Sierra Harvest Agricultural Skills

Ag Skills provides a season of hands-on learning for beginning farmers. From building soil, best techniques for irrigation, how to increase soil productivity, deal with pests to harvest and packing, each class focuses on tangible skills necessary for farming success in the foothills. 

Peer-to-peer classes are taught on-farm, by farmers and each includes a farm tour.   Ag Skills courses are geared towards commercial farmers and are a great way to network within the farming community and hone your farming skillset. 

We will be offering the 40, 60 and 80% SCHOLARSHIPS only for the full price ticket – not for the individual ticket.  The deadline to apply for a scholarship is May 14th. 

May 16th 
- Season Extension with Alex Joslin from Natural Trading Co.  Learn tips and tricks that have worked (and not worked) for our farm on extending your shoulder seasons and growing throughout the winter. Includes learning about tunnels, Ag fabric and smart decisions. Located in the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevada, 30 miles northeast of Sacramento, Natural Trading Co is a 40-acre organic mixed-vegetable farm, orchard, and micro-greens greenhouse. They sell produce at farmers’ markets in the Sacramento foothills and Tahoe/Truckee areas, in addition to deliveries to local supermarkets, co-ops, and distributors.  Established in 1995, they are known for growing everything from apples to zucchini.

May 23rd
- Plant Propagation and Greenhouse Management with Aleta and Ken Barrett from Starbright Acres Family Farm. Efficiency and profitability in nursery starts production for on farm use and retail sales.  Build your plant propagation skill set in this interactive class and learn more about infrastructure, tools, supplies and skills for seeding, potting up, plant health and greenhouse management.

May 30th
- Hiring and Managing a Farm Manager and Other Farm Employees with Maia Lipkin and Jeremy Mineau of Mountain Bounty and Super Tuber Farm. Learn important strategies for hiring, onboarding and managing both new employees and managers for your farm.  Maia, long time farmer at Mountain Bounty Farm and Jeremy, owner of Super Tuber Farm will share their knowledge for creating a healthy work culture and fostering employee retention.

June 6th 
- Understanding and Improving Foothill Soils with Sarah Griffin Boubacar of Sweetland Garden Mercantile. Learn about foothill soils, how to determine your soil texture by feel; the importance of soil analysis and how to take soil samples;  how to improve soil fertility over time using amendments and the amazing properties of soil organic matter. Class will take place the Food Love Farm.

June 13th - postponed until September 5!

June 20th 
- Farming From an Indigenous Perspective with Tony Cervantes and Sara Raskie from Calmil Teoyotica. Join Sara and Tony at Calmil Teoyotica (Sacred House Surrounded By Flowers). Immerse yourself in how we grow a variety of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and medicine from an Indigenous perspective. Learn about Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (TEK) as it applies to tending the Earth so that the whole thrives. See how we tend herbs and flowers planted in the orchard for diversity, pest control, and beauty. We will harvest and process nopales (prickly pear pads) introduce specialty added value crops and share time delving deeply into the question of “why do we farm” looking at economics, food sovereignty, ancient local food cultures and more.

June 27th 
- Berry and Small Orchard Management with Leo Chapman of Harmony Valley Farm. Come look at the small diversified orchard, berry patch Leo planted in Nevada city in 2017 including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, peaches, pears, apples, and plums.  Learn how to choose varieties for the foothills, irrigation methods, soil biology, pruning, trellising, thinning, bird protection and much more.  Max of 20 students.

July 11th
- The Business of Bouquets with Deena Miller of Sweet Roots Farm. Join Deena Miller, co-owner of Sweet Roots Farm, to delve into the business of bouquets. She will talk about growing for your chosen outlet, and having ingredients to create floral art in every season. You will be able to harvest flowers to create a market bouquet or centerpiece, the same ingredients used in two very different ways for a very different end product and price point.

July 18th 
- How to Start and Run a Farm Stand with Joshua Rickett from Sun and Cellar, Loomis. From permitting to marketing to building a sustainable and profitable farm stand, we will take a in-depth look at opening a farmstand and what it will take to make it successful. Josh has had a farm stand in Marin county for 13 years. His family has operated the farm stand for 41 years. Class will take place in Nevada County.

July 25th 
- Top 10 Farm Tools with Feeding Crane Farm. Learn how to utilize the top 10 farming tools from veteran farmer Antonio Garza, owner of Feeding Crane Farm. You will learn the tools by scale: Hand scale - stirrup hoe, broad fork, digging fork, hand tools; Medium Scale - BCS & attachments, planters - seeders, motorized planter, paper pot; Large Scale - tractors and key attachments.

August 1st 
- Value-added Products with Joshua Rrickett from Sun and Cellar, Loomis. An examination of the benefits and possibilities of value added products and how  they can build a more resilient and stronger business. Josh prepares value-added products for over 15 different farms for over 10 years including salsa, pickles, ferments, jam and hot sauce. He also sells his own line of canned goods under the name Sun & Cellar.

August 8th 
- Small Farm Engine Maintenance with Paul Glowaski of Dinner Bell Farm. You go into farming to get your hands in the dirt, but every farmer spends a good amount of time with wrench in hand.  Knowing how to keep equipment in good working order is an essential skill. Learn tools and tips for keeping your farm machines in great working order. Regular maintenance can save you time and money! Paul Glowaski co-owns Dinner Bell Farm and is constantly rebuilding machines from walk-behind tractors to weed whips, chainsaws to tractors. He apprenticed with the infamous Lowell Webb of Webbs Farm Supply.

August 15 
– Introduction to Beekeeping with Randy Oliver of Golden West Bees. There are already plenty of honey bees in Nevada County as far as crop pollination, but many people get great enjoyment (and some local honey) from keeping a few hives of bees on their property, to ensure pollination, or to simply enjoy the connection with nature that comes from beekeeping.  As with other livestock, honey bees do require husbandry to thrive; Randy will discuss and demonstrate how to handle bees, inspect a colony, and the necessary husbandry to keep your colonies healthy.  Everyone will have the opportunity to get their hands into a hive or two, under helpful guidance.

August 22nd 
- Orchards with Chris Bierwagen of Bierwagen Donner Trail Fruit and Pumpkin Patch Farm. Come learn all about orchard management from expert Chris Bierwagen who ran a commercial peach and apple orchard for decades. The class will include planting, pruning, pest management, and meeting nutrient needs.

August 29th 
- Growing Farm Scale Microgreens with Kevin Keller of Father Daughter Farm. Kevin Keller, co-owner of Father Daughter Farm will be showing you how to farm microgreens, from seed to store delivery. Learn about how their idea became a product on the shelf encompassing a lot more than farming. Father Daughter Farm is a small family farm creating nutrient rich and tasty microgreens.

September 5th
- On Farm Animal Slaughter with Brad and Alana Fowler of The Goat Works. Learn how to process chickens in a clean, humane manner.  Demonstration and hands-on learning from kill to chill.