The educational materials listed on this page are about Farm Business Management.
Growing and selling products profitably is critical to an agriculture business, but there are other aspects that are essential to farm business management. While it is difficult to find grants to start a farm, operating or starting a farm require a basic understanding of ag credit, including FSA loans (and other farm loans), and how to obtain farm credit for an agriculture loan. Savvy producers understand agricultural finance and agricultural accounting, and keep a close eye on farm finances. Farmers need to understand agricultural marketing and may need to know demand for a specific crop, such as with apple marketing. Starting a small farm may include finding land through FarmLink. While some new farmers may get started with a farm internship, others may useless formal farming training or more formal agriculture education. Ultimately, farmers also need to learn about farm labor, farm labor laws or farm succession planning at some point in their career. Key practices include marketing management, financial management, community-supported agriculture, risk management, agricultural finance, whole farm planning, farm succession, land access, labor/employment.
SARE’s bulletin Scaling Up Your Vegetable Farm for Wholesale Markets offers alternatives for producers to market their products through unconventional channels. Building a Sustainable Business aids producers in developing a sustainable and profitable business plan for their enterprise. Building Sustainable Farms, Ranches and Communities gives producers options for agricultural loans, grants and technical expertise. Farmers looking to transition to organic will find Organic Transition: A Business Planner for Farmers, Ranchers and Food Entrepreneurs useful for business planning.
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Farm to Fork in North Carolina
This guide provides key action ideas for building a sustainable food economy in North Carolina.
Private Landowners Guide to Forest Certification in the South
"Private Landowners' Guide to Forest Certification in the South," developed by the LSU Ag Center and Mississippi State University Extension, helps forest landowners understand forest certification.
Economics of Cover Crops II (Part 2): Benefits of Cover Crops and No-Till Vegetable Production in North Alabama
While the benefits of cover crops are similar regardless of cash crop, there are a number of benefits that are particularly important to vegetable producers. The main benefits of cover crops in vegetable production include increased organic matter; additional N through the use of legumes; suppressing disease, nematodes, and weeds; reducing soil erosion; providing habitat for beneficial insects; and improving soil tilth.
Economics of Cover Crops I: Profitability of Cover Crops in Row Crop Production and Federal Cost Share for Cover Crops
Many agronomic benefits of covers are also economic benefits. But there are real and perceived agronomic and economic challenges to adopting cover crops. Researchers at the USDA-ARS, National Soil Dynamics Laboratory (NSDL) in Auburn, Alabama and at the University of Georgia—Tifton have past and current research that addresses the challenges faced by producers.
Economics of Cover Crops II (Part 1): USDA-NRCS Cover Crop Economics Decision Support Tool
Developed by USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) economists, Lauren Cartwright (Missouri) and Bryon Kirwan (Illinois), The Cover Crop Economic Decision Support Tool is designed to help producers, landowners, planners, and others make informed decisions when considering adding cover crops to their production systems.