Welcome to
Farm Business Management for the Global Majority
This 10-week online course is for farmers of Color to develop skills to manage and grow their operations by working collectively to break down the many systemic barriers that keep them from farming or from participating in farmer support programs.
2024 registration is closed. Click to sign up for our waitlist.
About the Course
Every Wednesday from 1 – 2:30 PM EST
January 17 – March 25, 2024
Cost: Free
The Farm Business Management for the Global Majority Series is an online course created specifically by and for Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, New Immigrant/New American and Brown farmers.
We affirm and recognize that people of the Global Majority (currently about 85% of the world’s population) have been historically oppressed in the United States, particularly through agricultural policies and practices.
This year, we are offering a 10-week course, running between January 17th and March 25th. Sessions will be held on Wednesdays, 1pm – 2:30 pm, with additional opportunities for support and peer-to-peer learning on Mondays from 1-2 pm and on online message boards.
Keesa V. Johnson, MDes
Co-Facilitator
shakara tyler, PhD
Co-Facilitator
Course Details
Course Topics
- The History of Racism and Social Activism in Agriculture
- Strategic Farm Planning
- Business Succession
- Cooperatives
- Racism, equity and trust with the USDA and State of Michigan
- Basics of Record Keeping and Accounting
- Benchmarking your Farm Business and Understanding Your Cost of Production
- Region-Specific, Race & Culture-Specific Marketing
- Tools of Lending and Funding
- Preparation & Understanding the Reality of Equity and Inclusion of Federal, State and Local Funding for Farms
- Crop and Disaster Assistance
Cost
This course is free to eligible participants, and all who complete at least 50% of the course and participate in its evaluation will receive a stipend of $500 and have the opportunity to have the cost of their farm’s recordkeeping software covered. Registrants will also be provided with a toolkit of hard copy and virtual resource materials, and access to a network of trusted service and technical assistance providers.
Format
All modules will be recorded and uploaded to a private YouTube channel for later viewing and to accommodate needs for self paced course access. Participants will be allowed to attend live sessions when available, or watch recorded sessions. Live meetings will be held via Zoom.
To this day, I access the syllabus and the resources from the course.
– previous participant
The facilitators were great. A wealth of experience, knowledge and information.
– previous participant
Questions?
Contact us!
A big thanks to our
Collaborators
This program, now in its third 3rd year, is funded through a co-operative agreement with the USDA, Risk Management Agency. It is co-developed through a collaboration between Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, Keep Growing Detroit, Michigan Food & Farming Systems, MSU Center for Regional Systems, and MSU
Additional leaders who have contributed to past and current course delivery include Tepfirah Rusdan (City of Detroit, formally KGD), Maria Graziani (USDA RMA, formerly MSU CRFS), Alita Kelly, R&D Innovations, Micah Hutchinson (Genesee Conservation District/MI On Farm Produce Safety), and MSUE Educators. We are thankful to the course’s past and present partners and participants who have been instrumental in creating and sustaining this course.
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