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AgriLife workshops designed for small farm entrepreneursTexas has more than 111,000 farms of 50 acres or less Texas The first of five workshops designed to help owners of small acreages generate revenue will begin at 6 p.m., Sept. 4 at the Texas AgriLife Extension Service office in Lufkin at South Loop 287 and State Highway 69. "We have a lot to offer anyone with a desire to do something special with their rural land," said Cary Sims AgriLife Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources in Angelina County. Sims is hosting the program with Chad Gulley, his AgriLife Extension counterpart in Nacogdoches County. The program will consist of two-hour sessions every other Thursday, meeting alternately at the AgriLife Extension offices in Lufkin and Nacogdoches. Meeting dates will be Sept. 4, Sept. 18, Oct. 2, Oct. 16 and Oct. 30. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture census, there were more than 111,000 small farm operations of 50 acres and smaller in Texas in 2002, Gulley said. Such operations are often thought of as being "piecemeal" farms, but a more accurate term might be "diverse," Gulley said. And about 38,000 of the Texas operations are managed by women, according to Sims. "What is piecemeal is the usual availability of educational opportunities for these smaller operations," Gulley said. Cost of the course will be $50 per person, with a $10 fee per each additional family member. There's no registration deadline. "They can register at the door of the first workshop, if they want," Sims said. Subject topics will include: "Resources for Small Acreage," "Opportunities in Horticulture," "Opportunities in Natural Resources," "Organics," "Marketing and Taxation," and "Rural Entrepreneurship." "The goals of this program are to increase small-farm owners' knowledge of traditional and organic production and management alternatives and to help them improve the quality of their life," Sims said. "This program will also allow small acreage landowners to network and meet new people to find out what types of agriculture enterprises will best fit their situation," Gulley said. For more information, contact either the AgriLife Extension offices in Lufkin at 936-632-8239 or Nacogdoches at 936-560-7711. E-mail Sims at cw-sims@tamu.edu or Gulley at c-gulley@tamu.edu. 9/1/08 Date: 8/28/08
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