Resources | My top list of the Best Resources for New and Aspiring Farmers
resources for new farmers
I haven’t been farming long, but in the last three year’s I’ve learned a lot about this industry through some incredible resources.
When I was starting out I was browsing the web, the library and blogs to find information on the subject of grass-fed farming. I’ve done a few things the slow way, and a few things right when it comes to growing my knowledge of this beautiful industry.
Today, I wanted to share with other aspiring farmers/newbie’s like me what I’ve used to grow in my knowledge of the food system, grass-fed farming and marketing. This post is tailored to those looking to produce grass-fed beef and lamb but many of these resources tie into multiple avenues of farming.
my top 10 go-to resources
THE BEST thing I’ve done to further my knowledge is this… Get to know other local farmers doing what you’re doing. Whether someone interested in farming, a brand new farmer or someone who’s lived their whole life on the farm, you are each other’s most valuable resource. If you’re interested in farming or just beginning visit the farms of farmers who’ve been at it a while. Learn why they made certain decisions, what works in your region and what ‘good ideas’ you’ve found online are actually worth pursuing in your locale and which ones have failed. They will teach you more valuable stuff than you can ever find anywhere online.
Attend local pasture walks - farm events - tours. I have experienced several USDA field days as well as grazing tours by Southwest Badger, and GrassWorks. Use these resources and opportunities to visit other farms, the best part is several of them are free!
Your local USDA tribe. These people are incredible, get to know them!
These wonderful humans are well versed in sustainable agriculture and can often give you a list of some local resources for both education and funding.
Your Extention Office - again these people are incredible resources and you can often find some valuable information online. It’s a good place to look for both farming resources but also business resources.
YouTube - I can learn bits of information from a book, I learn a ton in person and somewhere in the middle is the beautiful world of YouTube. YouTube has given me glimpses into grazing systems used by farmers across the nation. While some of the information is location specific, I’ve found it very helpful to get a view into things like: rotational grazing, mob grazing, setting up a system, equipment to use for pasture division, and even how to renovate existing fields into thriving pasture. It can be an incredible resource.
If you’re interested I’m in the beginning stages of starting my own YouTube channel where I’ll be sharing some of the farm adventures here at Homestead. You can subscribe to follow the journey.
Books
Grass-fed Cattle by Julius Ruechel
Books by Laura Lawson
Food Inc. (a good resource for understanding the food system we’re surrounded with today)
Magazines
Blogs
There are a number of farming blogs out on the world-wide-web that can be useful for learning how to set up your farm etc. There are not specific blogs I follow and I generally will skim quite a few to get multiple opinions.
Marketing help - because once you have good products you need to actually sell them.
Squarespace - Now this is less of a learning resource and more of a resource to actually sell your product. I use Squarespace to power my website and I can’t say enough good things about it. I’m able to provide information on my farm, blog and also sell my product online. It’s a very powerful resource and with all the helpful how-to’s I’m confident it could be a good resource for you.
