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NEW FREE FARM BUSINESS PLANNING PROGRAM

BY DIEGO FLAMMINI, FARMS.COM

A new free program is available for Canadian farmers to help them with multiple facets of operating a farm business.

Entitled The University of Guelph (U of G) with support from Farm Credit Canada and Royal Bank of Canada, created the Foundations in Agriculture Management program. The online certificate program, which opened for registrations January 17, is made up of eight 20-minute video modules featuring U of G professors discussing various topics including business planning basics, human resources, risk management and mental health. “Everyone who has been involved sees the value in this for Canadian agriculture and how we can support Canadian farms and farm families,” Dr. John Cranfield, associate dean of external relations at the U of G’s Ontario Agricultural College, told Farms.com. The program is open to all farmers across Canada and there is a French version available. The U of G will offer the course four times this year: • January to March • April to June • July to September • October to December

Participants study the modules at their own pace and must complete a short quiz before starting the next one. The goal of the program is to help Canadian farmers make better agribusiness decisions. What that means depends on the individual operation, Cranfield said. “The first step to making a better business decision is to have a plan,” he said. “Our first module teaches the basics of business planning. It’s not just about doing things but looking at what the effects of those actions are. But if you’re a farm with employees, that plan might be different. So that’s where our human resource management module would be ideal.”