Making It Happen: Profitability and Success (Central MA)

Date:

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Time: 

12:00pm – 5:00pm

Location:

Union Station  2 Washington Sq. Worcester, MA 01608

Cost:

Free

Related Program(s):

     

 

Making It Happen: Profitability and Success will help small farmers build sound financial systems and use those systems to make business decisions. Farmers will learn about effective financial management tools and how and when to use them to improve their farm business. The workshop will help farmers: improve productivity, reduce costs, increase net farm income, and improve overall quality of life. Participants may also sign up for one-on-one financial planning assistance (see Ask the Experts below).

Lunch will be provided by Central Mass Grown!

Workshop Prerequisite:

Participants should have an understanding of basic farm accounting and three financial statements: the cash flow statement, profit and loss statement, and balance sheet.

Prerequisites may be filled by viewing The Carrot Project’s webinars “Basic Accounting for Farmers I and II at: www.thecarrotproject.org/farmer_resources/past_webinars

Ask the Experts:

Ask the Experts is a time to sit down with specialists after the day's workshop to work on financial planning critical to your farm's success. Meet 1-on-1 with workshop presenters Noelle Fogg or Benneth Phelps. Meetings are spent reviewing year end financials, cash flow budgets or business plans, evaluation farm financing options, decision making around financing or other financial management challenges. Please specifythe type of questions you have so that we can make sure we pair you with the right consultant. Send your questions for the session or documents you would like reviewed when you sign up with Evie Toland at etoland@thecarrotproject.org. Sessions will last 30 minutes each.

 

Benneth Phelps is Loan and Business Assistance Manager at The Carrot Project, a non-profit offering financing and assistance to both farms and food enterprises in the Northeast. Originally a fruit and vegetable farmer by training, she has a decade of experience farming in New England and has worked with The Carrot Project since 2011.

Noelle Fogg is the Farmland Matching Coordinator at New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, a non-profit working with new farmers to build strong businesses, expertise in the field, and a resilient food system. She has worked with New Entry as the Farm Business Planning Course Teaching Assistant and previously worked as the Technical Assistance Coordinator at Julia Shanks Food Consulting where she provided clients with business planning and financial analysis tools.

*General workshop questions and inquiries: noelle.fogg@tufts.edu

**Free validated parking will be available at the garage at 217 Franklin St.

*** In case of inclement weather, snow date for the workshop will be Jan. 21

**** For more info on Making It Happen: http://www.thecarrotproject.org/farmer_resources/making_it_happen