Winter 2006

Pioneer Valley
Women's Agricultural Network Newsletter

January Women in Agriculture Gathering:
Winter Reflections ~ Summer Bounty

One of the greatest gifts of winter is that it can provide time to update your goals for the coming year by reflecting on the past year. Come and enjoy some time to reflect, dream, and share with peers.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006 from 6:30 – 9:00 PM
at Flayvors Restaurant at Cook Farm, 129 South Maple Street, Hadley.
Dinner prepared by Flayvors Restaurant.
Donation for all/part of meal cost ($7) requested, not required.

Reservations by Friday, January 20th:
(413) 665-7100 or therese@buylocalfood.com.
Directions: www.cookfarm.com

Business Courses for Beginning and New Farmers

Exploring the Small Farm Dream is a four-session course developed by the New England Small Farm Institute (NESFI) for those who are considering farming. Designed as a decision-making tool, Explorer will help you define a clear vision and goals for your new farm enterprise.

The New England Small Farm Institute will be hosting a class on Tuesdays in
April, 2006 (April 4, 11, 18, and 25) at 6:00 PM. The course fee is $100 or
$150 for two people from the same farm. Payment plan available.
Scholarships may be available. Call for more information. The course will
be partially underwritten by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural
Resources. For more information, visit NESFI on-line at
http://www.smallfarm.org/explorer/index.htm or call Warren at (413) 323-4531.

Exploring the Small Farm Dream Workbook can also be used as a self-study guide for individuals or as part of a study group. If you are interested in participating in a study group, or in an instructor-led course offered in the future (not the April 2006 course), please let me know. I am starting a “waiting list” of interested beginning farmers. therese@buylocalfood.com.

Two Business Courses Available This Winter
for Experienced Farmers

1. In-Depth Business Planning. The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, in cooperation with CISA, will offer an agricultural business planning course for folks looking to take their agricultural business to the next level. The popular course, “Tilling the Soil of Opportunity”, is an 11 week course which will meet weekly from mid-January through March, 2006 (day and time of course TBA).

At the end of the course, you will have a comprehensive and adaptable business plan which you can use to talk to lenders, family members, potential customers, and others. Weekly course topics include taking stock of your resources, planning and research, legal issues, marketing, budgeting, analyzing cash flow and financial statements, cultivating money resources, and using the plan.

The cost of the course is $300. Scholarships and payment plans are available. More than one person from each farm may participate. Enrollment is limited to 12 businesses.

Click here for more additional information about the course and to view a printable registration form.

Questions? Contact Rick Chandler, ABTP Director, MADAR,
413-577-0459; rchandler@umext.umass.edu

2. Schedule F as a business planning tool. “The Financial Bridge” course, offered by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, will help you develop meaningful financial statements and analysis tools for your agricultural enterprise. Participants learn how to flesh out summary data from their Schedule F, use a workbook and a spreadsheet (software included with course) to make the forms interactive. Visits with your accountant and tax preparer will be shorter, more useful, and less expensive! Family meetings will be more informed. The data gathered will make your annual farm tax experience less painful and more informative.

Three sessions. February/March 2006. Day and time of course TBA. Cost: $75. Limit: 10 businesses. Courses will be taught in a computer lab. You must have access to a computer with Microsoft Office/Excel to use the software.

Questions? Want to register? Contact Rick Chandler, ABTP Director, MADAR,
413-577-0459; rchandler@umext.umass.edu

Helpful Websites

Do your winter plans include internet research on new ideas and/or old problems? If so, here are a few websites that I’ve found useful that I’d like to share with you:

Women’s Agricultural Network, Vermont:
http://www.uvm.edu/~wagn/

Women’s Agricultural Network, Pennsylvania:
http://wagn.cas.psu.edu

Women’s Agricultural Network of Maine:
http://www.umaine.edu/umext/wagn

USDA Census of Agriculture:
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Census_of_Agriculture/index.asp

National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service:
http://attra.ncat.org

Building Better Rural Places: Federal Programs for Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry, Entrepreneurship, Conservation and Community Development:http://attra.ncat.org/guide/resource.pdf

Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources:
http://www.mass.gov/agr

New England Small Farm Institute:
http://www.smallfarm.org

Growing New Farmers
http://www.northeastnewfarmer.org

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group:
http://nesawg.org

Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, National Agricultural Library
http://nal.usda.gov/afsic

Cornell University’s Horticultural Business Management and Marketing Program:
http://hortmgt.aem.cornell.edu/smart_marketing/index.htm

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program:
www.uvm.edu/~nesare/

Yahoo! MA Women in Agriculture Group for On-Line Networking

I’m interested in learning about websites that you have found useful. These can be shared through the Yahoo! Group MA Women in Agriculture. If you haven’t already joined this group, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ma_women_in_ag/ to join and participate in on-line discussions, networking, and sharing of resources. It’s a great way to connect with other women in the network between meetings.

When joining the ma_women_in_ag Yahoo! Group, please specify your PREFERRED email address on the Join page. If you don't, Yahoo will automatically create an email address for you, and it is very likely you will never receive any emails or notices from the Group. You will wonder why the heck you are not getting a confirmation to your Join request!

When joining, also be sure to include your FIRST and LAST names, your STREET NAME and TOWN, and PHONE NUMBER (only the Moderator will see this, and it is simply for verification).

Any questions? Please contact the Moderator, Diane Kanzler of Greenfield, at 413-773-7368 (between 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.) or via email: farmitall@earthlink.net

____________________________
Funding for the CISA Women in Agriculture Program is provided by the USDA/RMA and the Harry Chapin Foundation.

The 2006 CISA Local Hero membership campaign is underway. If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of becoming a Local Hero Campaign member, visit
http://www.buylocalfood.com/Local%20Hero.htm on-line or contact Jennifer at (413) 665-7100 or jennifer@buylocalfood.com.

You have received this newsletter because you are on the CISA Women in Agriculture mailing list. To unsubscribe, send a message to jennifer@buylocalfood.com with the words “unsubscribe Women in Agriculture newsletter” in the subject line.

Happy New Year!

Therese Fitzsimmons,
CISA Women in Agriculture Program Coordinator
therese@buylocalfood.com