Ag Production

Small Farms Program Creates "Guide to Farming in NYS"

In 2004, Monika Roth of CCE-Tompkins was lead author of the "Guide to Farming in NY State", a series of fact sheets that address many issues of concern to new and established farmers.  This resource provides answers to questions about taxes, business planning, labor law, zoning, regulations, marketing and many other topics that farmers need to know.  Visit the Cornell Small Farms website to download the entire Guide to Farming in NYS, or only those fact sheets that are of interest. All documents are in PDF format and require free Adobe Acrobat for viewing.

Cornell Small Farms Program Offers Video Library

(Ithaca NY - July 2011) The Cornell Small Farms program spent last summer interviewing several excellent farmers about their production techniques. The videos are posted on the northeast beginning farmer website, http://nebeginningfarmers.org/  Look at the top menu for "Videos," then choose "farm production techniques."  Take a look at Sweet Land Farm's transplant production, or learn the pros and cons of different types of fencing at Northland Sheep Dairy.  The Cornell Small Farms program  will be posting more video clips as the editing is finished, but already the library is impressive. Also part of the video library are the "Voices of Experience" videos, interviews with 12 farmers, from produce and flowers to meat and dairy, about how they got their start in farming.  Again, they share lessons learned the hard way, so you don't have to make the same mistakes! All the videos are You-Tube clips, so to view them you don't need any special technology past the normal computer and internet connection.  Whether you're looking to start a farm or add a new farm enterprise, these video clips are for you.  Check out this growing video library!