For many farmers, producing great food is less difficult than managing the business.
Starting A Farm Business
For many farmers, producing great food is not the hardest part of maintaining a viable farm, it’s managing the business and marketing products in order to make money. Our staff can help your farm to:
- Plan for profit using a business and marketing plan
- Navigate state and federal regulations (including processing, organic)
- Apply for on-farm research and marketing grants
Resources
Where to Begin
Considerations in Starting A Farm Business provides a series of questions to be answered before one starts the farming operation. These questions help to frame the business.
Business Planning
Business planning is a tool to help map and test the feasibility of a farm business startup. It is a dynamic tool that changes through time as the business changes due to internal and external pressure. It allows one to test “what if” scenarios.
- NY FarmNet created Business Planning for the Agriculture Sector, A Guide to Business Plan Development for Start-Up to Mid-Size Operations is an easy to understand tool for business planning.
- Building a Sustainable Business – A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses is an extensive resource for business planning.
Evaluating Soils
In our Cooperative Extension office we can do simple PH testing and offer guidelines and recommendations. We also provide soil collecting boxes to be sent off for further analysis by Agri-one soils lab. More information about this can be found on our Soil Testing Services webpage
Farm Lending
When purchasing a farm through a realtor, many real estate brokers require pre-approval for a mortgage before showing a property. The following financial institutions and agencies deal with agricultural lending; some also offer other services that go along with the purchase of a farm including: appraisals, tax preparation and financial planning.
Farm Credit East
Address: 1450 NY-14 Phelps, NY 14532
Phone: 800-929-7102
https://www.farmcrediteast.com
Community Bank
Address: 5 Seneca Street
Phone: 315-789-7700
https://cbna.com/business/agricultural
Ontario County Farm Service Agency
Address: 3037 County Rd 10 Canandaigua, NY 14424
Phone: 585-394-0525
Email: joann.rogers@usda.gov
https://www.fsa.usda.gov/state-offices/New-York/in...
Contact
Jacob Maslyn
Ag Economic Development Educator
jlm563@cornell.edu
585-394-3977 x 402
Last updated September 24, 2024
Cornell Small Farms Program
Visit the Cornell Small Farms Program online for news, events, workshops and resources that can benefit your small farm.