Farmer Bootcamp supports new small-farm landowners with knowledge and planning for success

Published: 2019
By Patrick Mangan

Ravalli County MSU Extension hosted the second annual Farmer Bootcamp class series in the spring of 2019. This nine-week course included classroom instruction, guest speakers, and field trip opportunities to connect new small farm owners with the tools and information to develop and implement farm management plans for their small spaces. Topics of instruction included soil health, plant communities, weed management, livestock integration, high-value crop opportunities, and land evaluation skills. Field trips to orchards, small farms in the area, and to the Western Agriculture Research Station helped build knowledge and ideas for each participants’ own farm. Each farm owner developed a set of goals, implementation timeline, and budget for projects that became the framework for a farm management plan. Jeff, a small farm owner said of the class, “I learned a lot, and it really helped me focus my goals for my property and plan the steps necessary to bring those goals to life. The class was also the motivation I needed to take the plunge into farming.”