Cooperative Economics, Thought, and Rural Leadership Courses
The Cooperative Economics, Thought, and Rural Leadership curriculum puts culture at the center of agriculture. Through courses, workshops, and field days, participants learn to use Wendell Berry’s writing to advocate for healthy land and communities; understand their places in agricultural history; determine affordable, farm-based solutions; cultivate an agricultural economy of cooperation, parity, and democracy; and practice neighborly leadership.
Reading in Place
“A Good Scythe”: Traditional Hay Making
“...I never took the least pleasure in using the power scythe, whereas in using the Marugg scythe, whatever the weather and however difficult the cutting, I always work with the pleasure that one invariably gets from using a good tool.”
2 seats newly opened!
August 9, 2025
Cost $50
Discover the time-tested, reliable, and surprisingly efficient art of mowing a field with a scythe. This one-day hands-on course will provide students with the knowledge and practical skills necessary to effectively use a modern European-style scythe for mowing grass and harvesting hay. We will delve into the historical context and ecological benefits of scythe-based mowing contrasting it with contemporary mechanical methods. Through an end-of-day discussion, we will draw on Wendell Berry’s writing and a variety of practical and historical resources to explore the arts and cultures of the scythe as an agrarian tool for good land use. Limit 5 participants.
This course is ideal for homeowners, small-scale farmers, orchardists, gardeners, and anyone interested in using simple tools for practical land management. No prior scythe experience is required, but a willingness to engage in physical activity* and learn new skills is essential. Participants will leave with knowledge of how to purchase and maintain a well-tuned scythe, the confidence to use it, and the experience of mowing grass and making a little hay for their livestock or mulch for their gardens. They will also be familiar with how this tool and traditional hay making fit into the long history of farming.
*During the practicum portion of this course, participants will be using scythes for extended periods and using tools to sharpen scythes. The class will engage in field-based activities regardless of the weather, though alternate plans will be made in response to extreme weather events. Due to the strenuous nature of the course and also working with extremely sharp tools, we ask that participants be at least 18 years of age.
Instructors: Rick Thomas, Woodland Skills Instructor and Leah Bayens, Agrarian Studies Instructor
Photo credit: Jess Wilson
Reading in Place
Wendell Berry’s Hannah Coulter
Reading in Place Short Course: Wendell Berry’s Hannah Coulter
Course full. Waitlist option.
Cost $100
Limit 15 participants
Join Farm & Forest Institute Director Leah Bayens for a “Reading in Place” study of Wendell Berry’s seventh novel, Hannah Coulter. This short course kicks off with an evening discussion session (hybrid in-person or via Zoom) and culminates with a humanities field day* and discussion (in-person) at The Berry Center Farm, near Port Royal, Kentucky. Participants will receive a reading guide filled with discussion questions, supplemental resources, and hands-on exercises. Participants will take the novel into the field and forest, exploring Hannah Coulter’s storied landscape.
The novel adds a finely-tuned woman’s voice to the fabled Port William choir. In recounting eight decades of Kentucky farm life, Hannah shows how “all women is brothers,” as Burley Coulter puts it. She sheds light on farming women’s lives and livelihoods, wrapping them together with each other and into the fold of an encompassing membership.
But this novel is also a story about stories–from the opening page to the last. The first chapter declares “The Story Continuing.” Hannah commences a tale about “the story of our place in our time”: the orphaned mother who bears an orphaned child, a dear husband lost to World War II, carrying on with life and love on a ridge farm above Sand Ripple, the young people moving away and being replaced by tractors, the flickers of hope in their homecoming. Hannah’s life is punctuated by grief and by gratitude. “Like everybody’s,” she says, “It was going to be the story of living in the absence of the dead” (51). Yet she calls her narrative “my giving of thanks” and “the story of our place” (5).
The elderly narrator reveals the ways stories can bind people to each other and a community to its place. Following Hannah’s lead, this “Reading in Place” study considers what kinds of stories kindle affections and keep histories by holding on to what is useful now and in the days ahead.
*Awareness of the physical demands of this course: Please be aware that participants may at times be walking up to ½ mile on uneven terrain during this course.The class will engage in field-based experiences regardless of the weather, though alternate plans will be made in response to extreme weather events.
Write Your Rural Story: A Memoir Workshop with Georgia Green Stamper
This 2-day workshop was designed for those who are beginning to collect and write their personal stories of family and rural places. Georgia Green Stamper led the sessions at The Berry Center’s Agrarian Cultural Center. Participants had the option to submit their final pieces for inclusion in The Berry Center Archive and for possible publication in our newsletters.
Henry Countian Darlene Hawkins Tipton enrolled in the 2024 rural memoir class led by Owen County’s Georgia Green Stamper. Darlene had the farming stories in her head, but she says, “The class gave me the courage to write my stories.” Her account reminds us that “every leaf mattered in tobacco.” Quality mattered then, and it matters now. This is a central value driving The Berry Center’s mission.
2024 Memoir Workshop Participant Essay, by Darlene Hawkins Tipton
2025 Memoir Workshop Participant Essay, by Kristin Harrison Taylor
Agrarian Voices Study
Fall 2025 Agrarian Voices Study
Readings in Agriculture: An Agrarian Literary Survey
Registration opening late mid-August
Limit 20 participants. Reduced-rate scholarships are available for farmers and residents of Henry County.
The Farm and Forest Institute offers 3 Agrarian Voices Study courses per year. These classes combine Wendell Berry’s writing and The Berry Center’s mission with agricultural literature, practical examples, and lectures. The courses provide resources for in-depth study of topics introduced in The Berry Center’s Agrarian Voices Distinguished Lecture Series. This humanities-based series features Kentuckians of notable imagination and understanding of farming, rural life, agricultural economics, and agrarian thought and history.
The Agrarian Voices Study classes combine the tradition of study clubs and Chautauqua lectures. Historically, these programs cultivated civic engagement and community cohesion through intellectual, artistic, and practical pursuits—all vital for establishing and strengthening cultural foundations of democracy.
Our agrarian study club provides unique access to The Berry Center’s resources and an opportunity to contribute to our mission: advocating for farmers, land-conserving communities, and healthy regional economies.
Winter/Spring Writing for the Farm: Advocacy & Leadership
Summer What Has Happened Here: Agricultural History
Fall Readings in Agriculture: An Agrarian Literature Survey
Participants may register for any of the 3 study sessions offered throughout the year.
Each Agrarian Voices Study consists of:
Access to a Collection of Resources
Readings, prompts for reflection and place-based exercises, & additional materials for extended study
Agrarian Voices Lectures by Kentucky Writers, Farmers, & Leaders
These public lectures enrich the study of farming, rural life, agricultural economics, and agrarian thought and history. Lectures are recorded and shared at a later date for those who cannot attend.
Group Discussion Opportunities
Gather with fellow participants to reflect on readings, exercises, thoughts, and ideas. A Zoom link is available for those who cannot attend in-person discussions.
A Humanities Field Day (in-person only)
Participants complete the majority of the self-paced coursework at home, on their own time. They expand their learning in Henry County, Kentucky, through group discussions, lectures, and a humanities field day guided by The Berry Center staff. To provide access to the most people, the classes do not bear academic credit, but the materials are as robust, rigorous, and captivating as you would find in most college and continuing education courses. This community education program is open to all– from urban to rural and from those who farm to people who support farmers.
The Berry Center’s Farm and Forest Institute courses are made possible through a combination of registration fees and generous support from the NoVo Foundation. Thanks to this funding, the Institute provides educational opportunities for a range of farming and farm-supporting constituencies. The Agrarian Voices Distinguished Lecture Series is sponsored by The Josephine Ardery Foundation and by a host of generous donors.