Educational Materials

• 2012 Census of Agriculture

  Comprehensive summary of agricultural activity nationwide.

• Acquiring Your Farm

  This online tutorial includes seven modules, including one on farmland tenure, which describes how farmland is acquired and held, U.S. trends, and land tenure principles.

• Affording Our Land: Financial Literacy Guidebook for Young Farmers Provided by The Greenhorns

  This is a guidebook aimed at helping new and beginning farmers explore options for accessing land and credit to start farm businesses.

• African Americans Have Lost Untold Acres of Land Over the Last Century: An obscure legal loophole is often to blame

  Article about the history Heirs' property and how it impacts African Americans.

• Ag Lease 101

  Learn about alternative land lease agreements and view templates.

• AGAware Balance Sheet Template

  Use this balance sheet in order to get a better understanding of your current and projected finances.

• Agricultural Land Tenure: A Curriculum for Beginning Farmers and Farm Seekers

  Lessons and modules about farmland access and tenure, including Farmland Tenure Basics, Financial Assessment, Owning Farmland, Finding Farmland, Leasing Farmland, and Community Partners.

• Agricultural Leases: An Overview

  Basic information about different types of leases.

• Basic Accounting: Guidance for Beginning Farmers

  The purpose of this publication is to make basic accounting approachable for people with little or no accounting experience and encourage new farmers to develop good recordkeeping habits at the outset.

• Build a Lease Tool

  Design a lease that fits your situation and needs. (Educational tool, not intended to produce legal documents.)

• Cash Rent Survey Web Page

  Data about cash rents by county.

• Climate Data Web Page

  Information about climate patterns, water, and soil moisture conditions.

• Conservation Districts

  Directory of the 3,000 conservation districts across the country. Districts provide maps, soil evaluations, and conservation plans,

• Cooperative Extension System

  Educational network with local offices of experts ready to provide practical and research-based information to agricultural producers and small business owners.

• Cooperative Farming

  This guide introduces the concept of cooperative farming and the gives examples of the ways in which farming communities have found success in cooperative farming.

• Elements of a Good Farm Lease

  Factsheet containing many of the important elements of a good farm lease.

• Farm Access Methods

  Much has been written about the challenges that beginning and other farmers in the US face regarding access to farms and land to farm. The purpose of this guide is to provide an organized framework of farm access methods to help farmers make informed decisions.

• Farm Answers

  Farm Answers—the Largest Source of Information for Beginning Farmers. Farm Answers is the USDA-NIFA beginning farmer and rancher (BFRDP) clearinghouse, providing resources to help you get started farming, as well as tools to help more seasoned producers succeed.

• Farm Leasing Tutorial

  Modules designed to Introduce you to the benefits and challenges of leasing.

• Farm Rental Assessment Checklist

  Checklist for evaluating a site to lease.

• Farm Service Agency Loans-National Young Farmers Coalition

  A guidebook to help young farmers and ranchers navigate the credit options offered by the Farm Service Agency. This is the first comprehensive plain language guide to FSA loans since before the introduction of the popular microloan in 2013.

• Farmer's Guide to CSP

  A comprehensive guide to understanding the Conservation Stewardship Program through NRCS. This guide outlines the benefits, eligibility, and enrollment process for the program.

• Farmland Access in Urban Settings

  This guidebook addresses the unique aspects of land access in urban settings, such as those associated with location, cost, security, infrastructure, and regulations.

• Farmland Assessment Checklist

  Checklist for evaluating properties.

• Farmland Protection Program

  This resources provides a better understanding of the NRCS Ag Land Easement Program and how it can contribute to local communities.

• Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund

  Organization in the Southeast that organizes cooperatives, works with Black farmers, and provides heirs' property assistance.

• Field Journal For Beginning Farmers

  The resources, practices and strategies outlined in this Field Journal is for anyone involved with the food system – which is anyone who eats food! It’s focus is to encourage youth of many ages to consider farming as a career, in particular youth in middle and high school.

• Finding Farmland Calculator

  The calculator that corresponds with the Finding Farmland Course

• Finding Farmland Course

  Lessons on financials related to acquiring your farm.

• Finding Good Farmland: How to Evaluate and Acquire Land for Raising Crops and Animals

  Information you need to have before purchasing farmland, ex. permits, codes, taxes etc.

• Finding Land to Farm

  This publication highlights some common ways to lease or own land. It outlines important considerations about each of these leasing options and paths to ownership.

• Finding Land to Farm: 6 Ways to Secure Farmland

  Cartoon about common ways to lease or own land.

• Finding, Assessing, and Securing Farmland: A Plain Language Guide

  Understand the process of locating and securing farmland.

• Growing Farm Profits

  This online course was developed for farmers and those who help farmers to build more sustainable farming enterprises. The content has a vegetable production slant, yet many concepts/principles will be informative to other producers.

• Growing on Solid Ground: A Farmers Guide to Land Tenure

  Covers land tenure options, agricultural leases, crop-share agreements, and owning land.

• Heirs' Property Retention Coalition

  Coalition to help southeastern families of color stem the tide of heirs' property land loss. Offers resources, research, and referrals.

• Indian Land Tenure Foundation

  National community-based organization focused on American Indian land recovery and management.

• Land Values 2017 Summary

  Data on crop acreage, land use, grain stocks, farms, rents, and the value of land and sales.

• Managing Indian Land in a Highly Fractionated Future

  Information about the problems and challenges of American Indian land ownership.

• NYFC-Finding Farmland Calculator

  Use this calculator to build scenarios for purchasing farmland. You can compare detailed estimates of total costs, monthly payments and affordability metrics, then download the results to have on hand when meeting with a loan officer.

• Plant Hardiness Zone Map

  Interactive maps with information about plant hardiness zones nationwide.

• Population Web Page

  Population estimates and projections for different geographies.

• Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement Programs

  Factsheet describing what easements are, how they protect farmland, and where they're available.

• Refugee Farmer Teaching Handbook

  Handbook for staff providing training and technical assistance in immigrant and refugee farmer-training programs.

• Six Guidelines for "Getting to Yes"

  Six skills to aide you in the negotiation process.

• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

  Agency within USDA that helps farmers manage and conserve natural resources. Use this link to locate a service center.

• USDA Urban Agriculture Toolkit

  The toolkit lays out the common operational elements that most urban farmers must consider as they start up or grow their operations. It also contains a special section on resources for developing indoor growing operations, such as aquaponic facilities.

• Web Soil Survey

  Soil data and information provided by the NRCS.

Service Providers

• AgPlan Business Plan Development

  AgPlan is powerful website developed to help rural businesses develop a business plan. AgPlan is free of charge for anyone to use individually or in educational programs.

• Beginning Farmers' Guide to Conservation Easements

  Factsheet with key information about conservation easements for beginning farmers.

• Farmers.gov

  Farmers.gov provides farmers, ranchers, private foresters, and agricultural producers with online self-service applications, educational materials, engagement opportunities, and business tools to increase efficiency and productivity while preserving

• Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

  Step-by-step strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in all levels of negotiation.

• NRCS Georgia

  The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides technical assistance on natural resources issues and assists individuals, groups, communities, and counties implement soil and water conservation practices to protect the 34 million acres of privately owned land in Georgia.