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A variety of useful resources for farmers and ranchers are available on the Internet. Below is a selection of free and paid-subscription newsletters, blogs, and webinars from universities, extension programs, and sustainable agriculture organizations around the country.
If you have a suggestion for a resource to include on this list, please email the webmaster.
| Free Newsletters | Webinars | Blogs | Subscription Newsletters |
Free Newsletters
Enterprising Rural FamiliesTM: This monthly newsletter is an instrument of the Enterprising Rural Families: Making It WorkTM program of the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service. Archives organized by date and by article topic. To subscribe, send an e-mail to: information@eRuralFamilies.org.
Minnesota Institute of Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) newsletters: Contains links to MISA Sustainable Agriculture Newsletter, Ag Innovations, Conservation Planner, Land Stewardship Letter, and others, including a variety of Minnesota-based farming newspapers.
National Center for Appropriate Technology E-newsletters: Publications include NCAT ACTION (quarterly newsletter), ATTRAnews (bimonthly newsletter), ATTRA Weekly Harvest, Cosecha Mensual (Spanish language sustainable agriculture newsletter), and SIFT (Small-Scale Intensive Farm Training Program) News. Subscribe here.
Oregon Small Farm News: Concentrates on both commercial small farm entrepreneurs as well as non-commercial small acreage landowners. Their focus embraces organic/biological and conventional farming systems and emphasizes three areas: small acreage stewardship, commercial small farms, and community food systems. Subscribe here.
Rodale Institute's The New Farm: Farmer-to-farmer know-how from The Rodale Institute. Features seed and crop conversion calculators along with other tools, personal stories from farmers, useful articles, op-eds, organic news and research, and more. No subscription.
USDA Small Farm Digest: A twice yearly, electronic publication focusing on topics of interest to small scale farmers and ranchers. To subscribe to the Small Farm Digest, send an email to pmcaleer@csrees.usda.gov.
UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems The Cultivar Newsletter: Reports on research and activities of the center. Includes updates on sustainable agriculture topics, literature reviews, calendar section, and gardening information. Note that hard copies of The Cultivar are no longer being published; an e-newsletter format is now being considered. No subscription.
UC SAREP's Sustainable Agriculture: Published three times per year, this newsletter reports on program activities including workshops, grants information and policy issues. It also includes technical reviews of research, journal articles, reports, and books. Subscribe here.
UC Small Farm Program Small Farm News: This 12-page newsletter showcases news and tips from University of California farm advisors who work with small-scale farmers and ranchers. Features regularly include information that farmers and ranchers can use in their businesses, as well as upcoming events, research projects, online resources, new publications and other news from the UC Small Farm Program. Subscribe here.
University of Vermont Cultivating Connections: This newsletter informs readers of current projects, provides a sustainable agriculture calendar of events, and helps raise awareness of the benefits of sustainable agriculture. No subscription.
Western SARE Simply Sustainable: SARE's mission is to advance — to the whole of American agriculture — innovations that improve profitability, stewardship and quality of life by investing in groundbreaking research and education. Get the latest information on Western SARE by reading current and past newsletters.
Webinars
Upcoming Topics:
- January 26, 2012: It's Viable...? Now What? From Feasibility Study to Business Plan
- February 16, 2012: The Price Point Conundrum - How the Sustainable Farmer Can Afford Her Own Tomato
- November 2011: Two Revolutionary Tools for Beginning Farmers
- September 2011: The Farmer and the Dell®: Technology for Good Food
New Farmer Project (University of Vermont)
Webinars offered on business management, crops and production techniques, farm safety, food safety, land access, livestock, marketing, and regulation.
Ranching for Profit (Ranch Management Consultants)
Ranch Management Consultants presents a free one hour webinar each month. These interactive programs feature Dave Pratt sharing principles taught at the Ranching For Profit School. A recording of the latest webinar will be available to view for a month following each live broadcast.
Webinars by eOrganic
Presented by eXtension, an interactive learning environment delivering researched knowledge from land-grant universities to consumers. Sample Topics from Archives:
- Microbial Food Safety Issues of Organic Foods
- Plan for Marketing Your Organic Products
- Third Party Audits for Small and Medium Sized Meat Producers
- Webinars about Mobile Slaughter Units
ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture Video Archive
Sample Topics include:
- Is USDA's AGR-LITE Insurance Program Right for You?
- From the Farm to the Farmers' Market
- All About Farm Energy Audits
- Hoop Houses For Extending Your Growing Season
Blogs
Agriculture Sustainability Institute at UC Davis. Events, research, and projects going on at the local university.
FarmPolicy.com. FarmPolicy.com is a daily summary of news relating to U.S. farm policy. Updates highlight news items dealing with the U.S. and global agricultural economy, including the Farm Bill, production agriculture, trade, biofuels and crop insurance.
Machinery Chatter (at The Progressive Farmer). This blog will keep you informed about new machinery, equipment repair, recalls, and more.
Missouri Beginning Farming. The information in this blog is from the managers of the Missouri Beginning Farming Grant (U of Missouri Extension). Information important to beginning farmers, as well as grant-specific activities, are discussed on the blog.
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. NSAC is an alliance of grassroots organizations that advocates for federal policy reform to advance the sustainability of agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and rural communities. This blog discusses these issues and advocacy efforts.
New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (Tufts). New Entry assists people with limited resources who have an interest in small-scale commercial agriculture to begin farming in Massachusetts. This blog offers weekly reflections from the farms, farmers, markets, trainings, and more.
National Young Farmers Coalition. A group of young and sustainable farmers organizing for their collective success by defining the issues that beginning farmers face, fighting for the policy change that they need, and bringing farmers together in person and online to learn, share and build a stronger community.
Purdue Sheep 'n Goats. This blog contains articles and news pertaining to the sheep and goat industries. It is intended to provide important and interesting information to producers. If you wish to subscribe to a weekly e-mail update with new blog posts, please visit: https://lists.purdue.edu/mailman/listinfo/pusheepngoats.
Small Farm Central. A method for managing small farm websites, Small Farm Central also offers commentary on current issues impacting small farms.
Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG) BLAWG. SSAWG was founded in 1991 to foster the sustainable agriculture movement in the southern United States. The SSAWG BLAWG reports on activities of the organization and on the state of sustainable agriculture around the country.
Paid-Subscription Newsletters and Magazines
Farmers' Markets Today: A magazine published six times a year as a resource for direct market farmers and managers and vendors of farmers' markets. Includes stories about what growers, artisans and farmers markets are doing to promote their businesses, reach new customers and develop value-added products. Subscribe here.
Growing for Market keeps farmers anad market gardeners informed about the business of growing and selling vegetables, fruits, cut flowers, plants, herbs, and other food products. At whatever scale, this publication contains valuable information that will help make your business more profitable and enjoyable. For online subscriptions, click here. For print subscriptions, click here.
Small Farmer's Journal: This quarterly international agrarian journal has steadfastly held that the most important, useful and vital component of all agriculture is the independent family farm. Subscribe here.