Brownbag Virtual Food & Farm Business Planning Series

Brownbag Virtual Food & Farm Business Planning Series

Thursdays, March 16th, 23rd, 30th, April 6th, 13th & 20th
Noon-1pm EST
Zoom

Join Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County for a six-week virtual series focused on helping your create, or refine your farm, or food business, business plan. Each week we'll hear from experts in the field focused on different aspects of the business plan. The sessions will take place on six consecutive Thursdays, starting on March 16th, from noon to 1pm via zoom. There is no cost to join the sessions and the sessions will be recorded. But attending will enable you to ask questions of the presenters to be able to apply the concepts to your farm operation.

• Session One (March 16th): All Things Legal -- Keegan J. Coughlin & Caroline L. Myrdek, Coughlin & Gerhart LLP à The presenters will cover the typical business structures for farms and food businesses, the pros and cons, and walk thru the process for business formation.
• Session Two (March 23rd): The Three Financial Statements & How to Make Decisions -- Steve Hadcock, Capital District Area Ag & Horticulture Team à The presenter will discuss the three financial statements utilized in business operations (income statement, balance sheet & cash flow statement), the components required to create the statements, and how to make decisions based on the statements.
• Session Three (March 30th): Setting Up Systems for Keeping Records (Income, Expenses, Loan Payments, etc...) -- Mary Kate Mackenzie, South Central NY Dairy & Field Crops Team à The presenter will talk about methods for tracking income and expenses, loan payments, etc… and why we do this.
• Session Four (April 6th): Telling Your Story Through Social Media -- Molly McManus, Communications Coordinator, CCE Broome à Our presenter will discuss how you can use social media to tell your farm or food business story, best practices, and a social media calendar you could use to create efficiencies in marketing.
• Session Five (April 13th): Human Resources On Your Farm - Yes, your family is considered farm labor! -- Liz Higgins, Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Team à Our presenter will discuss best practices and approaches for human resources on your farm. How to create job descriptions and compensation packages to match farm responsibilities.
• Session Six (April 20th): Financing Your Farm Dream à We’ll hear from some agricultural lenders on how to finance your farm dream. They will discuss various loan programs for both farms and food businesses.

We can't wait for you to join us for the session! Registration is required to receive the zoom links for the series. Any questions can be directed to Laura Biasillo at lw257@cornell.edu. Registration for the zoom series can be found here.

Last updated March 16, 2023