Resources for New Farmers

The informational tools, documents, links and other resources here  were created or selected by the staff and partners of the MSU Student Organic Farm. They are focused largely around smaller scale, diverse, organic/sustainable vegetable operations. They are free to use, made available to help you improve your farm operation.
We would love to hear from you! Please share improvements to this page and / or other things you'd like to see here by emailing us @  msufarm@msu.edu!

Equipment & Infrastructure

Scale of Production Matrix (pdf)
scaleofproductionmatrix-p.pdf
File Size: 720 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Scale of Production Narrative (pdf)
scaleofproduction-narrative-p2.pdf
File Size: 364 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Scale of Production Optimization Tool (excel doc)
scaleofproductionoptimize-template.xlsx
File Size: 27 kb
File Type: xlsx
Download File
Scale of Production Matrix (excel doc)
scaleofproductionmatrix-template.xlsx
File Size: 312 kb
File Type: xlsx
Download File
Irrigation Information for Small Farms (pdf)
irrigationoptionsforsmallareas.pdf
File Size: 1124 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Mechanical Weed Control

Schedules & Practices 

Weed Management Presentation (pdf) - presented at Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference
nmsfc_weed_mgmt.pdf
File Size: 53044 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
 Weed Management Handout (pdf) - presented at Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference
handout_for_nmsfc_weed_presentation.pdf
File Size: 101 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Farm Income & Market Selection

Pathways to $100K Sales for Veg. Farms (pdf)
pathwaysto100kinsales-p.pdf
File Size: 313 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Pathways to $100K Calculator - for Veg. Farms (excel doc)
pathto_100kcalculator-template.xlsx
File Size: 14 kb
File Type: xlsx
Download File
Market Channel Selection Tool (pdf)
marketchannelselectiontool-p.pdf
File Size: 328 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Financial Management & Record Keeping

Coming Soon!
Are you a gardener looking for more information and resources?
​Check out the Let's Garden Lansing calendar for events and resources in the Greater Lansing Area!