SEASIDE — Turn your dream of owning and operating a small farm or ranch into a reality.

The Oregon State University Small Farms program is offering “Growing Farms: Successful Whole Farm Management” to Tillamook and Clatsop counties this winter.

This combination online and face-to-face farmer training course is designed for farmers and ranchers in their first 10 years and for those who are ready to start a farm business.

The course teaches those new to farming how to plan and manage a farm, while giving them tools to produce and market farmed and raised goods. The course also encourages interaction and community building among participants, helping build a professional network among small farmers and ranchers.

While developing a whole-farm plan, participants will learn about sustainable practices and land stewardship. The course takes an integrated approach to biological, physical, financial, and family aspects of the farm business.

The course encourages farmers to see how small farms and ranches fit into a community’s economic and environmental success. It also covers farm operations and equipment; finance, administration and personnel management; and liability and risks of farming.

Registration is open. Classes will be held at the Clatsop Community College South County Campus, located at 1455 N. Roosevelt Drive in Seaside.

Class dates are:

• 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8;

• 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22;

• 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31; and

• 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12.

Cost is $295 per student. Two people from the same farm can receive $75 off each registration. For information about scholarship opportunities, contact course instructor Garry Stephenson at 541-737-5833 or at garry.stephenson@oregonstate.edu

For the course description, FAQs and other information, visit the OSU course website at http://tinyurl.com/osugrowingfarms