#32 Opportunities for Veterans in Farming
Back to the Guide to Farming Table of Contents >> An increasing number of programs and resources are available for veterans entering farming. Navigating through federal, state and local channels can be time consuming. While not intended to be all encompassing the information below will help you get started. Sign up for our New York … Read More
#34 Information Resources for Getting Started
Back to Guide to Farming Table of Contents >> Websites There are numerous online resources to help you learn how to grow or market specific products. These are a few that have been verified for content. Northeast Beginning Farmer Project – a collaboration of Cornell Small Farms Program and several other organizations – nebeginningfarmers.org. This … Read More
#33 Agricultural Agencies and Organizations
Back to the Guide to Farming Table of Contents>> Federal Agencies Serving Agriculture USDA Farm Service Agency – www.fsa.usda.gov/ny 315-477-6300 Federal agency with county offices across the state to administer farm loans, price support programs, commodity programs and payments, conservation programs, and disaster assistance. USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service – www.ny.nrcs.usda.gov/ 315-477-6504 Federal agency that … Read More
#31 Grant Opportunities for Farmers
Back to the Guide to Farming Table of Contents>> An increasing number of grant programs are available to farmers from federal or state sources each with specific objectives. Grants fall into the three general types: 1) grants for business planning, adding value and increasing farm viability; 2) grants for on-farm research and demonstration projects that … Read More
#30 Organic Certification
Back to the Guide to Farming Table of Contents >> Becoming Certified Organic production offers many advantages for small farmers including ecologically friendly production methods, strong consumer demand for organic products, and higher prices. Regardless of whether you use organic practices, if you have farm sales of more than $5,000/year you cannot legally sell your … Read More
#29 Collecting Sales Tax on Farm Product Sales
Back to the Guide to Farming Table of Contents >> Products Exempt from Sales Tax Collection Farmers do not need to collect sales tax on farm and food products intended for human consumption; this includes: all fresh and processed foods: fruits, vegetables, baked goods, jellies, jams, preserves, meats, eggs, dairy products, syrup, honey, cider, etc. … Read More
#28 Becoming a Small-Scale Food Processor
Back to the Guide to Farming Table of Contents >> Basic Standards for Home and Commercial Kitchens, and Small Scale Food Processing Facilities Information prepared by Olga Padilla-Zakour, Director of the NYS Food Venture Center at Cornell University (http://necfe.foodscience.cornell.edu/) – for educational purposes only – please contact pertinent regulatory agencies for further detail. The Federal … Read More
#27 Marketing Regulations, Weights and Measures
Back to the Guide to Farming Table of Contents >> Weights and Measures How does a customer know that what they just paid for is actually what they received? The system that provides this public trust is a carefully regulated process. Article 16 of the Agriculture and Markets Law regulates how “commodities” are packaged and … Read More
#26 Direct Marketing Options
Back to the Guide to Farming Table of Contents >> Direct marketing is a common strategy for beginning and small farmers. The main attraction compared with selling through traditional wholesale markets is that you receive the full share of the consumer dollar and have more control over the price you receive for your products. But … Read More
#25 Finding Price Information
Back to the Guide to Farming Table of Contents>> Wholesale Price Information Some wholesale prices are reported and can be accessed to provide a guide for pricing farm products. Wholesale prices are extremely low compared to retail prices you might get locally and should be considered a floor or minimum price. To determine prices for … Read More