Browse by Topic: Planning

An excellent visual and numeric tool organized by county that displays first and last freeze dates as well as growing season data for the last century and clearly represents averages. Can also be used in table format.

The Fruit & Nut Compass is a farm business planning tool to help both new and experienced producers project the financial costs and returns from an enterprise focused on perennial crops.The Fruit & Nut Compass is very different than a standard crop enterprise budget because it enables a person to examine the complete costs and expected returns of up to 12 crops, simultaneously, as part of an integrated farm plan over a 15 year time period. The tool is designed as an “open workbench” where the user enters information based on their specific plans to assess whether their enterprise will be profitable. It does NOT include any assumptions about crops, yields, costs or selling prices…those are all data entry tasks for the user. The main questions this tool helps the user answer are: how deep of a financial hole will I be digging and when might my perennial crop farm become profitable?

This fact sheet presents an overview of the most common components and options in drip irrigation systems, accompanied by estimated costs.

Accurate assessment of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and their redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere in a changing climate is critical to better understand the global carbon cycle, support the development of climate policies, and project future climate change. Here we describe and synthesize data sets and methodology to quantify the five major components of the global carbon budget and their uncertainties.

Glossary of terms related to climate change and agriculture.

An annually updated guide for Vermont farmers that includes local, state, and federal technical and financial assistance opportunities for individuals and entities working with crops, forestry products, livestock, nursery stock, and/or other land-based products.

Northeast Climate Hub partners have published two new studies exploring how a changing climate is affecting regional crops and livestock. Hear the lead authors of these studies highlight species or production systems that might be particularly vulnerable to changing conditions. They also include practical actions one can take to reduce the harmful aspects of some of these changes. This is Part 2: Climate change effects on livestock in the Northeast US and strategies for adaptation (presenter: Alexander Hristov)

Northeast Climate Hub partners have published two new studies exploring how a changing climate is affecting regional crops and livestock. Hear the lead authors of these studies highlight species or production systems that might be particularly vulnerable to changing conditions. They also include practical actions one can take to reduce the harmful aspects of some of these changes. This is Part 1: Challenges and Opportunities for NE Crop Production in a Changing Climate (presenter: David Wolfe)

An interactive map tool to check climate conditions across the US projected through the end of the century.

Understanding agricultural risk in production, marketing, financial, legal, and human areas.

A short guide to Whole Farm Planning. Whole Farm Planning can help you: develop a vision for your farm ten, twenty, or fifty years into the future; improve the profitability and efficiency of your farm operations; build respect from the community for your work in protecting the environment; make the farm a safe and healthy place for you and your family.

A cost benefit analysis of irrigation at Intervale Community Farm in Burlington, VT, calculated using records from 2006 to 2016.

A case study on how researchers at the University of Delaware's Warrington Irrigation Research Farm are improving irrigation to boost crop yields and manage soil and water resources.

This service helps landowners make smart, sustainable decisions about their land through the promotion and protection of wetlands, forests, farms, endangered species habitats, and other open spaces.

Free app to track current conditions and changes in land use, slope, and soil conditions over time using GPS data. Also has a land management module to track management decisions and conditions such as rainfall, tillage, fertilizer, harvests, pests and more in a calendar-based interface.

Livestock Compass is a decision support tool designed to help diversified livestock farmers understand their costs of production and evaluate the profitability of their various animal enterprises. Livestock Compass enables farmers to make strategic decisions to adjust prices, reduce costs, shift market channel focus, reduce or drop unprofitable enterprises and expand production of their most profitable ventures based on their own farm data.Livestock Compass organizes farm information about financial and production outcomes to give a producer a factual basis for making management decisions to improve profitability. It helps a producer identify inefficiencies in production, decide what feeds to grow on the farm and which to buy from others, decide whether to raise young stock or buy stock, accurately monitor cost of production, set prices in various marketing channels, and select the best marketing channels to pursue.

This is a resource directory for livestock farmers in the Berkshire-Taconic region that details processors, feed sources, livestock healthcare providers, regional transportation, cold storage, sales options, and much more!

This is a collection of tools, resources, publications, etc that help farmers in Maine adapt to the effects of climate change.

This is a checklist intended to help coastal Maine community members identify and adapt to flood risks.

Resources on mental and physical health and stress management for farmers.

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.

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.

Serves as a gateway to invasive species information from federal, state, local, and international sources.

Country-wide weather reports and forecasts.