WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF MY FARM?

Duration: 6 classes, each 3 hours (with snacks and beverages provided, please bring a lunch)  

Objectives: Empower participants to apply holistic whole-farm principles, enhance farm operations, and begin drafting a Whole Farm Plan that aligns with personal goals, the capacity of the land-base, ecological sustainability, and financial viability.  

About the Course

Are you looking to create a sustainable, thriving farm that aligns with your values and vision? "What is the Future of My Farm?" is a hands-on, interactive course designed for farmers seeking to optimize their operations and develop more resilient farming systems. This course will help you define your farm's future, assess its current state, and create a plan for achieving your whole-farm goals, now and in the future.  

Through engaging discussions, practical activities, and guidance, participants will explore topics such as resource assessment, ecosystem processes, and decision-making to make your farm thrive into the future.

Course Overview

Session 1: Introduction to the Whole-Farm Planning Process 

What do you want farming to do for you? What does your farm need to become THAT farm? 

This session helps participants understand their farm's current state and envision its future. You’ll reflect on and clarify your goals, analyze strengths and challenges, and engage in group discussions to articulate a vision for your farm.  

Session 2: Assessing Your Whole-Farm Resource Base  

Explore how your desired changes impact key ecosystem processes and soil health on your farm, and vice versa.  

You’ll categorize your farm’s resources—social, ecological, and financial—and connect your goals to achieve more proactive and productive resource management.  

Session 3: Making Desired Changes: Tools, Cause/Effect, and Weak-Link Analysis  

Learn how to explore and select tools to address challenges and implement changes.  

This session introduces key concepts like cause/effect relationships, weak-link analysis, and tool selection. Participants will refine their goals, visions, and priorities while brainstorming solutions tailored to their unique farm contexts.

Session 4: Decision-Making Process and Testing Questions

Make informed, holistic decisions to achieve your goals. 

 You’ll use a holistic decision-making system with testing guidelines to evaluate tools for implementing farm changes, ensuring they align with your goals and enhance ecological and financial sustainability.  

Session 5: Forming the Plan 

Begin building your Whole Farm Plan. 

 This session focuses on creating actionable goals, tactics, strategies, and timelines for your farm. You’ll use tools like partial budget analysis and Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Rewarding, Recordable, Timed (SMARRT) goals to refine your decisions and develop a practical implementation plan.  

Session 6: Adding Details to the Plan

Finalize your Whole Farm Plan and prepare for the future.  

In the final session, you’ll flesh-out more details in your Whole Farm Plan, incorporating detailed steps, timelines, and strategies for monitoring and reassessment for 2025.

Beyond the Course

You will continue the planning process with advisors to complete a Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the future of your farm. 

Who Should Attend? 

This course is ideal for farmers who want and need to make near-term improvements and want to build a solid future for their farms, but don’t have a clear plan to get there. Whether you’re experienced or new to farming, you’ll gain valuable insights and tools to help your farm thrive into the future.  

What You’ll Gain:  

• The foundational structure for a Whole Farm Plan tailored to your goals and resources.  
• A deep understanding of holistic, whole-farm management principles and their practical applications.  
• Skills, tools, and frameworks to assess resources, make decisions, and plan for the future.  
• Strategies for continuous monitoring, reassessment, and improvement.  

Join us for this transformative journey to reimagine the future of your farm!  

For more information, contact Willie Gibson at willie.nrcd@gmail.com

This course is designed for participants who have experience with some version of the holistic management model, such as last year's course "What is the Future of My Farm?", NOFA-VT's "Farm Beginnings" course, or other Holistic Management-based applications. This course is inspired by the Holistic Management concepts & principles.

Participants should gain a deeper understanding and apply to their farms the following:

a.) Development and use of the Context/Holistic Goal and Holistic Management decision-making matrix.  

b.) Grow healthier & more rewarding Relationships within each farm's Whole Resource Base – People-Landscape-Ecosystem Processes-Money - and their relationship to the larger water basin, community, and markets.  

c.) Gain Resiliency from Enhanced Management by pushing oneself out of conventional/historical/self-contained perspectives to engage learning, strategies, protocols, and external resources - to Optimize actions, finances, and mindfulness for achieving The Goal.  

d.) Application of the holistic financial management mindset & processes – making money work for the Good of the farm, rather than the Good farmer working with a lack of money.  

The ultimate objective is for each participant to develop a comprehensive plan – land-uses, enterprises, tactics, for a financially/socially/ecologically Thriving farm with viable, flexible & resilient short-, mid-, and long-term strategies.