Supportive Organizations
The following Canadian and US organizations offer various forms of support to new and transitioning farmers:
Mentoring and apprenticeship opportunities
In Canada:
Collaborative Regional Apprenticeship Farmer Training (CRAFT) Ontario
CRAFT Ontario is an informal, member-driven organization made up of more than a dozen southern Ontario organic farms. The goal of CRAFT Ontario is to enhance the internships offered by its member farms. The primary method of doing this is to offer monthly field trips which take place at selected CRAFT farms.
Each CRAFT farm operates independently and offers its own internship which differs from the other farms with respect to such things as: living and eating arrangements, stipends, work hours, and training methods. If you are a successful applicant to a CRAFT farm then you will live, work and learn at that farm for a full growing season. Application to the program is free.
Willing Workers on Organic Farms is a membership-based organization that facilitates volunteer opportunities on organic farms. Volunteers receive a catalogue listing organic farms throughout Canada that are looking for seasonal volunteer help. Volunteers contact the farmers directly. Room and board is provided in exchange for light agricultural labour.
Membership is $40/year.
In the US:
ATTRA’s Directory of Sustainable Farming Internships and Apprenticeships
This online directory of on-the-job learning opportunities in sustainable and organic agriculture in the U.S. (and some in Canada) has been published since 1989 as a tool to help farmers and apprentices connect with each other. The listed farms are primarily seeking interns/apprentices from North America.
Land Stewardship Project, Minnesota
Farm Beginnings is a farmer-led educational training and support program designed to help people who want to evaluate and plan their farm enterprise. Participants engage in a mentorship experience and network with a variety of successful, innovative farmers; attend practical, high quality seminars, field days and conferences; and receive resource materials. They also create links with experienced farmers through farm partnerships, land and equipment use and/or rental.
Intervale Center
Burlington, Vermont
Founded in 1990, Intervale Farms Program leases land, equipment, greenhouses, irrigation and storage facilities to small independent farms that agree to farm organically. Currently thirteen farms operate on 120 acres with over 60 full time and seasonal workers. Several of the farms are recent start-ups in an incubator status. Farmers have access to a cafeteria of technical and mechanical support as well as the benefit of marketing programs and business planning resources to help them establish themselves as profitable businesses.
Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS)
University of California, Santa Cruz
CASFS is a research, education, and public service program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, dedicated to increasing ecological sustainability and social justice in the food and agriculture system. The Center’s Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture provides training in the concepts and practices of organic gardening and small-scale farming. This full-time program is held at the Center’s 25-acre Farm and 3-acre Alan Chadwick Garden on the UCSC campus. Run in conjunction with UCSC Extension, the Apprenticeship course carries 20 units of Extension credit for the approximately 300 hours of classroom instruction and 700 hours of in-field training and hands-on experience in the greenhouses, gardens, orchards, and fields. Tuition for the six-month course is $4,000.
Other education and networking opportunities
In Canada:
Canadian Organic Growers (COG)
COG is a national membership-based education and networking organization representing farmers, gardeners, consumers and supporters in all provinces and territories. COG has fifteen local chapters in Canada. The organization’s activities include publications on a range of issues in organic agriculture, a quarterly newsletter – The Canadian Organic Grower, a comprehensive lending library, and a scholarship program to encourage research of benefit to organic growers.
Membership fee: $40/year
Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario
The EFAO is an Ontario membership-based organization that, since 1979, has promoted the practice of ecological, sustainable and diversified agriculture. Programming includes a bi-monthly newsletter, farm tours, stock exchange, a farmer-to-farmer mentorship program, courses and seminars in ecological agriculture, and advocacy work.
Membership fee: $30/year
Annual four-day conference features a 150-booth organic trade show, an internationally-recognized keynote speaker, a full schedule of seminars on organic production, marketing, business management and training strategies, and a mini-conference on social research in organic agriculture. “Canada’s premiere organic event.”
In the US:
New England Small Farm Institute (NESFI)
New England Small Farm Institute is a land-based, non-profit organization. It was founded in 1978 by a local citizens’ action group-Women in Agriculture, Food Policy and Land Use Reform-to encourage more sustainable regional agriculture. Our mission is to promote small farm development by providing information and training for aspiring, beginning and transitioning farmers. We maintain an extensive resource collection; produce publications; develop and offer innovative, farmer-guided programs; and advocate for policies that encourage sustainable small-scale agriculture. We seek collaborative program-delivery partnerships with service providers-associates, on-farm mentors, organizations and agencies-throughout the Northeast and nationwide.
NESFI’s Growing New Farmers program features a website designed to connect users with programs, services, and resources for new farmers throughout the 12 Northeast states.
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program (SARE)
Since 1988, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program has helped advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities through a nationwide research and education grants program. The program is part of USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, is managed in partnership with regional land grant hosts, and funds projects and conducts outreach designed to improve agricultural systems.
The Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) is the national outreach arm of the SARE program. SAN operates under a Cooperative Agreement with CSREES to develop and disseminate information about sustainable agriculture. Guided by the SAN Steering Committee, SAN publishes a variety of print and electronic resources for farmers, agricultural educators, and consumers. SAN also hosts SANET-MG, a sustainable agriculture listserv with over 600 subscribers from around the globe.
ATTRA National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
ATTRA – National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service. It provides information and other technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, extension agents, educators, and others involved in sustainable agriculture in the United States. ATTRA’s list of sustainable agriculture resources is among the most comprehensive on the web.
Periodicals, websites, and additional resource guides
$21.95 CDN for 6 issues / 12 months
Small Farm Canada promotes small-scale farming as a legitimate and viable endeavour. The magazine’s editorial position is that the lives of small-scale farmers and their families are worthy, complex and rich in possibility, and that the communities serving small-scale farmers are unique and dynamic. Through attractive, well-written, independent-minded articles (free of orthodoxies) the magazine entertains, informs, inspires and challenges readers across Canada.
$33.95 US for 6 issues / 12 months
Small Farm Today® was founded by a small farmer in central Missouri in 1984, and is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of small farming, rural living, sustainability, community, and agripreneurship. It is published on a farm, by a farmer, for farmers. Most of our readers are full- or part-time small family farmers, and many are using alternatives, such as growing high-value crops, raising unusual livestock, and direct marketing their products to bring in more income. Readers are extremely loyal-most read the magazine from cover to cover, including advertising, and pass the magazine along to neighbors, friends, and relatives.
This web site from the Rodale Institute reaches a global community of food producers to exchange valuable “farmer-to-farmer know-how.” NewFarm.org presents expert resources for crop and livestock production, direct marketing, local food systems, policy campaigns and community-building collaborations. NewFarm.org is an electronic magazine covering the successes and challenges of organic and sustainable farming nationwide and beyond. At NewFarm.org, the mission is to inform, encourage, equip and inspire farmers with the support they need to take the important transition steps toward regenerative agriculture.
Resources for Beginning Farmers: Building a Sustainable Future
Beth Nelson Caitrin Mullan, Jill O’Neill, and Debra Elias Morse
Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture
2005 / 64 pages / Free PDF
Regardless of your situation, starting a farming business requires thorough planning and long-term commitment. The goal of this publication is to make it easier to get started in farming by providing a planning guide and identifying the many resources available to beginning farmers. This guide is designed for anyone interested in farming sustainably in Minnesota, regardless of your background or situation. A diverse team of beginning and established farmers, as well as other agricultural specialists, collaborated to produce this publication.
Your Comments
The best way to improve the guide is through reader suggestions, so if we’re missing a crucial book, magazine, or organization, please do let us know. Please add your comments and ideas in the Ready to Farm? Forum.
