Farm Business Planning

Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) Agricultural Business Training Program

This program has been around for many years and offers a five-session course “Exploring Your Small Farm Dream.” MDAR offers another course, “Tilling the Soil of Opportunity,” for farmers who have been operating for two or more years and want to make new investments or expand.

The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center

MSBDC can inform you of local regulations for small businesses and provide information on small business accounting and other information needed to start a business in your area.

Massachusetts Small Business Development Center
205 Isenberg School of Management
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-4935
(413) 545-6301

(In addition, the MSBDC is affiliated with fambiz.com, formerly known as the NetMarquee Family Business NetCenter. Their web page at https://fambiz.com/ includes a library of 300 family business articles.)

Franklin County Community Development Corporation

This organization helps new and established businesses, including agricultural operations. Located in Greenfield MA., they offer training classes, even pre-business training. It is good to always remember that farming is foremost a business as well as a lifestyle and culture.

Northeast Beginning Farmers Project, Cornell University

“Voices of Experience – Starting a Farm” Sit at home and watch videos of 12 real New York farmers and their stories about their beginnings.

New Entry Sustainable Farming, Tufts University

They offer a Farm Business Course in farm planning as a follow-up to their "Explore Farming" introductory course (which you can also see through this link).