Farm Business Training Program

Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County (CCESC) offers a specialized farm business training series each year. Participants will 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 live sessions via Zoom and parallel participation through Teachable. Each series is only $20 per person for all four sessions, upon acceptance. These series are tailored to separate business audiences within the Farm System Industry. 

2025 Training Dates

October 20th, October 27th, November 3rd, November 10th

Monday Evenings – 5:30-7:30 P.M.

SESSION 1: Planning Your Farm & Production Practices

SESSION 2: Business Plan Development

SESSION 3: Bookkeeping and Financial Management

SESSION 4: Marketing

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The workshop series is part of CCE Sullivan’s Farm Business Training Program. The program offers a step-by-step, hands-on approach to developing business and marketing plans for your farm business, along with providing technical assistance on licensing, permitting, value-added production, and more. In addition, the Farm Business Training Program offers participants pathways to funding and other support services to help new farm businesses get off the ground, and existing farm 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 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.

Kendra Payne is the owner and operator of The Herbal Scoop. She has worked in the wellness industry for over 12 years as an herbalist, yoga teacher, health coach, juice cleanse concierge, and a meditation teacher. Through her own experience, Kendra created The Herbal Scoop to offer the opportunity for people to heal on their own terms. Her farm business produces a wide range of products from herbal tea blend, bulk herbs, elixirs, extracts, and skin care products. Kendra sells her products through her website and her store at the Callicoon Marketplace in Narrowsburg, NY.

https://www.theherbalscoop.com/

Kimberly Hickok is the founder of Marketing Kangaroo, a consultancy offering expertise in brand strategy, messaging, marketing plans, and web strategy. She has worked across a wide range of industries, including eCommerce, startups, agriculture, retail, and brick-and-mortar businesses, helping organizations strengthen their brands, connect with customers, and grow. Marketing Kangaroo is a New York State certified MWBE.

https://www.marketingkangaroo.com/ 

Jack Whettam is a British native, who initially made the move to the US with his wife Melissa and was working in sales in marketing. Around 2016, Melissa and Jack decided to pursue farming. They both apprenticed on Kern Family Farm, becoming part of their management team. This experience inspired them to start their own farm, Hidden Acre Farm. Their farm is 15 acres located in Bloomingburg, NY and specializes in the production of vegetables and flowers. Their farm is Certified Organic, and they grow with the goal of promoting the health of the soil and conserving the native ecosystem on their land.

https://www.hiddenacre.farm/

Emily Tybur joined Foodshed Capital in April of 2022. As Director of Programs, she supports FoodCap applicants and borrowers throughout the lending and repayment process and oversees the ongoing refinement of our underwriting process. She works closely with other staff to design, implement, and report on our business support programming, and always has her finger on the pulse of USDA funding opportunities. Emily relocated from Colorado to Virginia in 2021 to serve as the Managing Director of the Josephine Porter Institute of Applied Biodynamics. Prior to that position, she spent five years directing the Urban Greenhouse Program at Groundwork Denver, an organization with a mission focused on environmental and social justice. Before transitioning to nonprofit work, Emily spent ten years working in a variety of agricultural areas where she gained familiarity with a wide range of crops and livestock, including time in vineyards, small scale market farms, beekeeping, and three years as a stockman at Capering Goat Dairy, a raw milk cooperative in Boulder, CO. 

https://www.foodcap.org/

Co-Sponsored by HVADC with support from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture award #2022-06508, through the American Rescue Plan Technical Assistance Investment Program.

Last updated September 9, 2025