Community CROPS Growing Farmers Program

Community CROPS provides training and technical assistance to beginning and limited-resource farmers to become independent small farmers.

An eight-week course offered February-April each year covers the basics of starting your own sustainable farm business, with an emphasis on direct marketing.

Graduates of the Growing Farmers Winter Workshops are eligible to join the 3-year, land-based training program at our farm site, Sunset Community Farm.

Beginning farmers at Sunset Farm begin producing on 1/4 acre, where they receive access to water, tools and equipment, and other supplies. Participants receive ongoing technical assistance as well as marketing support.

These beginning farmers sell at the CROPS stall at the Old Cheney Road Farmers' Market each Sunday, through the CROPS Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, through the on-line Nebraska Food Cooperative, and to many local grocery stores and restaurants.

Other graduates already have their own land, where they begin small-scale production on their own.

Growing Farmers Workshops

"We were able to get our ideas off the ground by attending the classes, and it helped us put steps in motion to save the family farm," said one participant from the 2010 workshops.

The Winter Workshops are over for 2010. Look for a 2011 schedule in early December. The schedule from 2010 is posted here.

If you or someone you know is interested for 2011, check back this fall for a schedule of our "Explore Farming" class. This is a 3-hour overview about starting a small farm business, and for you to assess you skills and your small farm dream. Multiple sessions will be held in fall 2010.

Comments from the 2010 participants:

"I feel I know more about CSAs, farmers' markets, organic practices and business information for farming."

"The speakers and farm tours were all very helpful. This is practical, useful knowledge for my farm."

"It gave me lots of good, common sense knowledge for future farming."

"Awesome series."

Funding for the 2010 Winter Workshops was provided by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Farmers' Market Promotion Program and Specialty Crop Block Grant. Funding for transportation and childcare scholarships for women was provided by WealthSpring Fund.

Click here for a flyer promoting the workshops

Sunset Community Farm

For an overview of all the expectations of the farm training program, take a look at the Farm Training Program Diagram.

For some great farm photos, visit the Roundus page.

Past year's participants have grown a wide range of vegetables, as well as raised chickens and bees. Over the last five years, our farmers have grown and sold vegetables through the CROPS Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, to local restaurants, grocery stores, at farmers' markets and through the Nebraska Food Cooperative

If you have any questions, please contact Leslie at 402-474-9802 or info@communitycrops.org so we can send you more information. CROPS staff speak English and Spanish.

More information about starting a small farm business

Q: How much land do I need to start a farm business?

A: You can start out quite small. Even a 50' X 100' space (5000 sq.ft.) can produce a surprising amount of produce. For example, you could grow several hundred pounds of spinach and lettuce in the spring, over 1000 pounds of tomatoes in the summer, and several hundred bunches of radishes and a few hundred pounds of baby spinach in the fall.

Q: What if I don't have any land?

A: You can find land a few ways. CROPS has a training farm site just west of Lincoln where you can rent a quarter acre plot to start out. Our page about Sunset Community Farm has more information. You can also just start asking around to find someone with space in town or in the country. An average backyard is 1500 sq.ft., and many people in the country have an acre or two to spare. Be sure you ask lots of questions about the site, though, about how to access water, soil quality, etc.

Q: How much money does it take to get started?

A: This obviously depends on your scale of production. For seeds, tools and packing supplies on a small scale, expect to invest at least $500-$1000. Bigger purchases like tractors or greenhouses don't get used enough on a small scale to justify the expense. Plus, you can rent equipment or hire a neighbor to come with a tractor, and avoid the headache of machinery repairs. Over an acre or two, you may want to start thinking about purchasing some of these items.

Q: How much money can I make in small-scale direct-market production?

A: Profits depend on how intensively you farm, and what crops you grow. Things like cut flowers, berries, or salad mix are higher-value crops than sweet corn, melons or potatoes. On a 100' x 100' plot of diverse vegetables, you can make in the range of $5000-$8000 per season. On an acre, you can make between $10,000-$25,000.

Q: How much time does farming take?

A: Starting any new business takes time. Soil that has never had organic matter added will take a few years to reach optimum fertility and texture. Also, establishing your customer base takes work up front. Plan to spend at least 15-20 hours per week on planning, production, marketing and recordkeeping.

Q: Can my kids participate?

A: Definitely! Helping run a farm business is a great way for kids to learn how to handle money, communicate with customers, manage responsibility, and get them outdoors.

Q: What if I don't have much experience growing things?

A: Production is one part of starting a direct-market farm business, but many other skills are needed as well. For example, customer relations, financial planning, marketing and bookkeeping are all essential skills to running a successful direct-market farm enterprise. To gain skills in production, as well as other important skills for running your farm business, sign up for our "Growing Farmers" Winter Workshop series.