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: New colours and more durability for Case IH RB6 round balers

Farmers will see a new look and more efficiency and durability from Case IH's RB6 Series variable chamber round balers for model year 2026. In this report from the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois, Case livestock product specialist Brian Williams notes that the first thing farmers will notice is a new colour scheme. "For the tailgate, the frame, and also the pickup, we've changed to our Case IH red colour. One of the really nice things about changing that colour scheme is that you're able to see that crop flowing into the baler much better from the tractor." There's also changes to the pickup with the addition of a second roller. "On the 566 model, you can get it with the double windrower roller," says Williams. "For our customers that are baling corn stalks or large windrows, it helps to push that windrow down to let that feed into the chamber, so that they're able to bale a little bit faster, because everyone's looking for better efficiency." There are also modifications to the rollers in the bale chamber — the stripper roll and the fixed roll have been combined into a one-piece roller. "There's no welds on those rollers, so the dependability is going to be far greater than our previous model," adds Williams.