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Homesteading for a Profit

William Kelley and Jessica Kelton

Summary

Homesteading for a Profit was a six-session educational program series held in Jackson, Alabama in 2021. The series focused on entry requirements for new, beginning, and underserved producers into multiple small-scale agricultural enterprises. Producers were taught budgeting skills in the initial session, and then each subsequent session featured budgets for a different agricultural enterprise(s), along with physical and financial startup requirements for the given enterprise. Classes were taught by specialists and agents with both The Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Auburn University, as well as industry professionals and commodity leaders. Session topics included small-scale beef production, small-scale pork production, goat production, sheep production, poultry production, vegetable production, honeybee production and agritourism. A diverse group of 82 new and beginning farmers included 40 male and 42 female participants with 60 identifying as white and 22 identifying as black. Participant farm experience was extremely limited, so most of the program focused on decision making, business planning, and risk management as they sought to enter new enterprises. 

Details

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