About Start2Farm
What is Start2Farm? »
The Start2Farm site and program are a project of the National Agricultural Library in partnership with the American Farm Bureau Federation. Start2Farm is funded through a USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Beginning Farming and Ranching Development Program grant and was developed to assist people new to farming or ranching and those who have less than 10 years experience.
Legislative authority and background for the Start2Farm clearinghouse include Section 7405(e) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3319f(e)) (Pub. L. 107-171), as amended by section 7410 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-246), otherwise known as the 2008 Farm Bill, which requires the Secretary to establish an online clearinghouse that makes available to beginning farmers or ranchers education curricula and training materials and programs.
What is the purpose of Start2Farm? »
Start2Farm has two primary mandates:
The first is to develop a Curriculum and Training Clearinghouse for new and beginning farmers. This clearinghouse database is available through Start2Farm.gov and features information and resources for training and assistance programs available throughout the country, including those produced through the NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. The Start2Farm clearinghouse will serve as a one-stop reference for anyone looking for programs and resources to start farming and to be successful in their first years as a farmer or rancher.
The second is to organize a national Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Conference. The conference provides an opportunity for farmers to meet and learn from experts and to network with other farmers from around the country. The first Beginning Farmer and Rancher Conference was held in Orlando, FL on February 6 and 7, 2011 in conjunction with the Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher annual meeting. For information about the latest conference please go to our conference page.
What will I find on Start2Farm.gov? »
Start2Farm includes programs and resources from federal and state agencies, educational institutions and non-governmental organizations including grassroots organizations.
There are four types of services we identify for you at Start2Farm:- Training – includes programs and resources that teach any aspect of being a successful farmer or rancher.
- Financing – includes loan programs, development accounts, grants and other programs to help farmers and ranchers finance their enterprise. Please note: There are generally not any grants to start a farm or ranch and no new direct funding programs associated with the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program that the Start2Farm clearinghouse is a part of. Start2Farm is not a lender.
- Technical Assistance – includes identified programs in your location to assist with topics such as business planning, land transfer, licensing and regulations, alternative energy technologies, and farming techniques, among others.
- Networking – this includes information on programs and organizations that provide farmers and ranchers with opportunities to exchange ideas and find farmer-to-farmer support.
More information about what type of content is included in Start2Farm and the criteria used to determine what external content is appropriate for referrals has been detailed in our policy documents which can be found in the attachments on this page.
What if my program or resource appears on Start2Farm.gov? »
If you are a Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program grant recipient or a federal employee of an agency with a beginning farmer or rancher program please contact us.
If you are not a Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program grant recipient or a federal employee of an agency with a beginning farmer or rancher program...
Your program or resource was identified as of significant use to beginning farmers and ranchers as part of an ongoing scoping project to identify such programs. All programs and resources are reviewed and approved under our Collection Development Policy and all links are vetted under our Linking Policy.
Start2Farm does not request permissions to link to Web pages and other items available to the public on the World Wide Web. We do request permissions to host items in Start2Farm including electronic documents, videos, and other digital items. Therefore, unless we have official permissions, we will not post a copy of manuals, tutorials, etc. on our site but we will include a direct link to where they are hosted publicly on the World Wide Web.
If you wish to have a change made to the Start2Farm record...
You may contact us at info@start2farm.gov or the Clearinghouse Librarian at Marjorie.Porter@ars.usda.gov. We may contact your program to verify the changes are indeed authorized.
If you do not wish for your program or resource to be listed on Start2Farm...
You may contact Start2Farm at info@start2farm.gov or the Clearinghouse Librarian Marjorie.porter@ars.usda.gov. We will honor any such requests provided they are made by persons with the authority to make the request. Please note: we may contact the program to verify the request.
If you would like to link Start2Farm.gov from your site...
Links to Start2Farm.gov are permitted and encouraged. The yellow logo may be used in lieu of a hypertext link provided that the logo itself is linked to http://start2farm.gov/ and to no other page in Start2Farm.gov and provided that it is apparent that the logo is only a link and does not represent an endorsement by or partnership, of any kind, with Start2Farm.gov. The fact that a Web site links to Start2Farm.gov does not indicate that Start2Farm has any responsibility for the content of that site, nor does it constitute an endorsement of that site by Start2Farm.gov, NAL, NIFA, USDA, or the U.S. government.
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Start2Farm Linking Policy | 110.79 KB |
Start2Farm Collection Development Policy | 124.34 KB |
Start2Farm Logo | 6.95 KB |