CBretThe Flash
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, W2493 County Road ES, is hosting a series of “Whole Farm Workshops.” Schedule and details below:
Pastured Pork & Grass-fed Beef
Feb. 4, 9 a.m. – noon
Pastured pig management and grassfed beef can reliably produce outstanding pork & beef, differentiated by taste and nutritional value.
Instructor Steve Deibele and his wife Marie, have operated a small certified organic farm, Golden Bear Farm, since 2002 that produces grass-fed beef and pastured Berkshire hogs. He was formally trained as an electrical engineer, and brings an analytical perspective to the operation continually experimenting to improve systems.
Location: Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, East Troy
Workshop Fee: $40
Opportunities with the Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Feb. 9 & March 23, 6-7:30 p.m.
Spend the evening with Tom Olsen, Walworth County Executive Director of the FSA and learn about some of the Conservation programs, Disaster Assistance, Farm Loan Programs and more that FSA has available.
Location: Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, East Troy
Workshop Fee: suggested donation $10
Small Farm Business Planning
Feb. 11 9 a.m. – noon
The Small Farm Business Planning workshop will focus more on beginning farmers. The workshop will touch on many of the same topics as the Farm Finances workshop, but at a more basic level.
It will also discuss setting up a recordkeeping system, preparing enterprise budgets, cash flow planning, calculating family living costs and other topics that are more critical for a beginner.
Instructor Paul Dietmann is Emerging Markets Specialist with Badgerland Financial, a member-owned rural lending cooperative and Farm Credit System institution serving southern Wisconsin. Paul leads the co-op’s beginning farmer program and its Emerging Markets Loan Program, which provides loans to farmers who are marketing their products direct to consumers.
Prior to joining the staff at Badgerland, Paul spent 16 years with the State of Wisconsin; 11 years as a county agriculture agent with the University of Wisconsin-Extension and five years as director of the Wisconsin Farm Center, which is the farmers’ assistance program in the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). He served as Wisconsin’s Deputy Secretary of Agriculture in 2010. He is co-author of the book Fearless Farm Finances: Farm Financial Management Demystified.
Location: Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
Workshop Fee: $40
For more information, contact the Workshops Coordinator at (262)-642-3303 ext 100 or workshops@michaelfields.org
