COLUMBIA, Tenn. — Farming isn't just about planting seeds and growing crops. It's about managing a whole business and watching it grow, too.
To help farmers more effectively run their businesses, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is offering a boot camp for farmers who want to learn skills they can use off the field.
At these boot camps, participants will learn business-planning basics, how to calculate food product costs, how to market their crops, how to create merchandising displays and how to research marketing trends. The boot camps will also teach farmers about food safety when selling directly to customers at farmers' markets or at roadside stands.
The University of Tennessee Extension program and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture will teach six workshops. They will be held on at different cities across the state in March:
- Martin: March 3
- Selmer: March 4
- Centerville: March 5
- Elizabethton: March 17
- Livingston: March 18
- Coalmont: March 19
Training will be the same at each location, and check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. They will last between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
There is no cost to register and lunch will be provided. However, participants are required to preregister at least five business days in advance. Anyone interested in attending can register for the boot camps online.
