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Phase 1 – Online Basics
Learn the Fundamentals of Farming and Business
Are you ready to find out if farming is for you?
Phase 1 of the RU Ready to Farm program is designed to help answer that question through a series of online sessions covering the basics of starting a farm business in New Jersey. Gain confidence in your decision and get excited about becoming a New Jersey farmer with behind the scenes farmer guided farm tours, meetings with cooperative extension agents, and more!
Course topics include business planning, crop and site selection, equipment choice and use, plant disease and pest issues, marketing, and more. Gain access to top quality resources designed to help you develop your farm business.
The next course will start in May 2025. Registration will begin in April 2025; click the button below to be notified as soon as registration opens.
Registration fee: $500 for 2025 Session
Phase 1 runs from May – September and includes:
- Online asynchronous lecture videos, assignments, and quizzes
- Evening Zoom office hours every two weeks with our team of agricultural experts to go over course material and answer questions
- Four in-person tours of local farms
- Annual hands-on garlic planting workshop in November
- Completion of the online training is a prerequisite for acceptance into Phase 2 On-Farm Training.
Phase 2 – Farm Training
Get Your Hands Dirty!
Let’s put that new farming knowledge into practice!
Phase 2 of the RU Ready to Farm Program runs from February – October and is a hands-on training course that takes participants through an entire farm season. It consists of on-site work days as you and your fellow cohort members collectively manage a small diversified crop farm and run a Community-Supported Agriculture business (CSA). Guided by program staff along the way, you will learn season planning, planting strategies, pest and disease management, marketing, harvesting techniques, and more. Simultaneously, work with program staff and a farm coach to develop your own farm business plan.
- Those who have completed Phase 1 – Online Basics will be eligible to apply for this course.
- Registration fee: $1200 for individuals and $2000 for partners for the 2025 season
- Participants who perform well in this phase will be eligible to apply for the Phase 3-Farm Business Incubator.
Phase 3 – Farm Business Incubator
Launch your Farm Business
Take that farm business plan off of paper!
Phase 3 of the RU Ready to Farm program provides you with ongoing support and resources as you finalize and implement your farm business plan. Program staff and partners can meet with you to provide feedback on your business plan, help to place you on a farm to gain work experience, or connect you with resources to find your own land.
One option is to apply for a Farm Business Incubator. If your application is accepted, you can rent a 1/4 or 1/2 acre plot of land for up to three years at the program’s farm site. With access to provided resources such as irrigation, deer fencing, a BCS machine, cooler space, and more, this is the perfect opportunity to test out your business plan and gain experience while beginning to develop your market and customer base.
You will be fully responsible for implementing your business plan, but will receive advice and feedback from program staff as you take the final step in becoming a successful New Jersey farmer!
- Fees: $150/yr for a quarter acre, $300/yr for a half an acre.
- Select graduates of the Phase 2 – CSA Training will be accepted for an incubator plot. Acceptance depends on the strength of the application and demonstrated work ethic during Phase 2.
- Incubator participants will have bi-weekly field walks and monthly check-in meetings with program staff, and must keep up with plot maintenance to be eligible for a lease renewal each year.