Are you in the thinking or planning stage of starting a farm? When you are just beginning, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the many decisions you need to make about what to produce, how to do it, where to market it, how to find land, and how to finance it all. Visit the Beginning Farmer Resource Center online to start finding answers and planning a successful farm. Be sure to check out the NY Farmers' Forum to learn from your peers.
A new resource available in July 2007 for beginning and diversifying farmers is the Guide to Farming in NYS: What Every Ag Entrepreneur Needs to Know. This Guide contains information on finding and financing a farm, business planning, zoning, ag assessments, marketing options and regulations, and informational resources, among many other things. It is an essential reference for the serious aspiring farmer.
Please see our Calendar of Beginning Farmer Events, which lists trainings happening all over NY in varying lengths and times of year. Note that most of these events tend to occur during the late fall and winter, so the calendar is often empty during the growing season.
If you are an aspiring farmer in the exploratory stages and are not ready to write a business plan or seek financing, a great resource is the workbook Exploring the Small Farm Dream. It is full of valuable exercises to help you ask yourself tough questions about whether you are really ready to jump into a new farm enterprise. An equally helpful resource--whether you are new to farming or just want to start a new enterprise on your farm--is the book Farming Alternatives: Guide to Evaluating the Feasibility of New Farm-Based Enterprises, available for $12.25 + tax.
For an excellent overview of the issues involved in starting up a farm business, see Frequently Asked Questions for Beginning Farmers.
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