Ben Hartman grew up on a 450-acre corn and soybean farm and started his first CSA the summer after graduating from high school. Rachel Hershberger grew up in town but her family had a huge garden and canned a lot. We met at Goshen College, where we both graduated with liberal arts degrees, and ...

Josh Volk has been working on Small Farms for the past 20 years. He started as a mechanical engineer with a garden. Volunteering in community gardens on the weekends he was inspired by to learn production techniques and apprenticed on a tractor scale farm in California before managing farms and setting up tractor based systems ...

  In 2006, Gary joined CLEDA as a business coach and in 2008, he was named the Executive Director of the Business Acceleration System (BAS). Over the last 4 years, Perkins has organized several StartUp Weeknd events, served as a judge at two annual Louisiana Tech University’s Top Bulldog Pitch Competition, and been selected to facilitate ...

  Wayne Mullins is a passionate entrepreneur committed to being remarkable and getting extraordinary results for his clients. He regularly provides marketing insights to companies that are generating $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 in annual revenues. However, his passion is helping small business owners and entrepreneurs challenge their assumptions, creating value where they’ve never looked, and increasing ...

  Our next speaker is Danelle Myer and she will be talking about The First 8 Years. Danelle grew up on a soybean, corn and cattle farm near Logan, Iowa, where her family continues to farm today. She studied public relations at the University of Northern Iowa and has worked in marketing, advertising, PR, events and ...

  WE’RE HIRING!   I’m so excited to announce that our team is expanding to include a full-time Farmers Market Manager! The pay is good and the benefits are great! This is a full-time position located in Alexandria Louisiana. Have I told you that: Our team does regular *Take Your Kayak to Work* Days? They ...

  As one of five instructors for the 2019 Farmer Training Program, Bahia will be welcoming you to the series and laying the groundwork to help you succeed in the workshops and in your farm-based business. Bahia Nightengale is the Director of the Central Louisiana Local Food Initiatives at CLEDA, she works to strengthen Central ...

CULTIVATING SMALL FARM SUCCESS   -A Fresh Central Seed to Success Workshop Series 2019- LEARN: Farm business operations, crop planning for profitability, farm-business marketing, niche production, and much more. EXPERIENCE: On-farm field days, workshops led by nationally renowned farmers and local experts. JOIN: A group of like-minded entry-level farmers from across central Louisiana MEET: Statewide networks of farmers with ...

    Malcolm White, Executive Director of the Mississippi Arts Commission and one of the leading voices in the South on the Creative Economy, will be the keynote speaker for CLEDA’s Quarterly innovation Luncheon on Monday, September 17. White has led the Mississippi Arts Commission twice during his career. In between, he served as Director ...

            FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Business Micro-Lending Supports Small Enterprises in Central Louisiana A partnership between the Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance (CLEDA), and Communities Unlimited, Inc. (CU), serves local start-ups with expert technical assistance and access to small business micro-loans.   ALEXANDRIA, LA, May 30, 2018 – In February of 2018 ...