But what if you could stay in control from spring to fall, no matter what curve balls come your way? Crop planning minimizes risk, organizes our operations, and helps us improve our production year after year. Crop planning is all about creating a road map that, if we use it well, leads to a productive, successful season, year after year.
This class is a look inside our crop planning toolbox, where you’ll learn the secrets to our success. Over 200 new and intermediate growers have taken this class, and we’ll keep teaching it as long as it continues to sell out! Butterbee Farm has become more profitable every season for ten running seasons, and it’s not by chance. Our approach to crop planning is all about evaluating our market and organizing information into a plan for each season.
During this class, you’ll see the evolution of our crop plan from field to spreadsheet. You’ll get a clear picture of what goes on behind the scenes before each season starts. You’ll learn to plan your crops using simple spreadsheets, and you’ll take home our templates. You’ll learn what mistakes beginners often make when crop planning, and how to avoid them.
Topics will include:
-Crop rotations
-Spreadsheets for organization
-Profitability vs. Profit
-Projecting sales
-Factoring in risk
-Understanding your market’s needs
-Record keeping tools
Growers with at least one season of farming experience will get the most from this class.
Kind words about this class:
“Informative, practical and essential for an aspiring grower like me, Laura Beth infused me with inspiration, hope and enthusiasm and I can’t wait to break ground to apply all that I have learned in this course. Best investment I have done in my education in this field so far! Thank you!”
“This course was the missing piece in my flower farming education so far. Laura Beth gave me the overall system for planning my space and drilled all the way down to the formulas used to calculate yields and measure profitability.”
“As a new grower, I have been able to find many resources about regenerative practices, how to ensure that I am able to produce healthy blooms, and many of the "how-tos" of flower growing. One area that has always felt out of reach to me is figuring out how to plan a season, how to know what to plant and when on a larger scale than in a home garden. This class filled that need for me by providing all of that information in an organized way that kept it from being too overwhelming. Thank you so much for providing it.”
When you register for this online class, Laura Beth will email the recorded class, slides, and spreadsheet templates within 48 hours. This class was recorded in 2023.
Logistics:
When you register for this class, Laura Beth will email you the Zoom recording, slides, and crop planning templates within 48 hours.
This is a recording of a Crop Planning class taught in 2023.
More Kind Words about this Class:
“You cannot put a price on seeing another farmer's operation from the inside. Laura Beth's openness and willingness to share information were invaluable.“
“If you are looking for a crop planning class and you enjoy using Excel/Google Sheets and letting them work for you, then Laura Beth of Butterbee Farm has the perfect crop planning for you! In a few short hours I learned so much about how to build a spreadsheet to take my crop planning to a hold new level.”
“This will be my 3rd year growing, and I still have had trouble figuring out my crop layout and how much to grow. I’m more of just do it and learn from my mistake’s kind of girl. The spreadsheets that Laura Beth shares just made sense to me. I appreciate the honesty and down to earth person she is, and for sharing her knowledge!”
“There's nothing more helpful or re-energizing in the midst of July burn-out than getting to talk shop with your flower growing heroes!”
“Laura Beth energy is contagious and I walked away thinking that focusing on the blooms was far more important than obsessing about a weed-free field. Liberating! “
“Laura Beth is so open with everything about her business - the good, the ugly, the nitty-gritty details - which is something you can't get from a reading a book! “
About Laura Beth:
Laura Beth Resnick is the founder and owner of Butterbee Farm, a five acre cut flower farm in White Hall, Maryland. Butterbee Farm provides locally grown flowers for florists, flower lovers, and weddings in Maryland and Washington, D.C. Before founding the farm in 2013, Laura Beth worked on organic vegetable farms across the northeast. She served from 2019-2022 as the Secretary of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers and continues to write for their quarterly magazine. She has spoken at numerous conferences and arboretums, including the United States Botanic Garden, the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, and Cylburn Arboretum. Laura Beth is a mentor to new growers through Future Harvest's Beginning Farmer Training Program.