By Cole Cottin

The list of considerations for persons wishing to start or grow an existing farm is not short. Farms can be as varied in design as the personalities of those who run them, and crafting a successful farm business involves both art and science. So where do you begin?

Fortunately, the list of resources to support beginning farmers is not short either. For an extensive, though by no means complete, list of topics and resources, CLICK HERE to print or download the Kansas Rural Center’s Beginning Farmers Resource Guide. While the aim of this resource document is to assist beginning farmers, many of the resources cited could also be of value to long-time, experienced farmers looking to expand their operations or improve production practices.

The Beginning Farmer Resource Guide is an excerpt from Finding Your Niche, A Marketing Guide for Kansas Farms, published in January 2013 by the Kansas Rural Center. You may CLICK HERE to view the guide’s full Table of Contents and print or download other resource documents. Finding Your Niche: A Marketing Guide for Kansas Farms offers a great starting point for envisioning the potential your farm has to increase and respond to local demand.

To receive a printed and bound copy of the 200+ page guide, please order here or contact the Kansas Rural Center at 785-873-3431. A limited number of copies are available for a suggested fee of $25 to help cover printing, shipping and handling costs.