Resilerator Northwest
Business Skills Intensive for Mid-scale Farms
Looking to grow your farm business into a thriving and resilient enterprise? Seeking a strong foundation to scale up your production and systems? The Resilerator is like a business accelerator, but with an emphasis on long term sustainability instead of the rapid pursuit of short term profits.
Join Northwest Agriculture Business Center for an 11-week business skills intensive. The class meets virtually on Farmer Campus via Zoom, Tuesdays from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Pacific from October 10th – December 19th with a break the week of November 21st. Limited to a small number of growers, this cohort-based program will meet weekly from October to December 2023 for discussions with experts and farmer peer-to-peer support.
Our program will begin with each participant completing a thorough Business Resilience Self-assessment. During the program, participants will use the self-assessment to identify goals and actions to be taken, and at the end of the program each participant will receive an hour of one-on-one technical assistance related to their goals.
What will be covered? Topics covered include business structures, labor, accounting and taxation, credit and cash flow, insurance, environmental and marketing regulations, and branding.
Who is eligible to participate?
*If you meet most (but not all) of these criteria and are interested in participating, please contact us to discuss if you are an appropriate fit. Some of these seats may be held for beginning farmers. Contact Emily Manke emily@agbizcenter.org (360) 223-2008 to learn more.
This agricultural intensive has been designed for (but is not limited to*) mid-scale farmers who:
- Can commit to ~40 hours of time over three months.
- Have a current gross farm income of ~$100,000 or higher annually.
- Have been in operation for three or more years.
- Have been selling wholesale at least one year or accessing market channels beyond farmers market and CSA.
- Operate in Island, King, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, Whatcom, Lewis, Thurston, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Mason, or Pierce counties.
- We will accept up to 20 farms into the program. Each farm is encouraged to attend with all owners and key business managers.
Weekly class format: Each week participants will watch a video on their own time, then come to class prepared with questions for an in-depth discussion. Each class will have a local farmer or service provider to give a short presentation and enhance the discussion.
Upon completion** of the Resilerator you will be eligible for Course Incentives including:
- 1 hour with course instructors, business and policy advisers Poppy Davis and Winona Dorris
- More perks TBD
**Requirements for Course Incentives:
- Attend 9 out of 11 classes
- Completing the Business Resilience Self-Assessment by the end of the first week of class
- Identifying one goal per section by the end of the course.
About the Curriculum:
The Resilerator is offered through a partnership with California FarmLink. It is a comprehensive curriculum covering legal and financial management. The course covers business structure, labor law, accounting, taxation, bookkeeping, credit and cash flow, insurance, sales contracts, and environmental and marketing regulation of agriculture. Each participant completes an extensive Business Resilience Self-assessment prior to the first class and then uses their self-assessment throughout the rest of the program to identify goals and actions to be taken.
The Resilerator was developed over the course of more than six years by Poppy Davis through California FarmLink and other partners with funding from USDA and other sources. The lead instructors are Poppy Davis and Winona Dorris.
About the Instructors:
Poppy Davis is a business and policy adviser to agricultural, fishing, and food and beverage enterprises, as well as nonprofits, and local governments. She has been teaching small farm business, tax and accounting issues in various capacities her entire career. Previously she worked at the USDA, most recently as the National Program Leader for Small Farms and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers. She began her career as a California CPA. She holds a JD from Drake University Law School, a Masters in Journalism from Georgetown, and a BS in Agricultural Economics from UC Davis.
Winona Dorris is a farm business advisor with 20+ years of experience advising business owners on accounting, tax, and insurance, with a focus on empowering communities who are more at risk for injustice. She is the great niece of Ed Scott, a Mississippi sharecropper and claimant of the Pigford lawsuit and settlement. Through her family’s history, she understands the effect injustices have had on generations of people stripped of their livelihood. She has long career experience in finance and accounting as a CFO, and COO. Winona holds a BA in Economics and Accounting, a Masters in Business Administration, and a Masters in Taxation, and is licensed as an insurance agent and a tax preparer.
Registration and Ticket Access:
Priority application deadline August 1st, 2023. Applications will be accepted until the cohort reaches 20 farmers. Registration closes September 15th. There is a $200 fee, which is fully refundable upon completion of the course. APPLY HERE.
Northwest Resilerator is produced in conjunction with:
The Regional Food System Partnership is a project of the Northwest Agriculture Business Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant AM2001XXXXG103.