Farm Beginnings

Farm Beginnings Includes

• Online business planning curriculum
• In-person visits to established farms
• 1:1 mentorship from an experienced farmer
• Relationship building with a cohort of beginning farmers in Vermont
• Farm Business Plan template and access to other business planning documents and course materials
• Free registration for NOFA-VT educational offerings including Winter Conference and On-Farm Workshops

Schedule Overview

• October through March: Eleven online business planning modules with live virtual meetings every other Wednesday.
  • Participants are expected to attend all live sessions (2 hours each, every other Wednesday) and commit 2-4 hours of work on your own time for each module.
• March: In-person farm plan show and tell session to culminate the online learning modules (location TBA).
• April - September: Monthly meetings including three-four on-farm workshops at farms around the state.
  • During the growing season, participants are expected to attend 2-3 on-farm gatherings/workshops.

Check out the full schedule and presenters >

October - March

Vermont farmers and farm service providers will lead eleven online modules. The structure includes both lectures and interactive activities. Online modules are two weeks long and include a two-hour live virtual session on Wednesday evenings, 4:30-6:30 pm. You can expect to spend 2-4 hours to complete individual work between the live sessions. Live sessions include time for connecting with the cohort and Q&A with presenters. Participants are encouraged to attend live, however, all sessions are recorded. Throughout the course of the program, participants will develop their own Farm Plan and have an opportunity to receive feedback. Modules are listed below with brief descriptions and presenters (subject to change). We will also welcome one-two additional farmers with experience relevant to each module to join for live sessions.

Kick-Off Session: Introduction & Orientation Meet the cohort, establish community agreements and orient to the structure, materials and curriculum.

Module 1: Whole Farm Planning - Building a Values Based Business Create a holistic goal statement for your farm business with Melisa Oliva of Ananda Gardens

Module 2: Decision Making Using Your Values Learn strategies for using your holistic goal to make decisions. Consider potential enterprises & sales channels based on your values and holistic goal. With Diggers' Mirth Collective Farm

Module 3: Land - Oppression, Cooperation and Equity in Agriculture Dive into the history of land and agriculture in the US and learn your role in the bigger picture of agriculture in the US. Begin to recognize why this context is critical to understanding as you launch a new business. Discuss land access as a barrier and the historical underpinnings of this. With Dãnia Davy, Esq, Land & Liberation LLC

Module 4: Farm Financials and Record Keeping Learn about three basic financial statements and tools for recordkeeping on the farm. Build out these statements for your farm business. Discuss strategies for prioritizing the business side of farming when all you want to do is grow food! With Mara Hearst of Levy Lamb.

Module 5: Enterprise Projections What will you grow on your farm? Learn tools for determining which enterprises to focus on and understand how to determine what is making you money on the farm. With Reid Miller, NOFA-VT and Ashlyn Bristle of Rebop Farm

Module 6: Values, Money, and Anti-Capitalist Business Building Explore how to build a business that is both values-rooted and financially sustainable. Unpack money beliefs, confront capitalist myths, and explore strategies for meeting your needs without replicating harm.

Module 7: Farm Financing and Land Access Learn about lenders and resources to finance your farm and startup costs. Hear stories from farmers in a variety of scenarios about how they accessed land and financed their business. With Julie Callahan and Rachel Stievater, UVM Extension, and farmer panel

Module 8: Introduction to Marketing Take a broad look at the market landscape in VT and learn about conducting market research.​ With Rose Wilson, Agriculture Marketing Consultant and farmer TBA

Module 9: Tell Your Story - Branding and Promotion Learn about marketing tools and strategies to tell your farm story, establish your brand, and sell your products. Use your values to develop a brand statement to guide your marketing efforts. Understand the connections between marketing and relationship building. ​ With Mieko Ozeki, Marketing Consultant and farmer TBA

Module 10: Land - Stewardship & Soils Discuss your responsibility as a land steward and dive into some basic principles of soil health. Understand the importance of building a relationship with your land and preparing your business to be resilient in the face of a changing climate. With Cat Buxton, Grow More Waste Less

Farm Plan Show & Tell Participants will each have time to share their Farm Plans and get feedback from the rest of the class.​ This session is in-person.

Module 11: Land Access and Tenure Tools Learn the nuts and bolts of land access and get connected with resources and support to help you in your land search. Presenter TBA

*Free registration is also available to the NOFA-VT Winter Conference.

March - September: 

Participants work one-on-one with a farmer mentor and participate in on-farm education geared specifically toward Farm Beginnings. Our meetings will move to a monthly schedule and include a mix of virtual check-ins and on-farm gatherings with farm tours and production based education with farmer around the state.

Application Timeline

Applications for the 2025/2026 cohort are due by September 15, 2025, and applicants will be contacted by the first week of October with program start details. 

Anyone who is not selected for this Farm Beginnings cohort will receive specific recommendations for next steps and the Farmer Services team will offer business coaching services to help you prepare to participate in a future cohort.

Application Criteria

The main goal in building the cohort is to ensure applicants are at an appropriate stage to take advantage of this program to launch their farm business or develop a newly launched business. Applications are reviewed holistically to understand applicants' passion and commitment to farming as well as the capacity to fully engage with the resources provided by the program.

One additional person working on the same business plan, such as a business partner, a family member, or life partner, may take the course with you. Only one application per farm business is required. 

Applicants living in Vermont by the time the program begins in October 2025 are prioritized. Farm Beginnings is offered in several other states. If you are not residing in Vermont and you are interested in Farm Beginnings, check here to see if there is a Farm Beginnings program available near you.

Contact Megan Browning at 802-419-0073 with any questions or to be mailed a paper application.

The tuition for the Farm Beginnings program is $500 per farm.

Tuition payments: Tuition is due in full by October 8th. We can also work with you to create a payment plan that meets your financial needs. 

Refund Policy: If you are unable to attend Farm Beginnings, refunds are available until the day before the first class. After the first class, refunds are not available, except under extenuating circumstances. 

Scholarships: Full and partial scholarships are available for the NOFA-VT Farm Beginnings cohort. Scholarships will be awarded based on financial need. NOFA-VT will provide a full scholarship to anyone who identifies as Black, indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC). We can also work with participants to create a payment plan that meets your financial needs. Contact Megan at [email protected] or 802-434-7184 for more information on scholarships. 

Apply for a Scholarship >

The curriculum for Farm Beginnings was developed in 1996 by the Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project and a group of farmers who recognized the need for more cohort-based learning opportunities that would support beginning farmers in developing their core skills. A Farm Beginnings Collaborative evolved so that the curriculum could be shared widely and create opportunities for shared learning among service providers. It is now a nationally recognized curriculum that helps create new strong farm businesses. NOFA-VT is the fourteenth organization to join the collaborative.

Hundreds of farmers have participated in Farm Beginnings classes with 80% of graduates still farming. In addition, 61% of graduates increased the amount of land they had in sustainable production, 82% of graduates sold more than eighty percent of their production within a 200-mile radius of their farm, and 51% of graduates met or exceeded their goals for family income from products produced on their farm.

NOFA-VT began offering Farm Beginnings in 2019 in response to a demand for cohort-based beginning farmer education. 

NOFA-VT's Farm Beginnings Principles

• Farmer-Led: Class participants will learn directly from Vermont farmers about their farms and farming experience.
• Focused on Sustainable Agriculture: Participants are encouraged to create a farm plan that is economically, socially, and ecologically sustainable.
• Racial Equity: We acknowledge historical and ongoing racial inequities that disproportionately affect BIPOC farmers and land stewards. We commit to furthering our own understanding and supporting the farmers we interact with to do the same. We commit to using the power and influence we have across our organization to build more inclusive and equitable agricultural systems and implement changes that make it possible for more farmers of color to farm.  
• Community Based: Because NOFA-VT is best able to provide resources and connections in this area, applicants living in Vermont will be given priority. If you are located elsewhere, check out the Farm Beginnings Collaborative website to see if there is an organization near you offering Farm Beginnings.