Tag Archive for: #ncreal

VGCC to offer Agricultural Entrepreneurship program at two locations

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— courtesy VGCC

The Vance-Granville Community College Small Business Center will soon offer the “NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship” program at two locations.

The seven-week course is designed specifically to help local farmers and budding entrepreneurs succeed in developing profitable, environmentally-sound small farms or agricultural businesses.

The class is scheduled to be offered at Granville Expo & Convention Center (4185 US Highway 15 South, Oxford) on Tuesday evenings, Sept. 12 through Oct. 24, from 6 until 9 p.m.; and on VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County (Room 7109) on Saturday mornings, Oct. 7 through Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. until noon.

NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship is designed for small business owners who grow crops or trees, raise livestock, or make sauces, pickles or jams with items from a garden. The goal is for participants to strengthen their business savvy in order to gain the highest profit margin possible.

Participants will consider challenges such as pricing their products; the logistics of getting their products to the market; selecting the best market; and how to generate income between growing seasons. Other topics include business development and management, finance and regulatory requirements, quality and safety standards. Participants will also be introduced to resources and contacts that can help them operate more efficiently and effectively.

For both classes, the instructor will be Carrie Harvey of Harvey Hills Farms in Oxford, who is also a client of the VGCC Small Business Center.

“This is a hands-on, interactive program, beneficial to farmers or anyone who grows a marketable agricultural product, who wishes to start a business or has been in business less than three years,” said Tanya Weary, director of the Small Business Center. Each participant will receive free, one-on-one counseling as a client of the Small Business Center, which will help them take their ideas to the next level of business planning.

Tuition for the course is $70, and the cost of the textbook is $25.

For more information and to register, contact Tanya Weary at (252) 738-3240 or smallbusiness@vgcc.edu.

–VGCC–

Tobacco Trust Fund awards grant to VGCC

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The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission has awarded a $25,000 grant to Vance-Granville Community College to support students in a pair of training programs.

The grant, for a project entitled “Cultivating and Growing Agricultural Communities,” will help cover the cost of tuition and other fees for eligible students in the “NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship” and “Heavy Equipment Operator” courses offered by VGCC. Grant funding will also support instructional staff, marketing and supplies related to the programs.

VGCC has offered the Agricultural Entrepreneurship program at various locations, most recently at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market and the Granville County Expo & Convention Center. Heavy Equipment Operator training is held at VGCC’s Warren County Campus.

While this is the first grant of its kind awarded to VGCC, the college has previously received grants from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission as part of “Project Skill-UP.” As in those previous grants, the commission’s goal is to help individuals and communities adversely affected by the decline of tobacco-related employment in the region.

“We appreciate that the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission chose to support our agricultural efforts to help adults in our service area to gain new skills and in some cases, to start new careers or businesses,” said Kyle Burwell, VGCC’s coordinator of Human Resources Development.

The seven-week NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship course is designed specifically to help local farmers and budding entrepreneurs succeed in developing profitable, environmentally-sound small farms or agricultural businesses.

One of VGCC’s newest programs, Heavy Equipment Operator training takes approximately 13 weeks to complete. During the course, students gain a general understanding of the requirements necessary to operate equipment such as a motor grader, a four-wheel drive loader and backhoe, which are used both in construction and in agriculture.

Students receiving grant funding must meet certain eligibility requirements and must be residents of Vance, Granville, Franklin or Warren counties. Each student can receive up to $250.

For more information on receiving assistance and the opportunities available at VGCC, contact Kyle Burwell at hrd-wk@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3276.

For more information on the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, visit www.tobaccotrustfund.org.