Business and Marketing

Farms and ranches are businesses. In order to operate a sustainable farming and ranching operation, you will have to understand the many components of running a business.

This includes planning, financial management, recordkeeping, marketing, legal considerations, and more.

Here you will find practical resources that provide guidance on business and marketing. From whole-farm planning, financial management, accessing new markets, and other farm-business topics.   

Marty Holman works the computer in his outdoor office on Holman’s Harvest Farms in Loxahatchee Groves, Florida, February 25, 2021. Holman raises chickens, cattle, vegetable, and tropical fruit on his 15 acres. USDA/FPAC photo by Preston Keres

Featured Topics

AGRITOURISM

A customer picks blackberries at a u-pick farm.

CROP INSURANCE

Close up of a Montana farm field

DISASTER

Black Angus in a flooded Montana field

FARM LAW

farmer standing in field, from back

FARMERS MARKETS

people walking on a street between farmers market stands

FINANCING

farmers looking at a document

GRANT PROGRAMS

Dew drops sit on leaves

RISK MANAGEMENT

An aerial view of farmland

VALUE-ADDED AGRICULTURE

ATTRA’s Business and Marketing Resources

bottle of safflower oil

Oilseed Processing for Small-Scale Producers

A Risk-Management Conversation with Daphne Snow of Choctaw Fresh Produce in Mississippi, Part 2

Felicia Bell, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist at the…

A Risk-Management Conversation with Daphne Snow of Choctaw Fresh Produce in Mississippi, Part 1

Felicia Bell, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist at the…
Direct Marketing

Direct Marketing

Market filled with produceCanva Pro

Tutorial: Intermediated Markets

manure in a wheelbarrow

Marketing Manure: A Value-Added Product for Small Operations

Elise Haschke

Episode 257. Meet NCAT. Elise Haschke Talks Food, Farming, Climate, and ‘Moving at the Speed of Trust’

In this episode of Voices from the Field, we meet new NCAT employee Elise Haschke, who is leading the development of a new program, “Climate Smart Agriculture.” Elise explains the “transformative moments” in her life that led her from a love of science and nature to studying nutrition and food systems, improving nutrition in school lunch programs, running farmers markets, and helping the City of Austin, Texas, reduce its food-related greenhouse gas emissions.
Mike Morris and Elise Haschke

Alcorn University Farm Manager on Risk Management. Part 2

Felicia Bell, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist at the…

Alcorn University Farm Manager on Risk Management. Part 1.

Felicia Bell, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist at the…
Halloween crop art with pumpkins

Risk Management on a Diversified Specialty Crop and Livestock Operation

This virtual workshop includes a video tour or Appel Farms, owned…

Risk Management on a Livestock Operation

This virtual workshop includes a tour of NCAT Agriculture Specialist…

Risk Management at Ames Orchard and Nursery

Guy Ames -- an NCAT Sustainable Horticulture Specialist and owner…

Virtual Farm Tour at Uncle Jerry’s Farm

In this video, Deborah Coleman talks about the varying risk-management…

Risk Management: What Every Farmer Needs to Know

In this video, NCAT Gulf States Regional Director Rockiell Woods…

Risk Management: Mitigating Risk on the Farm

In this video, Dr. Bill Evans of Up In Farms Food Hub in Jackson,…

Risk Management: Heirs’ Property with Attorney Andrea Barnes

In this video, we hear from Attorney Andrea Barnes, the lead…