Resources
Do you need assistance or educational resources for farming or aquiring, selling, leasing or transitioning farmland?
Click the button below that fits your needs to view local, state, and national resources, or scroll down to browse all listings.
Resources
Educational Materials
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2017 Census of Agriculture
Comprehensive summary of agricultural activity nationwide.
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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.
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Affording Our Land: Financial Literacy Guidebook for Young Farmers Provided by The Greenhorns
Guidebook aimed at helping new, beginning and young farmers explore their options for accessing land and credit to start farm businesses. Authors: Severine v T Fleming, Kristen Loria, Kendra Johnson and Cara Siprelle.
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African Americans Have Lost Untold Acres of Land Over the Last Century: An obscure legal loophole is often to blame
Article about the history of heirs' property and how it impacts African Americans.
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Ag Lease 101
Learn about alternative land lease agreements and view templates.
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AGAware Balance Sheet Template
Use this balance sheet in order to get a better understanding of your current and projected finances.
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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."
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Agricultural Lease Example
This lease example serves as a general illustrative overview and a starting point for farmers and farm owners as they develop individualized lease agreements. This example is provided for educational and general information purposes only.
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Agricultural Leases: An Overview
Basic information about different types of leases.
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AgTransitions
AgTransitions is a free web app designed to help you transition you business to the next generation. Step-by-step guide to help farmers develop a transition plan.
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Basic Accounting: Guidance for Beginning Farmers
National Center for Appropriate Technology ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture created this publication is to lay out several financing options available to beginning farmers to start a farm and to illuminate the step-by-step process of applying for a loan.
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Beginning Farmers' Guide to Conservation Easements
Factsheet with key information about conservation easements for beginning farmers.
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Build a Lease Tool
Design a lease that fits your situation and needs. (Educational tool, not intended to produce legal documents.)
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Cash Rent Survey Web Page
Data about cash rents by county.
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Climate Data Web Page
Information about climate patterns, water and soil moisture conditions.
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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.
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Cultivating the Next Generation: Resources and Policies to Help Beginning Farmers Succeed in Agriculture
Learn about access to capital, land, and infrastructure and assistance with agricultural production, business planning, and marketing.
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Disaster Preparedness
What Heir Property Owners can expect when Applying for Assistance
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Elements of a Good Farm Lease
Factsheet containing many of the important elements of a good farm lease.
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Estate Planning
How Making a Will Protects Your Land and Loved Ones
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Farm Access Methods
Land for Good created this guide to help farmers make informed decisions about how they access affordable land. This guide organizes farm access and tenure methods into three basic categories: “ownership now,” “ownership in the future” and “no ownership.”
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Farm Answers
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.
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Farm Leasing Tutorial
Modules designed to Introduce you to the benefits and challenges of leasing.
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Farm Legacy Letter Template
A series of prompts to help exiting farmers write down their farm history and exit goals.
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Farm Legacy Workbook
A workbook designed to help farmers navigate the succession process.
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Farm Rental Assessment Checklist
Checklist for evaluating a site to lease.
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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.
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Farm Succession and Transfer: Strategies for the Junior Generation
Suggestions and strategies to help the incoming farmer through the farm transfer process.
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Farmer's Guide to Conservation Stewardship Program
A comprehensive guide to understanding the Conservation Stewardship Program through NRCS. This guide outlines the benefits, eligibility and enrollment process for the program.
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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.
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Farmland Access ToolKit
Helping farmers and landowners affordably access, transfer and conserve farmland.
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Farmland Assessment Checklist
Checklist for evaluating properties.
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Farmland Protection Program
This resources provides a better understanding of the NRCS Ag Land Easement Program and how it can contribute to local communities.
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Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund
Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund strives toward the development of self-supporting communities with programs that increase income and enhance other opportunities; and we strive to assist in land retention and development, especially for African Americans
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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.
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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.
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Finding Farmland Course
Lessons on financials related to acquiring your farm.
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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.
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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.
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Finding Land to Farm: 6 Ways to Secure Farmland
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.
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Finding, Assessing and Securing Farmland: A Plain Language Guide
Understand the process of locating and securing farmland.
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Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
Step-by-step strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in all levels of negotiation.
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Greenhorns
Greenhorns’ mission is to create a welcoming cultural space and a practical professional resource for the incoming generation.
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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.
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Growing Local: A Community Guide to Planning for Agriculture and Food Systems
This guide provides a history of food system planning, principles, and practices, and a comprehensive toolbox of programs and policies.
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Growing on Solid Ground: A Farmers Guide to Land Tenure
Covers land tenure options, agricultural leases, crop-share agreements and owning land.
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Harvesting a Profit
A comprehensive guide to using financial information to improve farm profitability.
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Heirs' Property Retention Coalition
Coalition to help southeastern families of color stem the tide of heirs' property land loss. Offers resources, research and referrals.
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Heirs' Property Understanding Legal Issues in Georgia
The purpose of this factsheet is to prevent the loss of land owned as heirs’ property in Georgia. It examines state laws that are relevant to heirs’ property owners in Georgia, and outlines steps they can take to resolve property issues before seeing an attorney.
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Indian Land Tenure Foundation
National community-based organization focused on American Indian land recovery and management.
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Land Values 2017 Summary
Data on crop acreage, land use, grain stocks, farms, rents and the value of land and sales.
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Managing Indian Land in a Highly Fractionated Future
Information about the problems and challenges of American Indian land ownership.
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National FIELD Network Map
New Entry Sustainable Farming Project's FIELD Network continues to develop the capacity to serve Incubator Farm Projects and Apprenticeship Training programs across the country, we are encouraging regional collaboration.
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Planning the Future of Your Farm: A Workbook Supporting Farm Transfer Decisions
Workbook for those who want to keep their farmland in production or their family as it passes to the next generation.
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Plant Hardiness Zone Map
Interactive maps with information about plant hardiness zones nationwide.
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Population Web Page
Population estimates and projections for different geographies.
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Power of Capital Workbook
An informational workbook on farm business banking
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Publication 225, Farmer's Tax Guide
Publication describing how federal tax laws apply to farming.
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Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement Programs
Factsheet describing what easements are, how they protect farmland and where they're available.
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Refugee Farmer Teaching Handbook
Handbook for staff providing training and technical assistance in immigrant and refugee farmer-training programs.
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Share Farm
Founded to help connect small farms and Minority farmer to a larger market, Share Farm uses an inclusive, digital supply chain and existing distribution infrastructure to create a dynamic digital marketplace that empowers local growers.
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Six Guidelines for "Getting to Yes"
Six skills to aide you in the negotiation process.
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Society of Rural Appraisers and Farm Managers
Directory of members of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers who can help you evaluate land and develop a management plan.
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The Federation of Tax Administrators
Find each state's tax agency's current website.
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USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Agency within USDA that helps farmers manage and conserve natural resources. Use this link to locate a service center.
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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.
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Web Soil Survey
Soil data and information provided by the NRCS.
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Your Land, Your Georgia: Planning for you Legacy
A Getting Started Guide to Farm Transfer Planning
Service Providers
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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.
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Agricultural Land Easements - NRCS
The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) helps landowners, land trusts, and other entities protect, restore, and enhance wetlands or protect working farms and ranches through conservation easements.
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Conservation Districts
Directory of the 3,000 conservation districts across the country. Conservation districts can provide maps, soil evaluations, and conservation plans.
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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.
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Farmer Veteran Coalition
The mission of Farmer Veteran Coalition is mobilizing veterans to feed America. The Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund is a small grant program that provides direct assistance to veterans who are in their beginning years of farming or ranching.
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Farmers.gov
Farmers.gov provides farmers, ranchers, private foresters and agricultural producers with online self-service applications, educational materials, engagement opportunities and business tools.
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Federation of Southern Cooperatives
Organization in the Southeast that organizes cooperatives, works with Black farmers, and provides heirs' property assistance and development of cooperatives, housing, marketing, small businesses and credit unions as a collective strategy to create economic self-sufficiency.
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New Entry Sustainable Farming Project
Create resilient food systems by providing professional development, capacity building and network support to programs that train beginning farmers or those that work to promote their success through activities that benefit agricultural producers and consumers of all backgrounds.
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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.
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Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research Education
Supporting the family farm, promoting conservation and strengthening communities through sustainable agriculture strategies.
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Williams Farm Incubator Program
A program that provides access to land, training and resources to beginning farmers belonging to groups subject to racial, ethnic and gender prejudice.