If you are ready to start or expand your farm business, the Farm Business Planning Course is for you!
In this course, you will learn how to:
- Create a mission and vision for your business
- Develop a budget and a plan to fund your business
- Create a marketing plan for your business
- Set goals and create a timeline for your farm business to grow
- Weave those elements together into a cohesive business plan
Course Details:
The live versions of the courses meet online on Tuesdays from 6pm to 8:30pm Eastern Standard Time for 8 consecutive weeks (Oct-Nov and Jan-Feb). Each evening session is filled with information and activities that will help you write your farm business plan. The Farm Business Planning course is designed to help you create a written plan to start or expand your farm business. Graduates of the course can apply to join our Incubator Farm Program.
The live (Fall and Winter) versions of this course are recognized by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) as fulfilling one of their financial management training requirements.
Self-Paced Course
For those who don't want to wait until the next live session offered in October, this discounted self-paced version can be enjoyed now. Because we're offering it at such a discount, we won't be giving feedback on any of the optional assignments, but you will have access to all of the content and recorded presentations of the full-priced version.
Cost: $200
Registration: Register here. On the first page of the registration, under “CHOOSE YOUR PROGRAM” please select “Farm Business Planning Course”. On the second page, under “CHOOSE YOUR COURSES” select “Farm Business Planning - Self-Paced”.
Fall 2025 Session:
Dates: Tuesday evenings, October 7th - November 25th
Time: 6-8:30pm
Location: Online
Cost: $450, need-based scholarships and scholarships for veterans are available
Instructors: Ben Zoba, Julien Barrere, and Leah Jurman (with the participation of excellent guest speakers)
Winter 2026 Session:
Dates: Tuesday evenings, January 13th - March 3rd
Time: 6-8:30pm
Location: Online
Cost: $450, need-based scholarships and scholarships for veterans are available
Instructors: Ben Zoba, Julien Barrere, and Leah Jurman (with the participation of excellent guest speakers)
How to Register:
Step 1: Fill out the Registration Form here.
Step 2: Pay for the course by following the prompt in the email you recieve after registering.
You will be enrolled once you pay for the course. As the start date of the course approaches, you will receive an email with details about the class.
Scholarships: We are able to offer a limited number of scholarships to those in financial need. Once we have all required information from you via the above registration form, we will get in touch with you regarding your scholarship acceptance and the discount that we can provide. You will then be asked to pay for the class using a discount code that we will provide for you.
Two business partner option: If you would like to bring a business partner to the class, the second person will only have to pay 50% of the registration fee. Please fill out one “Registration Form” for each partner. When purchasing tickets in Tufts E-Commerce System, you will purchase two tickets, one for the full registration amount and one for the discounted amount, labeled “Farm Business Planning Class-Business Partner Ticket”. In addition to the 50% discount, one business partner may still apply for a scholarship.
For any questions about the course, contact Ben Zoba at benjamin.zoba@tufts.edu.