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By Wendy Harrison

FRANKLIN

Camp Community College’s Division of Workforce Development will once again offer the Business of Farming Financial Series on Tuesdays from Jan. 7 through Feb. 25, 2020.

“We have a variety of presentations scheduled that will assist farmers with business related items, such as taxes, insurance, retirement and implementing specialty crops,” said Camp Workforce Development Director Angela Lawhorne.

All of the workshops in the series will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Regional Workforce Development Center, 100 N. College Drive in Franklin. Two people can attend for only $50, which covers all the sessions, although one can choose which workshops they need.

The schedule of workshops is as follows:

• Jan. 7-Taxes with Benny Burgess and Julie Griggs of Burgess & Co. CPAs, section 179, bonus depreciation, deferred crop insurance, and conservation easements, among other topics, will be discussed.

• Jan. 14-Business & Law with Will Holt of Kaufman & Canoles, and Benny Burgess and Julie Griggs of Burgess & Co. CPAs, legal entities, business structuring and general legal issues will be covered.
• Jan. 21-Succession Planning with Will Holt of Kaufman & Canoles, learn what succession planning is about and how it affects the future of your business when you retire.
• Jan. 28-Crop Insurance with Kevin Lynch and Jim Jervey of Farm Bureau Insurance, hear about crop insurance updates and find out about risk management.

• Feb. 4-Marketing, Hedging, Tariffs and Risk with Robert Harper of Farm Bureau Insurance, find out how tariffs affect your business and how to implement a hedging strategy.

• Feb. 11-Risk Management, Health, Life and Disability Insurance, and Retirement as a Key to Farm Succession with Dawn Simmons, John Drewry, David Saunders and Jim Jervey, learn how all these aspects factor in when making succession plans.

• Feb. 18-Transition Planning with Will Holt of Kaufman & Canoles, and father and son farmers Michael and Westley Drake, a panel discussion with local farmers will take place who will share their experiences and best practices when passing the business to the next generation.
• Feb. 25-Implementing Specialty & Alternative Crops with Drs. Dhakal & Wondimagegnehu of Virginia State University’s Agricultural Research Station, and Dr. Joe Edenfield, associate professor of business at Camp, innovative strategies will be covered, as well as the pros and cons of implementing various crops.

The workshop series is sponsored by Farm Credit. Register by calling the workforce center at 569-6050.

WENDY HARRISON is the public relations specialist at Camp Community College. She can be reached at wharrison@pdc.edu.