NESFI Bookstore

Welcome to NESFI’s new Bookstore!

We have discovered that many of the best planning and business development resources for beginning farmers are little known or hard to locate. The goal of our new NESFI Bookstore is to make the resources that are most popular with our program participants more readily accessible.

In addition to well-regarded resources produced by others, our Bookstore offers a selection of NESFI’s own publications and those produced by our program partners: The Growing New Farmers Project and the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG).

We hope you enjoy browsing through this list of publications.

To place an order for delivery by mail, download a pdf of the Bookstore Order Form .
(An option to order online will be available soon.)

Refund Policy

Current Bookstore Resources

Jump to publications from:
NESFI, NESAWG. and Growing New Farmers.

* after title indicates book is included in the Explorer Bookshelf collection

Explorer Bookshelf Collection
A collection of the resources found most useful by NESFI’s Exploring the Small Farm Dream instructors and course participants. They are offered as a set for a discounted price.
$200.00; 14 publications and 1 video.

Acquiring and Managing Resources for the Farm Business*
Kenneth Thomas. 2001 Ames, IA MidWest Planning Service.
This final book in a business management series focuses on the challenges of acquiring and managing resources, including land, machinery and personnel.
$9.00; 89 pages, paperback.

Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses*
2002. Saint Paul, MN The Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture.
A guide especially designed to help alternative agriculture entrepreneurs work through the planning process and begin to develop a business plan.
$14.00; 280 pages, paperback.

Farming Alternatives*
Nancy Grudens-Schuck and others. 1991. Ithaca, NY NRAES.
A user-friendly overview of enterprise selection and the development of a business plan, written for established farms that are considering adding a new enterprise. This guide includes worksheets, checklists, and case studies.
$8.00; 88 pages, paperback.

Finding the Niche: Case Studies of Beginning Small Scale Farmers*
Katherine Griffin. 1991. Mount Horeb, WI Wisconsin Rural Development Center.
Inspiring case studies featuring families and individuals succeeding in non-traditional farming. Provides ideas and insights into the challenges farmers face and the resourcefulness they bring to bear in realizing their goals and dreams.
$5.00; 37 pages, paperback.

Getting Established in Farming*
Kenneth Thomas. 2002. Ames, IA MidWest Planning Service.
This fifth book in a business management series focuses on the process of deciding whether to farm and how to get started. Topics include personal and financial resource assessment, and much more.
$9.00; 79 pages, paperback.

The Legal Guide for Direct Farm Marketing*
Neil Hamilton. 1999. Des Moines, IA Drake University.
The author is a successful farmer, attorney and professor of agricultural law. This comprehensive guide is essential for anyone considering direct farm marketing. Hamilton covers liability, regulations, labor law, processed foods, and meat marketing issues in layman’s terms.
$20.00; 235 pages, paperback.

Making Your Small Farm Profitable
Ron Macher. 1999. North Adams, MA Storey Books.
An introductory guide for beginning farmers from the editor of Small Farm Today. This practical, step-by-step guide to operating a small farm in the new millennium examines 20 alternative farming enterprises. Learn how to target niche markets and sustain a farm’s biological and economic health.
$19.95; 274 pages, paperback.

Marketing on the Edge: A Marketing Guide for Progressive Farmers*
Canadian Farm Business Management Council. 2002 Ottawa, ON.
A comprehensive guide to direct marketing, co-published with the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association.
$21.00; 144 pages, paperback.

Marketing to the New Natural Consumer*
Harvey Hartman and David Wright. 1999. Bellevue, WA The Hartman Group.
A summary of the Hartman Group’s research into organic and lifestyle consumer trends. Understanding consumer trends in the food and natural products market can help you to succeed in this new marketplace.
$39.95; 267 pages, paperback.

The New American Farmer: Profiles in Agricultural Innovation*
John Ikerd. 2001. MD Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.
Profiles of working farmers and ranchers across the country, many in the Northeast, who are succeeding and thriving on family-run farming operations.
$10.00; 159 pages, paperback.

Pastured Poultry Profits
Joel Salatin. 1996. Swoope, VA Polyface, Inc.
A step-by-step guide to Salatin’s innovative method of raising meat birds on pasture. He provides clear descriptions and makes lavish use of photographs. A must if you want to establish a profitable small-scale broiler enterprise.
$35.00; 371 pages, paperback.

Salad Bar Beef
Joel Salatin. 1996. Swoope, VA Polyface, Inc.
Salatin brings optimism and energy to this series of essays on how he raises beef (and other livestock) on grass for direct market to urban customers. He reveals his tricks in great detail, such as the egg-mobile, the pig-aerator, electric fencing, the warm winter hay shed, and how to promote meat products. A must for anyone looking for new ideas on raising livestock.
$35.00; 368 pages, paperback.

Sharing the Harvest
Elizabeth Henderson. 1999. White River Junction, VT Chelsea Green.
Guide to starting and running a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. This book describes many problems of the current food production and distribution system and suggests that one solution is CSA. The book outlines the steps necessary to set up a CSA, discusses options and issues for each step, and includes examples from CSAs all over the US.
$24.95; 254 pages, paperback.

Small Dairy Resource Book: Information Sources for Farmstead Producers and Processors
Vicki Dunaway. 2000. Beltsville, MD Sustainable Agriculture Network.
A comprehensive list of resources for small dairies, along with clear, concise reviews. Special attention is given to the information needs of the small and/or alternative producer.
$8.00; 56 pages, paperback.

Small Scale Food Entrepreneurships: A Technical Guide for Food Ventures*
Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship
Cornell University. 2001. Geneva, NY Cornell University Press.
Start-up guide for food processing and value-added enterprises. This book is designed to increase awareness of food processing and safety issues, and to teach basic specialty food business knowledge and vocabulary to aspiring or start-up owners and operators.
$15.00; 108 pages, paperback.

Small Scale Livestock Farming
Carol Ekarius. 2000. North Adams, MA Storey Books.
This book offers an introduction to grass-based livestock farming. Oriented toward beginners, it includes information on goal setting, business management, and production. Also included are case studies of successful farmers, nitty-gritty details on nearly every facet of livestock farming, and insights into working with nature instead of against nature.
$18.95; 217 pages, paperback.

Sustainable Vegetable Production from Start-Up to Market
Vern Grubinger. 1999. Ithaca, NY NRAES.
Production manuals with information on marketing, grower profiles and sample enterprise budgets. A great resource for both beginning and more advanced growers.
$38.00; 268 pages, paperback.

Used Farm Equipment: Assessing Quality, Safety and Economics
Marcia Sanders, editor. 1987. Ithaca, NY NRAES.
This superbly illustrated resource offers tips on how to become a knowledgeable buyer of used agricultural equipment through logical, methodical inspection. It will help prospective buyers quickly assess the condition of equipment by looking for clues to past and future problems, and use this information to establish the worth of a machine.
$7.00; 34 pages, paperback.

You Can Farm*
Joel Salatin. 1998. Swoope, VA Polyface, Inc.
One of the few books written explicitly for aspiring farmers from non-farming backgrounds. This book is not designed to give you exact details about a farming enterprise – his other books do that well. This book is designed to show you that you can farm! It gives you the appropriate perspective to take when beginning a farming enterprise. He offers principles and examples that inspire vision, direction and confidence.
$35.00; 480 pages, paperback

VIDEO

Farmers and Their Diversified Horticultural Marketing Strategies: An Educational Video on Innovative Marketing*
UVM Extension. 1999. Burlington, VT University of Vermont Extension.
This video presents eight Northeast vegetable farmers who describe their successful use of a variety of innovative marketing strategies.
$15.00; 48 minutes.

PUBLICATIONS FROM NESFI, NESAWG & GROWING NEW FARMERS

CSA Across the Nation: Findings from the 1999 CSA Survey
Daniel Lass and others. 1999. Belchertown MA Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG).
This document provides the first comprehensive portrait of the CSA movement in the US. It examines interesting patterns of uniformity and equally compelling diversity among CSAs.
$6.00; 19 pages, paperback.

Cultivating a New Crop of Farmers – Is On-Farm Mentoring Right for You and Your Farm?  A Decision-Making Workbook
Kathryn Hayes and others. 2005. Belchertown, MA The New England Small Farm Institute
Designed for those considering adding a training program to their operations and for those at the planning stage who want to include mentoring in their farm plan, this publication covers the definition of mentoring, reasons for it, the need for it in the Northeast, deciding whether your operation is suitable for it, whether you’re ready to host, and the impact of trainees on farm life, all done in a worksheet format helpful for self-evaluation. Includes sixteen worksheets covering all aspects of the mentor decision-making process, and an extensive resource list for further study.
$20.00, 49pp, paperback.

DACUM Occupational Profile for Northeast Small Scale Sustainable Farmer*
1999. Belchertown, MA The New England Small Farm Institute.
A systematic listing of the knowledge and skills required to successfully own and operate a small farm business. The profile divides the “job” of farming into twelve key “duties” and associated “tasks.”
$6.00; 8 sheets.

DACUM Occupational Profile for On-farm Mentor
2001. Belchertown, MA The New England Small Farm Institute.
A systematic listing of the duties and tasks of on-farm mentors – farmers who offer hands-on training in farming skills on their farms.
$6.00; 4 sheets.

Directory of Programs & Services for Northeast New Farmers – 2004*
Growing New Farmers Project. 2004. Belchertown, MA.
A comprehensive listing of programs and services for or of interest to beginning farmers.
$6.00; 119 pages, paperback.

Exploring the Small Farm Dream: Is Starting an Agricultural Business Right for You?
Kate Hayes and others. 2003. Belchertown, MA The New England Small Farm Institute.
The Explorer short course and decision-making workbook are designed to help you learn what it would take to start and manage your dream farm as a viable business, and decide whether this is a path you really want to pursue. The workbook includes self-assessment tools, worksheets, and an extensive resource list. Visit NESFI’s Explorer website (www.smallfarm.org/explorer) for more information about the Explorer workbook and short course, self-study options, and Explorer course delivery sponsorship.
$20.00, 80 pages, paperback.

Farming in Wetland Resource Areas: A Guide to Agriculture and the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act
Edited by Kathy Ruhf. 1996. Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
This guide offers an understanding of the agricultural exemption to the MA Wetlands Protection Act for the farming community, with attention to those areas and activities on your farm that might be subject to regulatory oversight.
$10.00; 135 pages, binder.

Farmland Transfer and Protection in New England
Kathy Ruhf. 1999. Belchertown, MA The New England Small Farm Institute.
Overview of land acquisition and farm transfer issues and strategies.
$10.00; 124 pages, paperback.

Holding Ground: A Guide to Northeast Farmland Tenure and Stewardship.
Kathy Ruhf, Annette Higby, Andrea Woloschuk and others. 2004. Belchertown, MA.
The New England Small Farm Institute and Intervale Foundation. This publication addresses farmland access, transfer, affordability and stewardship. It focuses on "non-ownership" tenure options and contains sample lease provisions with explanations, sample stewardship standards, worksheets, and case studies. $30.00; 162 pages, paperback.

Listening to New Farmers: Findings from New Farmer Focus Groups
Northeast New Farmer Network. 2001. Belchertown, MA The New England Small Farm Institute.
Findings from a project convened to identify the characteristics of Northeast new farmers, better understand their challenges, and help shape a framework for improved programs and services that can meet their interests and needs.
$4.00; 57 pages, paperback.

Northeast Farms to Food: Understanding Our Region’s Food System*
Kathy Ruhf, editor. 2002. Belchertown, MA Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG).
A broad review of food production, processing, distribution and consumption in the Northeast. This book is an excellent resource for market research.
$10.00; 83 pages, paperback.

The On-Farm Mentor’s Guide – practical approaches to teaching on the farm
Miranda Smith. 2005. Belchertown, MA The New England Small Farm Institute.
An in-depth exploration of the rewards and pitfalls of on-farm mentoring, this publication covers the art of teaching and mentoring, designing your program, setting up for teaching, trainee housing, recruiting and choosing trainees and the business end of mentoring.  Includes twenty-one worksheets to evaluate your skills, the adequacy of your facilities, conformance with OSHA requirements and other areas, ending with almost forty pages of resources for additional study.
$35.00, 196pp, spiral-bound.

On-Farm Strategies to Protect Water Quality: An Assessment and Planning Tool for Best Management Practices
Kathy Ruhf, editor. 1999. Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
A guide designed to help farmers take a first step towards developing comprehensive whole farm planning and management strategies to protect water quality. It suggests ways to assess current and future farming practices that may impact the environment, and makes recommendations about changing practices to protect soil and water resources.
$10.00; 61 pages, binder.