Online Farmer Training Courses

Online Farmer Training Courses from the Cornell Small Farms Program Begin Next Week

​The Cornell Small Farms Program offers more than 20 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.

​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.

CSFP has been doing online farmer training courses longer than anyone, and offers high quality student focused programs taught by experienced farmers and educators. Registration is now open for all courses, with live content starting next week for the first block of courses.

​Farm Woodlot Management​

Mondays: September 21 – November 2, 2020

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.

​​QuickBooks for Farmers​

Mondays: September 21 – October 26, 2020

Are you a beginning farmer? Or are you a current farmer with the desire to switch to an online accounting system? Then our quick guide to Quickbooks is for you. Learn the software’s basic features, such as sales tax, inventory, invoicing, adjustments, and year-end procedures.

​​Starting at Square One​

Tuesdays: September 22 – October 27, 2020

So you’re thinking about starting a farm, but feeling overwhelmed by all the decisions? This course was designed to assist new and aspiring farmers in taking the first steps in thinking through farm start-up (whether you already have land access or not).

​Reading the Land​

Wednesdays: September 23 – October 28, 2020

There is only one guarantee in agriculture or other land-based businesses: “When we improve land health we realize improvements in production, profitability, and social well-being.” Learn how to read the land as you walk across it, and how to conduct various biological practices, with this new 4-week intensive.

​You can browse all of the Online Farmer Training Courses on the CSFP website.

The Cornell Small Farms Program (SFP) helps farmers get expert assistance to facilitate all phases of small farm business development. SFP is housed at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and works collaboratively with Cornell Cooperative Extension.