University of Vermont offers farmer training

Mar 13, 2015

Six-month course offers education in variety of areas

It would be pretty hard for a new surgeon to perform successfully without any training, as it would for a chef to cook a fantastic meal or for a police officer to uphold the law.

Farming is no different. It requires a very specific, detailed set of knowledge and understanding and the University of Vermont is offering a program to the new and next generation of farmers and agricultural enthusiasts.

Their Farmer Training Program is a six-month hands-on program that will put students on the 10-acre Catamount Educational Farm where they’ll be responsible for tending to all aspects of the farm operation. The program starts May 11, 2015 and finishes on October 30, 2015 and costs $6,300 to enroll.

At the completion of their studies, graduates will leave with a certificate in Sustainable Farming from the University of Vermont, experience in producing organic crops from seed to market, a richer understanding of small-scale farm management, and the entrepreneurial skills to start their own farm business and a large network of resources at their disposal when they need them.

Former students of the program have used it as a jumping-off point for their future endeavours.

After attending the program in 2013, Tara Cote became the assistant director at the Sustainable Farm School in Hartford, Connecticut.

After his 2013 stay, Michael Good used his skills to start working at the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont as a coordinator of food security programs.

Join the discussion and tell us if this is something you or your child might be interested in attending in the future.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.