Farm Business Planning and Finance

The Calculator is designed to help agricultural practitioners and investors understand the long-term economic impacts of transitioning to regenerative farm management.

Based on our analyses of cash and cash equivalents, fixed income, real assets, public equity, private equity, and venture capital markets, this report concludes with a series of recommendations for investors working within each asset class and for stakeholders such as foundations, policymakers, asset owners and asset managers, and regenerative agriculture practitioners.

The “Soil Investment Guidance Report” aims to support food and agriculture companies to invest in impactful, high-value, and long-term solutions for healthy soils along their supply chains and beyond.

This report identifies finance opportunities and pathways to build resilient value chains for regenerative farms.

In this discussion hosted by Regenerative Ag Idea Network Weaver Jahia, Anita Adalja shares their work and experience in farmworker rights, the often overlooked plight of labor abuses on small farms, and their QBIPOC-focused work through the Not Our Farm collective and on Ashoka Farm.

The degree to which different crops and practices are incorporated into an agroforestry system depends on the site characteristics as well as the values and goals of the people stewarding the land. This makes agroforestry very site specific, and therefore, no two practices or systems are exactly alike.

Erica Hall, Board Chair of the Florida Food Policy Council and longtime advocate for climate justice, social equity, and economic resilience, shares the Florida Food Policy Council’s work in community organizing for climate change resilience.

The How Regenerative Agriculture Can Grow series is a collection of five briefs that cover how opportunities for policy reform, investing, training, and marketing can accelerate the implementation of regenerative agriculture practices. Cortney Ahern Renton, Executive Direction of CitySeed, Claire Huntley Lafave, Manager of Client Strategy for Native Energy, and Katie Sierks, Project Manager at Granular, wrote the following featured briefs: The State of Regenerative Agriculture: Growing with Room to Grow MoreFarmers on the Frontlines of the Regenerative Agriculture TransitionSo, You’re Thinking of Investing in Regenerative Food Systems. . .Show Me the Money: Making a Downstream Market for Diverse Regenerative CropsThe Case for Crop Insurance Learn more about the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative here. Read the How Regenerative Agriculture Can Grow series …

Ear to the Ground Podcast, hosted by Brian DeVour at the Land Stewardship Project, covers family farming, regenerative agriculture, regional food, and local democracy through conversations with farmers, scientists, land professionals and advocates. In this episode, Dayna Burtness from Nettle Valley Farm talks about their three year incubator program’s “informed sink or swim” approach. Dayna and graduating incubatees talk about how the incubator program can serve the land and beginning farmers. Additionally, lessons learned, like the importance of setting expectations through a written document and having an off farm mediator to help resolve conflict, from the first incubator program are discussed. Listen to the podcast here. Nettle Valley Farm is featured in Ear to the Ground 261 and in a magazine article, Hatching Farms and Community, with Practical Farmers of Iowa Listen to more Ear to the Ground Podcasts here. The podcast is also available on numerous streaming …

Barriers to land access are laden with interconnected challenges of climate change, food sovereignty, structural racism and discrimination, cost of living, and public health. However, resistance to inequitable practices and the opportunity for reform are substantial. The Land Policy Report sheds light on the importance of land access and lays a policy driven path forward governed by 15 principles and numerous key actions. Learn more about the National Young Farmers Coalition here. Read the report …

Why work with a land trust to preserve or access farmland? And, how do we navigate the creativity AND limitations of easements on farmland? Farm Commons talks with Ian McSweeney, Director of Agrarian Trust, to answer these questions with explanations on how land trusts work, what agricultural easements are, and how the Agrarian Trust supports land access for the next generation of farmers. Learn more about Farm Commons and view additional podcasts. Listen to the podcast …

The Farm Commons team discusses inequities in who has access to land, who owns the land, and strategies farmers and farm-advocates pursue to secure land that honors how they want to farm. With a focus on reducing barriers to entry, they dive into the legal mechanics of farm land gifting, crowdfunding, cooperatively purchasing land, and long term leases. Learn more about Farm Commons and view additional podcasts. Listen to the podcast …

The NRCS Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool (CART) streamlines and simplifies conservation planning so NRCS staff can inform farmers, ranchers, and landowners on how to implement and fund their conservation goals. This guide provides conservationists with the pertinent information they need to understand how the new tool works and how it is used. Download the guide here or access it online here. Learn more about the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition …

This collection of current programs and policies breaks down who is eligible, success stories, application information, resources, and history. Originally released in 2014, the guide is continuously updated to ensure farmers, advocates, entrepreneurs, researchers, and rural and urban community groups have the resources they need to build a more sustainable ag system. The Grassroots Guide to Federal Farm and Food Programs seeks to support farmers in navigating federal programs around the following topic areas: Beginning & Socially Disadvantaged Farmers Conservation & Environment Credit & Crop Insurance Food Safety Healthy Food Access Local & Regional Food Systems Organic Production Renewable Energy Rural Development Sustainable & Organic Research The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition also features a reference sheet of programs discussed, glossary and acronyms, and additional resources. Access the guide here. Learn more about the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition …

Developed by the Illinois Stewardship Alliance with assistance from the Illinois Department of Agriculture and University of Illinois Extension, this guide informs farmers and producers on the federal, state, and local government regulations that apply to direct farm marketing. The guide includes (1) general overview, (2) key regulatory points, (3) specific food regulations, (4) a checklist for farmers and growers to consider before selling farm products directly, and (5) a state and federal resource section. Download the guide here. Learn more about the Illinois Stewardship Alliance …

Antonio Alba Merez is the Program Director for the Community Land Share, Community Connector, and Neighborhood Garden initiatives. In this call, Antonio and his colleague Lina Nyaronge share how these programs work to address food insecurity and land access in Northfield, MN.

Doing your due diligence is a common practice when purchasing property, but as Rachel Armstrong explains, it is just as important when signing a lease for farm land. Rachel Armstrong is the founder and Executive Director of Farm Commons, a nonprofit specializing in farm business law that offers support to farmers and ranchers in building legal resilience. Learn more about Farm Commons here. Learn more about the Quivira Coalition here. Watch the webinar recording …

Rachel Armstrong, founder and Executive Director at Farm Commons, discusses the importance of establishing the right business structure and writing the proper organizing document for your farming or ranching operation. The webinar features the nuances between a LLC and corporation, advice on how to build legal resiliency, and bonus content about anti-corporate farming laws, when to consult a separate business structure, and trusts vs business entities. Learn more about Farm Commons here. Learn more about the Quivira Coalition here. Watch the webinar recording …

The Key Perennial Crops infographic acts as a guidebook for top tree crops in the Midwest. The Savanna Institute characterizes 12 tree crops, each equipped with an introduction, management, livestock integration & food safety, harvest, markets, and an economics case study. Tree crops described include: Cider Apples Aronia Black Currant Black Walnut Chinese Chestnuts Hazelnut Saskatoon, Serviceberry, Juneberry Asian Pear Elderberry Honeyberry, Haskap Northern Pecan Pawpaw Access the guidebook here. Learn more about the Savanna Institute …

This sixteen part “how-to” video series facilitated by Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color farmers and land stewards details soil carbon, ways to honor the land, seed keeping, and more. Read more on the Soul Fire Farm website.  Follow the playlist on …

Green Lands Blue Waters, along with co-hosts RuralAdvantage and Savanna Institute, discuss examples of leveraging NRCS funds to implement and support Continuous Living Cover (CLC) practices like perennial forage and alley cropping.

Dr. Jonathan Lundgren discusses his research and education programs on assessing the ecological risk of pest management strategies and developing long-term solutions for regenerative food systems.⠀

Meghan Filbert of Practical Farmers of Iowa shares their approach to the 2021 event season

Dr. Jasmine Dillon and Dr. Megan Machmuller get in the weeds of soil carbon science and the potential for regenerative grazing to sequester carbon.

This calculator is appropriate for cow-calf, stocker, finishing, or direct market enterprises and includes five year cash flow projections and a value calculator for purchase and sales decisions. It is designed for beef but can be modified to be appropriate for any pasture-based animal production.