The term "beginning farmer"—defined by USDA as those who have been operating a farm or ranch for less than 10 years—includes people who are merely considering farming as a career, those in the early years of farming, and growers who are fine-tuning a well-established farm business. Regardless of where you fall along this continuum, you've come to the right place. The publications, success stories, and links on this page will help you find an internship program, learn practical farming skills, evaluate farmland, choose a farming enterprise or business structure, develop a marketing plan, write a business plan, and get the financing you need.
NOTE: Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Acrobat Reader.
A directory of on-the-job learning opportunities in sustainable and organic agriculture in the U.S. (and some in Canada) has been published since 1989 as a tool to help farmers and apprentices connect with each other.
Anyone can browse the listings for free. As a subscriber, you can build a personalized listing to connect with internship seekers. The listed farms are primarily seeking interns/apprentices from North America. Go »