times each year throughout the state. If our offerings (AGAware and Small Fruit and Vegetable Production) don’t meet your needs, please be on the lookout for other iterations of the program that may more effectively do so. The best way to keep in the loop for JMF is to follow the UGA Extension Master Calendar at https://extension.uga.edu/calendar.html. If you have questions or need assistance registering, please contact us at uge3181@uga.edu or 706-359-3233.
