Project Overview
This project trained beginning producers in Michigan (<10 years of experience), both English and Spanish speaking, in foundational farm business management knowledge. Farm business management is critical for immigrant Latino producers as past studies have found they lack financial resources, have difficulty obtaining loans and have limited information sources. After course completion producers are implementing the knowledge gained on their farm to ultimately enhance cash flow, profitability, and financial performance. An online course was developed that includes cohort and one-on-one educator-participant interactions. The online course consists of 8 modules, taking approximately 4 months. The course, called Farm Money Matters: Farm Business Management, addressed financial and human risks including strategic farm management, record keeping and accounting basics, financial statements, business analysis, record keeping methods, enterprise and partial budgets, business succession and how to use your records for management decisions.
Curriculum was tested with a cohort of 3 English speaking producers. Next, eight English speakers completed the full first course offering (attrition of 3 producers from 11 enrolled). We used both online evaluation surveys and focus groups to evaluate the quality and impact of the curriculum. The curriculum was translated to Spanish, with 4 producers currently enrolled in the course.
Number of Participants: 15
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
There are no promotional materials available for this project.
EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
There are no educational materials available for this project.
REPORTS & EVALUATIONS
There are no reports or evaluations available for this project.