USDA launches new website to help new farmers and ranchers

Start2Farm.gov is the new place to go to get help starting your new farm or ranch. The website will provide assistance for beginner farmers and ranchers by offer training, help with financing and provide technical assistance and other support related services.

US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack said “America’s farmers and rural communities are vitally important to our nation’s economy, producing the food, feed, fiber and fuel that continue to help us grow. USDA is working to provide opportunities for the next generation to get into agriculture in order to continue the record success of America’s farmers and ranchers who are seeing record farm incomes and record exports. Start2Farm.gov will help us protect and sustain these successes, so that we continue to build an agriculture industry diverse and successful enough to attract the smartest, hardest-working young people in the nation.”

The funding for Start2Farm.gov by NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), which aided in the development of education and training programs to provide the next generation of US farmers and ranchers with greater sustainability.

Start2Farm.gov allows beginning farmers to search for programs and resources that provides training and financing. An Event Calendar is also listed to find local events in your area. The site also allows you to connect to other farmers and gain access to How-to’s of farming including farm management, marketing, planning and more.

By USDA definition, beginning farmers are those operating a farm or ranch with 10 years or less experience. USDA states that 20% of 2.1 million US farms are classified as beginning farms. If you fit this category you can still qualify for the many programs available to you by the USDA through start2farm.gov website.

With the realization that US can be productive and thrive in today’s economy through our agriculture, building tomorrow’s farmers and ranchers is the goal of start2farm.gov website.

As relations in the US-China Symposium goes well, we could see huge gains in US agricultural growth and agricultural jobs for 2012 and the years to come.