Greenhorns: Guide for New Farmers

8/8/2019 Greenhorns: Guide for New Farmers

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Gvidebook

forBeginning Farmer

zine version september 2010


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n. a novice or new entrant into agriculture


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thegreenhorns.netthegreenhorns.wordpress.com

youngfarmers.org

serveyourcountryfood.net

foryoungfarmers.wikispaces.com

Te Greenhorns is a non-prot grassroots organization based inNew Yorks Hudson Valley. We work to promote, support, andrecruit young armers nationally. Te Greenhorns is also thetitle o our documentary lm, due out in autumn 2010, whichexplores the state o the young armer in America today. Weput on events and produce new media and resources or andabout young armers. Our projects include a blog, weekly radioshow, wiki, guidebook, young armer mixers, and educationaloutreach and research in K-12 classrooms. Please visit our web-site to join our mailing list and keep your ear to the ground.

join v online:

Tis guidebook is written or young armers by young arm-ers. It is meant to help you plan your proessional trajectoryinto the eld o sustainable agriculture. Tis is the CondensedFourth Edition of the Greenhorns Guide for Beginning Farmers ,intended to briey cover some o the major areas o institutionalsupport or young armers, likely venues o learning, and use-ul reerences. We hope that you come away rom this guide

with the sense that you too can approach the many hurdles oa beginning arm career with condence, aplomb, and impro-

visational zip. For a more extended guidebook please visit andcontribute to our collaborative inormation-sharing wiki.


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Tis pocket zine version o the guide waswritten principally by Zoe Bradbury,

Brooke Budner, Paula Manalo, andSeverine von scharner Fleming; with

help rom Chandler Briggs, Hallie Chen,alia Kahn-Kravis, Patrick Kiley, Anne

Linder, Derrick Mead, Alyssa MeijerDrees, Michelle Rehme, and Stephanie

Shih; layout and design by Laura Cline.

Many thanks to Amy Franceschini ordemanding that we revise it. Tis Fourth

edition o Te Greenhorns Guidebook isprotected under the Creative Commons

Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 UnitedStates License, so please eel ree to share,

reprint, remix, enhance and distribute asyou see ft (as long as you are not selling it).

Email us [email protected] suggestions and gentle reminders

o omissions or errors.


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Why do we need young farmers?

Tis guidebook was written with the understanding that it is ourgenerations collective task to recongure the country s ood system,one arm at a time. Actually, we have a lot o other systems to x,too, but or us arming is a di rect, accessible, and satisying placeto start. Ater all, it is agriculture that makes our culture possible,agriculture that is universal to all human lie, and agriculture whereour economy most deeply aects our ecology. Whether you readPollan or Heinberg, the analysis is in: our ood system is servingus badly. It is over-concentrated, over-industrialized, and strongly

lobbies or subsidy dollars that keep mega-agri-hegemons eed-ing corn pap to our most vulnerable citizens. Te kids get sick,the rivers get sick, the soils get ma xed out, and black plastic blowseerily across the horizon and in other countries its even worse.

Yes!you say. I know its a big kettle o sh, a big consortium ocorrupt, corporate, GMO actory sh that shit up the estuary.But what can we do about it?

We can serve our country ood at the scale that is appropriate toour part o the country whi le keeping the country country, andbringing a bit more o the country into the city as well. We caninnovate! We can collaborate! We can launch CSAs and ood-processing kitchens, raise animals, slaughter them, butcher them,

make jam, collect honey, age cheese, harvest ruit, sow grain, andbake good bread. We can start small, interlocking local ood busi-nesses that keep money owing within our community insteado disappearing out o it. We can work like oxen in the eld andeat like kings in the kitchen and, i we stick to the plan, ourkids will grow up right in a healthy place with rosy cheeks.


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i Start Now

ii Apprenticeships & Agricultural Education

iii Access to Land

iv Capitalization of Small, Diversified Operations

v Start with the Soil

vi Marketing the Food

vii Commvnity = Relationships

viii Urban Agriculture

ix Agriculture Information Clearinghouses

x The Big Picture: Research, Watchdogs, Activism


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Determination is invincible.

A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raisingin ones favor all manner of unforeseen incidents andmeetings and material assistance, which no man couldhave dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you , , . b , w, . b w.

Johann Wolfgang von goethe, faust and

W.h. Murray, the scottish hima laya expedition

o us, the armer is the perect patriot. Te armer is sel-sufcieproductive, independent, hard-working, community-spirited, anaccountable. Te armer manuactures sugar rom sunshine!Cowboys and pioneers have always been American icons, buteven now in this Obama Nation the economic, social, andtrade rameworks are deeply inhospitable to our small- andmedium-scale armers. Since the Farm Crisis o the 1980s,

weve suered enormous losses in armers, armland, and ruraleconomies. Urbanization and suburbanization have continuedto overtake the countryside, while difcult market conditionshave led to the attrition o armers and a crisis o senescence.As recently as 1950, over 15% o Americans were arming.1According to the most recent USDA Census o Agriculture

(2007), however, only about 1% is let.2 But the news is notall bad; whereas in 2002 only 3% o all armers were underthe age o 35, a surge o new entrants in American agriculturehas doubled that number to 6%.3 Tis is certainly a welcomesliver o good news, but there is stil l a long way to go.

I.

START NOW!


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community, apply yoursel ully to the task at hand, do notinch when it is hot and smelly, accustom yoursel to service.

I you are thinking casually about arming or a ew weeks onesummer, look intoWorld Wide Opportunities on OrganicFarms (WWOOF). You can do it anywhere in the world, workor ree, eat or ree, stay or ree, meet antastic organic arm-ers, and help them with their most menial tasks. Harvestingolives in Italy sounds glamorous and it is just rememberthat hard physical work or 6+ hours a day in the sunshine takesa bit o getting used to, no matter how scenic the views.

A garden requires patient labor and attention.p w . t .

liberty hyde bailey

o enter arming requires education, planning, ortitude,and patience. Maybe you are already signed up or a sum-mer apprenticeship. Maybe you are just super tuned-into ood and are dreaming o an agrarian uture. Maybeits winter. Whatever the actor, there are quite a ewthings you can do right now to get closer to your goal:

get strong: run up the stairs, bike to work, establishgood posture, begin a stretching routine.

get nimble: start a savings account, pay o al l debt,learn to can/jam/preserve ood, attend skill shares,

workshops and practical trainings, network aggressively,practice thrit, scavenge and cache useul implementsand well-built kitchen supplies, learn to cook cheaply,learn carpentry, basic plumbing, machine repair,

welding, and above all, skil l-share with riends.

get community: repair any strained relationswith land-owning riends and amily, showup at community events, stay in touch.

get opportunity eyes: start composting NOW,observe the landscape, drainages, and land use,

read natural history, read human history.

get ready to work: help out on a arm near where you live,be an opportunistical ly riendly neighbor and helper in your


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We cannot stress enough: i you are serious about arming oreven serious about nding out whether arming is or you, ap-prenticeships are the method. Our surveys o the young armersin our network have shown that this is where the vast majoritystarted their career. Lots o olks start out with a ew weeks ocasual WWOOFing or volunteering or a ew days at a lo-cal arm, but rankly, a season-long apprenticeship is a ar moresatisying, educational, and holistic introduction to arming.

An apprenticeship is a low-paid work/education exchange in

which a new armer learns rom an experienced armer. Be pre-pared to work very hard at all phases o your arm career, butparticularly in this rst phase. Tere is grunt work and a hierarco tasks in arming, and youl l have to test your mettle by doingthe lower-rung duties. Tanku lly youll get to be outside mosto the time and even boring arm tasks wi ll leave you time tomeditate and ree-associate. Its not like tedious data-entry!

Te rst step to conguring your sequence o apprenticeshipsis to gure out, general ly, what you want to do. In many cases,

your rst arming experience will answer many o these ques-tions. What do you want to arm? Are you an animal person, a

vegetable person, a cut-ower person? Do you like interactingwith the eaters? Is your ocus inner-city nutrition or high cuisine

Do you like ood-processing/value-added products? Do you havethe discipline or dair y? Te might or eldwork? Te patience oregulatory labyr inths? Te stamina or armers markets? Someolks decide that they dont want to be armers and instead startother arm-based businesses, like specia lty tool companies. Weralso in need o many more young butchers and veterinarians.

[Agriculture] is a science of the very first order. It counts

among it handmaids of the most respectable sciences, c, n p, m,m , n h, b.

thoMas Jefferson,

from a letter to david Williams, 1803

II. pprenticehipandgricvltvral Edvcation


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Dont show up at the arm unprepared!

pprentices Equipment Checklist:

ake your work seriously, take care oyour body, be brave. Check or ticks!

sunhatsunglasses

pocket kniework gloves

water vessel/thermosashlight

pruning shears

sleeping bagmedical kit including

disinectant and cloth tapework boots

rain bootslong underwear

rain gearwool sweater

thick work pantstent

chocolate/ high-energy treats

And or adventuring:bike

running shoesbathing suit

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If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed topreside over the christening of all children, I should askthat her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonderso indestructible that it would last throughout life. If factsare the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom,then the emotions and the impressions of the senses arethe fertile soil in which the seeds must grow. If a childis to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs thecompanionship of at least one adult who can share it,

rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of w w .

rachel carson

the sense of Wonder, 1965

One big key to being a useul arm apprentice is clearly understand-ing the task at hand. ry not to ask too many questions all at once,but observe careully l ike a spy. Youll be surprised what you candiscern when you open your eyes wide and pay attention to whatis happening. Learn the systems and the details that make thosesystems work where do the various pieces o equipment live? As

you muck out the chicken coop, quietly inventory design aws,and inadequate ventilation; later youll be able to apply these les-sons to your own operation. Te experienced armer will value

your observant nature and reward you with ar deeper insight intohis/her arm operation. Watch what they are doing, how they

are moving, where they are spending time, and what they arepausing to observe. Work smart, watch what the armer is watch-ing, keep a journal, and read every book on his or her shel.


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Farmers who take on apprentices do so or a ewreasons: aordable labor, they l ikely enjoy theenthusiasm and excitement o the younger generationon their land, and they want to grow more armers.

Critics might see yurt-living interns as ree laboror young hippies working or old hippies, butthere is something quite air about starting o at the

bottom o the ladder doing the most menial tasks.Having experience doing the grunt work means

youll be more likely to design a arming system thatis comortable and efcient to manage and work.

Farming is hard work, but establishing a arm isbackbreaking. Doing it while paying a living wageor your apprentices when you arent making one

yoursel seems quite unreasonable. Plenty o olkswant to learn how to arm and want to live on aarm why shouldnt they be allowed to bartertheir energy or housing, ood, and training?

Sharing is caring. Agriculture may be quite mystiyin

in our culture, but it neednt be. I we are allcommitted to the overhaul o our ood system, thenthere is no competitive disadvantage to sharing.

Educational Value

Recently, arm apprenticeships havecome under some attack (especiallyin Caliornia and Oregon) rom theDepartment o Labor as ree labor.It is important or us as a community toembrace the reciprocal and intergenera-tional nature o the apprentice/armerrelationship and to be explicit in our

expectations o that relationship. Beloware some o our thoughts on the matter:

Vocational training on a arm, one-on-one, is probablythe best way to learn agriculture. Tere is tremendouseducational value or the apprentice.

Brand new apprentices are not eective laborers:they are clumsy, awkward, and bad at using armequipment. Tey are a burden to the armer and in

the beginning o the season can slow things downjust when it would be great or things to speed up.


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m , need some technical help in making the change to this moreefficient, easier, and more productive type of farming, and .

hugh haMMond bennett

"adjustment of agriculture to its environment," 1943

Curriculum and Programs for TeachingInterns/ Teaching Oneself

Farm Internship Handbook:http://www.attra.org/intern_handbook/

UC Santa Cruz EcologicalHorticulture ClassCurriculum: http://cass.ucsc.edu/education/

instruction/esa/index.html

Beginning Farming 101 an online course ($200):http://beginningarmers.cce.cornell.edu

Organic ransition Course(Rodale Institute) reeand online: http://www.tritrainingcenter.org/course/

Pittenger, Dennis R., ed.Caliornia Master GardenersHandbook. University oCaliornia Agriculture &Natural Resources, 2002 a great, straightorwardtextbook, though not organic.


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III. Acce to Land

Unclench your sts; we are talking about land, not ownership.One o the biggest barriers to starting a arm is accessing an ac-tual piece o land: over hal the country s armland is controlledby armers over 55. Whats more, 80% o armland is owned bynon-arming landowners. o add to matters, speculative orces

(particularly associated with agro-uels such as corn-basedethanol) push up the cost o agricultural land per acre, ederallybacked grants are still going out to build more actory hog armsand credit rates are on the r ise. Tese actors make it hard evenor arm-born armers to get started. So i you dont already haveland in the amily, youll need to devote time and eort intoguring it out. Real estate values, tax rates, and subdivisionscan incense even the mildest aspiring armer, especially once

you start driving around in rural and semi-rural areas and seeall the land that goes unused. Its a very radicalizing process.

As a beginning armer, it may seem near impossible toget your hands into soil you can call your own. But do notdespair, the land is there its just a matter o the step-

by-step progression towards getting tenured access to it.Charm, persistence, and determination are your best allies.Eventually, it may become necessary or us to work on re-orming land use policies and setting up a tax structure thatoers incentives to landowners to lease on avorable terms toproducers o local ood. (Tat is a good job or someone!)

If the earth is holy, then the things that grow . t belong to man to do with them as he will.d w.t k after us, who will have equal right with us to

the products of the globe. It would seem that adivine obligation rests on every soul. Are we tomake righteous use of the vast accumulationof knowledge of the planet? If so, we must have w . t among the millions who live on it is necessarilya question of morals; and a society that is founded on an unmoral partition and use w.

l. h. bailey, the holy earth


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gently lease some pastures rom an extensive land owner, takeover a arm rom a reti ring armer, run an edible landscapingbusiness in the city, rent a small rural armhouse that is set on aew acres, dig up your parents lawn and start a market garden(ask rst), beg, borrow or steal i you have to, or arm on theside while still keeping a day job. Get condent with the skillset and save your pennies. You Can Farm!by Joel Salatin laysout the groundwork or business planning and business growthorecasting that will set you on the path to solid scal ooting.

t, w

k .

hugh haMMond bennett, soil conservation, 1939

Once youve been arming and marketing your produce and areready or a bigger piece o land, broadcast your news! ell everyo

you meet that you are looking or land to rent, lease, or own.Dont beg or moan just brightly mention (while selling glorioueggs) your love o the community and your hope to nd land.Keep your eyes and ears open, and check classieds in agricul-tural publications and regional sustainable agriculture bulletinboards. Call al l the agencies. Show up at trainings. (Again, thisis a condensed guide that is intended to get you thinking a longthese avenues o access, it is not comprehensive.) Te point is: sta

somewhere, get going. I you dont have any cash, you wil l haveto ninja yoursel a solution particular to the place you choose andunique to the relationships you are able to orm. We wish UncleSam were still giving away land to olks willing to plant orchardo cider apples, but its quite unlikely, in the short term at least.

We dont want a bigger piece of the pie,w w .

Winona laduke

Dont assume that you have to purchase land beore enteringarming. Do assume that you need to know how to arm beore

buying one. One important strategy is to relocate to the regionyou want to settle in as a renter or leaser o land. Start smal l,learn the lessons early, and gure out your market position while

your xed capital costs are manageable. In How to Start YourSmall Farm, Lynn Mil ler, editor o Small Farm Journal, cautions

young and new armers not to rush into acquiring land i thatalso means acquiring debt. While subsidized low-interest loansor beginning armers rom the USDA can be a blessing orbusiness growth, debt particularly in inexperienced hands canbe lethal. Economic interest rates can demand a return that,especially in a young business that is still unneling cash intoimplements, encing, barn repair, and construction, cannot bepaid within the production values o susta inable agriculture (orat the pace o production most suitable or human happiness).

Just like chemical ertilizers and herbicides, there is a vicioustreadmill eect when you start taking on too many loans.

At the outset, then, its oten best to apprentice, manage a arm,borrow land, steward the land o some holiday home owners,


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7. Farming or a private developer in a planneddevelopment (this is big in the South).

8. Starting with a small homestead in a rural town whileearning money or eventual arm purchase in outskirts.

9. Lottery/inheritance rom your amily.

10. Cannabis cultivation on rented/squatted landto nance own parcel (NO recommended).

11. Slowly taking over a arm operation rom a retiring arme

12. Borrowing under utilized private land with a handshake.

13. Rootop arming with corporate partners.

14. Renting urban land rom the city (this is big in Missouri)

15. Farming on the site o an old beddingplant nursery/other compatible space.

A note on renting land from estate owners near cities:

Tere are model lease agreements available online rom the

New England Small Farm Institute and Land For Good.Its critical that you have a leak-proo lease agreement with

your landlord. As a lessee with pregnant animals and day-oldchickens being delivered tomorrow, youll want to protect

yoursel rom a landlord who likely has ancier lawyers andaster get-away cars, i and when the winds change.

Manufacture Some Magic

Many are the ways that olks have managed to get accessto land. Its a practical matter, so were spelling it out or

you here (Tis is the short list. Tere are many more and coolerexamples o innovative land tenure, and i youd like to makesure our next edition includes one that you are aware o, pleaseadd it to our wiki atoryoungarmers.wikispaces.com):

1. Working or a non-prot organization asarm manager/educational coordinator.

2. Renting/leasing land rom a land trust.

3. Renting/leasing land rom wealthy (or not so wealthy)non-arming landowners who get an agricultural taxassessment. Check with the extension service in your state tolearn about agricultural taxes. Also check with the assessor in

your town to learn what the real value o that tax deductionis or your landlord so that you can adequately understandtheir nancial incentive to work with you. In some placesarmers are actual ly paid to hay the land or the tax break.

4. Renting a part o a working arm, sharing equipment.

5. Farming land owned by a school, restaurant, retreatcenter, ar tist-in-residency program or other inst itution.

6. Collaborative land purchase (siblings, r iends, associations).


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t w.t w ...t the private landowner to conserve on hisown land, and no conceivable millions orbillions for public land purchase can alter . t a universal symbiosis with land, economic

, . t school of thought, public ownership is a .

aldo leopold

the c onservation ethic, 1933

Resources

Farm Link Program Directory state-run programs whichacilitate the transition oland between generations oarmers and ranchers, and canprovide a degree o mentorship,business planning and bankingadvice: armtransition.org/netwpart.html

Incubator Farms usuallysupport new armers by oeringaccess to land, equipment,inrastructure, mentorships,and sometimes paid work untilarmers eel condent that theyhave enough experience to getalong on their own two eetand have the means to acquiretheir own land. Heres a greatexample:carolinaarmstewards.org/projects.shtml

Farm On a programhelping to preserve amilyarm businesses by matchingbeginning armers who do notown land with retiring armers

who do not have heirs:

extension.iastate.edu/bc/programs.html

ax Credits or BarnPreservation a great incentiveto property owners who mightotherwise destroy their gloriousbarns:nps.gov/history/hps/tps/tax

Historic Barns: Working

Assets or Sustainable Farms describes how older andhistoric barns can providepractical benets or sustainableagriculture:preservationnation.org/issues/rural-heritage/additional-resources/Historic-Barns-Sustainable-Farms.pd

Farmland InormationCentera clearinghouse or inormationabout armland protection

and stewardship. Browseableby state: armlandino.org

NCA Guide how to ndand secure land to arm:attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/nding.pd


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t . tgood health of his mind has its dependence, and its proof, in wk. t wk his heart and his lungs. And the capital of a well-farmedfarm by definition includes the farmer, mind and body both.

f , .

Wendell ber ry, the gift of good land


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Aubrey, Sarah . Startingand Running Your OwnSmall Farm Business. StoreyPublishing, 2008.

Buttereld, Jody, SamBingham, and Allan Savory.Holistic Management Handbook:Healthy Land, Healthy

Prots. Island Press, 2006.

Davis, Poppy. BeginningFarmer and Rancher Resources:Basic Bookkeeping, Budgeting,ax Recordkeeping, Other Stuf.2008:beginingarmerrancher.wordpress.com

Holistic ManagementInternational. ImprovingWhole Farm Planning TroughBetter Decision-Making. 2001.

Internal Revenue Service, UDept. o the reasury. SmallBusiness/Sel-Employed VirtuaSmall Business ax Workshop.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=97726,00.html

Macher, Ron.Making YourSmall Farm Protable: Apply

25 Guiding Principles, DevelopNew Crops & New Markets,Maximize Net Prots per Acre.Storey Publishing, 1999.

Salatin, Joel. You Can Farm:Te Entrepreneurs Guide toStart & Succeed in a FarmingEnterprise. Polyace, 1998.

Sustainable AgricultureNetwork. Building a SustainaBusiness: A Guide to Developina Business Plan or Farms and

Rural Businesses.Minnesota Institute orSustainable Agriculture, 200sare.org/publications/business.htm

Resources

Business Planning & Accounting

All independent armers need basic accounting and businessplanning skil ls to reach their arming goals. For your busi-ness to be truly sustainable, you must make your operationeconomically viable or yoursel and any business partners or

workers. Learn how to make nice spreadsheets and use quick-book programs. Pay your taxes, or, reinvest in your business

and dont pay as many. I you arent a great book-learner, thereare arm-business planning courses that you can nd onlinethrough Land Stewardship Projects Farm Beginnings Program.Bottom line: adequately assessing each o your arm enterpriseor protability and being wi lling to actively manage thebusiness end o them is unavoidable i you want to stay aoat.

IV.

Capitalization of SmallDiuerified Operation


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Farm Service AgencyBeginning Farmer LoanProgram: sa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=mlp&topic=b

Te National Council oState Agricultural FinancePrograms provides aneasy-to-navigate directoryo state loan programs:

stateagnance.org

Farm Credit Serviceso America Young andBeginning Program:csamerica.com/products/YoungBeginningProgram.aspx

Local ProducerLoan Program low-interest loans to small ,local producers, sponsored by

Whole Foods Market:

wholeoodsmarket.com/values/local-producer-loan-program.php

Freshman Farmer GrantsProgram, Peaceul ValleyFarm Supply:reshmanarmer.com

Community Land rustsand Private Foundations:cltnetwork.org

Rudol Steiner Financeand other Social Finance

Firms: rssocialnance.org

Microlending: kiva.org

NSAIS ARA web pagor unding opportunities a great one-stop shop orcurrent grant opportunitiesattra.ncat.org/unding

American Farmland rustafresearch.org/grant

Loans & Grants

Starting a arm is not a cheap endeavor; it requires capitalor equipment, inputs, and land. You can slow your need orcash by limiting your inputs and developing new enterprisespiecewise. A variety o loan and grant programs exist to help

you start your business; many a young armer spends the wintertrawling the Internet or grants and production incentives.

Tere are oundations, marketing groups, and governmentconservation bodies all with an interest to help you make yourarm more humane, useul as habitat, or accessible to children.

Dont orget! As a beginning armer youl l qualiy or a wholebunch o ederally backed loans that were a major win in thelast arm bill. But many o the sustainable agriculture researchgrants will come to you only ater your arm is established,and youll have to develop relationships with the scientists andresearchers. Dont hesitate to speak up about your operation.

Tere are alsohumane husbandry-,

water quality-, andwildlie habitat-based grant programsoered by privateand public groups.

Go to conerencesand do the research sometimes $5,000o deer encing is

just 30 minutes opaperwork away.


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V.

Start With The Soil

We Greenhorns consider ourselves erce patriots o soil ert il-ity. Soil is the oundation o our civi lization, its health under-lies our own health, and without it we wouldnt long survive.

Hydroponics on the sides o skyscrapers arent really that sexyrom a soil-health perspective. Energy-dense crops and healthylivestock rely on the oundation o ertile soil, which it is ourmandate to support. Ample nutrients and minerals, organic matter, microorganisms, sufcient moisture, and good pH are the bao healthy soils that will ultimately eed you and your clientele.

u 6 -

5- , q. l k , w opportunity to work together with this powerful force w .

- John Jeavons,

hoW to groW more vegetables!


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Rodale Institute -Organic ransition Course, soils module:tritrainingcenter.org/course

Ater observing the dierence between homemadecompost and the stu made at huge commercial acili-ties, you might well be inspired to delve into your ownpractice with biodynamic preparations, slower compostingtimes, and more careul selection o animal manures.

Geek out! But remember that engaging in large-scalecompost production can get you into trouble with waterquality authorities, so do your homework and read up.

ARA NSAIS -Soils & Compost:attra.ntcat.org/soils.html

Sir Albert Howard,Soil and Health

Crop RotationPlanning Procedure:

neon.cornell.edu/croprotation/eChapter5.pd

Organic Farming ResearchFoundation FertilityManagement ProgressReports: or.org/unded/ertility_mgmt.html

Soil & WaterConservation Society:swcs.org

Donahue, Roy L., Raymond

W. Miller, and JohnC. Shickluna, Soils: AnIntroduction to Soilsand Plant Growth,5th ed. Prentice Hall, 1983.

Manure ApplicationPlanning Workbook:ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/waste/ae1187w.htm

Hofman, Evans, Jensen,Martin, &. Elliott, Design andOperation o Farm IrrigationSystems. ASAB, 2007.

Keesan, Larry, andCindy Code. Te CompleteIrrigation Workbook: Design,Installation, Maintenanceand Water Management.GIE Media, Inc., 1995.

Southorn, Neil, FarmIrrigation: Planningand Management, GIEMedia, Inc., 1997.

Styles, Stuar t W., and

Charles M. Burt, Drip andMicro Irrigation or rees,Vines, and Row Crops,Irrigation raining andResearch Center, 1999.

A few resources on how to build hearty soil:


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SARE, Diversiying CroppingSystems provides a useulintroductory publication:sare.org/publications/diversiy.htm

List o Alternative Crops orSmall Farm Diversication:nal.usda.gov/asic/pubs/

altlist.shtml#resources

Questions to ask aboutalternative crops:pnw-ag.wsu.edu/AgHorizons/notes/sr3no1.html

Alternative CropSuitability Maps:sws.uiuc.edu/data/altcrops

Stick Your Fingers in the Planet

Youll have to experiment with your local climate and microcli-mate, gure out your short- and long-term strategy or annualsand perennials, and suss out the market viability o your avoritecrops. Its mostly a solo game, but it might also be helpul to con-tact your local or state extension ofce to determine what cropsare best suited to your area. Crop diversication is one provenpath to success or small arms. Te USDA CSREES maintainsa directory o Extension Ofces atwww.csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/partners/state_partners.html ,

but sadly there are quite a lot o horror stories about exten-sion ofcers who give devastating adv ise, do not approveo arms that go on to win awards, and are biased againstorganic practices. Keep this in mind, and try to col-laborate with other local armers and gure out whichofcers can oer real support. Soil tests are cheap!


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Gardeners and armers have quite anumber o antastic seed vendor choices.

Tis is a luxury we cannot aord to lose.Seed exchanges are wonderul venues toobtain rare and diversity-rich varietals.

Tese seeds are our past and our uture.

Seeds

Directory o OrganicSeed Suppliers:attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/organic_seed

Seed Savers Exchange a antastic organization thatconnects seed savers aroundthe country directly to each

other via a yearly d irectory.You can buy seeds rom othersavers at a discounted rate andalso nd almost every seedor sale in the entire nationby varietal: seedsavers.org

Hudson Valley Seed Librarya regional-scale lendinglibrary or seeds modeledater Seed Savers Exchangebut with an emphasis on New

York region-adapted heirloomseeds: seedlibrary.org

Fedco Seeds seed championsrom Maine with verycompetitive prices thatgo ast and keep everyoneloyal: edcoseeds.com

High Mowing Organic Seeds a ast-growing organic seedcompany that is part o theHardwick, V cluster:highmowingseeds.com

Baker Creek HeirloomSeeds Another youngarmer-owned company rom

the Midwest: rareseeds.com

Johnnys Selected Seeds a source o tools and organicinputs or commercialgrowers:johnnyseeds.com

Southern ExposureSeed Exchange ocuses on seeds or the South:southernexposure.com

Deppe, Carol. Breed YourOwn Vegetable Varieties: Te

Gardeners and Farmers Guideto Plant Breeding and SeedSaving. Chelsea Green, 2000.


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ARA publications onsustainable pest management:attra.ncat.org/pest.html

Organic Farming ResearchFoundation WeedManagement Project Reports:or.org/unded/weed_mgmt.html

Department o Crop and SoilSciences, Cornell University

Te Organic WeedManagement Website:css.cornell.edu/weedeco/WeedDatabase/index2.html

Rodale Institute Te Weeds Page,integrated weed managementrodaleinstitute.org/weeds

Equipment

Many armers use tractors rom the 1940s and you could beone o them. Weve seen a whole bunch o creative retrots oold pick up trucks into chicken tractors. Or you could go thewalk behind route with a smaller, newer, more manageabletool suited to the small /entry-level grower. Again, youll wantto organize yoursel some training in equipment use, preerablyon someone elses arm during a year-long apprenticeship.

Kubik, Rick. How to UseImplements on Your Small-Scale Farm. Motorbooks

Workshop, 2005.

Quick, Graeme R. TeCompact ractor Bible.Voyageur Press, 2006.

Sustainable Pest Management

Tough grumpy neighbors might not agree, organic armingis possible! o manage insects, weeds, and d isease, sustain-able arming relies on cultural practices and managementdecisions that orgo chemicals and activities harmul to theenvironment. Biological and economic success is possiblethrough thoughtul labor, input, and equipment decisions.In many ways, its easier to learn organic practices rom thestart and to generate your planting plans with crop rotations,inter-croppings, and insect habitats in mind. But transitioning

rom conventional agriculture or resuscitating conventionallymanaged land back into organic status is also good work! Ineither case, youll need to learn the underlying principles that

will help you plan or success. Outwitting bugs, blight, anddisease takes oresight and holistic long-term investments insoil ertility, sanitation, crop residue processing, and timing.

Altieri, Miguel.ManageInsects on Your Farm: AGuide to Ecological Strategies.Sustainable AgricultureNetwork, 2005.

Krasta, Torsten.Plant

Pathology Internet Guide Book:pk.uni-bonn.de/ppigb/ppigb.htm

Walters, Charles. Weeds:Control without Poisons.Acres USA, 1999.

Weinzierl, Rick, and essHearn.Alternatives in InsectManagement: Biological andBiorational Approaches. NorthCentral Regional ExtensionPublication 401, CooperativeExtension Service.

SAREs A W hole-FarmApproach to Managing Pests :sare.org/publications/armpest/armpest.pd


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Livestock

Getting good quality stock at the outset can be quite a hurdle,but oten you can get a ew head rom an industry leader andstart your own herd slowly, gently, and careully. State airsare good places to meet other small-scale producers, as areauctions, conerences, extension workshops, and slaughter-houses. Your vet/eed merchant will a lso know o olks nearby.Check to see i nearby breeders and breed associations have anInternet presence. Pastured poultry networks are particularlyertile these days. And, o course, theres always Craigslist.

Niche meat marketingguide, buyers guide romExtension: extension.iastate.edu/store/ItemDetail.aspx?ProductID=13056

ARA:attra.ncat.org/livestock.html

SARE: sare.org/coreino/animals.htm

Books on Livestock From

Storey Publishing -comprehensive andaccessible guidebooks:storey.com/subcategory_listing.php?cat=Animals&subcat=Livestock

Breeds o Livestock,Department o AnimalScience,Oklahoma State University:ansi.okstate.edu/breeds

American LivestockBreeds Conservancy:albc-usa.org

Privett Hatcheryhaswonderul wonderul chickens

NRCS seems airly serious about preserving our basic naturalresources, but then why dont they run til lage workshopsor beginning armers out o those nice ofces they havein every county? Its hard to break bad tillage habits oncetheyre established, so start us out right, Uncle Sam! eachus soil conservation and tractoring at the same time.


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VI.

Marketing the Food

When you are working hard to opt out o a mainstream consum-erist liestyle, it may seem counter-intuitive to have to translatethe ruits o your labor into an actual liv ing through strategicmarketing and organic cert ication. I you are passionate enoughto have come so ar as to produce honest, whole ood, becomingcertied organic (yes, an oten costly procedure) can open upa much broader market. Community Supported Agriculture(CSA) and armers markets create much more direct relation-ships between producer and consumer, but they are most timeintensive. Youll get more dollars per pound o produce, but

youll also have to chat and schmooze and hust le your bustle

to please the ancy ches and ussy moms. But it takes dierentstrokes or dierent olks. Figuring out what works or you wil lhelp you plan your uture arm around your own preerences.

t q chemical farming provides the only hope of feeding theexpanding world population and has therefore to be w w k . t that the exact opposite could prove to be the case, and thatit is an alternative and largely organic agriculture that will w w k . t ,as is becoming increasingly apparent, the days of the formerare numbered. One reason is the enormous demands onthe worlds non-renewable resources of energy, made by our

Western life-style in general, and modern farming techniquesin particular. Another is that modern methods are putting w .

lady eve balfour, toWards a sustainable

agriculture - the living soil, 1977


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Certifications, Pricing, and CSA Resources

How to Go Organic a collection o existing resourcesor anyone exploring how totransition to organic by theOrganic rade Association:howtogoorganic.com

Organic ransition Course a certication module

rom the Rodale Institute:tritrainingcenter.org/course

Te New Farm Guide search, browse, andcompare certiers (alsorom Rodale): newarm.rodaleinstitute.org/ocdbt

National AgriculturalStatistics Service economics,statistics, marketing inormationsystems, and agricultural pricesupdated monthly by the USDA:

usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentIno.do?documentID=1002

Rodale Institutes OrganicPrice Report updatedregularly: rodaleinstitute.org/Organic-Price-Report

CSA Resources or Farmer(USDA):nal.usda.gov/asic/pubs/csa/csaarmer.shtml

LocalHarvest get listedin this online local oodguide: localharvest.org

USDA Farmers MarketDirectory: apps.ams.usda.gov/FarmersMarkets

Organic Farmers Agencyor Relationship Marketing(OFARM): oarm.org

Growing or Marketa periodical out o Lawrence,KS with super practical adviceor growers o specialty

vegetables and owers:growingormarket.com

Center or Agroecology andSustainable Food Systems(CASFS):cass.ucsc.edu/education/instruction/tdm/contents.html

Midwest Organic andSustainable Education Service

(MOSES) Brokers, Buyers,Cooperatives, and Processors:mosesorganic.org/dir_search_results.php?search=Brokers&sc=1&sd=TBL0000015

On Marketing


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Incorporating yoursel into your community and being neighborare vital to successul arming, especially i this is your rst movout to a rura l countryside. Your neighbors can help you nd lo-cal resources, get you acquainted with the history o your landand weather conditions, or assist you in times o need i you are

willing to do the same or them. You might need to rely on yourneighbor to eed your animals while you are away, lend you theirront-end loader, or help you rebuild your barn. Whether theyshare all, some, or none o your views, connecting with otherarmers and ranchers is the key to nding camaraderie in an everrarer vocation and being accepted in a greater community.

Tanks mostly to the gutsy sel-determination o those beore usin sustainable agriculture, most regions o this country have somkind o sustainable ag organization, such as NOFA, MOSES,orILH. Piggybacking onto existing social structures is agreat way to create more young armer training opportunitiesand network socially and proessionally. Tese groups are morethan wi lling to generate conerence programming or youngand beginning armers, and many young armers end up work-ing their o-arm job as part-time staers or these jewels oour community. Get involved and you wi ll be welcomed.

Ways to get involved in your community:

Enter the county air and volunteer time. Have your children joithe local 4-H. Help out at events such as your re departmentsbarbecue or the local horse show. Be personable and rememberedat the arm supply store. Patronize community businesses. Jointhe local ood co-op and attend membership meetings. Be good:this is your home at least until the orchard starts bearing.

t i ; exuberant, joyful, grounded in affection, pleasure,and mutual aid. Such a community arises not fromduty or money but from the free interchange of peoplewho share a place, share work and food, sorrows and

. tk win a web of relationships, the many threads tugging at w .

scott russell sanders,

the coMMon life in Writing from the center

VII.

Commvnity=Relationhip


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VIII.

Urban Agricvltvre

Cities cover only 2% o the Earth s surace, but consume 75%o its resources.4 Tis is where the huge disconnect betweenpeople and their ood begins. Te average city dweller isnt likelyto be able to tell you where their ood came rom beyond theshelves o the supermarket. But urbanites have no need to eeldiscouraged. Not only is it getting easier to seek out local oodin cities, but you can also take matters into your own hands(get the best o both worlds!) and grow ood yoursel. Whetherits a victory garden on a small patch o community land, aroo garden, or windowbox plants, there are innovative ways tomake urban agriculture surprisingly productive and satisying.

Our sweet riend Annie runs a lovely rootop arm in NewYork City (www.roofoparms.org). She has begun the all-

important experimentation and documentation o whichcrops and soil mixtures and how much wind exposure workbest. In roo arming we a re opening up a whole new worldo innovation, and we must immediately start sharing what

we learn about efcient growing with our colleagues.

I admire the bioregionalist ideaof finding a place on the planet,on your street, in your city, in your region, and deciding thatthat place is one you will protect.l cultural history. Visit the placeregularly. Watch it carefully. If its, ...t plenty of room for maneuvering.d -

speak, from time to time, thew m e.

Jerry Mander, the absence of

the sacred


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y mental process that you are hardlyaware of its existence, until you tryto communicate with someone with a

.

donella MeadoWs

the global citizen, 1991

Ways to Get Involvedin Urban Agriculture & Sustainability

Ecology Action developersoGrow BiointensiveSustainable Mini-Farming,a small scale agriculturalsystem that nurtures soil,produces high yields, conservesresources and can be usedsuccessully by almost everyone:

growbiointensive.org

Jeavons, John. How o GrowMore Vegetables Tan You EverTought Possible on Less LandTan You Can Imagine.

en Speed Press, 2006.

Urban PermacultureGuild acilitatesartistic and ecologicallyoriented place-makingand educational projects:urbanpermacultureguild.org

Te Food Projectamazing resources orstarting up an urban armand community programming:theoodproject.org

City Farmers UrbanAgriculture Notes Canadas Ofce o UrbanAgriculture maintains thislarge and excellent site at thecenter o the burgeoning urbanarming movement:cityarmer.org

Build it Solar:Te Renewable Energy Siteor Do-It-Yourselers thissite has over 500 projectsrom bubble-wrap windowinsulation to DIY windmills:builditsolar.com

Experiments inSustainable Urban Living descriptions o easilyimplemented and cheapsustainable projects,

including a compost-powered solar water heater:kailashecovillage.com/experiments


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American Farmland rust: armland.org

ARA, National SustainableAgriculture InormationService ree publications and anextensive inormational website:attra.ncat.org

Center or Food Saety workingto curb the prolieration o

harmul ood productiontechnologies and promotesustainable alternatives:trueoodnow.org

Cornell University Small FarmsProgram inormation ornew armers, including helpor immigrant armers andopportunities or training:smallarms.cornell.edu

Farm Aid oers direct serviceso many kinds: armaid.org,

e-mail [email protected],or call 1-800-FARMAID.

Te Land Institute & WesJackson aims to develop anagricultural system with the

ecological stability o the praand a grain yield comparablethat rom annual crops:landinstitute.org

Organic Ag Ino providescurrent, accurate, scienticabased or practically validatedinormation about organicagriculture: organicagino.o

National Agricultural Libranal.usda.gov

Te New York Beginning FaProject Support or beginnand diversiying armers romCornell Cooperative ExtensEducators in partnership witCornell Small Farms Progranybeginningarmers.org

Te Rodale Institute experesources within its NewFarm content stream or crop

and livestock production,direct marketing, local oodsystems, policy campaigns,and community-buildingcollaborations:rodaleinstitute.org

IX.

gricvltvre InformationClearinghove

Stillhavequestions?Thesewebsiteshave

poolsofinformationwaiting

foryourclick...

oryoungarmers.wikispaces.com

And, don't forget our wiki a good place tond everything in this book and more:


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Agriculture has always been rigged by political and economicinuences. As an independent arm operator its important tokeep up with the agricultural climate and how national and in-ternational policies and circumstances may aect you. Althoughrecent years have seen some progress, we still have a long way togo towards ostering a hospitable climate or smal l-scale armers

Its vital that we not orget the inequality that persists in mod-ern agriculture; agriculture in the U.S. would not exist withoutthe labor o undocumented immigrants. Industrial agriculture

has exploited its workers immeasurably, but small-scale arm-ing allows us to be more accountable in our relationships withco-workers, peers, and consumers. Stay inormed and act ive! Asthe ace o ood in your community you have a unique opportu-nity to communicate on these issues. ake that job seriously.

X.

The Big Pictvre:Reearch, Watchdog, ctiuim


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Glynwood Center programs totrain leaders, catalyze communitychange rom the inside out,present innovative new ideas,and supply resources to those

who strive to resolve the tensionbetween development andconservation: glynwood.org

Student/Farmworker Alliance national network o students,

youth, and other communitymembers organizing with arm

workers to eliminate sweatshopconditions and modern-dayslavery in the elds: salliance.org

La Via Campesinathe international peasantmovement: viacampesina.org

National Family Farm Coalition the North American brancho Via Campesina: nc.net

Building Local Food Networks toolkit or organizers:ecotrust.org/oodarms/localoodnetworks.html

WiserEarth communitydirectory and networkingorum that maps and conneNGOs and individualsaddressing the central issueo our day: wiserearth.org

Community Food SecurityCoalition oodsecurity.oand its dynamicCOMFOOD list serve:

oodsecurity.org/list.html

FoodCorps a new Ameriprogram training schoolgardeners and placingthem in the public schoolsystem: ood-corps.org

National Young FarmerCoalition ounded by abunch o Greenhorns andbeginning armers, this is agroup or young armers ruby young armers working

support the initiatives o yoarmers: youngarmers.org

Te National Grange anational raternity o husbanationalgrange.org

EC Group supports sociallyresponsible developmentso technologies useul tothe poor and marginalizedand addresses internationalgovernance issues and corporatepower: etcgroup.org

Food First Institute looks at

root causes o global hunger,poverty, ecological degradation,and develops solutions inpartnership with movementsor social change: oodrst.org

Institute or Agricultureand rade Policy promotesrural communities andecosystems around the worldthrough research and education,science and technology,and advocacy: iatp.org

Coalition o ImmokaleeWorkers sign CIWs nationalpetition to end modern dayslavery and sweatshop inthe elds: ciw-online.org

National SustainableAgriculture Coalition cultivating grassroots eorts toengage in policy developmentprocesses that result in ood/agricultural systems and ruralcommunities that are healthy,environmentally sound,protable, humane, and just:

sustainableagriculture.net

Oakland Institute aims toincrease public participationand promote air debate oncritical social, economic andenvironmental issues in bothnational and internationalorums: oaklandinstitute.org

Alliance or Fair Food promotes principles andpractices in the corporate oodindustry that advance and

ensure the human rights oarm workersat the bottom ocorporate supply chains:allianceorairood.org

Research Groups, Watchdogs & Activism


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Staying Abreast of Current Affairs in Farming

Acres USA North Americasoldest, largest magazine coveringcommercial-scale organic andsustainable arming:acresusa.com/magazines/magazine.htm

Small Farmers Journal packed to over-ull with

more inormation than youmight nd in three or ourconventional magazines:smallarmersjournal.com

Browneld Network:Ag News or Americamarket and commodityreports, news on arm andood policy, the latestagricultural innovations,and more:browneldnetwork.com

Elite Farmer: Farmingor omorrowodaylinks and articles on the

web: elitearmer.com

t w w kthe back seat where it belongs, and the arena of the heartand the head will be occupied or reoccupied, by our real , .

John Maynard keynes,

first annual report of the

arts council 1946


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Final words, from some of our farmer elders:

In it for the long haul? Slow down.

Dont breathe dust,

practice tractor safety,

consider long term effects,

save your back,

keep poise under pressure,

maintain graciousness,

call your mother for a pep talk,

dont swear loudly from the front porch.


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1 University o Georgia College o Agricultu ral and

Environmental Sciences Cooperative Extension Service

www.ces.uga.edu/Agriculture/agecon/pubs/agric50-90.htm

2 USDA 2007 Census Publications, Volume 1, Complete

Report: www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/

Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/usv1.txt

3 USDA 2002 Census Publicaionts, Volume 1,

Complete Report: www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2002/

Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/CenV1US1.txt

4 United Nations. World Population Prospects,

http://esa.un.org/unpp/

Also http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37467


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American agriculture is in crisis.

A crisis of toxicity. A crisis of monoculture.

A crisis of control, of obesity, and of attrition.

t w

hard time now convincing young people to get involved in

factory farming. Ever-increasing numbers of new farmers

are rooting themselves in sustainable practices, and. t

their families, all the while remaining careful stewards of

. b -

as becoming a doctor or a lawyer or even a carpenter, but

that isnt stopping a growing and wonderfully dynamic

surge of determined, new farmers from doing it anyway.

thegreenhorns.net

thegreenhorns.wordpress.com

youngfarmers.org

serveyourcountryfood.net

foryoungfarmers.wikispaces.com

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Greenhorns: Guide for New Farmers

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