Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture
Come Farm With Us!2025 Applications are
now open!
Join us for an Open House!
Viva Farms Skagit is hosting an open house on January 30, 2025 4-6pm at 15366 Ovenell Rd, Burlington, WA 98273. Interested and prospective students are invited to learn more about the program and receive application support. No RSVP required.
Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture
The Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture is a hands-on, applied course in certified organic production and small farm business management. The Practicum is offered at both of Viva Farms’ locations — in Burlington in Skagit County and in Woodinville in King County. In Skagit County, the Practicum is taught bilingually, offered in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish. (Leer esta página en español aquí.) The Practicum course takes place over 8 months from early April through mid-November, following the farming season. Over the course of the program, participants will apply knowledge and practice techniques of sustainable agricultural production on a certified organic parcel, located at the Viva Farms Skagit County or King County student farms.
“The balance of instruction and experience is so invaluable!
This is exactly what I had been looking for for years.”
– a 2023 Practicum student
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- Certified Organic Production
- Seed Propagation
- Greenhouse Management
- Irrigation
- Cultivation & Weed Management
- Soil Health & Fertility Management
- Pest & Disease Management
- Sales & Marketing
- Crop & Farm Planning
- Harvest & Post-Harvest Operations
- Food Safety
Participants will also examine the basics of farm business management, including:
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- Business Planning & Set-Up
- Basic Bookkeeping & Financial
- Recordkeeping
- Profitability Analysis
- Regulatory Compliance
- Access to Capital
- Insurance & Farm Taxes
This course is designed to prepare and support the next generation of farmers. Are you interested in starting your own farm business? Learn more below.
The main application, along with our participant intake form, must be submitted by February 14, 2025. Note that the scholarship application is an additional form. (See more information in the FAQ below). Acceptance notifications will be sent no later than March 3, 2025. The first day of the Practicum will be April 8, 2025.
Please read the FAQs below and application materials thoroughly. Because space in the Practicum is limited, this is a competitive application process. We encourage applicants to respond thoughtfully with in-depth answers to the open ended questions.
If the application itself is a barrier, Viva Farms’ staff are available (by appointment) to provide assistance in completing the application. To receive assistance, contact: [email protected] or call 360-969-7191 x810 for King County and x4 for Skagit County.
“I wish there were more Viva Farms in the world.”
– a 2023 Practicum student
More Course Details
The Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture (Practicum) is a hands-on, applied course in certified Organic production and small farm business management. In Skagit County, the Practicum is bilingual training, offered in both English and Spanish. The Practicum takes place over 8 months from early April through mid-November and corresponds with 3 academic quarters – Spring, Summer and Fall. The Spring and Summer quarters focus on production practices and farm operations and the Fall quarter moves into applied business management.
Upon successful completion of the Practicum, participants will be eligible to apply to participate in the Viva Farms Farm Business Incubator Program. The Incubator Program offers support to beginning farmers with access to land, infrastructure & equipment, training, marketing and capital in order to grow a successful farm business. Acceptance into the program is not guaranteed.
For more information about the incubator program, please visit vivafarms.org/farm-business-incubator/.
If you are a beginning farmer looking for support and the Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture does not meet your needs, please check out the Begin to Farm Network page for other opportunities for beginning farmers in Western Washington.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How much does the Practicum program cost?
Viva Farms will not turn anyone away from the program due to lack of funds. More details about tuition, payment plans and scholarships are available in the application.
Viva Farms registration is offered in three tuition tiers that cover the entire 8-month program.
- Base Tuition – $1,500
- Community Supporter Tier – $1,500 base tuition plus an additional donation to our scholarship fund, which supports Practicum participants facing financial hardship. Our suggested contribution is $750 (half of our base tuition), but we welcome any donation amount!
- Scholarship Tier – Full and partial scholarships are available based on financial need. If you are in need of financial assistance, you will have the opportunity to fill out a scholarship application at the time you apply to the Practicum program.
Is financial aid available to assist with tuition?
Viva Farms will not turn anyone away from the program due to lack of funds. Please submit a scholarship application if you are in need of financial assistance.
Viva Farms can also work with students to set up payment installment plans to pay tuition on a quarterly basis. This option is available for any of the tuition fee tiers.
When does the Practicum begin and end?
The Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture begins in early April and runs through mid-November. This year, class begins April 8 and ends November 18, 2025.
Where does the Practicum take place?
The Practicum is offered at our student farms in Burlington in Skagit County, and in Woodinville in King County.
Participants will complete the entire course at the location to which they are accepted. Online learning is not available.
What language is the Practicum taught in?
Class in Burlington, Skagit County is taught in English with Spanish interpretation.
Class in Woodinville, King County is taught in English.
What is the time commitment of the program?
The Practicum commitments consist of class once a week plus weekly independent work on the student farm.
Class: 2 hours of in-person instruction on Tuesday evenings from 5:30-7:30pm.
Independent hours: Roughly 130 hours of independent work over the course of the 8 month season, for an average of 4 hours per week. The timing of these hours will vary with the farming season. As with any farm, students should anticipate an increase in responsibilities during the peak summer season, from June to September. Independent hours are independent, and can be scheduled and completed around each student’s schedule. Instructors may not be available when students are able to come out, so instructors will offer times outside of class, during business hours, that they are available (“office hours”). Participants wanting to spend more time with instructors should prioritize coming during those hours. Participants wanting to complete their independent hours during the early mornings, evenings, weekends, or outside of normal business hours should expect to be working on their own, and instructors will be available to plan activities and share any necessary instructions in advance of the student’s arrival.
It is important to remember that the Practicum parcel is part of a working farm. We will be harvesting to order for customers of Viva Farms and must be able to maintain both high quality and consistency. We ask for high commitment and for participants to reliably arrive on time and be ready to work during their scheduled independent hours.
Finally, the Practicum is a course with a competitive application process and there is often more demand for the program than spaces. Please be realistic in your capacity to commit to the time requirements for the course and know that there is a waiting list of others that would like to take the course.
Do I need to complete the entire program in order to farm independently in the Viva Farms incubator?
In order to be eligible to apply to the Incubator, students must maintain an 80% average in both class attendance and completion of independent hours. If you miss more than 2 classes or more than 20% of your independent hours without prior approval, you may be ineligible for the incubator program.
We will give preference to prospective incubating farmers based on satisfactory attendance and participation in the Practicum course. Space in the incubator is not guaranteed even upon successful completion of the course
To participate in the incubator program, participants must demonstrate competency in the knowledge and techniques introduced during the Practicum. The Practicum is a valuable way to apply the fundamentals of sustainable production and small-farm business management, as well as to learn the particulars of operating a farm at Viva Farms in a relatively low-risk environment. For that reason, we strongly encourage all prospective incubating farmers to participate in the entire Practicum and complete all of the course requirements, especially independent work hours.
For further questions, contact: [email protected] or call 360-969-7191 x810 (King County) or x4 (Skagit County).
Please direct any remaining questions to [email protected] or 360-969-7191 x4. ¡Hablamos español!
This work is supported in part by the American Rescue Plan Technical Assistance Investment Program, project award #2023-70417-39228, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
