The National Incubator Farm Training Initiative (NIFTI) offers over 200 resources compiled from dozens of organizations across the country related to best practices for Incubator Farm Projects.
From sample curricula, to farmer leases and manuals, to site management protocols, NIFTI's library contains a wide range of tools to help your organization better serve beginning farmers.
Our physical library at our offices in Beverly, MA contains books, CD's, DVD's periodicals, pamphlets, and videos in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Khmer.
If you have a resource you would like see, or one you would like to share with the NIFTI community of practitioners, contact nesfp@tufts.edu.
Approximately 40 pages of curriculum, handouts, worksheets and presentations designed to teach marketing to new farmers developed by the New Farmer Development Project of Grow NYC.
Tips for advocating for beginning farmers in local food policy. This fact sheet is based off a webinar that New Entry Sustainable Farming Project and the Johns Hopkins Food Policy Network hosted in July 2017. The webinar explored how local food policy efforts can raise awareness of the needs of beginning farmers and create conditions favorable to help new farm businesses succeed. Advocates from three organizations described their recent initiatives and successes to support beginning farmers and provided tips on how to make the next generation of farmers and ranchers a policy priority. This fact sheet summarizes the shared tips.
Global Growers is a garden and incubator program located outside of Atlanta, Georgia, which offers a range of opportunities to New American farmers. While new farmers often approach opportunities to access land with the idea that the biggest available site is the best site, this isn't always the case. A number of factors, outlined in this fact sheet, can help determine which site is the most appropriate for a new farmer. Global Growers' intake process is intended to match farmers with the opportunity most suited to their abilities and needs, and set the tone for participation in the program.
The National Incubator Farm Training Initiative has compiled the knowledge and experience of dozens of farm incubator projects across the U.S. to bring you the first edition of the NIFTI Farm Incubator Toolkit; a comprehensive guide to starting and operating land-based beginning farmer training programs.
A short guide to fundraising for farm incubator projects based on contributions to the NIFTI list serve in 2013. Discusses various possibilities for creative funding avenues, and some general tips for raising funds from donors, foundations, and the general public.
The NIFTI Guide to Metrics and Evaluation for Farm Incubator Projects provides the staff of land-based beginning farmer training programs with the knowledge, tools, and resources to create rigorous evaluation protocols for their organizations. With suggestions, guidelines, and over 65 pages of appendices including sample surveys, class evaluations, and more, compiled with the help of dozens of farm incubators throughout North America, this guide will help you tell the world all about the amazing and impactful work you do supporting new and beginning farmers.
A short fact sheet from the National Incubator Farm Training Initiative (NIFTI) on how beginning farmer training programs can partner with land trusts to make farmland more accessible to their participants.
This webinar covers: (a) the basic framework of our new National Farm Incubator Technical Assistance Initiative and how it can help you achieve the programmatic goals of your farm incubator project; (b) the reasons for starting a farm incubator and common strategies for meeting diverse farmer training and support goals; (c) presentations on how veteran incubator projects (New Entry, as well as our project partners ALBA, the Intervale Center, the New Farmer Develop Project, and the Big River Farms Training Program) operate successful and diverse programs; and (d) a 15 minute Q&A session regarding specific program operational practices.
New Entry collaborates with dozens of local, regional, and national organizations to create sustainable local food systems and successful farmers. Find out more.