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This course empowers learners to explore their interests in becoming a farmer or rancher and introduces practical tools to assess their preparedness to begin a farm or ranch business. The content covered includes market entry, strategic planning, skills and constraints assessment, network building, resource identification and development, and creating pathways for lifelong learning.
At the end of this course, learners will:
Noncredit courses do not produce academic credit nor appear on a Colorado State University academic transcript.
Please note that there are no refunds for open entry courses.
libby.christensen@colostate.edu
Dr. Libby Christensen has nearly 20 years of experience working in food systems with a focus on the interconnectivity of rural and urban places through food and agriculture. She is passionate about identifying, expanding, and leveraging demand for agricultural and food products to improve the social, environmental, and economic wellbeing of farmers and ranchers. Her experiences include establishing a local food label with Sacramento County Farm Bureau, working on a small-scale pig farm in North Carolina, running a produce distribution company in the Salinas Valley, and teaching nutrition courses at Colorado State University. Current projects include advancing market opportunities for regional meat supply chains in Colorado, evaluating the statewide farm to school initiatives, and networking entrepreneurial food and agricultural manufacturers. Libby is a Joint Associate Professor with the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and an Extension Affiliate with the Food System Institute and Research Associate with the Regional Economic Development Institute. She and her husband own and operate Routt Distillery in Steamboat Springs.