By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

WILMINGTON, Ohio — What started out as a brainstorming session to help struggling tobacco farmers has turned into a college for new and small farmers.

Called the Southern Ohio New and Small Farm College, this eight-week program is for farmers interested in exploring land use options, expanding an agricultural or horticultural enterprise, or diversifying their operation. This program introduces new and seasoned farmers to a wide variety of agricultural production topics to help them diversify and explore new enterprises and new markets.

“Many program participants don’t expect to make a living off the land, but do want to recoup something,” said organizer Tony Nye, an Ohio State University Extension educator in Clinton County. “First-time farmers want their interaction with their land to be productive.”

Nye is one of 19 agriculture specialists who will lead the program.
“This concept for this program started around 2003 when the tobacco program was being eliminated,” Nye said. “We were discussing how to facilitate those tobacco farmers with small acreages and what type of enterprises could help replace that income, which was generated by tobacco in the past. This college grew out of those discussions.”

The program will teach participants how to set goals, plan, budget, and where to find resources available for them in starting a small farming operation. The courses will layout how to manage financial and farm records. Extension educators will illustrate many different enterprises that can be profitable on land as small as one acre. To round out the experience, a bus tour will be held around area farms to see first-hand how small farm life works, and also make contacts with practicing farmers in the area.

Previous Southern Ohio New and Small Farm Colleges have helped 420 individuals representing 338 farms from 43 Ohio counties improve the economic development of their small family-owned farms.

“We’ve been holding this type of schooling since 2005,” Nye said. “We have had some people in this program who had no property, but were interested in pursuing property in the 30-acre range. At the other end of the spectrum you have folks who are tenured in their land ownership and they’re taking the class to reaffirm what they’re doing.”

According to Nye, the average acreage of attendees is 70 acres. “But we’ve had a range of ownership from zero to 1,700 acres,” Nye said.

The program, sponsored by Ohio State University Extension, will be offered at three locations:

•Clinton County Extension and Agriculture Center, 111 S. Nelson Ave., Wilmington, Ohio on Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 4, through Feb. 22. Classes run from 6:30 - 9 p.m. each week. For more information, call 937-382-0901.

•Washington County Extension Office, 202 Davis Avenue, Marietta, Ohio on Thursdays, beginning Jan. 20 through March 10. Classes run from 6:30 - 9 p.m. each week. For more information, call 740-376-7431.

•Barnesville Library Annex in Belmont County, 611 N. Chestnut Street, Barnesville, Ohio on Thursdays beginning Jan. 20 through March 10. Classes run from 6:30 - 9 p.m. each week. For more information call 740-695-1455.

In addition to the 19 educators, also speaking will be Dr. Peggy Hall, director of Agriculture and Rural Law at Ohio State University. Hall will address areas of civil liability, property law, animal law, land use law and resource law.

Lesson plans by week include:
Week 1 – Goal setting, family matters, business planning, budgeting, resources.
Week 2 – Where to get assistance, OSU Extension, government agencies and programs.
Week 3 – Legal issues and taxes, fence laws and liabilities.
Week 4 – Financial, management and farm records. balance sheet and record keeping.
Week 5 – Assessing natural resources, to include forestry, timber, marketing, wildlife, ponds and more.
Week 6 – Crops and horticulture options. Forages, fruits, vegetables and The Green Industry.
Week 7 – Animal production (cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, horses, rabbits, poultry).
Week 8 – Marketing alternatives, direct marketing, cooperatives, agritourism, bed and breakfasts, niche markets.

“This college gives them a lot of ideas to think about, and it’s not just about production,” Nye said. “It’s more about how to get started. We talk about taxes, insurance, laws, farm management practices and the business structure of things. It’s an introductory short course for the new landowner or anyone wishing to learn how to make the most out of a few acres.”

The course is limited to the first 50 registrations per location. Registration is $150 per person and $50 for each additional family member. Fee includes resource materials, a soil test, refreshments and the bus tour.

For more information, contact Nye at the Clinton County Extension office at 937-382-0901 or e-mail nye.1@osu.edu, or log on to www.clinton.osu.edu