Finding Your Balance: Stress Awareness, Rural Resources, and Mindfulness Tools | Cider School

More about this event

Farming and running a cidery can be demanding, with stress affecting personal well-being and safety, communication, and business performance. Participants will identify their primary stressors, recognize early warning signs that impact workflow, and learn where to access rural health resources. The session also includes mindfulness practices designed to improve focus and reduce stress. By integrating awareness with skill‑building, this session provides producers with practical tools that may help prevent costly errors and improve operational performance.

Presenter:

Michelle Markesteyn, Professional Counselor Associate, Willamette Valley Behavioral Health

About Cider School:

Running an orchard or cidery means making big decisions every day—from managing costs and protecting your crop to attracting customers and taking care of yourself and your team. Cider School gives you practical tools and expert guidance to make those decisions with greater confidence.

Cider School is a new, self-paced learning experience built for cidermakers and orchardists. Get practical guidance from leading industry experts and connect with peers as you build skills to strengthen your business and prepare for what’s ahead.

Choose what supports you: 

• ONLINE WORKSHOP SERIES
  Five expert-led virtual workshops covering financial management, agricultural production risk, cidermaking, agritourism, and human well-being. Attend live or watch the recordings on your own time. Register for the five-workshop online series and get access to all five live workshops and recordings to watch on your own time. FREE for NWCA Members · $50 for non-members
• ONE-ON-ONE CONSULTING
  Following the Financial Fundamentals workshop, participants can access up to four hours of one-on-one consulting with Irvine & Company CPAs. Dig into your COGS, financial strengths and opportunities, and build a roadmap for the next steps. Financial consulting is available separately for:
  $50 for NWCA members · $100 for non-members.
  Participants also have the opportunity to review insurance options with our partner AgWest.
• LEARNING COMMUNITY
  Continue learning alongside fellow cidermakers and orchardists through June 2027, sharing ideas and working through challenges together.
• 2027 NORTHWEST CIDER SYMPOSIUM SESSIONS
  Bring it all together at Northwest Cider Symposium in Tacoma on March 16, 2027. Dig deeper into what you’ve learned in Cider School through in-person sessions.

Cider School is supported by a nearly $100,000 grant from the Western Extension Risk Management Education Center.