The New Farmer's Appreciation Kit

A link to download the files will be emailed to you after purchase. Make sure you enter your email address at checkout.

Our gift to new farmers! To show our appreciation for young and beginning farmers, we put together a set of free downloadable audio and a free issue of Acres U.S.A. magazine to help you advance your education and pick up new methods for your farm. In this kit, you will find:

Gary Zimmer: The New Biological Farmer: 15 Years of Learning MP3

Fifteen years ago Gary Zimmer shored up the foundations of ecofarming with his landmark book The Biological Farmer. In the years in between GMOs arrived, along with increased herbicide use, superweeds, and a host of other conventional farming ills. In this whirlwind talk he’ll address what has been learned and discuss the current state of the art — and state of the science — of modern biological farming. Recorded in 2016. (22.6 MB, 1 hour, 2 minutes)

Acres U.S.A.: January 2018 Issue PDF

Find all the great information and stories from our January 2018 issue, complete with features on farm planning for the future, growing citrus, building your farm team, achieving quality soil, mycorrhizae fungi and much, much more. (28.4 MB, 92 pages)

Jeff Moyer, Regenerative Organic Agriculture, The Framework for the Future MP3

This longtime organic farmer and executive director of Rodale Institute will discuss the current version of the Rodale Institute-hosted Regenerative Organic Standard, explain why Rodale Institute is working on this, what does it mean to our support of the USDA NOP organic standard, what is the timeline for rolling out the certification, and how farmers can get involved. This workshop will begin as a formal presentation, however, much of the time will be spent in interactive group discussion and conversation. For background information on this new standard please visit https://rodaleinstitute.org/regenerativeorganic/.

Recorded at the 2017 Acres U.S.A. Conference, Columbus, Ohio, Friday, December 8, 2017.

Leilani Zimmer Durand: Balancing Your Soil to Maximize Nutrient Availability MP3

Leilani will talk about balancing your soils in order to maximize nutrient availability; using sources that fit your soil type and crop; tying minerals to carbon sources to maximize uptake efficiency; and using the natural interactions between roots, soils and soil microbes to tap into the soil’s natural nutrient cycling processes to get the most out of the nutrients already in your soil, while also paying attention to what your soils have to deliver so you don’t draw down nutrient levels and can keep your farm sustainable and your nutrients cycling for years to come.

(21.83 MB) Recorded at the 2017 Acres U.S.A. Conference, Columbus, Ohio, Friday, December 8, 2017.

Thea O'Carroll, What Organic Buyers Are Looking For MP3

Along with its meteoric growth, the organic marketplace has become increasingly competitive and complex. Buyers often choose from multiple — but very different — sources of supply. In this practical session, third-generation farmer Thea O’Carroll will demystify the marketplace for growers. Learn simple things you can do to ensure product quality and to be more competitive in the organic marketplace.

(18 minutes, 56 seconds) Recorded at the 2017 Acres U.S.A. Conference, Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, December 7, 2017.

Find the downloads in your customer profile under "My Downloadable Files." You can download them up to 5 times. Please share this page with other young farmers.