Farmer Short Courses are off-season workshops around the topics our farmers identify as most needed. Covering both technical and business skills, these have included small engine repair, tool sharpening and welding, soil science, farmland access, farm finances, profitability, seed sovereignty, and federal food safety regulations.
Short Courses typically run during the winter months, when most growers have more flexible time. Courses can be one-day workshops or run for a series of weeks, taught in collaboration with various partners and organizations including but not limited to University of RI Co-op Extension, The Carrot Project, NOFA/RI, NOFA/MA, Ground Work, Southside Community Land Trust (SCLT), Freed Seed Federation, RI Food Policy Council, and others.
Winter Short Courses of 2024!
Seed-to-Seed Farm School - Build Your Farm
Tuesdays, February 13th - March 12th 6:00am - 7:30pm
Event will be held remotely on Zoom
5 Class Farm Financial Course through Seed to Seed Farm School, Taught by John Kenny of Big Train Farm.
Year-round farm business development for dream farms, current start-ups, and established operations.
More information and Registration Here!
Labor Movement - Movement Workshop
Friday, March 8th, 10:00am - 12:00pm
Frontier Farm - Westerly, RI
Movement Workshops are an opportunity to explore better body mechanics and movement patterns in order to decrease injury potential, increase efficiency and extend career longevity.
Community Seed Exchange and DIY Farm Cart Build Demo with FARMHACK
Sunday, March 10th, 12:00am - 3:00pm
Mowry Commons - Smithfield, RI
Bring seeds you've collected, extra seeds from past growing seasons, native seeds, fruit and nut seeds, or even plant clippings. Do you have a favorite willow or spider plant that you love sharing?! If you don't have seeds, no problem. There will be plenty to share.
This year, we've been working with Farm Hack to bring you all a DIY FarmCart Build demo. This farm cart is a no-weld cart that maximizes the crates you can carry and keeps things affordable for small scale growers. Don Blair will be our instructor!
Mending & Industrial Sewing Course
Join us on March 30th, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Event will be held in Westport, MA - Exact address w/ Registration
Farmers can bring clothes, banners, ez-up tents, tarps, boots, gloves, or other sewing projects to mend. With a fleet of industrial sewing machines, Lu & Chris Yoder will walk us through making all your worn and torn garments fixed up for the season!
Registration To be Announced Soon
Previous short courses that we’ve organized in the past are:
Seed Sovereignty Day with Freed Seed Federation
Welding for Farmers at the Steel Yard
Sharpening Tools with Wright Deter
Sewing to Repair Your Battered Workwear
Flowering Together: the ins and outs of growing and designing local flowers with Anna Jane Kocon & Jill Rizzo
Wash Station Design within and outside of FSMA Produce-Safety Regulations
Farm Finances
Vegetable Pest ID and Management
Small Engine Mechanics with Carl Sawyer (URI)
Tractor Basics with Freedom Food Farm
Soil Science and Fertility Management
Assessing & Preparing Land for Farming
Composting to Build Fertility on your Scale
Infrastructure Development
Irrigation and Water Systems