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

Episode 177. Working-Lands Conservation Programs

In this episode of Voices from the Field, Jeff Schahczenski,…

USDA Programs Can Help Farmers Succeed

Part of my role as an NCAT Agriculture Specialist is to connect farmers to the resources that they need, so I always include USDA agencies in our Armed to Farm trainings for military veterans and other educational events we organize. The USDA has dozens of agencies and programs to help farmers—as depicted in the graphic below—but for this blog I will mention just a few.
By Margo Hale, NCAT Southeast Regional Director, Armed to Farm Program Director, and Agriculture Specialist

Giving Your Products Meaning

You see, people don’t always behave rationally. And certainly not around the things we buy. We buy products not because they make the most economic sense, but because of the meaning around those products. We buy gendered products, products that fit our age group, or products that align with our social class.
By Daniel Prial, NCAT Community Food Specialist
Terrapin Farm Tractor

The Sequel is Better: CFAP2 is Available Now

Like many of our favorite movies, the sequel to the Coronavirus Farm Assistance Program (CFAP2) is an expansion and improvement of the original. About $14 billion has been made available to fund this relief effort.
By Jeff Schahczenski, NCAT Agricultural and Natural Resource Economist

Ellen Polishuk: Is It Time to Scale Up? Ready to Grow More Produce?

How do you know if you are ready to grow more produce? Dive into…

The CART Before the Horse: Understanding Access to Federal Assistance for Conservation Solutions

If you had to allocate $3.3 billion of taxpayer dollars to farmers and ranchers who voluntarily wish to change how they farm and ranch so as to “deliver conservation solutions” to protect natural resources and feed a growing world, how would you do it?
By Jeff Schahczenski, NCAT Agricultural and Natural Resource Economist

How Farmers and Ranchers Can Find Recovery Assistance and Plan for Resilience

The farmers' path to recovery will be long and hard, but they will not be alone. We know our region is one of many farming communities across the country impacted by storms, fires, and other disasters this season. If you have been recently affected, here are some ways to learn about and seek disaster assistance for relief and recovery.
By Ann Baier, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist
Sara Creech

Episode 167: Veterans Discuss USDA Programs

In this episode, Margo Hale, NCAT’s Southeast Regional Director…
Ellie Fleshman of Fleshman Farms in Teton County Montana USDA NRCS Flickr CCUSDA NRCS Flickr

Montana Farm-to-Grocery Webinar

Catch up on our virtual convening of growers, grocery store managers,…
swirling water in landscapeNCAT

Payments for Ecosystem Services. Part 3. Water Quality Trading

This webinar hosted by NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist…
Figure 1 showing biomass pyrolysis

Payments for Ecosystem Services. Part 2. Carbon Markets and Credit Stacking

This webinar, hosted by NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist…
young man holding freshly harvested leekUSDA photo by Christophe Paul

Payments for Ecosystem Services. Part 1

Since the 1960s, there has been discussion among academics about…
Colin Mitchell

Payments for Ecosystem Services

My passion for working in sustainable agriculture came out of a love of being in nature with friends, whether it was going on back-country backpacking trips, kayaking Texas’s beautiful rivers, mountain biking, or sometimes escaping to nature for my own enjoyment and, at times, solace.
By Colin Mitchell, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist
Cool-season forage cover-crop mixture

A Listening Session to Help Shape Future Innovation in U.S. Agriculture

This virtual listening session aims to help shape agricultural…

Episode 157. Pandemic Adaptation

In this episode of Voices from the Field, Martin Guerena, a sustainable…

Weekly Wednesday Workshop. Value-Added Products

Felicia Bell, an NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist at the…