If you are looking for ways to make your hobby farm profitable, register now to attend our Farming 101 course. 

The 8-week course will be held from 6-9 p.m. and begins on Thursday, March 2 and goes through Thursday, April 20 at the St. Clair County Farmers Federation Auditorium, ALFA Building, 32775 U.S. Highway 231, Ashville.

This course was developed to help new farmers or farmers transitioning between commodities. For beginning farmers just determining what each government agency does can be very confusing. 

Likewise, trying to determine what crop or livestock to consider requires a great deal of thought and research. How do you plan to market what you produce? How will filing a Schedule F form affect my taxes? Find out the answers to these questions and much more by taking this course. 

Topics to be covered include:

· Basic Soils 

· Small Scale Livestock Production 

· Small Scale Poultry Production 

· Vegetable Production

· Small Fruit and Tree Fruit Production

· Marketing 101 

· Farm Financial Management and Resource Agencies 

· Value Added Products Dinner will be provided. 

Cost is $50/per person for all 8 classes or $10/per person, per class. To register, please call the St. Clair County Extension Office at (205) 338-9416. Registration deadline is Thursday, Feb. 16.

For more information, please contact Henry Dorough, Regional Extension Agent at 256-299-0512 or email dorouhd@aces.edu. Funding and support provided by Alabama Extension, ALFA Farmers—St. Clair County, and Alabama Farm Credit.