Beginning Farmer and Rancher Resources

This page provides resources related to agricultural business management and marketing for beginning farmers and ranchers:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Beginning Farmer Organizations | Ag Marketing | Direct Marketing and Value Added Products | Financing | Grant Sources | Insurance | Labor | Leasing | Market Price Reports | Recordkeeping | Regulations and Food Safety | Taxes |Business Planning

Beginning Farmer Organizations

• Center for Rural Affairs – Beginning Farmer
• Iowa Beginning Farmer Center
• Farm Beginnings
• Northeast Beginning Farmers Project
• New England Small Farm Institute
• Farm Start
• Cultivating Success
• Tufts New Entry
  

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Ag Marketing

• • CO Farm-to-Market
  • CSU Extension: Ag Marketing Factsheets
  • Colorado Department of Ag: Markets Divison/Colorado Proud
  • Colorado Farm Fresh Directory
  • Colorado Market Maker: List your ag product in this online searchable database
  • LocalHarvest: List your CSA on this online searchable database
  • Colorado Fam Shares and CSAs
  • Certification and Labeling Considerations for Agricultural Producers (2005)
  • Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture Tipsheets
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Direct Marketing and Value Added Products

• Colorado Farmers’ Market Association
  
• ATTRA: Marketing Factsheets
• Ag Marketing Resource Center
  
• Community Supported Agriculture
  
• USDA AMS Farmers Markets and Local Food Marketing
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Financing

• • CSU Extension: Ag Finance Factsheets
    
  • Farm Service Agency Loan Programs
  • Colorado Agricultural Development Authority Beginning Farmer Program
    See AgVantage Program for Young, Beginning, and Small Producers
    
  • The Farmers’ Guide to Agricultural Credit

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Grant Sources

• • Western SARE – Farmer/Rancher Grant
  • Western SARE – Producer + Professional Grant
  • CSU Specialty Crops Program
  • NRCS EQIP – Organic Initiative
  • NRCS EQIP – Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative
  • Grants.gov

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Insurance

• Farm Service Agency

• • Farmers’ Union Insurance
  • Colorado Farm Bureau Insurance

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Labor

• CSU Extension: Ag Labor Factsheets

• • Ag Help Wanted: Guidelines for Managing Ag Labor
  • Positive Practices in Farm Labor Management
  • Labor Management in Ag
  • Colorado Department of Labor

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Leasing

• • Access to Land : Lease Considerations

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Market Price Reports

• • Commodity Market Reports Scroll down for hay
  • AMS Market Reports Includes wholesale prices for organic
  • Price Reports for Colorado Farmers’ Markets

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Recordkeeping

• Quickbooks: Can be a great tool for tracking farm expenses and incomes and generating financial reports

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Regulations and Food Safety

• Colorado Farm to Market
• Colorado Farm to Table
• Colorado Environmental Pesticide Education Program
• Colorado Department of Health and the Environment
• CSU: Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)
• CSU On Farm Food Safety Plan Template
• Colorado Department of Ag: Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)
• Cornell: Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)
• UC Davis: Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)
• Michigan Extension: Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)
• USDA AMS: Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)

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Taxes

• Rural Tax Education
• IRS Schedule F (Form 1040)

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Business Planning:

• WSARE “Building a Sustainable Business”
• Ag Plan: An Online Business Plan Tool
• Northeast Beginning Farmers Project Videos: Voices of Experience
• OEDIT: Colorado Business Resource Guide
• Market Farming Success: By Lynn Byczynski
• Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook: By Richard Wiswall

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