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Still time to enroll in new UW school for beginning apple growers

There is still time to enroll in the Midwest School for Beginning Apple Growers, a three-day workshop for people wanting to start an orchard business. The class will be offered February 5-7, 2010 on the UW-Madison campus.

If you are starting or considering starting an orchard business-no matter what scale-this class will give you what you need to manage risk and meet your goals.

The new school is patterned after several others that CIAS offers for people interested in starting up various types of agricultural enterprises. One is the Wisconsin School for Beginning Market Growers, which Hendrickson has taught since 1998. Like the other schools, primary instructors for the apple growers class will be experienced growers.

The school will emphasize sustainable and organic production methods, including integrated pest management strategies. Other topics will include risk management, marketing and business planning. Participants will have opportunities to network with others intent on making a business out of growing and selling apples.

The Midwest School for Beginning Apple Growers is sponsored by the North Central Risk Management Education Center and the UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, and is open to the public. Registration for the program costs $300. For more information, contact John Hendrickson at (608) 265-3704 or jhendric@wisc.edu, or visit the CIAS web site: www.cias.wisc.edu.