Are you a farm mom, daughter, daughter-in-law, or female farm manager or owner interested in ways to better manage agricultural businesses today, successfully retire, and pass a profitable farm business on to a child or the next owner? Then read on.

Cornell Cooperative Extension associations of northern New York are offering a four-week, 15-hour Managing for Today and Tomorrow training course as part of the nationwide Annie's Project. It's an educational program dedicated to strengthening the role of women in the modern farm enterprise.

MANAGEMENT MATTERS: Hy-Light Dairy Farm owner Heather Hyman and Dr. Jessica Scillieri-Smith, DVM, conduct an on-farm interview about dairy cow health with a television reporter. Photo courtesy of Northern New York Agricultural Development Program

Two sessions are scheduled, and more will follow. Women from any county may attend. Watch the website at www.ccenny.com for dates for Managing for Today and Tomorrow programs in other counties.

The Jefferson-Lewis County edition of the 4-week course will be held at the Farm Credit East office, 25417 NY Route 12, Burrville, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on January 27 and February 10, 17 and 24.

The Clinton-Essex County edition of this course will be held at the Cornell Cooperative Extension office, 3 Sisco Street, Westport, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on January 27 and February 11, 18 and 25.

This course includes instruction on business, estate and retirement planning; managing current issues on the farm; and preparing to sell the farm. Also included will be the role of insurance among the physical and financial protection measures for farm families, including options for dairy, livestock, field crop and direct market producers.

The course costs $100, including lunch and materials. To register or for more information on the Burrville site, contact Peggy Murray at [email protected]. Or for the Westport site, contact: Anita Deming at [email protected].

Annie's Project management classes fostering problem solving, record keeping and decisionmaking skills for farm women are currently taught in 33 states. The Managing for Today and Tomorrow program teaches business, estate, retirement and succession planning. The women attending develop networks and the skills key to making successful farm transitions.

The Managing for Today and Tomorrow program is supported in part by the Northeast Extension Risk Management Education Center, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, CoBANK, Farm Credit East, New York FarmNet, NYS Agricultural Mediation Center, NYS Workforce Development Institute and New York Agri-Women, Inc.