Organic Farmer Training Program Begins!
February 19, 2024 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Registration Deadline: February 21, 2024 - 12:00AM
Online
Contact: Kathryn Brandt
Calling all new farmers! Apply now to join the 2024 MSU Organic Farmer Training Program (OFTP) to learn in community with farmworkers, educational gardeners, farmers, homesteaders, and food system changemakers like you. Every Monday from late February to mid-November, you’ll connect with other new farmers and dig deep in conversation and shared learning experiences to learn real farming skills. About 2/3 of the time, you’ll connect with the full group for field trips to 20+ farms and for interactive online learning and farmer guest speakers. For 10 hands-on learning days, you’ll choose to either learn at Keep Growing Detroit or the MSU Student Organic Farm in East Lansing.
Hands-on learning sites in Detroit and East Lansing
The Keep Growing Detroit learning site is a great opportunity for urban farmers and growers near Detroit who are interested in neighborhood revitalization, teaching youth and managing hand-scale gardens and farms. Keep Growing Detroit is a model urban farm growing hundreds of thousands of vegetable and herb transplants for over 2,000 gardeners and farmers in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park. KGD also supports farmers and gardeners with workshops, site visits and the Grown in Detroit shared stall at Eastern Market. Four KGD farmers collaborate to teach the OFTP theme days, so Detroit OFTP participants get to learn from Rosebud Schneider, Akello Karamoko, Kido Pielack and Molly Hubbell.
The MSU Student Organic Farm is a tractor-scale organic farm offering immersive, hands-on farming experiences for undergraduate crew members, OFTP participants, volunteers, and interns. The farm also collaborates with MSU professors to host classes and research. East Lansing participants learn from OFTP facilitator Katie Brandt and Student Organic Farm Manager Darby Anderson.
Growing your farm vision!
Each OFTP graduate creates a viable farm plan that aligns their values, goals and skills with local community needs. You choose to create the plan that is right for you and then create your plan from several assignments are like stepping stones to build your farm plan over the 33 weeks of the OFTP. Each section includes opportunities to brainstorm for your farm, discuss the ideas with the full group and breakout into pairs to get insights. Then you’ll get feedback on your final draft from a peer and the OFTP instructor
- Farm Business Plans focus on selling farm goods and services: Assignments build from Values & Goals to Marketing Plan, Site Plan, Soil Management Plan, Farm/Garden Plan, Labor Plan and Financial Plan.
- Community Farm Plans focus on positive community change through educational gardens and non-profit projects: Start with Values & Goals, then create your Community Engagement Plan, Site Plan, Soil Management Plan, Farm/Garden Plan and Sustainability Plan.
- Homestead Plans focused on growing for home use include Values & Goals, Right Livelihood Plan, Site Plan, Soil Management Plan, Farm/Garden Plan and Sustainability Plan.
You can also choose to write a grant or complete a farm-related project if that is a better fit for your farm vision.
To apply
To apply, visit https://www.canr.msu.edu/organic_farmer_training_program/about/apply-now or email oftp@msu.edu with questions. The 2024 OFTP fee is $3,900, but a scholarship fund supports Black and Indigenous farmers of color from Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck. The OFTP is committed to anti-racist diversity, inclusion and the important work of interrupting and dismantling systems of oppression.
Registration for this event has closed.
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