I recently found some great information on starting a pick-your-own farm operation.

It is available on www.pickyourown.org, a great website with tons of information on everything related to this topic, from canning and freezing, to a comprehensive list of pick-your-own operations by state. If you have a pick-your-own operation, you should go to the site and get listed. If you don’t, it’s worth checking out anyway.

And For a well written, detailed summary explaining the process of starting a pick-your-own business, you can go to http://www.pickyourown.org/howtostartapyo.htm

Thinking of starting a food business?

From understanding the basics of starting a food business to individualized step-by-step assistance to the marketplace, the Food Entrepreneur Assistance Program is the place to begin. Since 1989, this nationally recognized program has been helping entrepreneurs from throughout the country achieve their dream of starting a food business.

Food Entrepreneur Assistance Program

As a new or potential food entrepreneur, it is often difficult to find an accurate source for the information necessary to successfully launch a business in the food industry. Many great ideas never make it to the marketplace because entrepreneurs do not know the steps to take to accomplish this goal. Ensuring a food product survives and prospers in a highly competitive marketplace requires informed decisions, careful planning and precise execution.

The Food Entrepreneur Assistance Program is the source for assistance through all phases of establishing a food business – from developing a product formulation and process through introduction to the market.

This unique and comprehensive program begins with a one-day seminar, “From Recipe to Reality”, which provides entrepreneurs with a basic understanding of the issues crucial to deciding to start a food business. Following the seminar participants may choose to enter the second phase of the program — “From Product to Profit.” During this phase entrepreneurs receive confidential, individualized assistance from our food scientists and business consultants.

AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL BANKING TIP SHEET FOR YOUNG AND BEGINNING FARMERS:

HOW TO BUILD SUCCESSFUL FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Original Document Available at: http://www.aba.com/NR/rdonlyres/E1577452-246C-11D5-AB7C-00508B95258D/31065/TipsheetforyoungandBeginningFarmers9996.pdf

When it comes to getting started in farming or ranching, young and beginning farmers and ranchers might find bankers are their best friends. With state and national agricultural support programs shrinking, local banks have emerged as the funding source of choice for individuals launching their agricultural businesses.

Young and beginning farmers who don’t know where to go for financing may be deterred by the high cost of getting into farming and ranching. Unlike established farmers, young and beginning farmers may also need to learn the basics of creating business relationships and what goes into making financial decisions. Ask around. Often the local banker is recognized as the “go to guy” for financial assistance and advice. Call him or her up and make an appointment to discuss your plans, and keep the following in mind: Read more »

The following videos are segments on beginning farmers from the program Market to Market from Iowa Public Television. They reference Iowa State University’s Beginning Farmer Center, Farm On, California Farm Link, California Coastal Rural Development Coalition, USDA Loan Programs, and the importance and potential for building relationships outside traditional family succession. They talk about the difficulty of getting started, and the potential for finding people to take over existing farm operations, and part two talks about direct marketing and adding value.

I like the fact that they show how this happens in very different production systems, and on different scales. They are worth a look!

Farmers, owners of food-related businesses or those aspiring to enter the industry are eligible to apply for grants from the Food System Economic Partnership (FSEP).  Applicants must produce food as a living (not as a hobby) for local markets in Southeast Michigan and established food co-ops may apply as a group.  Grant amounts will range between $500 to $2,000.  The deadline for applications is July 13, 2009.  Funding for these grants is made possible from the Michigan Regional Skills Alliance (MiRSA) of Michigan’s Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth (DELEG) and will be distributed by FSEP.  FSEP is a nonprofit organization that exists to catalyze change in the food system of Southeastern Michigan.

The grant brochure containing the application form and instructions can be found at:

http://fsepmichigan.org/news/Grant_Opportunity

Questions?  Please call Jennifer Fike, FSEP Executive Director at (734) 222-6859.

If you would like to access a searchable archive of the all the previous Mich-Organic listserv postings copy this URL and paste in your browser address field http://list.msu.edu/archives/mich-organic.html

From: The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition: http://sustainableagriculture.net/

On Thursday, June 11, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee met to markup and vote on the agriculture appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010. The bill provides $22.9 billion in discretionary funds, an increase of approximately 11 percent over FY 09 levels but $79 million short of President Obama’s request.

The bulk of the increased funding in the bill goes for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and international food aid. Under the bill, the WIC program receives $7.54 billion, up $681 million or 10 percent from FY 09 but close to $240 million short of the President’s request and likely short of the funding level it will receive in the final FY 10 bill later this year. FDA receives $2.35 billion – an increase of $299 million – and this amount reaches $3 billion factoring in user fees. International food aid receives a $464 million increase to $1.7 billion, while the McGovern-Dole international school lunch program receives doubles in size to $200 million.

Since the bill has not yet been released publicly, we cannot report on how all sustainable agriculture priorities fared. Next week’s edition of the Update will include full information and an updated version of our appropriations tracking chart. We do know the following: Read more »

Developing a Business Plan can be one of the most important and useful exercises involved in the development of new farms. Not only is this process useful in helping to understand and articulate what the farm enterprise will look like, it is also important in building a farm development plan that is economically sustainable, and can be essential in procuring the necessary funds with which to purchase land, equipment, and other resources necessary to get started.

The New England Small Farms Institute’s Growing New Farmers Program helps to answer the question: Do I need a Business Plan for my Farm? by providing advice and resources related to this question at: http://growingnewfarmers.org/main/for_new_farmers/new_farmer_q_and_a/business_plan_for_my_farm/

Free Business Planning from the University of Minnesota. “AgPlan,” designed specifically for farms and ag businesses, provides guidance in writing your business plan, offers the option of collaborating with one or more advisors, and allows you to save your planning work online (or print it out). Online software at http://agplan.umn.edu/

And the USDA National Agricultural Library’s Rural Information Center offers Small Farm Funding Resources which include documents which assist in the development of a Farm Business Plan at: http://www.nal.usda.gov/ric/ricpubs/small_farm_funding.htm

Each of these resources can be extremely useful for people at all stages of thinking about or planning to start new farms or farm related businesses.

Farmers Markets Today Magazine is a great new publication which recently included an article on beginning farmers which highlighted our site.

Check out the Magazine at www.FarmersMarketsToday.com

Check out the Farmers Markets Today article about Beginning Farmers HERE!

Subscription prices are as follows:

Individual Subscriptions

1 year print – $21.00

2 year print – $35.00

1 year email – $9.00

Government/School/Library (discount rate)

1 year print – $18.00

2 year print – $30.00

1 year email – $9.00

Farmers Markets Today

120 West 4th Street Cedar Falls IA 50613-2864 Ph: 319-277-3599 / 800-959-3276 Fax: 319-277-3783 Email: info@FarmersMarketsToday.com Web: www.FarmersMarketsToday.com

This article from the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service is available at http://www.mosesorganic.org/attachments/productioninfo/fsnospray.html

There are many aspects of organic production that are out of a farmers’ control, including the weather, seed quality and the possibility of damage to the organic integrity of crops by adjoining land uses. While we cannot do anything about climatic conditions, there are some things we can do to lessen the chance of contamination, including building relationships over time with nonorganic neighbors to offer more long term protection. Read more »

Click Here to View Land Link Programs By State

Goal: The goal of the network is to support programs that foster the next generation of farmers and ranchers.

The Need: The economic future of the nation’s agriculture depends on the ability of a new generation to enter farming. The barriers faced by the next generation are creating a crisis in agriculture.

Challenges to farm entry include:

• Insufficient farm entry strategies
• Insufficient farm succession and and retirement strategies
• Inability to acquire the initial capital investment
• Difficulty in identifying viable farm entry opportunities
• Difficulty in obtaining appropriate financial, managerial, and production assistance for the entering and exiting parties
• Lack of appropriate community support

The Network believes that programs that help create the opportunity for young people to begin a career in agriculture, particularly by addressing farm access, must be part of the government’s rural development effort. Read more »

From: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib55/eib55_reportsummary.html

Catherine Greene, Carolyn Dimitri, Biing-Hwan Lin, William McBride, Lydia Oberholtzer, and Travis Smith
See the full report > http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB55/

Economic Information Bulletin No. (EIB-55) 36 pp, June 2009

Consumer demand for organic food has risen quickly over the past decade, triggered in part by
the development and success of USDA’s organic regulatory program and label. This rapid growth highlights challenges still to be overcome in the organic sector. As consumer demand for organic products has widened, organic retail sales have spread far beyond the “natural products” market niche in urban areas and college towns and into big-box stores across the country. The 2008 Farm Act includes many new provisions to help domestic producers meet the challenges of organic agriculture and facilitate consumer access to organic food.

What Is the Issue?

Since the late 1990s, U.S. organic production has more than doubled, but the consumer market
has grown even faster. Organic food sales have more than quintupled, increasing from $3.6 billion in 1997 to $18.9 billion in 2007. More than two-thirds of U.S. consumers buy organic products at least occasionally, and 28 percent buy organic products weekly, according to the Organic Trade Association. This fast-paced growth has led to input and product shortages in organic supply chains, and several new issues—concern about premium-priced product sales in a tight U.S. economy, as well as competition from new environmental labels—are emerging in the organic industry. Read more »

Ann Wright, who has worked with The National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, and is a friend of small scale farmers has been named to a key post at the United States Department of Agriculture. This is great news for supporters of sustainable agriculture, and should bode well for agency support for small and beginning farmers.

Release No. 0199.09

Contact: Office of Communication (202)720-4623

AGRICULTURE SECRETARY VILSACK NAMES ANN WRIGHT AS DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY FOR MARKETING AND REGULATORY PROGRAMS

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2009 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the appointment of Ann Wright as Deputy Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at USDA.

“Ann has a strong background in trade and she will be a vocal advocate for expanding agriculture markets abroad,” Vilsack said. “Her knowledge and understanding of both domestic and international issues will help set a course for future growth in agricultural exports.”

Wright most recently served as Senior Policy Advisor to Majority Leader Harry Reid on issues before the Senate Agriculture Committee. Prior to joining the staff of Senator Reid, she was a policy analyst for Consumers Union on energy and trade issues and worked with farmers and non-profit organizations at the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition in Washington, DC.

Wright previously served as a policy advisor on agriculture issues for Senator Paul Simon of Illinois and Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota. She is from central Illinois and earned her Bachelors Degree in Political Science from Illinois State University.

Marketing and Regulatory Programs facilitates domestic and international marketing of U.S. agricultural products and ensures the health and care of animals and plants. The agency also actively participates in setting national and international standards.

Campaign Goal: Raise $250,000 by June 2009 to secure the future of the Apprenticeship’s organic farmer training. The funding raised this spring will help build required apprentice housing on the UCSC Farm to keep the program affordable and accessible to trainees for generations to come.

The Grow a Farmer Campaign —
Help Cultivate the Next Generation
of Organic Farmers & Gardeners

There’s a revolution underway—from inner city farmers markets to community supported agriculture (CSA) programs to school cafeterias serving locally grown food, people across the country and the world are rejecting industrial food and farming in favor of local, organic, community-scale systems. Now the most critical challenge is the lack of farmers with the training and knowledge to produce and market fresh, delicious organic food while caring for the land and community in which they work. Read more about the Grow a Farmer Campaign.