Upcoming Online Courses through CCE - Getting Started with Livestock and Grazing
Amy Barkley, Livestock Specialist
Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Program

Interested in Getting Started with Livestock or Grazing? These Upcoming Online Courses Can Help
Whether you're considering starting a poultry, swine, cattle, or sheep enterprise, or are looking to get started with or improve grazing strategies for your farm, the Cornell Small Farms Program's online courses can provide the information and support you need to take the next step.
Experienced farmers and extension educators guide students through course content, including weekly live webinars, videos, and resources designed to support farmers at all levels. Our instructors have extensive experience in both Cornell Cooperative Extension services and in owning and operating their own farms.
Our suite of online courses is offered on a user-friendly platform, which grants registrants permanent access to their course content. Also, courses have tiered pricing based on household size and income to make access to the courses more affordable and equitable for everyone.
Registration is now open for all courses, with live webinars beginning as soon as the first week of November.
Tuesdays: November 2 to December 7
Many new farmers get started with poultry, because it's a relatively low-investment enterprise with a fairly quick turnaround time from start-up to revenue. The margins can be slim though, and farmers need to develop the necessary skill set to produce a product that is both safe and profitable. This course will help you get started with all the basic information to build a successful poultry enterprise.
BF 233: Beef Cattle Management
Tuesdays: November 2 to December 7
Having a successful cattle business is about much more than just buying a few head and putting them in a field. If you want to turn a profit, you need to think carefully about your goals, marketing strategy, appropriate breeds, and many more details. Over the six weeks of this course you'll get a much clearer idea of what is involved, whether it's the right fit for you, and if it is, what steps you need to take to get started.
BF 138: Getting Started with Pastured Pigs
Mondays: January 10 to February 14
This course is formatted to guide beginning farmers through the production and marketing of pigs raised in pasture settings. Pigs can function as a profitable stand-alone enterprise or can be integrated into your existing farm structure to provide a variety of products and make use of marginal lands that would otherwise go unused. Pigs are also ideal for turning agricultural wastes such as spent grain, whey, or seconds into a valuable product, and with proper management they can improve the land where they are kept.
Thursdays: January 13 to February 17
Have sheep or considering getting a flock? Producers of all experience levels will find something for them in this lively, wide-ranging course. There is no one right way to raise sheep - just a palette of options for you to choose from, to suit your farming objectives and lifestyle. Taught by experienced sheep producers and Cornell Cooperative Extension educators, this course covers many of these different options, and strongly encourages active student participation.
Tuesdays: February 2 to March 29
Grazing is more than simply turning livestock out onto a green pasture and hoping for the best. With sound grazing management, you can reduce your workload, keep your animals happier and healthier, and improve the overall productivity and profitability of your farm. Well-managed grazing systems also provide greater environmental benefits and enhance habitat for many wildlife species. This course teaches the key concepts of successful grazing operation and focuses on grazing ruminant livestock, but most of the information will be relevant to non-ruminant animals as well.
The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in Teachable, our online course platform. To add to the experience, webinars will be woven into the interface of the course for a dedicated time slot each year to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from presenters and ask questions in real-time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing.
You can browse all of our course offerings on our website. You can learn more about our courses, including answers to common questions, on our course FAQ.
Upcoming Events
Is Grazing Sheep Beneath Solar Arrays and Opportunity for Your Future?
September 25, 2023
Mt. Morris, NY
Grazing sheep beneath utility-scale solar arrays can build wealth of present and future sheep farmers as vegetation management service providers and access to additional pasture. The Cornell Cooperative Enterprise Program (CEP) conducted a survey earlier this year completed by over 600 farmers. Farmers identified barriers to grazing sheep under solar arrays and weighed in on need for a producer-led organization to negotiate contracts on their behalf, coordinate logistics of multiple flocks, provide transport of sheep to and from the site, care for sheep while on-site, and provide supplemental mowing. Additional questions focused on processing and marketing needs.
Technology for Grazing Dairies Webinar
September 27, 2023
Join us for this free webinar! Brought to you by the dairy specialists of CCE NWNY and SWNY Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Programs.
Protecting Against Murphy's Law: A FREE Live Seminar for Veterans.
October 4, 2023
What Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong!
Good ole' Murphy's Law is probably the best description of what it's like to be a farmer that there is! Join Cornell Cooperative Extension Farm Business Management Specialist, Katelyn Walley-Stoll, to learn more about the 5 areas of risk on farms and how to develop strategies to manage those risks. Participants will have the opportunity to identify areas of risk on their own farms and brainstorm ways to (try to) prevent the inevitable!
Registration is REQUIRED by visiting https://tinyurl.com/CCERisk or call Kelly at 585-268-7644.
Announcements
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