Extension to help rural landowners start business
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Rural landowners can better understand how to run a successful business enterprise by attending one of two workshops sponsored by Purdue Extension and other organizations with expertise in natural resources.
One workshop will be held Sept. 7 at Snider’s Maple Syrup in New Paris in Elkhart County; the other will be Sept. 8 at Piney Acres Farm in Hancock County’s Fortville.
Participants will learn how to manage their land’s resources, market their enterprise and reduce their liability. There also will be information on insurance and zoning considerations and on different types of agritourism and other enterprises.
Morning presentations will focus on revenue potential from a natural resources enterprise, examples of such operations, business feasibility and planning, and liability and legal consequences.
In the afternoon, participants will go to farms that have agritourism operations. The field trip in Elkhart County will involve maple syrup production, woodland management, and wildlife habitat management. The Hancock County field trip will highlight Christmas tree production; corn mazes, hayrides and other attractions; food handling and sales; and outdoor recreation.
Resource materials, lunch and refreshments will be provided at both workshops.
Deadline for early registration of $35 per person for each day’s program is Aug. 31, with on-site registration of $45. Programs start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m.
More information is available online at https://www.ag.purdue.edu/fnr/pages/nre.aspx or by contacting the Elkhart County Extension Office at 574-533-0554 or the Hancock County Extension Office at 317-462-1113.
Workshop sponsors are the Farm Bureau and Extension organizations in Elkhart and Hancock counties, Indiana Agricultural Law Foundation, Indiana Farm Bureau Inc., Mississippi State University Extension, Mississippi State University Forest and Wildlife Research Center, Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Writer: Keith Robinson, 765-494-2722, robins89@purdue.edu
Source: Brian MacGowan, 765-647-3538; macgowan@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
Agriculture News Page