AGAware® sessions to be held in August in Louisville and Tifton
Article and Photos by Corey Cottle & Rhonda Shannon
AGAware®, a national award-winning educational program for young, beginning, small and minority farmers is proudly being offered by AgGeorgia throughout our 79 county territory at no cost to attendees. As an advocate and supporter of the next generation of farmers, AgGeorgia offers these financial training workshops twice a year to producers who wish to develop a better understanding of how to run a successful agricultural operation.
AGAware® offers sessions with guidance on the preparation of several financial components of a farm plan including balance sheets, income statements, family finance and budgeting, and accrual income, as well as risk management, technology and recordkeeping. Also discussed is guidance in marketing assistance and applying for financing through FSA and SBA programs. The program was originally developed by sister Association AgSouth Farm Credit and instructor Van McCall.
Since 2015, AgGeorgia has sponsored ten of these workshops, typically two per year and always free of charge to participants who learn practical procedures to be financially ready to begin or grow their operation. Classes have been held in Calhoun, Clarkesville, Dublin, Fort Valley, Perry, Tifton, Valdosta, and Waynesboro in previous years. Experienced lenders and agricultural specialists provide valuable information and training in these classes, with hands-on case studies of real-life farming operations and circumstances.
Two sessions will be held in August of 2021. The first session is scheduled for Friday, August 13th, in Louisville, Georgia, and the second is scheduled for August 27th in Tifton, Georgia. For more information on attending either of these workshops, please visit www. aggeorgia.com/agaware to see class locations and to register. If you have a suggestion for a location to hold a future AGAware® workshop or are involved with a group such as Young Farmers or local Cattlemen’s chapter with members interested in attending as a group, please contact Corey Cottle, Chief Marketing Officer at ccottle@aggeorgia.com.