CCE Sullivan’s Farm and Food Business Training Program

Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County (CCESC) is offering two specialized training series, consisting of six sessions for Farm OR Food Businesses this winter. Participants will develop work with consultants, business owners, and Extension Educators to develop and write a Business Plan. Participants starting a new business or building on existing knowledge can benefit from this opportunity.

Workshops are held from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Extension Education Center on 64 Ferndale-Loomis Road in Liberty and Virtually through Zoom. Each series is only $50 per person for all six sessions. These series are tailored to separate business audiences within the Food System Industry. Your application information will assist in facilitation. Payment can be made in advance by check, cash, or credit.

Farm Business Training

Tuesday and Thursday Evenings – 5:30-7:30 P.M. – Early March

February 28^th – Planning Your Farm

March 2^nd – Production Practices

March 7^th – Business Plan Development

March 9^th – Enterprise Budget & Funding

March 14^th – Labor & Operations

March 16^th – Marketing & Agrotourism

Rose Wilson and Erik Hassert will lead our business planning and marketing training, alongside other guest speakers, including Richard E. Stup, Ph.D. Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development, Anthony Capraro, district conservationist for NRCS, and Greg Swartz, owner and farmer of Willow Wisp Organic Farm.  

Food Business Training Series

Tuesday and Thursday Evenings – 5:30-7:30 P.M. – Early April

April 4 – Planning Your Food Business

April 6^th – Business Plan Development

April 11^th - Operating & Logistics

April 13^th - Financial Planning & Funding

April 18^th – Local and Regional Markets

April 20^th - Marketing & Consumer Insights

Co-Sponsored by HVADC with support from the USDA Rural Business Development Grant #RO104160 70426 & a Local Food Promotion Project Grant #21LFPPNY1056-00

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The workshop series is part of CCE Sullivan’s Farm and Food Business Training Program. The program offers a step-by-step, hands-on approach to developing business and marketing plans for your farm or food business, along with providing technical assistance on licensing, permitting, value-added production, and more. In addition, the Farm and Food Business Training Program offers participants pathways to funding and other support services to help new farm and food businesses get off the ground, and existing farm and food businesses to improve and expand their operations. Participants of the workshop series will be eligible for low-interest loans through the Sullivan County Division of Planning and Community Development. New or existing farm and food businesses that participate in our business and marketing workshops also receive access to one on one assistance from professional consultants. These consultants can help to review your business and/or marketing plan for FREE!

Rose Wilson Consulting LLC - Supporting Farm and Food Producer Viability for more than 420 farms and food producers with the business launch, expansion, and exit; enterprise analysis; and market development. Rose's clients range from national NGOs such as Healthcare Without Harm, to state agencies and organizations including the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and Maine Farmland Trust, to established companies such as CROPP/Organic Valley, emerging brands such as Kingdom Creamery of Vermont, and small, mid and large-scale farms of all varieties. Rose brings a broad set of technical and people skills to each client and project and puts her clients first. In addition to serving individual clients, Rose immerses herself in improving the agricultural economy through regional research on the feasibility of new crops, services, and sales channels.

Erik Hassert is a business strategy and marketing consultant with over twenty years of experience helping farms, locally-focused food businesses, and non-profits stay in business and thrive. Prior to consulting, he served as the Director of Sales and Operations for Sun Fed Beef and Pork Farm, a diversified livestock farm in Madison County, NY, increasing its revenue by diversifying its marketing outlets and expanding its product offerings. Erik also co-owned and managed a successful whole animal retail butcher shop in NYC that sourced from producers in the Northeast. With an interest in working directly with a larger and more diverse community of small-scale producers and beginning farmers, Erik joined the GrowNYC’s Farmer Assistance team in 2007 as the Strategic Marketing Manager to provide business and marketing technical assistance to a variety of farmers in the NYC Greenmarkets such as specialty crop and farmers, bakers, value-added producers, and food hubs. Erik’s background and practice encompass a broad range of experience including branding, market channel, and customer behavior analysis, retail market display optimization, e-commerce, and website design, supply chain strategy, new product development, enterprise costing as well as wholesale readiness. 

Last updated March 10, 2023