1. Kansas State University
  2. »Division of Communications and Marketing
  3. »K-State Today
  4. »K-State webinar series targeting educators of urban farmers continues Wednesday

K-State Today

February 10, 2020

K-State webinar series targeting educators of urban farmers continues Wednesday

Submitted by Heather Woods

The Urban Food Systems Program returns with its webinar series, Gaining Ground, on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

The webinars are free and open to agriculture educators and extension agents across the country. This webinar series focuses on topics related to funding, marketing, value-added products, food policy work, running a business and postharvest handling. The goal of Gaining Ground is to equip agriculture educators with knowledge from national experts that support Urban Food Systems enterprises in the region. Participants will learn technical and systems-level information for successful Urban Food Systems practices through the series.

Gaining Ground's second webinar is "Bookkeeping Tools for Farmers" at 10:30 a.m. CST Wednesday, Feb. 12, and is presented by Julia Shanks, an entrepreneurial consultant. Shanks earned a Master of Business Administration from Babson College, is a QuickBooks certified ProAdvisor and the author of “The Farmer's Office: Tools, Tips and Templates to Successfully Manage a Growing Farm Business.” Her online program, “The Farmer’s Office,” is a successful course that helps farmers build financially sustainable businesses.

The webinar will include an overview of Quickbook and Excel with a focus on the best options for small and diversified urban growers. She will also discuss the pros and cons of both programs, additional resources and give helpful hints for growers.

Gaining Ground is a project of Kansas State University's Master of Science in horticulture with an emphasis in urban food systems program. This degree program focuses on how the urban food system impacts economic development and provides a source of nutritious, safe food grown locally/regionally.

For more information or to register for the webinar, visit olathe.ksu.edu/gainingground.

Gaining Ground webinar series is based on work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2019-38640-29879 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number ENC19-181 Capacity Building in Urban Food Systems in the North Central Region. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.