The following is a list websites with useful information for new farmers. Some are geographically focused (though most are not), and even the local sites have a lot of good general information. They are not listed in any particular order, so I encourage viewers to survey the list in its entirety. Please let me know if there are web resources which should be added by e-mailing me at beginningfarmers@gmail.com

1) The New England Small Farm Institute (NESFI) is a land-based, non-profit organization founded in 1978. And they have an extensive collection of fantastic resources for aspiring and beginning farmers. Their comprehensive website includes “an extensive resource collection; produce publications; develops and offers innovative, farmer-guided programs; and advocates for policies that encourage sustainable small-scale agriculture.” It’s Growing New Farmers section helps connect new and potential farmers with programs and services, and provides resources for service providers who wish to facilitate their development. These pages are a must for anyone thinking about beginning farming.

2) The New York Beginning Farmer Project From Cornell University Cooperative Extension, offers online courses, interactive farm planning tools, a new farmer discussion forum, and lots of useful information and links. Their Beginning Farmer 101 – Online Farm Planing Course includes 7 units:

• Unit 1 : Goals, Skills and Resources
• Unit 2 : Marketing what you produce
• Unit 3 : Evaluating Land and Facilities for Your Enterprise
• Unit 4 : Choosing an Enterprise
• Unit 5 : Good Stewardship is Good Business
• Unit 6 : What Will it Take to be Profitable
• Unit 7 : Regulations, Taxes and Legal Issue

3) The Beginning Farmer Center at Iowa State University provides a number of helpful resources for the next generation of farmers.

4) The University of Hawai’i at Manoa publishes a comprehensive set of Links for New Farmers covering the following categories:

CHOOSING THE ROAD TO SUSTAINABILITY – THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE AGRI-ENTREPRENEURSHIP TOPICS — SUSTAINABLE AND ORGANIC PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES — THE FARM AS HABITAT: ENVIRONMENTAL TOPICS — ANIMAL PRODUCTION — AGROFORESTRY — FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) — UPCOMING NEW FARMER TRAINING EVENTS — and TRAINER RESOURCES

5) The Penn State University Agricultural Marketing Website has a Beginning Farmers Page with plenty of useful information. The page offers case studies, publications on Farm Decision Making; Marketing Opportunities For Small Farmers; Managing Risks; Farm Succession Strategies; Farmer Cooperatives; Alternative Production Processes, and more

6) The Center For Rural Affairs offers a number of Programs and Resources Specifically for Beginning Farmers.

7) Cultivate the Soil: Resources for Beginning and Small Scale Farmers and Ranchers in Washington State is a 2008 Publication by Megan McPhaden from the Washington State Housing/Finance Commission Beginning Farmer/Rancher Loan Program which provides comprehensive information on financing and loan programs, business planning, marketing, finding land, insurance and risk management, energy efficiency, education, organic farming, and minority-specific programs.

8) The Land Stewardship Project offers all sorts of resources for beginning farmers. In addition to their Farm Beginnings training program, they are a great source of information for farm policy and activism, promoting sustainability, developing farmer resources, and much more.

9) New Farm (from the Rodale Institute) provides tons of useful educational, production,and policy information on organic farming and organic transition. They also feature stories about individual farmers that are often quite instructive and interesting.

10) The Missouri Alternatives Center has a nice list of websites and publications for and about beginning farmers.

11) The Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) is a great resource for beginning and aspiring farmers. ALBA ‘generates opportunities for farm workers, limited-resource, and aspiring farmers’.  Their mission is ‘to advance economic viability, social equity and ecological land management’. ‘ALBA aims to contribute to a more just and sustainable food system through the development of: 1) human resources that will be tomorrow’s farmers and sustainable agriculture leaders; 2) growing marketing alternatives for small-scale, limited-resource farmers; and 3) the enhancement of biological diversity and protection of natural resources – all necessary components of such a food system’. Their ‘overall goal is to create greater economic opportunities for small farms while promoting ecological land management and healthy local foods. Objectives accomplished in pursuit of this goal include training in organic farm production, marketing, record-keeping, labor law, pest management and numerous other topics related to operating a small farm business’.

12) ‘The mission of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (New Entry) [from Tufts University] is to assist people with limited resources who have an interest in small-scale commercial agriculture, to begin farming in Massachusetts. The broader goals of New Entry are to support the vitality and sustainability of the region’s agriculture, to build long term economic self-reliance and food security among participants and their communities, and to expand access to high-quality, culturally appropriate foods in underserved areas through production of locally-grown foods.’ They also publish a Resource Guide for New Farmers.

13) The New Farmer Development Project identifies, educates, and supports immigrants with agricultural experience by helping them become local farmers and establish small farms in the New York, New Jersey, and Northern Pennsylvania.

14) The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) is a great regional resource. Based in Asheville, NC, they are dedicated to ‘expanding local food markets that will preserve our agricultural heritage, give everyone access to fresh, healthy food, and keep our farmers farming’. Among the many things they offer are Farm to Business, Farm to School, and Farm to Hospital resources; Conferences and Educational Programs; Farmer Grants; Family Farm Tours; Research; Publicationa; and many useful Links. A great recource for farmers and others in the area. Also in this region, check out the Organic Growers School.

15) Stewards of the Land is a project exploring the lives of  ‘six small-scale farmers who are profiled using sound, images, and writing. And their work is contextualized through a series of articles examining sustainable agriculture in the area, the state of North Carolina, and the country as a whole’.

16) FamilyFarmed.org is based in the Chicago area. Their ‘Mission is to expand the production, marketing and distribution of locally grown and responsibly produced food and goods, in order to enhance the social, economic and environmental health of our communities’. They offer Market Development programs, an annual Expo, and other useful information.

17) The Greenhorns are an exciting and energetic group making a Film about New Sustainable Farmers. Their website has lots of neat information, as does their blog The Irresistible Fleet of Bicycles.

18) The Ecological Farming Association is a non-profit educational organization in California which hosts training programs, educational conferences, and on-farm events. The Website has lots of great information. They also have an excellent Blog.

19) Agriculture Online has a Farmers For the Future page with a number of interesting articles and tips for Beginning Farmers.

20) For the first time Ohio’s new and beginning farmers have an entire website dedicated to their unique information needs and designed to make it easier for them to find the services and resources they seek. The website URL is www.beginfarmingohio.org.

21) The Center for the Micro-EcoFarming Movement has a very nice website with lots of resources, information, tips, and links to help you get started in farming.