VGCC to offer Agricultural Entrepreneurship program in Warren & Franklin counties
The Vance-Granville Community College Small Business Center is bringing the “NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship” program to Warrenton and Louisburg, starting in October.
The seven-week course is designed specifically to help local farmers and budding entrepreneurs succeed in developing profitable, environmentally-sound small farms or agricultural businesses. VGCC has previously offered the course in Henderson and in Oxford.
In Warren County, the course will meet on Monday evenings, Oct. 5 through Nov. 16, from 6-9 p.m. at the college’s Warren Campus , located on Ridgeway Street in Warrenton.
The course will also be offered on Tuesday evenings, Oct. 20 through Dec. 1, from 6-9 p.m., at VGCC’s Franklin Campus on Highway 56, just outside Louisburg.
Space is limited to 20 students at each location.
NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship is designed for small business owners who grow crops or trees, raise livestock, or make sauces, pickles or jams with items from a garden. The goal is for participants to strengthen their business savvy in order to gain the highest profit margin possible.
Participants will consider challenges such as pricing their products; the logistics of getting their products to the market; selecting the best market; and how to generate income between growing seasons. Other topics include business development and management, finance and regulatory requirements, quality and safety standards. Participants will also be introduced to resources and contacts that can help them operate more efficiently and effectively.
The instructor will be Carrie Harvey of Harvey Hills Farms in Oxford, who is also a client of the VGCC Small Business Center .
“This is a hands-on, interactive program, beneficial to farmers or anyone who grows a marketable agricultural product, who wishes to start a business or has been in business less than three years,” said Tanya Weary, director of the Small Business Center. “Ultimately, this course will give participants opportunities to develop skills which will increase their likelihood of success as an agricultural entrepreneur.” Each participant will receive free, one-on-one counseling as a client of the Small Business Center, which will help them take their ideas to the next level of business planning.
Tuition for the course is $70, and the cost of the textbook is $25. Scholarships to offset the cost of tuition are available to qualified participants, thanks to support from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission ’s Project Skill-UP.
In addition to the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, North Carolina Cooperative Extension is partnering with VGCC to support this program. The former NC REAL Entrepreneurship organization, whose programs are now managed by the Cherokee, N.C.-based Sequoyah Fund, created the original curriculum.
For more information and to register, contact Kyle Burwell, coordinator of Human Resources Development and of Project Skill-UP, at (252) 738-3276 or hrd-wk@vgcc.edu , or Tanya Weary at (252) 738-3240 or smallbusiness@vgcc.edu .
