Welcome to Exploring the Small Farm Dream
 About Explorer
The Explorer Program is intended for those who are considering farming. Its purpose is to help pre-venture, aspiring farmers learn what it would take
to start and mange their own commercial agricultural businesses, and decide whether this is a path they really want to take. Its workbook and supporting resources
are designed for use in a variety of learning settings: introductory workshops, formal four-session courses, and independent or guided self-study. Created as a
decision-making tool, Explorer can help you establish the clear vision and goals you will need to guide a new agricultural venture. It will help you identify
and assess personal motivations, business and farming skills, and available resources. It will help you clarify values. The goal of Explorer is to help you
decide whether starting an agricultural business is right for you, and-based on that decision-to help you plan practical next steps.
View excerpts from the Explorer Workbook:
Participating in an Explorer Short Course
NESFI originally designed the Explorer workbook for use in the classroom. We believe that using the workbook in a classroom setting offers you and your fellow classmates several benefits. First, well-prepared instructors will guide your exploration, bringing their own business start-up experience and farming knowledge to the class. They can answer questions and expand on the text in ways that are keyed to your needs. Second, you will be exploring with a group of peers-folks with similar interests and concerns with whom you can test ideas and share experiences. They can become the heart of your business start-up support network-both in the classroom and beyond. And, finally, the regular weekly meeting schedule provides both the motivation and a structure for timely completion of your work. Explorer short courses have clearly demonstrated their value. When asked, “Do you feel better able now than at the beginning of your exploration to answer the question, ‘Am I ready to start an agricultural business?’” all of the participants completing Explorer’s pilot classes responded “yes.”
If you should decide to participate in an Explorer short course, a copy of the workbook will be included in your registration fee.
Using Explorer as a Self-Study Reader
"Exploring the Small Farm Dream" is also available as a self-study guide. If classes are not available in your area, or in the time frame when you need to begin “exploring,” the self-study option allows you to move ahead on your own or with a group of peers. Self-study enables you to work at a pace that is right for you. If you and/or your peer group want to consider a “guided self-study” option, NESFI’s program staff may be able to help you find a local mentor who can provide this service for you.
If you decide on the self-study option, the success of your exploration will depend to a very large degree on your own initiative. We urge you to establish a schedule to complete the work and stick to it. Use every possible incentive to keep yourself moving forward-exploring with a partner or a peer group is one good way to keep you on track. Plan to make good use of the supporting resources offered here on the Explorer website. NESFI program staff is always ready to answer questions and lend a hand. Please use the Self-Study Evaluation Form, below, to let us know about how the self-study option has worked for you.
Explorer Resources for Course Participants & Self-Study Readers
Whether you are enrolled in an Explorer course or pursuing self-study, you will benefit from the many supplemental Explorer resources available here, either directly or through the NESFI Bookstore. They include books, videos, websites and organizations that can be most helpful to you in your exploration process. They are organized to support your progression through the workbook’s several sections and sub-sections, and include an update section for important new resources as they become available.
Sponsoring an Explorer Short Course
NESFI offers regularly scheduled Explorer courses at locations in Massachusetts and adjacent areas. To support region-wide access to the Explorer Program, it is actively seeking course sponsors from among Growing New Farmers Consortium member organizations and other service providers who serve the Northeast beginning farmer constituency. Toward this end, NESFI has developed an Explorer Course Delivery Guide for Program Sponsors, Managers and Instructors, and offers Program orientation workshops for interested course sponsors and their managers and instructors. NESFI program staff will also work directly with service providers that are interested in sponsoring an Explorer course. Contact us at explorer@smallfarm.org.
Information on organizing course delivery, along with sample agendas and course session guides, is offered in the Explorer Course Delivery Guide. Supporting resources for Instructors are available on the password protected Instructor’s page of this website.
Thank You...
- to the over 70 participants in Explorer pilot courses, who provided thoughtful feedback on both the workbook and class structure, and
- to The Claneil Foundation, The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program (NESARE), The Mid-Atlantic Consortium
(WK Kellogg Foundation), The Country Bank for Savings, and Growing New Farmers: A Northeast Service Providers Consortium (USDA/CSREES), who
provided NESFI’s Explorer Program with generous financial support.
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