By Lea Hart
A gift from Flatlands Insurance Group to NC State Extension’s Executive Farm Management program will help farmers across the Southeastern United States hone cutting-edge management skills to operate their farms.
Established in 2017, the Executive Farm Management (EFM) program is offered by NC State Extension in partnership with Clemson Cooperative Extension, East Carolina University’s College of Business and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.
The EFM program provides large scale, family owned farms with management education, says Michael Best, the program’s director. That includes aspects from finance to human resources to business strategy — something of a “mini-MBA,” he adds. The program runs for 10 days over a three-week period in the farming off season, just after the start of the new year. Applications for the 2025 Executive Farm Management Program are now open.
“The farmers come through the program to learn about strategic management and the different areas that are involved in managing a complex farming operation,” Best says. “This may be the first time many have thought about running their farm differently than they have their entire lives, or how their parents showed them — it’s about thinking outside the box.”
For Flatlands Insurance Group, the sponsorship was a perfect fit, says Paige Harris, principal at Flatlands Insurance.
She initially learned about the EFM program through an employee with connections to the program.
“Anytime I hear about NC State, my ears perk up,” Harris says. A passionate NC State supporter whose husband and children are alumni of the university, Harris serves on the board for the NC State University Foundation and as this year’s chair of NC State’s Wolfpack Women in Philanthropy group.
Flatlands Insurance prides itself not just on providing insurance to the agriculture industry but in finding ways to help educate clients as well.
“We’re so committed to success in agriculture that when we saw this group is taking a lot of our clients and developing them into thought leaders by using best practices, it sounded like something we want to support,” Harris says.
Unlike many Extension programs, the EFM program receives no state or federal funding. Grants, sponsorships and gifts fund the program, Best says. It can cost up to $11,000 per farmer each year, but the EFM program’s organizers work to bring that cost down through support like that from Flatlands Insurance. In 2025, for example, they’ll be able to offer the program to each farmer for just $4,900.
With nearly 170 alumni, the EFM program also provides farmers with a network to share ideas, Best says.
“I spent this summer visiting farmers and learned that one of the most important things they took away from the program was networking and learning from other farmers,” he says. “It’s one of my favorite things about this program.”
Flatlands Insurance Group, which serves not just North Carolina but the surrounding states as well, sees the impact of the EFM program reaching the agricultural community and well beyond, Harris says.
She believes the EFM program’s continuing education means these leaders in agriculture can be changemakers within their communities and help solve critical issues such as food insecurity.
“North Carolina is in the top ten in agriculture, and the top ten in food insecurity,” says Harris. “This program makes that connection through education — our local producers are going to help feed the world.”
To learn more about the EFM program and how to sign-up, visit go.ncsu.edu/efm or contact Michael Best for additional information.
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