NIFTI Training Materials

The National Incubator Farm Training Initiative (NIFTI) offers over 200 resources compiled from dozens of organizations across the country related to best practices for Incubator Farm Projects.

From sample curricula, to farmer leases and manuals, to site management protocols, NIFTI's library contains a wide range of tools to help your organization better serve beginning farmers.

If you have a resource you would like see, or one you would like to share with other incubator farm community of practitioners, contact nesfp@tufts.edu.

Business Plan Basics

Media:

  • Digital Download

Presentation from the University of Arizona's department of Agricultural Resource Economics, which outlines best practices for establishing a business plan.

Business Planning Check List

Media:

  • Digital Download

Check list for businesses that can be used for reflection on a variety of factors influencing business development: product/ services, markets, competition, product development, marketing and sales, operations, management, and financial planning.

Canning 101 Handout

Media:

  • Digital Download

Basic canning instructions adapted from Ball, outlining the steps to safely store high acid foods, like sauce, jam, and chutney: boiling jars of food to remove air, preventing spoilage and food-borne illness.

Capitalizing the Incubator Farm presentation

Media:

  • Digital Download

Presentation from New Entry that outlines incubator farm infrastructure, compares do-it-yourself projects and hired contractors, and highlights funding requirements.

Cash Flow Spreadsheet

Media:

  • Digital Download

Spreadsheet to be used with SALES FORECAST and EXPENSES FORECAST handouts to calculate total yearly expenses and income.

Crop Planning Sheet

Media:

  • Digital Download

Crop planning sheet than provides space for farmers to record how much of each crop they planted over course of the season, including specific of frequency, successions, and materials needed.

Curriculum Development 2015 Field School

Media:

  • Digital Download

A presentation from the 2015 NIFTI National Field School in Durham, NC. Presentations by Alice Topaloff of ISU Extension and Nikki Siebert Kelley of Lowounty Local First explore how to develop and refine your Incubator Farm Project's curriculum usining currently available models. 

EIEIO Trainers' Guide

Media:

  • Web Page

“The Trainers' Resource Guide was created for those who train beginning farmers and ranchers (BFRs). The typical training program usually has a good foundation in farm production skills, but overlooks financial literacy and business planning skills. This guide will help you add these vital skills to your training program, leading to sustainable success for your trainees' ventures.”

Pages