Business
- Employee/Volunteers and HR Management
- Insurance, Taxes, Risk Management
- Business and Financial Planning, Bookkeeping
- Marketing
- Agritourism and Value-Added Products
The Land Connection
A fact sheet to help you effectively manage employees on your operation.
The Land Connection
A module that walks through the laws, writing an employee handbook, acquiring employees, and more.
The Land Connection
Rachel Armstrong from Farm Commons hosts this webinar discussing the process of legally hiring employees and exploring strategies for building a motivated and reliable farm workforce.
USDA
Steps to apply to the program, estimated costs of employment, and regulations.
Nonprofit Learning Lab
Guide covers recruitment, training, retention, appreciation and building a leadership pipeline.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension
A paid four-week course about creating a good workplace culture, employee management, strategic leadership and developing employees.
Compeer Financial, The Land Connection
A series of videos created by tax and accounting professionals covering managing finances on the farm and how to prepare for filing taxes.
USDA Risk Management Agency
Resources for urban farmers to apply for crop insurance through the Micro Farm and Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Programs.
USDA Risk Management Agency
Website for specialty growers to explore the options for federal crop insurance.
The Land Connection
A free online course for specialty crop farmers and producers. Teaches an in-depth exploration of maintaining, refining, and growing a farm business.
The Land Connection
Online modules about managing sales and taxes.
The Land Connection
Todd Haab, a crop insurance agent at Strategic Farm Marketing, describes the ins and outs of crop insurance for organic grain farmers and its favorable future.
Agritourism Business Success
Guide to what kind of insurance is best suited for different farms and agritourism businesses.
Farm Bureau Financial Services
Liability insurance types offered to all sizes of farms.
The Land Connection
A guide to QuickBooks, managing financial records and bookkeeping.
The Land Connection
This video discusses relevant elements of each business entity, and how to choose what is best for your business.
Jo Daviess- Stephenson- Winnebago Extension
Webinar delivered by Farm Commons explains sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLC, S corporation, and non-profits.
USDA
Step by step instructions on how to start a farm with helpful resources included.
Foodshed Capital
A resource for accounting software, chart of accounts guide, bookkeeping, and financial service provider.
Michigan State University
Fillable Excel balance sheet template.
Farmers Legal Action Group (FLAG) and USDA
Instructions and templates for seed and plant sources, greenhouse plan, planting and harvesting, weekly market loads and sale records, expenses and more.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Analysis to determine which crops are profitable, and what market channels are most profitable.
University of Michigan
Financial statement templates and financial ratios.
Illinois Farmers Market Association
A form ILFMA uses to connect potential vendors with market managers who may be interested in connecting.
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education
Guide to changes to consider when branching out into wholesale markets. These include business planning, working with wholesale buyers, and areas of production that range from increasing yield and produce quality to harvest and postharvest handling, food safety, and more.
Marbleseed
Video series covering goal setting, data collection, balance sheets, income statements, budgets, marketing, and more.
PASA Sustainable Agriculture
A study and guide to help farmers start a direct-market business. Provides helpful benchmarks to measure success.
Farm Bureau Financial Services
A guide to begin planning for the next generation of your farm. Includes thought provoking questions and helpful resources.
The Land Connection
A plethora of resources relating to E-commerce for agricultural operations.
IDOA
Apply and receive branding for “Illinois Products”, “Illinois Grown”, and “Homegrown by Heroes” logo programs.
Maryland Farmers Market Association
Provides guidelines for how to effectively advertise using social media.
Asap
Tips for specific aspects of marketing and selling.
DigiBerry
Guide for creating effective Instagram Reels to build social media presence and customer base.
Food MarketMaker
Video with step-by-step guide on how to create a free MarketMaker account and complete a business profile.
Illinois Farmers Market Association
A 12-month digital social media planning calendar with daily post ideas, themes, seasonal reminders, and dozens of images and graphics for each month.
Local Line
Explore various sales channels and pricing strategies.
Illinois Urban Growers Network
Webinar featuring the Illinois Farm to School Network and the Illinois State Board of Education. Presentation and discussion about exploring educational institutions as a new market and the unique benefits and challenges.
Illinois Urban Growers Network
Presentation from Sean Park of WIU about creating a business plan. Includes an in-depth consideration of the business narrative and financial portions of a good plan.
Illinois Urban Growers Network
Alex Frantz from Midwest Food Bank, and Eliana Pinilla from the Common Market Great Lakes share about their organizations, the process of bidding and procurement in wholesaling, and what it is like to work with a wholesaler.
In depth look into all aspects of operating a meat processing facility and requirements through an Excel spreadsheet.
The Farm-Based Education Network, Shelburne Farms, University of Vermont Extension
Extensive guide to assess if agritourism is a good fit, the business and financial planning required, offering a high quality on farm experience, safety and risk management, and marketing.
Penn State Extension
What is value added agriculture? What are the benefits and challenges? How to start a value added operation and other considerations.
Michigan State University Extension
A series of questions to flesh out your position and future goals relating to u-pick farms.
Grower Business
A list of strategies to engage with the public to grow your customer base. Methods include farm-to-table community dinners, school field trips, CSA, farmers markets, and a u-pick option.
Agritourism Business Success
Guided thought process to planning and hosting on-farm educational workshops.