I am excited to announce my first original Extension program for Cook County! It is with great excitement to bring to you the Master Urban Farmer Training Program:

 

Mission Statement: The Master Urban Farmer Training Program is designed to provide new urban farmers in Cook County the introductory knowledge and skills to start an urban farm. At the end of the program it is expected that participants will be able to write a viable business plan and have the information necessary to move forward with their urban farming goals.

Learning Objectives:

• Develop the basic knowledge of the applied science behind urban farming systems.
• Awareness of practices and procedures that participants could utilize in their own operations
• Understand the financial and marketing tools needed to manage a profitable farm. This includes developing the beginnings of a business plan.

Who Should Take This Program?

• Entrepreneurs who want to start an intensive urban produce farm operation.
• Community members in underserved/food insecure communities who want to develop their food production skill set in order to increase food security and/or establish a community food system project in their neighborhood.
• Master Gardeners and Naturalists interested to intensify their food production skill set.
• Educators who want to bring food production knowledge back to their organization.
• New growers interested in more intensive training programs, but not sure if they want to commit the time or the money.
• Anyone who is interested in Urban Farming!

Tentative Course Schedule could include the following topic areas:

ü Introduction to Master Urban Farmer Program

ü Introduction to Urban Agriculture

ü Site Selection Issues

ü Soil Testing for Urban Sites

ü Basic Plant Science

ü Soil Quality & Soil Health

ü Compost

ü Vegetable Production, Planning, and Scheduling

ü Fruit Production in Urban Settings

ü Tomato Production

ü Season Extension Techniques

ü Transplant Production

ü Insects & Diseases

ü Integrated Pest Management

ü Bees & Native Pollinators

ü How to Choose a Farm Enterprise

ü Business Planning for Gardens or any Urban Agriculture Project

ü Marketing Bootcamp (How to market your products in any setting)

ü Farmers Markets

ü Tools & Storage

ü Irrigation

ü Food Safety & GAP's

ü Post-Harvest Handling

ü Grants and other Farmer Programs

ü Keeping it Legal

ü Field Day(s) at our demonstration farm in Matteson, IL

ü Graduation!

To be added to an interest list for the next session please click here.