Stateline Farm Beginnings® is a yearlong course, with 60+ contact hours of class time, designed to help launch or expand your farm business. The program has three courses: Farm Dreams Intensive, Skills Building Practicum, and Farm Business Intensive.
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​The first course begins in Winter by shaping your dream farm into a functional farm proposal and a personalized learning plan. During Spring and Summer, you’ll work with an experienced farmer in the region toward specified goals in your declared interests. In Autumn, we’ll focus on business development and finance budgeting, resulting in a business plan developed around your farm proposal.

Most sessions feature a regional farmer or expert panel segment, where you’ll hear first-hand experiences of innovators and professionals. Sessions feature a collaborative, group-learning space for creating lifelong friendships within a new farming network. Presenters include: farmers, university professionals, accountants, attorneys, Extension educations, USDA program personnel, insurance providers, bankers, and more.

​Stateline Farm Beginnings® is open to anyone within the stateline area, including both rural and urban participants from Chicago, Rockford, Milwaukee, Madison, and everywhere in between. 
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BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and US Military Veteran community members are strongly encouraged to apply!

​Stateline Farm Beginnings® has 3 Sessions:

January to March - Farm Dreams Intensive

• Focus on goal-setting, writing a mission & vision statement, learning marketing strategies, planning for profit, creating a personalized learning plan, and developing a farm proposal

⇢Take this as a standalone course or as a part of the complete Stateline Farm Beginnings® program

March to October - Skill Building Practicum

• Visit farms in Northern Illinois, Southern Wisconsin, and the Chicagoland area during UM CRAFT Field Days
• Work one-on-one with an experienced, sustainable farmer in your areas of interested. Arrangements are flexible; taking location, employment and family into account

​October to December - Farm Business Intensive 

• Dive into budgeting, pricing strategies, completing and understanding financial statements, and developing a business plan

​In 2021, we went virtual. Weekly sessions during Winter were virtual & in real-time. Participants connected with one another and learned from regional farmers and experts without the commitment and cost of travel, while in the convenience and comfort of their homes.

2022 Information Packet

2022 SFB FAQs

Why Farm Beginnings® ?

The Farm Beginnings® model has emerged as an effective method of increasing the number of beginning farmers who are interested in building farm & food economies which are ecologically sustainable, equitable, and health-conscious.

​Stateline Farm Beginnings® (SFB) uses the Farm Beginnings® model and is a part of the Farm Beginnings Collaborative®.
​SFB has graduated nearly 300 sustainable farmers in the stateline region!

Farm Beginnings® is approved as an educational provider through the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency
(USDA - FSA).

Completion of this course fulfills the educational requirements for FSA loan applicants.

 Not ready to start a farm business?

Consider joining Upper Midwest CRAFT, our farmer training alliance!

Our Partners and Funders:

This work is supported by Strengthening Farmer Entrepreneurship through Regional Resources, Linkages, and Networks 
​[grant no. 2019-49400-30072] from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.