Help for Budding Farmers

By Leigh Glenn

So you think you wanna farm?    
    It’s easy to romanticize farming. Hard work, long hours and inflexible schedules are closer to the reality.
    Learn the ins and outs from Future Harvest — Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture’s Beginner Farmer Training Program. Applications are open thru November 1 for training beginning January 18 and 19 and continuing for eight weeks.
    The program begins at Future Harvest — CASA’s 14th Annual Farming for Profit and Stewardship Conference in Lansdowne, Va. An eight-week series of classes follows in Baltimore County and other locations.
    Beginning farm students will then be assigned to a qualified training farm to apply what they’ve learned. Next summer, they’ll work at farm field days. After graduation, new farmers may be eligible for farm start-up mini grants.
    Moving into its fifth year, Beginner Farmer Training is expanding to farms in western Maryland, the Eastern Shore, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
    To learn more or apply: Cathy Tipper, 410-218-3620, [email protected] or www.futureharvestcasa.org.