ASAP | From Here | Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project

The 4th Annual Appalachian Farm School is pleased to offer a single, eight-week agribusiness training for farmers – bringing all your resources together in one place! Learn from regional experts, meet other WNC farmer, and connect with state agency representatives. Turn your interest in growing vegetables, fruits, herbs, other crops, and livestock into a sustainable agriculture-based business. This practical hands-on approach gives you the skills needed to create and strengthen a successful business venture. You will also be introduced to resources and contacts you need to run your business more efficiently and effectively.

Dates: Tuesdays, 6-9 pm, January 8-February 26 

Co-Sponsor(s): NC Cooperative Extension, NCDA

The friends of AG breakfast is a quarterly complimentqary breakfast featuring local food from Buncombe farms and an ag related speaker. Free and open to the public.

Jennifer Ferre of WNC Communities will speak about the WNC Ag Options Grant, what it entails, and the opportunity it provides to WNC farming communities. 

October 16, 7-8am
WNC Ag Center, Virginia Boone Building (Gate 5)
1301 Fanning Bridge Rd., Fletcher NC

A good time to start thinking about farm succession planning is when you have determined that running a farm operation will be your primary form of wealth building towards retirement. Whether you would like to shift your business model, transfer the farm to your children, or sell your operation intact, join area experts to learn more about your options. This half-day workshop will cover key aspects of developing a well-thought out farm succession plan, including tangible and intangible asset development, covenants and conservation easements, enterprise valuations, and the role of attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisers.

Led by: Kimberly Hunter of Mountain Bizworks and more farmers TBA
Friday, February 23, 9-1 pm
Location: Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, 588 Chestnut Gap Rd. Hendersonville, NC

Registration is $20 per person and can be purchased online or by calling 828-236-1282. Includes lunch. 

Farms of all production sizes face challenges in coordinating the needed labor to get their crops in and out of the field. Join us for a half-day workshop to hear from area farmers and agricultural professionals about the pros and cons of different labor models, strategies for connecting with and sustaining reliable labor, and regulatory issues to consider.

Led by: Craig Mauney of NC Cooperative Extension, William Shelton of Shelton Family Farm, Martha Calderon of Calderon Produce, and more.
Friday, February 23, 9 am-1 pm
Location: Buncombe or Henderson County, NC – location TBA soon

Registration is $20 per person and includes lunch. Register online or call 828-236-1282 to register over the phone. 

Join Mountain BizWorks, FSA, and Tumbing Shoals Farm for a lunchtime Farm Recordkeeping Webinar.

Where does your money go? Every farm and business needs accurate record keeping to be able to keep up with tax requirements and serve as a guide for planning. This workshop is an overview to the world of record keeping, bookkeeping and accounting for farm business owners designed to demystify the subject and serve as a guide to getting started or improving the systems you have in place. Included will be examples of record keeping practices and strategies in place by Jason Roehrig of Tumbling Shoals Farm that they use to gather important information about profitability of crops and enterprises.

There is no cost to participate in this webinar. Register online or contact Kimberly Hunter at kimberly@nullmountainbizworks.org with questions. 

Western NC Cooperative Extension Agents will be presenting a hands-on Intensive Vegetable Disease Workshop addressing major disease issues for commercial vegetable crops in our area.

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Each Thursday, ASAP’s programs take you behind the scenes of their work. This month, our programs share an insider’s look back at 2013 and ahead to the new year: The Local Food Campaign talks sticking to their BIG mission.

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Each Thursday, ASAP’s programs take you behind the scenes of their work. This week, our Local Food Campaign talks about Asheville City Market (did you know it’s an ASAP program?!) and their excitement about Saturday’s Tomato Festival.

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Each Thursday, ASAP’s programs take you behind the scenes of their work. This week, our Local Food Campaign shares they’ve begun production of ASAP’s Wholesale Local Food Guide, our trade directory just for farmers and food buyers!

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Each Thursday, our programs take you behind the scenes of their work. This week, our Local Food Research Center plans to go grocery shopping! They’re curious: Is what people say the same as what they do when it comes to buying local food?

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