New Entry's farmer library has hundreds of resources on sustainable farming, marketing, and operating a successful small business. Our physical library at our office in Beverly, MA contains books, CD's, DVD's periodicals, pamphlets, and videos in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Khmer. You can also search the directory below for downloadable digital resources, helpful web sites, and online farming videos.
Please visit or email us at nesfp@tufts.edu if you can't find what you're looking for here. Sometimes we are out in the field, so it's best to let us know if you're planning on stopping by.
This is a tool (not a lesson) for farmers or gardeners to use in the field as a reference for plant spacing when planting out crops. Growers should be oriented to this tool before using, but in lieu of an actual lesson plan, see tips below.
Farmers will learn why it is important to use correct post-harvest handling techniques with different vegetables. They will learn about temperature, hydration and the proper tools and equipment for post-harvest handling. A post-harvest handling grid handout will be taught to reinforce and extend learning beyond the lesson. This teaching resource was developed by Transplanting Traditions in Chapel Hill, NC in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions). Refugee farmer training programs across the country provided feedback on this lesson, which is now integrated throughout the guide.
A simple excel spreadheet that helps farmers track their production totals for individual markets and by crop. Provided by Beth LaShell at the Old Fort Market Garden Incubator in Fort Lewis, CO.
This is a resource designed to introduce some key concepts to farmers familiar with basic production and marketing strategies: profit, revenue, profitability, cost of production, and enterprise budgets. The key takeaway is this: to make money, you need to make informed decisions about how much it actually costs to produce a crop. By working through several examples of costs of producing various crops, farmers can start to assess which crops are easiest to grow, highest grossing, and have the most potential for highest net profit.
This guide can be used to assist trainers who want to make good farm record keeping practices accessible to farmers with limited English or low-literacy skills. It covers the reasons and benefits of keeping good records for planning and planting, including compliance with food safety requirements. It explains what kinds of information need to be recorded and provides recommendations for when and how to collect that information. Tools which allow farmers with low-literacy skills to keep good records of on-farm activities are provided. This teaching resource was developed by Craig Demi of the Southside Community Land Trust in Providence, RI in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions).
This guide can be used to assist trainers who want to make good farm recordkeeping practices accessible to farmers with limited English and/or low literacy skills. It covers the reasons for and benefits of keeping good records for harvest and post-harvest activities, including compliance with food safety requirements. It explains what kinds of information need to be recorded and provides recommendations for when and how to collect that information. Tools which allow farmers with low-literacy skills to keep good records of on-farm activities are provided. This teaching resource was developed by Craig Demi of the Southside Community Land Trust in Providence, RI in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions).
Building new relationships for collaboration, funding or staffing often requires explaining what your program is and how it works. The refugee Ag. 101 packet aims to equip you with enough resources and ideas that you can adapt to your program and share with others.
This handbook is for staff providing training and technical assistance (T&TA) in immigrant and refugee farmer-training programs. This foundational and practical handbook provides basic explanations of certain teaching theories, as well as tips for applying them in the design and delivery of T&TA. This handbook was developed by Dani M. Scherer M. Ed. with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions). Twelve refugee farmer training programs across the country provided feedback on the content of this guide.
The Safety Net Resources - Fact Sheet is part of the larning material produced with the Overcoming Risk During Climate Variability: The Importance of Recordkeeping in Small Scale Farming grant.
In this Fact Sheet (PDF) you can find information about the following topics: Value Added Producer Grant, Farm Loan by FAS, services available at NRCSUSDA, tips for success from farmers.
