The PLANT (People Learning Agriculture Now for Tomorrow) Farm Enterprise Incubator seeks to revitalize agricultural activity in Orange County and the Piedmont Region through training on small scale sustainable farming techniques with a focus on vegetable production.

The Field component of the farm incubator will be held at the WC Breeze Family Farm Extension and Research Center in Northern Orange County at the corner of Walnut Church Grove Road and Schley Road.

The program consists of eight workshops held on Wednesday evenings from 6pm to 9pm at the Cooperative Extension Food Lab, 306 Revere Road, in Hillsborough.  The schedule is as follows:

• January 7 Whole Farm Planning
• January 14 Plants, Soils, Irrigation, & Equipment
• January 21 Planting, Harvesting, & Crop Rotations
• January 28 Marketing Opportunities & Challenges
• February 4 Insects & Diseases
• February 11 Weeds, Mulches, and Season Extension
• February 18 Enterprise Development, Recordkeeping, Taxes, and Resources
• February 25 Integrating Livestock into your Farm

Following the workshop and completion of a business plan and crop plan, farm trainees will be able to tend land in 1/4 acre increments and utilize equipment provided by the PLANT at Breeze Program.

The cost is $100 for all eight workshops, and $15 for any individual workshop.  Workshops and schedule subject to change.

Click here for the registration form.

Click here for a course description en Espanol.

For assistance, call Beverly Shuford at (919) 245-2050.