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Small farms

The definition of a small farm has varied over time and varies by country. USDA defines a "small farm" as a farm with a gross farm income of less than $250,000 per year. Sometimes, $50,000 in gross income is used as a cut-off for small farms. On this page, small farm links are organized alphabetically according to subject category: alternative enterprises, fact sheets, general links, holistic management, lifestyle farms, new and beginning farmers, organic farming, rural development, sustainable agriculture, and value-added agriculture.

Alternative enterprises

Agricultural Alternatives @ Penn State University
Alternative Agricultural Enterprise Links
Alternative Enterprise & Agritourism Resource Evaluation Guide
[PDF] Alternative Agriculture in Maryland (Guide)
Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC)
Fact Sheets on Potential Income Opportunities for Farmers
Missouri Alternatives Center
Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises @ University of Florida

Fact sheets

[PDF] Major components in farm enterprise decisions - Oregon State
[WORD] Making your small farm profitable
[PDF] Operating a profitable small farm - University of Maryland
[PDF] Small farm decision-making and enterprise planning workbook
[PDF] What can I do with my small farm? - Oregon Small Farms

General links

Active Farming.org
Center for Micro Eco-Farming Movement
Family and Small Farms @ USDA
FarmStyle Australia
Growing Small Farms
Idaho Small Farms
Illinois Small Farms
New England Small Farm Institute
Small Farms / Alternative Enterprises
Small Farms 4 You | Twitter
Small Farm Central | Blog | Twitter
Small Farms Course - University of Maryland
Small New Farm Internet Resources
Small Farms @ Oregon State University
Small Farms Program @ Cornell University
University of California Small Farm Program
Washington State University Small Farms Team
West Virginia Small Farm Center | Facebook

Holistic Management

Holistic Management - ATTRA | PDF
Holistic Management International | Facebook
Managing Wholes
Savory Institute
Whole New Concepts

Lifestyle farms

HobbyFarms.com
Hobby Farm Dreams Home Page
Lifestyle Block New Zealand
Small farms, hobby farms profitability and sustainability

New and beginning farmers

Begin Farming Ohio
Beginning Farmer Center @ Iowa State University
Beginning Farmers of New Hampshire
BeginningFarmers.org | Facebook
Beginnng Farmers Resource Center @ Cornell University
FarmStart Canada
International Farm Transition Network

Organic farming

HowToGoOrganic.com
Midwest Organic & Sust. Educ. Service (MOSES) | Facebook |Twitter
[PDF] NCAT's Organic Livestock Notebook
NCOrganic.org
Organic Agriculture at the FAO of the United Nations
Organic Agriculture Center of Canada
Organic AgInfo
Organic and Alternative Livestock Systems
Organic Centre Wales
The Organic Center | Blog
Organic Eprints
Organic farming @ ATTRA
Organic Farming Research Center (OFRF) | Facebook | Twitter
Organic Lamb - Ag Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC)
Organic Materials Review Institute
Organic Production Practices Northeast U.S.
Organic Research @ CABI
Organic Vet Home Page (UK)
[PDF] Raising organic livestock in Maine
Rodale Institute™ | Facebook | Twitter
USDA ERS Organic Agriculture Data Sets
USDA National Organic Program (NOP)

Rural development

Center for Agricultural and Rural Development
Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center (MREDC)
Missouri Rural Enterprise and Innovation Center (MREIC)
Rural Enterprise Center
USDA Rural Development Home Page

Sustainable agriculture

Agriculture Sustainability Inst. at UC Davis | Blog | Facebook | Twitter
Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship
Center for the Micro Eco-farming Movement
Cultivating Success™ Sustainable Small Farms Education
Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops
Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture | Facebook
Land Stewardship Project | Facebook
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture | Facebook
LowInputBreeds (Europe)
Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture
National Sustainable Ag. Info. Service (NCAT/ATTRA) | Facebook
Sustainable Agriculture @ Purdue University
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE)
Sustainable Farming Connection
UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Wallace Center at Winrock International
WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources (CSANR)

Value-added agriculture

Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC) | Blog
Kansas Value-Added Agriculture
Missouri Value-Added Center
N.C. Market Ready
South Dakota Value-Added Agriculture Development Center
Tennessee Value-Added Agriculture Priority Program
Value-Added Agriculture - Cooperative Development Services
Value-added Agriculture Home Page @ Michigan State University
Value-added Agriculture Program @ Iowa State University

 

The Maryland Small Ruminant Page [sheepandgoat.com] was created in 1998 as an information portal for sheep and goat producers and anyone else interested in sheep and goat production. The web site includes original documents and images as well as a comprehensive list of links pertaining to small ruminants and related topics. The web site was developed and is maintained by Susan Schoenian, Extension Sheep & Goat Specialist at the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center. Susan has been with University of Maryland Extension since 1988. She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Animal Science from Virginia Tech and Montana State University, respectively, and also attended The Ohio State University. Susan conducts the Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test at her research facility in Keedysville. She raises registered and commercial Katahdin sheep on her small farm called The Baalands in Clear Spring, Maryland. Please direct all questions, comments, or suggestions to Susan at sschoen@umd.edu.

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Disclaimer: The links contained on the Maryland Small Ruminant Page [sheepandgoat.com] and other pages created by Susan Schoenian are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of any person, organization, business, product, or web site. The author disclaims any liability in connection with the use of this information. Users of this web site and all external links are advised to apply common sense and sound judgement to all information obtained from the internet, regardless of source.

Last updated 22-Aug-2010 by Susan Schoenian.