Resources List

General/Background Reading

• Lincoln Institute for Land Policy Blog
• Use-Value Assessment of Rural Land (Policy Focus Report)
• Wealth and Want: Tragedy of the Commons
• Trends in U.S. Farmland Values and Ownership
• Reclaiming the Land Commons
• UN HABITAT program report on affordable housing trusts
• Community Land Trusts: Saving the Land to Which we Belong
• GrowNYC – “Farmers on the Edge” report
• Use-Value Assessment of Rural Land (Policy Focus Report)” by Anderson, John E. and Richard W. England
• Creating Social Capital by Elizabeth Henderson, Peacework Farm
• “Building a Future with Farmers” by the National Young Farmers Coalition
• “How You Can Help America’s New Agrarians” Neil Hamilton in Organic Gardening Magazine
• Indigenous Land Tenure and Land Use in Alaska The University of Wisconsin- Madison
• Non-profit and Resident Collaboratives The University of Wisconsin- Madison
• Pension Funds: Key Players in the Global Farmland Grab by Grain
• Private Sector Agricultural Tenancy Arrangements in Europe The University of Wisconsin- Madison
• Re-entering African-American Farmers The University of Wisconsin- Madison
• Who Owns Natural Resources in the United States and Canada The University of Wisconsin- Madison
• Agrarianism by Jeremy Beer
• The Living New Deal highlights the ongoing legacy of FDR’s New Deal, including Resettlement Communities, that included small agricultural homesteads
• Lease-Based Approach to Sustainable Agriculture: Part 1 and Part 2 Drake University Law School
• Helping Landowners Help New Farmers Drake University Law School
• Corn Flakes Aren’t Just For Kelloggs Drake University Law School
• Collectivized Lands in Spain The Independent
• publications from aGter
• Social and Solidarity Economy Resource Site

Accessing Land

Land Access Guides

• The FarmLASTS Project: Farm Land Access, Succession, Tenure and Stewardship
• ATTRA ‘s Finding Land to Farm: Six ways to Secure Farmland
• Land for Good’s Acquiring Your Farm Online Tutorial
• Equity Trust Publications
• Acquiring Land to Farm Guide
• Greenhorns’ Land, Liberty, Sunshine, Stamina: Mini Compendium on Land Tenure Resources
• Finding Land to Farm
• Finding a Farm to Buy or Lease
• Climate and Soil Considerations 
• Infrastructure Considerations 
• New England Small Farms Institute and the Intervale Center. Holding Ground: A Guide to Northeast Farmland Tenure and Stewardship
• Gaining Ground – How CSAs Can Acquire, Hold and Pass On Land
• The FarmLASTS Project: Farm Land Access, Succession, Tenure and Stewardship
• Creating a Life Together about establishing intentional communities with valuable information on buying land with a group of other people

Farm Linking Programs

• The International Farm Transition Network 
• National Family Farm Coalition Farmland Monitor (About)
• Center for Rural Affairs’ Listing of Linking Programs by State
• New England Farmland Finder 
• Land Stewardship Project’s Land Clearinghouse
• Center for Rural Affairs’ Land Link 
• MOSES Land Link-Up with classified ads frequently listing linkage opportunities
• Rodale Institute’s New Farm Classifieds
• CA Farmlink 
• IDA program
• Organic Farm Succession Program allows experienced farmers and qualified beginning farmers take over mature organic farming operations
• Columbia Land Conservancy (NY) Farmer Landowner Match Program
• New England Farm Finder– a regional farm property clearinghouse
• Central New Mexico LandLink Initiative 
• Farm Asset Builder Program an IDA matched savings program that strengthens farm businesses through asset acquisition and technical assistance
• New England Land Link
• Maine Farm Link
• New Jersey Farm Link
• Connecticut Farm Link
• New York Farm Net
• Pennsylvania Farm Link
• National Farm Transition Network
• Ontario, Canada FarmLink 
• New Entry Sustainable Farming Project

Incubator Programs

• The Intervale Center, Burlington VT
• Tillian Center, MI
• ALBA, CA
• The SEED Farm, PA
• Viva Farms, WA
• Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming, NY
• NE Beginning Farmers’ Green County Agricultural Incubator Study

Land Leasing

• The FarmLASTS Project: Farm Land Access, Succession, Tenure and Stewardship
• Farmers Guide to Farming in NY – Finding a Farm to Buy or Lease
• Georgia Organics – Lease Agreement Template
• Iowa State Extension – Lease Template
• Land For Good – Leasing tutorial, Toolbox for Leasing Land
• Vermont Land Trust – Conservation purchase agreements  
• Ohio State Extension – Managing Landlord-Tenant Relationships: A Strategic Perspective
• Model Agricultural Ground Lease
• Commentary on Model Agricultural Ground Lease
• Model Agricultural Conservation Easement with Option to Purchase

Agricultural Land Trusts

The USDA and American Farmland Trust offers a very comprehensive land trust locator tool at findalandtrust.org

• A New Lease on Farmland: Assuring a Future for Farming in the Northeast by The New Economics Institute
• Land Trusts and Agricultural Land 
• 2011 Community Land Trust Technical Manual
• Preserving Farms for Farmers Manual by Equity Trust provides case studies on farm protection strategies as well as model programs and documents
• American Farmland Trust
• Farm Land Working Group
• Commentary on Model Agricultural Conservation Easement with Option to Purchase
• The FarmLASTS Project: Farm Land Access, Succession, Tenure and Stewardship

List of Regional Land Trusts

• Alaska Farmland Trust
• California Council of Land Trusts
• Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust (BALT)
• Big Sur Land Trust
• Sierra Foothills Conservancy, Ranchers Program
• Land Trust of Santa Cruz
• Sonoma Land Trust
• Placer Co Land Trust
• Marin Agricultural Land Trust
• Vermont Land Trust
• Community Land Trust of the Southern Berkshires
• Peconic Land Trust
• Farm Catskills
• Maine Farmland Trust
• NY Agricultural Land Trust
• Lancaster Farmland Trust
• Connecticut Farmland Trust
• Rhode Island Land Trust Council
• PCC Farmland Trust
• Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust
• Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust
• Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust
• Georgia Agricultural Land Trust

Financing

Financing Basics

• Income Tax Incentives for Land Conservation
• IRA Charitable Rollover
• Financing Your Farm by CA Farmlink a quick 4-pager on conventional sources of farm credit, and the tradeoffs
• The Farmer’s Guide to Agricultural Credit a guide to navigate the more traditional sources of farm credit, especially in terms of effectively and successfully applying for a loan through lenders
• CISA – Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture- references and resources for grants and financing, financial planning, and land access and transition
• CA Farmlink Financial Literacy Guide 

 

Social Impact Investors

• New Spirit Farmland Partnerships is a social finance organization that connects sustainable farmers to land and business opportunities
• Organic Farmland Access Program helps investors to buy land, which they subsequently lease to farmers that enroll in the program
• The Land Connection facilitates socially motivated investors to buy land, transition it to organic and resell it to organic farmers.
• NCB Capital Impact provides flexible financing to projects that increase healthy food access in low income California communities
• Impact Investing for Rural Wealth Creation: Investing for Financial Returns and Community Impact
• The Working World finances cooperative businesses

 

Community Based Financing

• Financing Alternatives for Small Farms by CA Farmlink
• UVM Guide to Financing the Community Supported Farm
• The Carrot Project provides small to medium ($5,000-$75,000) loans to farmers and farm-related businesses by partnering with banks and community loan funds.  They operate in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and the Greater Berkshires region of New York and Connecticut.
• The Farmer and Lender Project: Strategies to Sustain and Enhance Rural Development in North Carolina RAFI-USA.
• Land, Liberty, Sunshine, Stamina: Mini Compendium on Land Tenure Resources by the Greenhorns
• Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) connects local business networks and leaders to spread solutions and increase investment in local economies
• USDA Rural Development Resources offers grants, loans, technical assistance and research to help rural cooperatives be established and expand.
• USDA Rural Cooperatives Magazine 
• Vermont Farm Fund

 

Grants and Loans

Finding the Money

• The Carrot Project’s financing resources page
• Center for Rural Affairs Beginning Farmer Funding Sources
• Beginning Farmers.org Funding Resources
• Southside Community Land Trust – Urban Ag Financing Resources
• Center for Rural Affairs’ Rural Enterprise Assistance Program (REAP)
• Financing Your Farm by CA Farmlink
• Financing Alternatives for Small Farms by CA Farmlink
• Farm Service Agency (FSA)  
• The FSA’s Farm Loan Information Chart is an easy access key to the different financing programs available, and their terms
• The Plain Language Guide to Applying for a FSA loan from the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project
• USDA Loan Chart Fact Sheet 
• Farm Credit Network is a national network of member-owned farmer credit cooperatives
• FC East program for beginning farmers
• Super Useful eOrganic Webinar, ‘NRCS EQUIP: Technical and Financial Support for Conservation on Organic Farms’ created by Oregon Tilth’s Organic Conservation Program

 

Alternative Loan Resources

• Slow Money Alliance
• Micro Enterprise Works
• RSF Social Finance offers loans to both non-profit and for profit enterprises, focusing on sustainable food and agriculture and ecological stewardship
• Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) – Tobacco Reinvestment Fund
• Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan Program (LPLP) provides up to $10 million in low-interest loans to small, local producers
• Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) provides financing and business support services to small business enterprises in Northern New England and upstate NY

 

Revolving Loan Funds

• NOFA VT’s Revolving Loan Fund 
• Equity Trust Fund
• Catholic Worker Farmer Revolving Loan Fund
• Grow NYC’s New Farm Development Program Loan Fund

 

Grants

• Guide to state and federal grants for small farmers Cornell Small Farms Program
• Guide to SARE grants (farmer research grants from the USDA) Cornell Small Farms Program
• ATTRA provides information on EQUIP grants program
• NSAC – Guide to Conservation Grants through the Farm Bill
• Oregon Tilth’s  Organic Conservation Program
• Animal Welfare Approved – Good Husbandry Grants Program

Financial and Business Planning

• Farm Beginnings  Hawthorne Valley offers farm planning courses and workshops.
• Cornell Small Farms  Program 
• Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship
• Stateline Farm Beginnings – A farmer-led training and support program designed to help people plan and launch sustainable farm businesses
• Guide for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

 

Guides and Helpful Organizations

• •  Marketing, Business and Risk Management Guide
  •  Resources for Beginning Farmers
  • The Carrot Project  farm business planning resources
  • NE Beginning Farmers Guide to Farming in NY
  • SARE’s Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses
  • DACUM Occupational Profile for Northeast Small Scale Sustainable Farmer
  • Holistic Management International offers training, business training, based on agriculture instead of another industry and lead in teaching management skills based four interrelated tenets: financial planning, grazing planning, land planning and biological monitoring
  • Holistic Planning Manual You can request the pdf .
  • Start2Farm an extensive resource catalog for financing of all types, business and legal startup and marketing
  • Field Guide to the New American Foodshed – Decision Tree for farm planning
  • Beginning Farmer and Rancher Blog by farmer Poppy Davis
  • Rogue Farm Corps located in Ashland, Oregon
  • Land Is Life

http://landislife.org

 

Small Business Resources

• Center for Rural Affairs’ Rural Enterprise Assistance Program (REAP) offers business planning, micro-loans (up to $50,000), and technical assistance to rural entrepreneurs
• Fast Trac New Ventures – Kauffman Foundation
• Small Business Administration (SBA)
• Provides guidelines for business planning and local offices will often help with actual plans
• SCORE a nonprofit association that helps small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through workshops and mentorship.
• The Shift Network provides various courses focused on helping Social Entrepreneurs plan for success
• Goodnik offers workshops for new social impact business in NYC

 

Managing Debt

• Project on Student Debt
• The National Foundation for Credit Counseling is a good and safe place to start – they connect people to community-based office that can provide credit counseling and education.  Go to their site, or call 800-388-2227.
• Feedthepig.org is a cutely named campaign for public education on smart money management
• Student Loan Calculator and Amortization

 

Professional Assistance

Agricultural Mediation

The USDA funds agricultural mediators in many states whose job is to help resolved disputes and mediate disagreements in agricultural deals

• CA Farmlink’s guide to conflict resolution 
• Vermont Agricultural Mediation Program
• New York Agricultural Mediation Program
• Maine Ag Mediation Program

Educators

• Grange Farm School
• Sustainable Agriculture Education Association
• COMFOOD list serve has a compilation of programs via TUFTS
• Edmonds Community College Urban Agriculture Program
• Seattle Central College Food Systems Program
• Skagit Valley College Small Farm Agriculture

Succession Planning

• Guide  to Succession Planning. North Carolina Transition Network
• International Farm Transition Network. Listing of Network Participants
• Estate Planning Resources by the Farm Transfer Network of New England offers great estate and retirement planning resources and links
• Estate Planning The National Agricultural Law Center
• AgTransitions is online transition planning tool
• Managing Farm Transitions. North Carolina Transition Network
• The National Agricultural Law Center’s Estate Planning Reading Room lists publications and resources on estate planning
• Ag Transitions an online transition planning tool called AgTransitions, which guides you through writing your plan and allows you to get feedback and share it

 

Farm Advocates and Legal Aid

• Farm Advocate Link is a new national network of farm advocates whose mission is to train and support a new generation of farm advocates
• Farm Aid’s Farmer Resource Network
• The Farmers Legal Action Group (FLAG) provides free legal advice to farmers
• Farm Commons provides legal aid and resources to farm businesses like helping farmers draft sales agreements, leases, food safety plans,employee hiring, and succession plans
• Model CSA Member Agreeement 
• Model Worker Share Agreement
• Farm Interns, Employees and Volunteers Agreement Documents.
• The Food Law Firm
• The Sustainable Economies Law Center
• Offers assistance and resources for navigating the economic and legal arrangements of the “new economy” – i.e., they could help you with community-based investing, cooperative structure, bartering, etc.
• NE Beginning Farmers Guide to Farming in NY – Legal Aspects of Rural Living
• A project of the Conservation Law Foundation — www.legalservicesfoodhub.org or email legalservicesfoodhub@clf.org

 

Regional Organic Farming Organizations

• Listing of Organic Farming Associations by State from the Organic Consumers Association.
• Farm Start Ontario based, helps make farming accessible
• NE Beginning Farmers Guide to Farming in NY – Financing a Farm Operation
• The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s Grassroots Guide to the Farm Bill
• The FarmLASTS Project: Farm Land Access, Succession, Tenure and Stewardship
• New Entry Sustainable Farming Project – Resource Guides
• The New Entry Sustainable Farming Project offers a variety of guides geared especially towards low-literacy populations, but useful to all of us.  They also offer beginning farmer training programs and workshops
• Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training, CRAFT

 

Farmworker Organizations

• National Farmworker Industry
• Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste
• United Farmworkers
• Coalition of Immokalee Workers
• Student Action with Farmworkers
• Rural and Migrant Ministry
• Toxic Free NC
• Farmworker Association Florida
• Sakuma Farmworkers
• Farmworker Justice
• NC Farmworker Ministry
• NC Fields

 

Legislation

Tracking Legislation in: Montana

• Community Food and Agriculture Coalition of Missoula County

 

Media

• Growing Farmers Documentary
• National Beginning Farmer Technical Assistance Initiative – Webinar 1: Incubators 101
• Audio Recording of Marie Cirillo, “Stories from An Appalachian Community”
• Let’s Talk About Soil Video produced by Uli Henrik Streckenbach
• To Market: Growing an Economy Around Food, The Vermont Farmers Food Center
• Fields Without Dreams: Defending the Agrarian Ideal, Victor Davis Hanson (1997)

 

Networking

• The Cooperative Trust

 

How to Take Political Action

• Food & Water Watch
• National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition or here
• Food Democracy Now
• Rural Coalition
• PANNA
• Union of Concerned Scientists