Introducing…FACT’s Free Short Courses for Farmers

Written by Samantha Gasson, Humane Farming Program Associate

FACT has a fantastic array of resources for farmers that has been developed over the years. From nutritional information that helps farmers sell their pasture raised products, to webinars with star-studded (at least in the humane farming world) presenters who share technical expertise, to grants that help farmers use best practices and now, Short Courses.

You read that right, FACT now has a Humane Farming School on the Teachable platform with Short Courses which take two to six hours to complete. We’ve taken all our terrific educational materials (webinars, websites, infographics, etc…) organizing them in an easy to digest format, adding new content, filling in any gaps.

Currently we have one live Short Course called “Beginning Pastured Poultry” available. We plan to launch a second called “Getting your Farm Funded” very soon. We have several more courses in the works, including “Raising your Small Ruminant Right”, “Cows, Buffalos and Llamas, Oh My!” and “Setting up Your Farmers’ Market Stall”.

This coming winter we have plans to add grazing and pasture management courses utilizing the plethora of webinars FACT has hosted on this fascinating subject.

You don’t have to be a farmer to consume this content. Taking our free courses are an easy way for those of you who want to educate yourselves about humane and regenerative farming. You’ll be able to talk “shop” with your farmer, making it easier to know what to look for on the shelves and at the farmers’ market. Even if you have no intention of putting a single hoof or claw on your property, it’s nice to know what it takes to make it happen.

Looking at this addition objectively, it was only a matter of time before we moved into the world of online classes. When you’ve got an innovative Humane Farming Program Director with a coworker passionate about teaching others the nuts and bolts of humane and regenerative farming (that’s me!), there wasn’t much of a chance it wouldn’t happen.

Luckily Larissa and I have a fantastic support system in place with our indispensable Executive Director, Harry Rhodes and our colleagues in the Safe and Healthy Food Program, we have a lot of freedom to create and invent.

I love my job!

Be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming Short Courses as the autumn and winter progress by signing up for our farmer newsletter.

You can help keep this important educational content free for all by donating to FACT.