ST. PAUL, Minn. – Specialty crop growers and small farm operators can improve their business skills at a daylong workshop in Hutchinson on February 4, 2012. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), Ridgewater College and the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association are sponsoring the event.
“Good financial and business management are key to farm prosperity,” said MDA agricultural specialist Meg Moynihan. “Growers who are facing decisions about the size of their operation, what they produce, labor, or marketing will all find value in this seminar.”
Attendees can choose from breakout sessions on goal setting, recordkeeping, financing, cash flow and budgets, marketing, interpreting financial data, calculating the cost of production, and business planning. All sessions will be led by experienced growers and farm business management instructors associated with Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU).
The workshop will be held Saturday, February 4, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at Ridgewater College, 2 Century Avenue in Hutchinson. Registration is $50 per person, although additional people from the same farm operation pay only $25 each. A brochure is available at www.ridgewater.edu/programs/FarmBusinessManagement or by calling call instructor Steve Zenk at 507-430-9202.
