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National Agricultural Library
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Economics, Business, and Trade
  3. Small Farm Funding Guide

Small Farm Funding Guide

This guide contains information about issues to consider before starting a farming operation. 

Find links to full-text guides on how to start a small farm business and develop business and marketing plans.  Identify information about funding programs for beginning and experienced farmers, technical assistance contacts, disaster assistance, and organizations with available resources.

Farm Business Planning

Develop a Farm Business Plan
  1. Agribusiness Planning: Providing Direction for Agricultural Firms [extension.psu.edu]

    Jeffrey Hyde, Sarah Roch. University Park: Penn State University Cooperative Extension. Updated 2017
  2. Business Development

    AgMRC
  3. Business Guide

    U.S. Small Business Administration
  4. Guide to Farming: Business Plans

    Cornell University. Small Farms Program
  5. Organic Transition: A Business Planner for Farmers, Ranchers and Food Entrepreneurs

    Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
  6. Urban Farm Business Plan Handbook

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  7. Your Farm’s Business Plan

    USDA. Farmers.gov
Financial and Planning Resources
  1. Farm Sector Income and Finances (publications). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
  2. Exploring the Small Farm Dream. Belchertown, MA: New England Small Farm Institute.
  3. Family Farming in the United States. James MacDonald. Amber Waves. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, March 4, 2014.
  4. National Farmers Markets Directory Search. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. Updated 2022.
  5. Financing Small-Scale and Part-Time Farms. Gregory D. Hanson, Jayson K. Harper, George L. Greaser. University Park: Penn State University Cooperative Extension, 2004.
  6. Small Farm Handbook. 2nd Edition. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. 2011.
  7. Starting or Diversifying an Agricultural Business. Lynne F. Kime, Sarah A. Cornelisse, Jayson K. Harper. University Park: Penn State Small-scale and Part-time Farming Project. Updated 2018. [2005 online; download 2018 edition.]
  8. Business Structure for Small Farms: A Quick Guide. [wsu.edu] Issued by Washington State University Extension and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015. [PDF 1.75 MB]
  9. Resources by Topic for New Farmers. [smallfarm.org] Belchertown, MA: Growing New Farmers Consortium.

Contacts for Technical Assistance: Both SBA and USDA provide small business planning technical assistance and USDA also provides technical farming specifics through the extensive network of USDA, Cooperative Extension Service (CES) specialists.

  1. Cooperative Research and Extension Services
  2. Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)
Agriculture Disaster Assistance

 

  1. United States Department of Agriculture

  2. Disaster Assistance for Agricultural Producers

    ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service

     

  3. Farm Aid 1-800-FARM AID

Research Funding
  1. Small and Family Farms

    USDA. National Institute of Food and Agriculture

     
  2. Grants

    USDA. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program

Funding and Program Assistance

State Programs, Agricultural Lenders, and Farm Banks

State Programs

You may want to start your financial assistance search with your state Department of Agriculture to see if your state has a Beginning Farmer Loan Program or other type of grants or loans for farming and ranching.

  • National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) is comprised of the departments of agriculture in all fifty states and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
  • Types of state agricultural finance programs may be identified through your Council of State Agricultural Finance Programs. Check with your state agriculture department for programs, like Aggie Bonds.

     

Agricultural Lenders

Information on Farm Financial Management & Performance can be located on the USDA's Economic Research Service web site.

Farm Banks

The nation's farm banks (defined by the Federal Reserve Board as banks that have above average proportions of farm real estate and production loans in their loan portfolios) offer a variety of loans to small and large farms and agribusiness firms; they also handle many of the loans made under USDA's guaranteed farm loan programs.

  • American Bankers Association: Agriculture Banking (ABA). [aba.com] ABA has a "special section dedicated to providing advocacy, information, training, education, and public relations for banks that make and service agricultural loans or provide credit and other financial services to those living and working in rural America for nearly 100 years."

     

Farm Credit: Farm Credit is a nationwide network of 70 customer-owned financial institutions across all 50 states and Puerto Rico and provides loans and related financial services to U.S. farmers and ranchers, farmer-owned cooperatives and other agribusinesses, rural homebuyers and rural infrastructure providers.​

Programs for Veterans
  1. USDA Veterans [usda.gov] USDA opportunities in and programs for education, employment and entrepreneurship.
  2. Veteran Affairs, Farm Loans: Home Loans for Rural Residents [va.gov]. 2018 [PDF 415 KB]
  3. Farmer Veteran Coalition
  4. Veteran Farmers Project from the Center for Rural Affairs
  5. Veterans to Farmers
Selected Programs from Federal Government Agencies
USDA. Farm Service Agency, Farm Programs
  1. Farm Loan Program Information 
  2. Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Loans
  3. Minority and Women Farmers and Ranchers 
  4. Microloan Programs
  5. Locate Farm/Ranch Properties for Sale by the USDA RD and FSA
  6. Locate Farm Service Agency Offices by State
USDA. Natural Resources Conservation Service
  1. Financial Assistance Programs
  2. Locate Natural Resources Conservation Service Offices by State
USDA. Rural Development
  1. Renewable Energy for America Program, Renewable Enery Systems, and Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants Program
  2. Value-Added Producer Grants
  3. Socially-Disadvantaged Groups Grant 
  4. Locate Rural Development Offices by State
USDA. National Institute of Food and Agriculture
  1. Search for a Funding Opportunity in Agriculture 
  2. Small and Family Farms 
  3. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Programs (SARE)
USDA. Agricultural Marketing Service
  1. Farmers Market Promotion Program
  2. Specialty Crop Block Grant Program 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  1. Agriculture Center
  2. National Agriculture Compliance Center 1-888-663-2155

Information and Contacts

Organizations and Web sites Related to Small Farms
  1. ABA Agricultural Banking

    Washington, DC: American Bankers Association.
  2. Alternative Farming Systems Information Center

    USDA. National Agricultural Library.
  3. ATTRA, National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, 1-800-346-9140 Fayetteville, AR.
  4. Begin Farming Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, Columbus, OH: Public-Private Collaborative.
  5. Beginning Farmers

    East Lansing: Michigan State University.
  6. Center for Farm Financial Management

    1-800-234-1111

    St. Paul: University of Minnesota.
  7. Farm Answers

    1-800-234-1111

    St. Paul, Minnesota: The Center for Farm Financial Management (CFFM) at the University of Minnesota.
  8. Farm Credit

    Greenwood Village, CO.
  9. Growing Small Farms

    North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
  10. Hawai'i Guide for New Farmers

    Manoa: University of Hawaii.
  11. National Ag Risk and Farm Management Library

    St. Paul: University of Minnesota.
  12. National Association of State Departments of Agriculture

    Washington, DC.
  13. New England Small Farm Institute

    Belchertown, MA.
  14. Beginning Farmers and Rancher

    U.S. Department of Agriculture.
  15. Cornell Small Farms Program

    Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, Small Farm Program, Cooperative Extension Service.
  16. Small Farms Program

    Corvallis: Oregon State University Extension Service.
  17. Small Farm Research and Extension

    Davis: University of California.
  18. Women's Agricultural Network

    Burlington: University of Vermont.

Featured Resources

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View Agricultural Funding Resources by Topic

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Read the Guide to Grants/Funding Resources

Page Content Curated By

Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC)
Rural Information Center (RIC)