GenerationNext Seminars
2026 & 2027 Schedule:
Auburn ME Office: Nov 19, Dec 10, Jan 14
Bridgeton NJ Office: Nov 20, Dec 4, Dec 18
Batavia NY Office: Nov 12, Dec 3, Jan 14
Cortland NY Office: Nov 10, Dec 2, Jan 13
Potsdam NY Office: Dec 1, Jan 12, Jan 26
White River Junction VT Office: Nov 18, Dec 9, Jan 13
Online: Jan 21, Jan 28, Feb 4, Feb 11, Feb 18, Feb 25, Mar 4
GenerationNext helps emerging agricultural leaders strengthen the skills needed to lead people, improve business performance, make informed financial decisions and prepare their operations for long-term success.
This program will help you:
- Lead your team with greater confidence as you take on greater management responsibilities.
- Make smarter business decisions, navigate challenges more effectively and communicate with confidence in difficult situations.
- Discover your leadership style and learn how to adapt your approach to motivate and manage different personalities.
- Build a stronger team by learning practical strategies to hire, motivate and retain great employees.
- Gain the confidence to evaluate financial performance, make informed business decisions and identify opportunities to improve profitability.
- Identify ways to strengthen customer relationships, increase business value and support long-term profitability.
- Recognize risks before they become problems and develop strategies to protect your business and its future.
- Expand your professional network by connecting with other emerging agricultural leaders from across the Northeast.
Is GenerationNext Right for You?
GenerationNext is designed for emerging farm managers, next-generation owners and successors, family business members preparing for leadership roles, agricultural entrepreneurs, and individuals seeking to improve management, financial and strategic business skills. If you find yourself in these scenarios, then GenerationNext is for you:
- You're preparing to take on greater leadership responsibilities.
- You're making more business and financial decisions.
- You want to strengthen your management and communication skills.
- You're looking for practical tools to improve profitability and efficiency.
- You want to connect with other emerging agricultural leaders facing similar challenges.
It is not necessary to have an existing relationship with Farm Credit East to attend. However, the program is limited to students in our chartered territory which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Learning Approach
GenerationNext combines practical exercises, real-world agricultural business scenarios, peer discussions and knowledgeable instruction to help you immediately apply what you learn to your operation.
In addition to each seminar, participants will receive a reference manual with handouts and worksheets. Participants will receive a framed certificate of completion.
GenerationNext is approved for USDA Farm Service Agency borrower training.
What you’ll gain
You’ll leave GenerationNext with greater confidence, stronger leadership abilities, practical financial management skills and a clearer vision for the future of your business. Whether managing employees, evaluating investments or preparing for succession, you'll have tools you can use immediately. You’ll also build relationships with emerging farm managers and future industry leaders from across the Northeast to share ideas and learn from others' experiences long after the seminars conclude.
Investment
A $1,900 leadership development program for just $199. Through Farm Credit East's Young, Beginning, Small and Veteran incentive program, eligible participants can attend GenerationNext for only $199.
GenerationNext FAQs
GenerationNext is more about the dollars and cents aspects of ag businesses than it is about plants or cows. You can expect intermediate or college-level instruction, but no prior knowledge of financial terms is necessary.
Good management separates top-performing farms from those that fall behind. This course will give you the tools to manage your business profitably. Past participants speak highly of the program, but investing is a decision that only you can make.
Experienced managers can also benefit from a refresher course, even if you have a college degree or years of management experience. You will pick up valuable insights from our farm business consultants as well as from your GenerationNext colleagues in the class.
Seminars take place over a period of three months, one per month, and are generally held in the fall or early winter. They run from 9:30 a.m. to approximately 3:30 p.m.; when sessions are in-person, lunch and refreshments are included. Check with your local Farm Credit East branch office for specific dates in your area.
Yes. The tuition for the full course (online or in-person) is $199. Scholarships are available for producers with limited resources
"I'd most certainly recommend GenerationNext. The course covered important topics for any business owner and provided the tools to make educated business decisions."
Oz and Rob Thorndike
Thorndike & Sons, Inc.
Strong, Maine
Views from the Field
“GenerationNext provided the tools to make good, educated business decisions.”
Brothers Oz and Rob Thorndike work with their parents in the family’s business, Thorndike & Sons, Inc., a contract logging and timberland management business. Oz is a foreman and equipment operator, and Rob is a licensed forester, overseeing operations and land management, while also working with landowners on different harvest prescriptions.
After a talk with their loan officer, the family decided it would be beneficial for Oz and Rob to go through the GenerationNext program to further develop their business management skills, and, in turn, improve the quality of their business.
The GenerationNext program offered by Farm Credit East is available for young operators, like Oz and Rob, who are either middle-managers or managers of a farm or ag business. Through a series of seminars, group discussions and ample networking opportunities, the program allowed the Thorndike brothers to target areas of personal growth and acquire the tools they needed to be more effective managers.
Oz’s focus in attending was on the people side of the business. He commented, “I learned a lot about why people react the way they do and how to deal with different situations in a professional manner.” After completing the training, Oz used his newfound knowledge to formalize their business’s safety guidelines, an important piece of their operations.
Rob was drawn to the marketing and accounting topics. Since the class, he has been more involved in the cost/benefit analysis of new equipment purchases and is working on enhanced marketing efforts. Rob said, “We’ve always relied on word-of-mouth, but now we’re looking into a website, brochures and attending agricultural trade shows.”