Small Farm Funding Resources
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Contents
- Introduction
- Developing a Farm Business Plan
- Financial and Planning Resources
- Funding and Program Assistance
- Veteran Resources
- Agriculture Disaster Assistance
- Organizations and Web Sites
Introduction
This guide contains information about issues to consider before starting a farming operation with links to full-text guides on how to start a farm business and develop business and marketing plans. It also contains information about funding programs for beginning and experienced farmers, technical assistance contacts, disaster assistance, and organizations with resources. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a Small and Mid-Sized Farm website here: https://www.usda.gov/topics/farming/resources-small-and-mid-sized-farmers. If you are just starting out you may also want to consult the New Farmers website, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture: https://newfarmers.usda.gov/ and the New Farmers Discovery Tool: https://newfarmers.usda.gov/discovery
The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication (or page) is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the United States Department of Agriculture or the Agricultural Research Service of any product or service to the exclusion of others that maybe suitable.
Developing a Farm Business Plan
1. Agribusiness Planning: Providing Direction for Agricultural Firms. Jeffrey Hyde, Sarah Roch. UA371. University Park: Penn State University Cooperative Extension, 2002. 12 p. https://extension.psu.edu/agribusiness-planning-providing-direction-for-agricultural-firms
2. Business Plan Preparation: Tools for Writing Business Plans. Stephen Lawrence, Frank Moyes. Boulder, CO: University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/moyes/bplan/
3. Farm Business Plan Worksheet: Balance Sheet. FSA2037. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, 11-04-10. 4 p. https://forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/efcommon/eFileServices/eForms/FSA2037.PDF [PDF 631.59KB]
4. Farm Business Plan Worksheet: Projected/Actual Income and Expense. FSA2038. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, 03-24-10. 2 p. https://forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/efcommon/eFileServices/eForms/FSA2038.PDF [PDF 340.00KB]
5. Starting a Business. Washington, DC: U.S. Small Business Administration. https://www.sba.gov/business-guide
Financial and Planning Resources
1. Agricultural Income and Finance. (Annual reports) Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1254
2. Exploring the Small Farm Dream. Belchertown, MA: New England Small Farm Institute. http://www.smallfarm.org/main/for_new_farmers/exploring_the_small_farm_dream//
3. Family Farming in the United States. James MacDonald. Amber Waves. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, March 4, 2014. 10p. https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2014/march/family-farming-in-the-united-states/
4. Farmers Markets Directory Search Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. Updated 2015. https://www.ams.usda.gov/local-food-directories/farmersmarkets
5. Financing Small-Scale and Part-Time Farms. Gregory D. Hanson, Jayson K. Harper, George L. Greaser. University Park: Penn State University Cooperative Extension, 2004. 6 p. https://extension.psu.edu/financing-small-scale-and-part-time-farms
6. How to Finance a Small Farm. Karen Klonsky. Family Farm Series. Davis: University of California Small Farm Center, n.d. 6 p. http://sfp.ucdavis.edu/pubs/Family_Farm_Series/Farmmanage/finance/
7. Starting or Diversifying an Agricultural Business. Prepared by Lynn F. Kime and Sarah A. Roth, extension associates in agricultural economics; and Jayson K. Harper, professor of agricultural economics. This publication was developed by the Small-scale and Part-time Farming Project at Penn State with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Extension Service. Additional financial support for this publication was provided by the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. 2004 - UPDATED: AUGUST 14, 2017. 6p. https://extension.psu.edu/starting-or-diversifying-an-agricultural-business
8. Tip Sheet for Young and Beginning Farmers: How to Build Successful Financial Relationships. Washington, DC: ABA Center for Agricultural and Rural Banking, n.d. 1 p. https://www.aba.com/Tools/Function/Ag/Documents/AgDayTipSheet.pdf [PDF 1MB]
9. Tools and Resources (to Help New Farmers). Belchertown, MA: Growing New Farmers Consortium. http://www.smallfarm.org/main/for_new_farmers/resources_by_topic/
Contacts for Technical Assistance: Both SBA and USDA provide small business planning technical assistance and USDA also provides technical farming specifics through the extensive network of USDA, Cooperative Extension Service (CES) specialists:
- Cooperative Extension Service State Specialists, https://nifa.usda.gov/land-grant-colleges-and-universities-partner-website-directory
- Small Business Development Centers, https://www.sba.gov/tools/local-assistance/sbdc
Funding and Program Assistance
State Programs You may want to start your financial assistance search with your state Department of Agriculture to see if your state has a Beginning Farmer Loan Program or other type of grants or loans for farming and ranching.
- Locate Departments of Agriculture, by State, https://www.rma.usda.gov/ List by USDA Risk Management Agency.
- Types of state agricultural finance programs may be identified through your Council of State Agricultural Finance Programs. Check with your state agriculture department for programs, like Aggie Bonds.
Agricultural Lenders Information on Farm Financial Management & Performance can be located on the USDA's Economic Research Service web site.
- Farm Economy, https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy.aspx
- Rural Economy & Population, https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population.aspx
Farm Banks: The nation's farm banks (defined by the Federal Reserve Board as banks that have above average proportions of farm real estate and production loans in their loan portfolios) offer a variety of loans to small and large farms and agribusiness firms; they also handle many of the loans made under USDAs guaranteed farm loan programs.
- American Bankers Association: Agriculture Banking. ABA has a "special section dedicated to providing advocacy, information, training, education, and public relations for banks that make and service agricultural loans or provide credit and other financial services to those living and working in rural America for nearly 100 years." https://www.aba.com/tools/function/ag/Pages/default.aspx
Farm Credit System (FCS): The FCS is a network of federally chartered borrower-owned lending institutions and related service organizations that specialize in providing credit and related services to farmers (also young and beginning), ranchers, and producers or harvesters of aquatic products. Additional information about the FCS is available from the Farm Credit Administration at https://www.fca.gov/info/ybs.html
- Farm Credit System Lenders, by County, Farm Credit Council. https://farmcredit.com/locations
- Farm Credit Council. https://farmcredit.com/
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
USDA, Farm Service Agency, Farm Programs:
- Farm Loan Program Information, https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-programs/index
- Loans for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-programs/beginning-farmers-and-ranchers-loans/index
- Minority and Women Farmers and Ranchers, https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-programs/minority-and-women-farmers-and-ranchers/index
- Microloans, https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-programs/microloans/index
- Locate Farm/Ranch Properties for Sale: https://properties.sc.egov.usda.gov/resales/public/home
- For all programs above:Locate Farm Service Agency Offices, by State: https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=us&agency=fsa
USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Financial Assistance Programs, https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/
- Locate Natural Resources Conservation Service Offices, by State: https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?agency=nrcs
USDA, Rural Development
- Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program, https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-program-renewable-energy-systems-energy-efficiency
- Value-Added Agricultural Product Marketing Development Grants, https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/value-added-producer-grants
- Small Socially-Disadvantaged Producer Grant, https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/socially-disadvantaged-groups-grant
- For all programs above: Locate Rural Development Offices, by State: https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=us&agency=rd
USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture
- Grant Searchable Database for Research in Agriculture, https://www.nifa.usda.gov/page/search-grant
- Small and Family Farms https://www.nifa.usda.gov/topic/small-and-family-farms
- Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Programs (SARE), https://www.sare.org/Grants/
- Use the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center to assist with your research: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic
USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service
- Farmers Market Promotion Program, https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/fmpp
- Specialty Crop Block Grant, https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/scbgp
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- National Agriculture Compliance Center 1-888-663-2155: https://www.epa.gov/agriculture
Veteran Resources
- USDA, Veterans, https://www.usda.gov/our-agency/initiatives/veterans
- USDA, New Farmer website - Veterans Sectionhttps://newfarmers.usda.gov/veterans
- Veteran Affairs, Farm Loans: Home Loans for Rural Residents, https://www.benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/homeloans/FarmLoans.pdf [PDF 415.25KB]
- Farmer Veteran Coalition, https://www.farmvetco.org/
- Veteran Farmers Project from the Center for Rural Affairs, http://www.cfra.org/veteran_farmers_project
- Veterans to Farmers, http://veteranstofarmers.org/
Agriculture Disaster Assistance
- USDA, Risk Management Agency, https://www.rma.usda.gov
- USDA Disaster Resource Center. https://www.usda.gov/topics/disaster
- Disaster Assistance. USDA, Farm Service Agency. https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/disaster-assistance-program/index
- Disaster Assistance for Agricultural Producers. ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service https://attra.ncat.org/disaster.html
- Farm Aid. 1-800-FARM AID https://www.farmaid.org/
- Animal Welfare: Disaster Planning. USDA, NAL, Animal Welfare Information Center. https://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/disaster-planning
- Find Disaster Assistance. USDA, Rural Information Center. https://www.nal.usda.gov/ric/disaster-assistance
- Getting Through Tough Financial Times. University of Illinois Extension Service. http://web.extension.illinois.edu/toughtimes/
Organizations and Web Sites
- ABA Agricultural Banking, Washington, DC: American Bankers Association. https://www.aba.com/Tools/Function/Ag/Pages/default.aspx
- Acreage Insights, Lincoln: University of Nebraska. https://communityenvironment.unl.edu/acreage
- Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, Beltsville, MD: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library. https://nal.usda.gov/afsic
- ATTRA, National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, 1-800-346-9140 Fayetteville, AR. https://attra.ncat.org/
- Begin Farming Ohio, Columbus, OH: Public-Private Collaborative. http://www.beginfarmingohio.org/
- Beginning Farmers, East Lansing: Michigan State University. https://www.beginningfarmers.org/
- Center for Farm Financial Management, 1-800-234-1111 St. Paul: University of Minnesota. https://www.cffm.umn.edu
- Farm Answers, 800-234-1111, St. Paul, Minnesota:The Center for Farm Financial Management (CFFM) at the University of Minnesota. https://farmanswers.org/
- Farm Credit, Greenwood Village, CO. https://farmcreditnetwork.com/
- Growing Small Farms, Pittsboro: North Carolina Cooperative Extension. https://growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu/
- Links for New Farmers, Manoa: University of Hawaii. https://gofarmhawaii.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/hawaii_new_farmer_guidebook_2013.pdf
- National Ag Risk Education Library, St. Paul: University of Minnesota. https://agrisk.umn.edu/
- National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, Washington, DC. http://www.nasda.org/
- New England Small Farm Institute, Belchertown, MA. https://www.smallfarm.org
- New Farmers, U.S. Department of Agriculture. https://newfarmers.usda.gov/
- Northeast Beginning Farmers Project, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, Small Farm Program, Cooperative Extension Service. http://smallfarms.cornell.edu/
- Oregon Small Farms, Corvallis: Oregon State University Extension Service. http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu
- Small Farm Program, Davis: University of California. http://www.sfc.ucdavis.edu
- Women's Agricultural Network, Burlington: University of Vermont. http://www.uvm.edu/wagn/
USDA, Rural Information Center
National Agricultural Library
10301 Baltimore Ave., Room 109
Beltsville, MD 20705-2351
ric@ars.usda.gov