Students at the University of Missouri can enroll in a semester-long course titled “Returning to the Farm,” which is exactly what the title says – an intensive examination whether it makes sense to go into farming, says DTN. Associate professor Kevin Moore began teaching the class following the agricultural crisis of the mid-1980s.
“The class calls for students to create a long-range business plan for their farm. That plan includes an analysis of ownership issues, labor provisions, financial-management challenges, marketing skills and opportunities, types and amounts of production and technologies used,” says DTN. The course forces students and parents to “talk about tough issues like disability, death and what will ultimately happen to the farm.”