Beginning Farmers

Building Soils for Better Crops

The fourth edition of Building Soils for Better Crops—enhanced and expanded—explains how to use ecological principles to build soil health and boost fertility, yields and overall sustainability.

Farmers' Guide to Business Structures

Farmers’ Guide to Business Structures describes the fundamentals of sole proprietorships, general partnerships, limited liability companies and C, S and B corporations in straightforward language, to help you choose the best entity for your operation. Selecting the right business entity for your farm is like building the foundation of a house.

A Farmer's Guide to Crop Quality for Wholesale Outlets

A simple guide to crop quality focused on tomatoes, cucurbits and greens, with photos of good and poor crop quality as well as best practices for post-harvest handling.

Conservation Generation

The Colorado River irrigates 15 percent of the nation’s crops, making the conservation efforts of Western producers crucial to the American food system. Conservation Generation is a new short film by the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) about four young farmers and ranchers in the arid West who are committed to conservation practices that conserve water and promote soil health.

Building Sustainable Farms, Ranches and Communities

This guide lists funding opportunities offered by federal programs, and is indispensable for anyone seeking government help to foster their innovative enterprise in forestry and agriculture.

Resources for Vermont's Beginning Farmers

This website provides new and beginning farmers in Vermont with information to help them succeed.

How to Begin Your Small Farm Dream

This plain language guide is for people who want to start a small farm. It covers skills you need to start a small farm; risks and rewards of farm ownership; financial resources; creating a business plan; and marketing.

Wholesale Packing Resource Guide

This plain language guide is for farmers and ranchers interested in selling to supermarkets, produce distributors, restaurants and institutions.

Applying for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)

This plain language guide discusses eligibility and the application process for the USDA-NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).

Youth Renewing the Countryside

This full-color book profiles 50 inspiring young people—one from every state—who are revitalizing rural America with new enterprises.

Selling at a Farmers Market

This plain language guide guide explains how to begin selling at a farmers' market, including choosing a market, applying for space, designing displays, setting prices, making sales and keeping records.

Applying for Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

This plain language guide introduces readers to the USDA-NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and explains eligibility for EQIP, how to apply and how the money can be used.

Guide to USDA's NASS End of Season Fruit and Vegetable Inquiry

This plain language helps farmers complete the USDA-NASS End of Season Fruit and Vegetable Survey. The guide explains the survey's purpose and step-by-step instructions for completing the forms.

Financing the Farm: Applying for an FSA Loan

This plain language guide has information on the types of FSA loans available, and includes instructions for applying and developing a business plan.

Harvesting Crops for Market

This plain language guide has information on when to harvest vegetables, how to prepare produce for harvest, and safe handling of produce after harvest.

Managing Risks on the Small Farm

This plain language guide explains the five types of risk—production, marketing, worker, legal and financial—and provides worksheets.

Dairy Your Way

This publication was created to provide information that will help producers explore the many choices available for today’s dairy farms. This book is not intended to be a how-to dairy guide or manual. While there is no one-size-fits-all answer for dairy farmers seeking success as milk producers, there are many options that can be profitable and satisfying.

Building a Sustainable Business

Bringing the business planning process alive, Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses helps today's alternative and sustainable agriculture entrepreneurs transform farm-grown inspiration into profitable enterprises. Incluye una versión abreviada en español.

Profitable Pork

The 16-page bulletin features profiles about successful hog producers as well as the latest research on everything from greater profits to better-tasting pork raised in alternative hog systems.

Estrategias Economico-Ambientales en la Crianza de Cerdos

Granjeros que quieren producir puercos con éxito en pequeña escala pueden preservar su independencia de cara a la industria de puercos en proceso de consolidación.