WAYNE TWP., Warren County — In 12 years, Bob Feldmann's five-acre lot in rural Warren County has evolved into a nearly 50-acre farm.

Enrolling in an eight-week Ohio State University Extension school for first-time farmers has helped the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base engineer with his farming on the side.

Feldmann, 53, worked with hay while growing up in Centerville and lived in Oakwood before moving to Warren County, where he picked up farm knowledge in bits and pieces from locals. The Southern Ohio New and Small Farm College's Warren County session in 2006 rounded out his knowledge of farm business and management.

"I'm a city boy," Feldmann said. "I didn't grow up on a farm. I was very glad to see Ohio State was offering this to help people understand the whole farming thing."

The "college" was originally conceived as a way to help southern Ohio's tobacco farmers make the transition away from that crop as government subsidies were phased out. OSU extension educators soon realized such programming also could benefit rural landowners who had recently purchased small acreage in the countryside. Since 2005, nearly 200 people have enrolled for the first seven sessions; an eighth is scheduled to begin later this month in Monroe.

Many program participants don't expect to make a living off the land, but do want to recoup something, said organizer Tony Nye of OSU Extension in Clinton County. First-time farmers want to their interaction with their land to be productive.

"They like living in the country, getting their hands dirty," Nye said. "That's their motivation for buying land."

Drema Wetzel-Koenig and her husband, Ed Koenig, plan to move this summer from Warren County's Harlan Twp. to a 57-acre farm in Wetzel-Koenig's native Darke County. She values the education she received from the farm college on agricultural tax and legal issues, improving wildlife habitat and working with tenant farmers.

But Wetzel-Koenig said most helpful was the network of contacts she developed through the college. Now, she said, "I know where to go to get answers."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457

or bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Southern Ohio New and Small Farm College 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for eight Mondays starting Jan. 28

When:

Where: 913 Lebanon St., Monroe, in Butler County

Cost: $150 per person, plus $50 for each additional family member

Too far away? A similar program is planned for Miami County next year