LSU AgCenter Grow Louisiana Program To Train Beginning Farmers

V. TODD MILLER

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

The LSU AgCenter will begin a free, yearlong training program for beginning farmers in Louisiana in February. 

Grow Louisiana provides whole-farm planning, horticulture and business training, online resources, support, networking and mentoring with the overall goal of increasing the success of agricultural communities by building a statewide network of sustainable small- to medium-scale horticulture farmers and providing tools and educational resources to new farmers. 

A beginning farmer is defined as those currently farming with fewer than 10 years of experience or those wanting to start farming. 

This year’s program is a continuation of previous yearlong beginning farmer trainings around the state. 

In 2024, the spring and fall program will consist of four Wednesday night sessions and two Saturday training days. The sessions will be held at the Hill Farm Teaching Facility on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge. The first session is Wednesday Feb. 21, from 6-8:30 p.m. There will be summer field days as well. Participants are expected to attend 13 of the 15 classroom sessions plus field days and other program activities. 

Participation is free and is funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Southeast Transition to Organic Partnership Program grant.

Applications for the program should be submitted by Feb. 4 at https://lsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_56K6LEYsGFZ6hBs

For more information, Grow Louisiana organizers can be reached at cmotsenbocker@agcenter.lsu.edu or (225) 578-1036.  ∆

 V. TODD MILLER: LSU AgCenter