For Farmers

Peer-to-Peer Organic Farming Mentorship

Want to gain skills in organic farming? Or do you have skills to teach? The Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) is actively seeking to match experienced and knowledgeable certified organic producers (Mentors) who are passionate about organic production and interested in sharing their expertise with TOPP Mentees, who are transitioning producers who have existing farming operations where they are currently employees, managers, or owners. This is the first year of a five-year program. Vital Communities is part of an organizational collective that has partnered with NOFA-NH, a Core Partner in the Northeast Region for the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP).

Apply by September 30, 2023, to be a Mentor or Mentee. We match Mentees with Mentors during October, and training begins in November.

The Farm Labor Dashboard- Tips, Tools, and Techniques to effectively recruit, hire, train, and retain workers

Good decision-making around the type and amount of labor needed on a farm enhances the farm household’s quality of life and increases the likelihood farmers will successfully meet their financial goals. This site provides tools and strategies to help small and medium-sized produce and diversified livestock farms make informed labor decisions.

Climate Farmer Stories: Innovative Marketing for Resilient Upper Valley Farms

The Climate Farmer Stories project promotes farmers’ role in community resilience. Participating farmers receive a $3,000 marketing grant and collaborate with fellow farmers as they change the story about farming and climate change in the Upper Valley.

This FREE, USDA-funded program aims to boost farmers’ sales and improve public understanding about farming as a climate solution. Farmers will receive marketing materials that feature their farms and training about how to incorporate climate concerns into their marketing. The training will take place in November 2022, after the fall harvest! 

Applications closed April 15, 2022.

Be Listed in The Vital Guide

Is your farm or food business listed in The Vital Guide? Don’t delay – add it today!

Farmer Resources

There are abundant valuable resources for aspiring farmers and seasoned business owners available including business and financial planning assistance, production techniques, marketing ideas, and much more.

Recipes for Local Food

Eat Upper Valley Foods all year long with these recipes, cooking tips, and techniques. Our Recipe Library focuses on foods that are grown here, and can browsed as a whole or searched through based on a particular ingredient.

Upper Valley farmers: We encourage you to copy and paste these recipes and techniques into your farm newsletters, websites, social media posts, or other communication to customers. Please retain attributions for recipes and photos to respect copyright, whether from Vital Communities or others.

Access to Capital and Land for Farmers

We are dedicated to giving more people access to the land and capital needed to get into and stay in farming. Some of the ways we can help are:

• Upper Valley Farmland Protection Initiative
• The Local Crowd crowdfunding
• Other avenues for local investing