Program Structure & Application

The mission of the Beginner Farmer Training Program is to build a new farmer workforce well-trained in practices that are profitable, protect our land and water, and provide fresh, healthy food for our region’s communities. Each year we work with a cohort of 10-15 Trainees who are working or volunteering on farms and interested in managing or starting their own farm in the next 3-5 years. Future Harvest is committed to providing these Trainees with classroom and on-farm learning experiences and technical assistance. The farm where Trainees work or volunteer serves as their Training Farm, providing them with hands-on learning and additional insight into the inner workings of a farm business.

Core Competencies
Here are some of the core skills that you will learn during the BFTP:

• Marketing
• Business Planning
• Post-Harvest Handling
• Planting
• Field Preparation

Program Requirements & Timeline

The BFTP is a 12 month program designed to complement a farming schedule; however, it is a significant time commitment and requires some local travel. Here’s what’s required to complete the program (bolded text), and how it’s spread out across the year.

• January: Trainees attend Future Harvest’s annual conference free of charge. The previous year’s cohort also attends and presents their final projects.
• February – March: Trainees attend our 10-week online class series, Sustainable Farming Fundamentals, free of charge, which meets weekly on a weekday evening. Sample topics include:
  • Intro to Soil Health
  • Food Safety, Post-Harvest Handling and Record Keeping
  • Business Planning and Marketing
  • Crop planning, Crop Rotation, and Transplant Production
• April – October:
  • Attend monthly meetings with cohort members (mix of virtual and in-person.) In-person meetings will be held at the Baltimore County Agricultural Center in Cockeysville, MD.
  • Attend two on-farm field days on key topics not addressed well in an online classroom format. Sample topics include:
    • Irrigation
    • Tools, small and tractor scale
    • Pest and disease scouting
  • Complete a series of worksheets with training farmers, on topics including weed management, soil fertility, farm finances. This will formalize and clarify the expectations for the “above and beyond”, out of the field work that we expect training farms to engage in with Trainees.
  • Work on a final project throughout the growing season. This could take the form of a business plan, a grant application, or a presentation on something you tried on their training farm this year.
• November – December: Prepare final project presentation

Is the BFTP Right for Me?

We are looking for Trainees who meet the following requirements

• Are currently employed, have secured employment for 2026 or are a regular volunteer at a soil-based vegetable, fruit, flower or herb farm.
• Have some experience farming, and want to learn more about the “how” and “why” of sustainable agriculture. For example, how do I write a crop plan? Why does a farmer choose to use plastic mulch instead of growing on bare ground?
• Have an interest in taking on a management role on a farm and/or starting your own farm, in the next 3-5 years.
• Note for 2026: While folks across the Chesapeake region are welcome to apply, this year will be a smaller cohort with a focus on serving folks in the Metro DC/Baltimore areas.

If this sounds like you, we look forward to reading your application – see directions below! If this does not sound like you, we hope you’ll still come learn with us at a field day, at our conference, or in our online classroom series. We’re gearing up to have lots more on-farm events in 2026, and we hope to see you there!