Planning Your Small Farm for Pleasure and Profit

Planning Your Small Farm for Pleasure and Profit

Summary

This project will create and distribute an easy to use and affordable computer program to help new farmers make sound, sustainable farm plans that will enhance the economic viability of small farms. The project will merge the interests of new and beginning farmers with basic agricultural information to provide a comprehensive look at their farm, along with suggestions for the highest and best sustainable use for that farm. Participants will have customized, sustainable farm plans to guide them in making sustainable choices, a workbook for record keeping and analysis, and a glossary of basic agriculture terms. The development of the Small Farm Planning Program will now be online at www.esafi.com. This program provides budgets, ideas, and resources for a variety of crops and livestock, plus provides the starting basics to work out a farm plan to start a new farm or replan an existing farm.

The program looks at soil types, experience, labor, and capital available to provide suitable crops and livestock for a sustainable farm.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Nothing to report for this year. See other annual reports for details.

Accomplishments/Milestones

After much debate, SAFI (Sustainable Alternative Farming Institute) decided the program should be an online program at www.esafi.com, allowing easy access to changes and updates, rather than continually mailing new disks.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Programming encountered some difficulties in connecting the different aspects, but the programmer fells these will be overcome soon.