For those transitioning to organic farming, it can be difficult to know how to meet the federal organic standards without access to the same toolkit they used while practicing conventional farming. Join moderator Chris Boomsma in this last installment of a four part series on transitioning to organic farming, where we discuss tips and trends to organically manage soil health, fertility, and biology.

The continued expansion of organic strawberry and vegetable production in California faces two key challenges: managing soil-borne diseases without synthetic chemical fumigants, and optimizing fertility management to balance input use with…

This publication, produced by ATTRA NCAT, contains 13 tip sheets, each of which describes a particular marketing channel. The tip sheets include tips for selling through CSAs, farmers markets, roadside stands, online, and provide guidance for selling to restaurants, grocery stores, institutional markets, aggregators, wholesale buyers, and more.

In this workshop from the 38th Annual California Small Farm Conference, we break down the financial tools and frameworks you need to set prices that work for your bottom line. This session covers how to read financial statements, evaluate profitability, and understand the crucial difference between profit and cash.

NCAT implemented a Biointensive and Organically Acceptable Pest Management Literacy Training for Hispanic organic growers and those in training. Objectives included: - Increasing knowledge of pest versus beneficial organisms. - Providing in…

This factsheet, produced by ATTRA NCAT, outlines selling to agricultural aggregators and grower marketing cooperatives — businesses that consolidate and distribute products from multiple farms to local and regional markets. It outlines advantages including retained farm identity, technical support, and reduced marketing costs, alongside key considerations such as volume expectations, food safety requirements, packing standards, and cooperative participation commitments.

Growing great food is only half the battle to achieve farming success. You also have to be an effective marketer. This webinar, presented by Susan Smalley, is designed to help small to mid-scale farmers who market directly develop a useful and cost-effective marketing plan.

Small-scale and family-oriented organic growers must be continually innovative and efficient in their operations in order to remain in business. One strategy for small and organic farmers is development of niche markets and specialty or hig…

This guidebook, produced by ATTRA NCAT, provides an overview of direct marketing strategies for farm operations. It covers farmers markets, CSAs, farm-to-school and institution sales, agritourism, restaurants, food hubs, and cooperatives, while addressing marketing plan development, pricing strategies, branding, liability insurance, food safety considerations, and online promotional tools.

Planning to grow only what you plan to sell eliminates wasted time and effort, and tracking income and expenses will show you your profit centers. In this workshop, Richard Wiswall will provide a step-by-step guide to achieve a healthy bottom line, assessing markets and developing a production plan, a roadmap of how to grow what you plan to sell.

Organic tomato farming needs lots of nitrogen. Cover crops help, but usual methods using tillage can hurt the soil. This study tested different cover crops and tillage methods in California. Initially, less tillage meant more weeds and lowe…

Many different market channels exist for your organic product, but not all channels will align with your goals, values, product line, and personality. This tool will help you select the perfect channel for your business, with an emphasis on finding the right avenue for your end consumers.