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Cover crops slow erosion, improve soil, smother weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, help control many pests and bring a host of other benefits to your farm. At the same time, they can reduce costs, increase profits and even create new sources of income. You’ll reap dividends on your cover crop investments for years, because their benefits accumulate over the long term. There is a cover crop to fit just about every farming situation.The purpose of this book is to help you find which ones are right for you.

A short guide to types of high tunnel structures, greenhouses, and special considerations for high tunnel production. These include variety selection, fertility management, pest management, water management, temperature management, marketing and economics, and crop storange and processing.

Outlines the new challenges that changing weather patterns pose in agriculture throughout the United States, and what you can do to make your farm more resilient. By understanding the climate risks to your production system and practices that can reduce those risks, you can identify some management steps that will improve the resilience of your farm or ranch to changing climate conditions while allowing you to achieve your other sustainability goals.

The purpose of this book is to help growers and farm advisors understand the management of crop rotations; avoid crop rotation problems; and use crop rotation to build better soil, control pests, and develop profitable farms that support satisfied families.

Transitioning to a production method that is not reliant on synthetic fertilizers can be accomplished strategically over three to five years. The following publications, tipsheets, and videos are a good place to start learning how things like cover crops, green manures, and alternative soil amendments can result in reduced input costs and increased self-reliance.

A practical guide to ecological soil management that provides background information as well as details of soil-improving practices. This book is meant to give the reader a holistic appreciation of the importance of soil health and to suggest ecologically sound practices that help to develop and maintain healthy soils.

An online recordkeeping system designed especially for organic vegetable producers that allows users to keep production records related to seeding, transplanting, harvest, cover crops, compost, fertilization, irrigation, pest scouting, spray activities, packing, distribution and customer invoicing.

Research-based, farmer driven information about practicing sustainable agriculture on your farm. Topics to browse include Farm Business Management, Animal Production, Pest Management, Sustainable Communities, Soil Management, and more.

Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on the farm under one insurance policy and is available in all counties nationwide. This insurance plan is tailored for any farm with up to $17 million in insured revenue, including farms with specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets.

A summary of USDA Rural Development's dozens of financial assistance programs, including energy and business programs.

NY FarmNet provides free, confidential, on-farm consulting to any farmer, farm family, or agribusiness employee in New York State. Our program operates an 800 help line where a caller can reach someone any time of day, throughout the year. NY FarmNet consultants work with farmers in teams of two, one focusing on financial issues and one focusing on family or emotional issues. Financial consultants have a background in agriculture and assist with business plans, cash flow analysis, succession planning, life after farming, developing financial records and record-keeping systems, and loan applications, to name a few. Family consultants have a master’s level degree in social work or counseling. They work with farmers to improve family and marital relations, develop strategies for better communication, manage stress and anxiety, facilitate difficult discussions, and run family business meetings so that all members have a voice.

The Vermont NRCS webpage contains Vermont-specific information, tools, and resources related to conservation. You can find news, funding support, technical and programmatic information, contact information, success stories, event listings, and more.

The toolkit lays out the common operational elements that most urban farmers must consider as they start up or grow their operations. It also contains a special section on resources for developing indoor growing operations, such as aquaponic facilities. For each element, the toolkit identifies technical and financial resources that have been developed by federal, state, and local partners. Includes info on start-up costs, key resources, land access, soil and water quality considerations, accessing capital, infrastructure, production strategies, applying for grants, market development, mentoring, and more.

NRCS payment rates by state, county, and conservation practice activity.

Scientists agree: human-caused global warming is real, and it’s bad. Severe weather is impacting all regions of Earth and will continue to increase in intensity and frequency as warming continues. The climate crisis demands our attention and our collective action towards restoring balance with natural Earth ecosystems. Climate-beneficial farming practices are one of the many pathways to mitigate climate change, while simultaneously building resilient ecological systems that can help farmers and ranchers adapt to unpredictable and unprecedented climate disruptions. This article summarizes the effects of climate change on agriculture, agriculture's role, and mitigation.

Maps and current vs historical data for the northeast, including precipitation trends, pest maps, and many more analytical resources.

A pool of funds to distribute directly to farmers as grants to fund projects that will improve longer-term resilience on farms.

Website for Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont. Includes links to funding resources, events, mentorship, organic certification, farmer's market organizers, consumers of organic food, and educators. Also has classified listings, policy and advocacy info, and a farm and farmer's market finder.

A free and confidential service for Vermont farmers and their family members, providing help with personal or work-related issues that cause stress. We will connect you to resources that can help your farm to thrive, and to counselors and other folks in your farming community who can help you find tools to deal with the uncertainty and frustrations that are a part of farming. State of Vermont website also includes links to Agricultural Development, the Dairy Business Innovation Center (DBIC), and much more.

An article on a small-farm's approach to no-till practices, including tarping, mulching paths and beds, intercropping, use of plastic mulch and weed mats, flail mowing, and more.

This tool provides near real-time analysis of monthly temperature and precipitation for the globe and is intended for the study of climate variability. Data is provided globally, by hemisphere, by regions, and by land and ocean surface components. The interactive mapping tool allows analysis of the spatial patterns of global and regional analysis. Recently, various parameters (e.g. heating/cooling degree days and drought indicators), expanded regional options (e.g. counties, river basins, agricultural belts, etc.) and new analyses (e.g. Haywood plots and climatological rankings) have been added to enhance and broaden the capabilities of this tool.

A list of field crops, vegetables, fruits and nuts, horticultural/nursery crops, agroforestry/forestry products, livestock, and other accessible innovations for farmers exploring diversification.

The National Agricultural Library (NAL) is one of five national libraries of the United States. It houses one of the world's largest collections devoted to agriculture and its related sciences. From this site, you can request to borrow materials, Ask a Librarian, and more.

The Pest Report is produced once every week or two during the growing season. It is a compilation of short discussions of pests and diseases either working the fields or soon to be seen. The discussions include biology of the pest organism, effects on the plant, and recommended solutions.