The Agriculture Resource Library · Who is out there

Organizations and communities.

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Organizations & communities
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77
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The Agriculture Resource Library

Some of these have a helpline you can call today. Some run the conference you should be at. Some are a forum where the person answering your question has grown the crop you are asking about. Filter by kind or cost, or just search for the topic on your mind.

Part of The Agriculture Resource Library. Search all resources at once, or suggest one we missed.

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77 entries

Growing & production 27

American Beekeeping Federation

Organization

The eighty-year-old federation for all beekeepers: conference, webinars, and mentorship for sideliners and hobbyists.

The national bee community, from two hives to two thousand.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

American Dairy Goat Association

Organization

The national dairy goat registry: herd registration, DHI milk testing, and shows.

Papers and production records for the dairy goat herd.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

American Horticultural Society

Organization

The member gardening society since 1922: The American Gardener magazine and reciprocal garden admissions.

The genteel wing of American horticulture, with a good magazine.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

American Mushroom Institute

Organization

The trade association of US mushroom growers since 1955: growing practices and Mushroom News.

The commercial mushroom industry's home base.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

American Pastured Poultry Producers Association

Organization

The nonprofit for poultry raised on pasture: the Grit newsletter, processing and marketing know-how, and pastured standards.

Everything the pastured-poultry model has learned, from people doing it for a living.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

American Rabbit Breeders Association

Organization

The national rabbit breeder registry and association: breed standards and a local club network.

The rabbit world's registry and its people.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

AmericanHort

Organization

The largest US nursery, greenhouse, and garden-retail trade association, home of the Cultivate conference every July.

The horticulture industry's big tent and its biggest annual show.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Aquaponics Association

Organization

The nonprofit for aquaponic growers of all sizes: video library, community forum, and an annual conference.

The fish-and-plants community, from backyard to commercial.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Association for Vertical Farming

Organization

The global nonprofit for the indoor and vertical farming industry: network, summits, and education on vertical systems.

The international vertical-farming community in one place.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers

Organization

The association for local cut-flower farmers: variety trials, grower forums, and The Cut Flower Quarterly.

The flower-farming community and its trial data, if blooms are your crop.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

CEA Alliance

Organization

The trade association of US vertical farms and high-tech greenhouse produce growers: best practices and food safety guidance for indoor produce.

The industry's own playbook for growing food indoors safely and at scale.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

eOrganic

University program

The national online organic agriculture community of practice: peer-reviewed articles, a webinar archive, and a video library.

University-vetted organic answers, the counterpart to ATTRA.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Herb Society of America

Organization

The herb education society: growing guides and plant profiles.

Herb knowledge with history behind it.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

IFOAM Organics International

Organization

The global umbrella for the organic movement: principles and world organic statistics.

Organic as a worldwide movement, with the numbers to show it.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Marbleseed

Organization

Midwest organic education nonprofit, formerly MOSES, running the largest organic farming conference in the country plus an Organic Answer Line.

Fact sheets, New Farmer U, and the big La Crosse conference every winter.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

NCERA-101 Controlled Environments Committee

University program

The multi-university committee on controlled environment technology: the measurement and reporting guidelines researchers themselves use.

How the scientists measure growth chambers, free to copy.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

North American Raspberry and Blackberry Association

Organization

The membership organization for bramble growers: production guides and the caneberry grower network.

The people who know brambles, if berries are your row.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

North American Strawberry Growers Association

Organization

The strawberry grower association: research funding and production conferences.

The strawberry crowd and the research they fund.

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Verified Oct 14, 2026

Northeast Organic Farming Association

Organization

Seven state chapters of organic farmers and gardeners, going since 1971: workshops, certification help, and a summer conference.

Your state chapter is the local organic community in the Northeast.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Organic Farming Research Foundation

Organization

A nonprofit that funds organic farming research and translates it into free grower guides and webinars.

Research-based organic answers without reading the journals yourself.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Pollinator Partnership

Organization

The largest pollinator-conservation nonprofit, with free planting guides matched to your ecoregion by zip code.

Type your zip, get the exact planting guide for your ecological region, free.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Practical Farmers of Iowa

Community

The gold standard of farmer-led research: members run replicated trials on their own farms and publish the results, hundreds of them, free.

Real on-farm trial data on cover crops, small grains, and horticulture, from farmers rather than salesmen.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Savory Institute

Organization

The holistic-management grazing network, with more than thirty training hubs worldwide.

Grazing-planning training through a regional hub if you run animals on grass.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

The Livestock Conservancy

Organization

The heritage-breed conservation nonprofit since 1977: the Conservation Priority List, breed selection guides, and a breeder directory.

Which rare breed fits your farm, and who will sell you starting stock.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Urban Ag News

Publication / media

The free trade publication covering urban agriculture and CEA in plain language, with serious greenhouse agronomy behind it.

Readable CEA education from people who have grown commercially.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

USDA Agricultural Research Service

Organization

USDA's in-house research agency, ninety-plus locations, public research on every crop, home of the National Agricultural Library.

The research your taxes already paid for, on whatever you grow.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Wageningen University and Research

University program

The world's top agricultural university, in the Netherlands, and the reference point for greenhouse horticulture science.

Where greenhouse growing is studied hardest; their publications set the bar.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 13, 2026

Education & research 8

American Public Gardens Association

Organization

The association of botanic gardens and arboreta: partnership and education resources.

The demonstration-garden world, useful for education partnerships.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

ATTRA / NCAT

Organization

The USDA-funded sustainable agriculture information service: hundreds of practical publications, a national farm internship board, and a hotline with a human on it (1-800-346-9140).

The single best free reference shelf in sustainable agriculture, plus someone to call.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

ATTRA Internship Board

Organization

The national sustainable-farm internship and apprenticeship listing service.

Find on-farm training, or post your farm and find help that wants to learn.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship

Organization

The first formal Department of Labor registered farming apprenticeship in the country: a paid two-year path to managing a grazing dairy.

A real trade apprenticeship, in dairy grazing, with a paycheck.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

National Agricultural Library

Reference work

One of the largest agricultural libraries in the world, with free topic guides on CSA, specialty crops, and organic.

The nation's ag bookshelf, open to everyone.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Quivira Coalition New Agrarian Program

Organization

Regenerative ranching nonprofit running paid eight-month apprenticeships on working Western ranches.

A paid path into regenerative ranching, boots on real ground.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Rogue Farm Corps

Organization

Structured season-long farm internships and apprenticeships on Oregon host farms; the model program others copy.

Immersive training with a curriculum, not just a summer of weeding.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

WWOOF-USA

Community

Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, US chapter: work-exchange learning stays on fifteen hundred organic farms.

Learn by living on farms, or host learners on yours.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Communities & networks 8

American Community Gardening Association

Organization

The binational community-gardening nonprofit since 1978: garden-organizing toolkits, insurance guidance, and an annual conference.

How to start and keep a community garden without learning every lesson the hard way.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Farm Aid

Organization

The farmer-support nonprofit behind the concert: a crisis hotline (1-800-FARM-AID) and a farmer resource network.

A number to call when things get hard, and people who have helped farmers through it since 1985.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Farmer Veteran Coalition

Organization

The nonprofit helping military veterans enter agriculture: a fellowship fund for equipment grants and the Homegrown by Heroes label.

If you served, a community and small equipment grants to get you farming.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Greenhorns

Community

The grassroots cultural organization for young agrarians: the New Farmer's Almanac, a huge free resource list, and radio.

Culture and connection for the new-farmer movement, and one of the best link lists in agriculture.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

National Farmers Union

Organization

The general farm organization advocating for family farms since 1902, with co-op education and a beginning farmer institute.

A policy voice for the family-scale farm and training to go with it.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

National Grange

Organization

The oldest US agricultural fraternal organization, founded 1867, with halls in seventeen hundred towns.

A rural community institution that may already have a hall near you.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Slow Food USA

Organization

The US arm of the good, clean, fair food movement: the Ark of Taste heritage varieties and local chapters.

Customers who care, and the heritage-variety honor roll.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Urban Growers Collective

Organization

The Chicago urban-farm nonprofit whose farmer-training program is a national model for urban food production.

The blueprint for serious urban farming, proven on fourteen acres of Chicago.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Markets & selling 8

American Honey Producers Association

Organization

The association of commercial honey producers: market advocacy and pricing intelligence.

What honey is actually worth and who is fighting for that price.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

CSA Innovation Network

Community

The national community strengthening the CSA movement: best practices, marketing materials, and a peer network.

How the best CSAs run theirs, shared freely.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Farmers Market Coalition

Organization

The national nonprofit supporting farmers markets: manager toolkits, SNAP and EBT guidance, and metrics tools.

Everything a market vendor or market manager needs to run the thing right.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

LocalHarvest

Dataset

The longest-running national directory of small farms, CSAs, and markets, beloved for decades.

A free farm listing that customers actually find.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

NAFDMA

Organization

The agritourism and farm direct-marketing association: u-pick, farm stores, and event business education.

How farms turn visitors into revenue, taught by farms that do.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

National Farm to School Network

Organization

The network connecting local farms with school cafeterias, with procurement guides for both sides.

A steady institutional sales channel and the paperwork map to reach it.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Organic Trade Association

Organization

The trade association for the organic industry: market data and regulatory tracking.

Where the organic market numbers and rule changes get reported first.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Regenerative Organic Alliance

Organization

The nonprofit behind the Regenerative Organic Certified label, a rung above USDA Organic covering soil, animals, and workers.

A certification ladder beyond organic, if your market rewards it.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Seed & breeding 7

CGIAR

Organization

The global network of fifteen agricultural research centers, with open-access crop research and the genebanks behind rice, maize, and potato.

The deepest open crop science on earth.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Experimental Farm Network

Community

A volunteer participatory plant-breeding network: join real breeding projects from a backyard plot.

A seat in actual crop breeding, no degree required.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Native Seeds/SEARCH

Organization

Southwest-focused seed conservation: arid-adapted crop varieties and seed-saving education.

Crops that already know how to handle heat and drought.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Open Source Seed Initiative

Organization

Copyleft for seeds: a pledge that keeps varieties free to save, replant, and breed from, forever.

Varieties no patent can ever take away from you.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Organic Seed Alliance

Organization

The nonprofit for organic seed systems: free seed-production manuals and on-farm participatory breeding training.

How to grow your own seed crop properly, taught free.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Seed Savers Exchange

Organization

The largest US nonprofit seed bank, twenty-seven thousand heirloom varieties in Decorah, Iowa, with a member-to-member exchange.

Heirlooms you cannot buy anywhere, and the community keeping them alive.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

The Land Institute

Organization

The research nonprofit breeding perennial grain crops, including Kernza, toward agriculture that does not need replanting every year.

A window into the perennial future of grain, with field days and publications.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Funding & advocacy 4

Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research

Organization

The congressionally created nonprofit funding public-private agricultural research.

A window on where ag research money is flowing next.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

National Urban Agriculture Initiative

University program

The Virginia State led USDA project equipping urban growers to actually use USDA services.

How to walk into an FSA or NRCS office as a city grower and come out with help.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

USDA SARE

Funding program

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education: USDA's grant program with four regional offices, farmer and rancher grants you can apply for directly, and a free book library that includes the standard texts.

Ten to thirty thousand dollars to try something on your own farm, and free full books like Building Soils for Better Crops.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

USDA Urban Agriculture (OUAIP)

Funding program

USDA's Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production: urban ag grants, county-office navigation, and composting programs.

The federal front door for city growing, with money behind it.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 13, 2026

Soil & conservation 4

Kiss the Ground

Organization

The media nonprofit that made regenerative agriculture a household phrase: stewardship courses and storytelling resources.

The gentle on-ramp to regenerative thinking, good for explaining it to your customers too.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Regeneration International

Organization

A global network promoting regenerative food and farming, with a directory of regenerative farm networks worldwide.

The map of the regenerative movement beyond the US.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Rodale Institute

Organization

The pioneer organic research farm, running since 1947, home of the long-running Farming Systems Trial comparing organic and conventional side by side.

Free consulting for organic transition and research-backed practice guides from the people who started it all.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Soil Health Institute

Organization

A scientific nonprofit working out which soil health measurements actually matter and what they are worth in dollars.

Guidance on which soil health indicators are worth paying a lab to test.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Land & capital 4

American Farmland Trust

Organization

No Farms No Food: the farmland protection nonprofit, with the Farmland Information Center and land-access resources.

Help thinking about land access, easements, and keeping farms farms.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Center for Rural Affairs

Organization

Great Plains rural advocacy nonprofit with strong beginning-farmer programs: Land Link matching and lending guides.

Beginning-farmer policy help and a matchmaking service for land.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Land For Good

Organization

The land-access nonprofit for farm seekers and retiring farmers, New England based, with planning tools used far beyond it.

Free land-access planning tools and advising for getting on, or passing on, a farm.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

National Young Farmers Coalition

Organization

The grassroots policy network for the next generation of farmers: land access advocacy, local chapters, and guides to credit and land.

The organized voice of beginning farmers, plus practical land and loan guides.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

More organizations 7

Agritecture

Organization

The consultancy and media hub for urban and vertical farming: blog, industry census, and farm-planning software.

Sharp commercial analysis of what pencils out indoors and what does not.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Community Alliance with Family Farmers

Organization

California family-farm advocacy and technical assistance: climate-smart and food-safety guides that travel well beyond the state.

Small-farm technical help written for real small farms.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

FAO

Organization

The UN's food and agriculture agency: FAOSTAT data for every country, crop production guides, and the canonical irrigation references.

The global picture, and reference works like FAO-56 that the whole field builds on.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

OpenTEAM

Community

The farmer-driven open technology ecosystem: interoperable open tools for farm records, soil health, and decision support.

The community wiring open farm tools together so your data enters once and works everywhere.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

National Greenhouse Manufacturers Association

Organization

The trade association of greenhouse manufacturers: structural standards and buying guidance for greenhouse construction.

The standards your greenhouse frame should meet, from the people who build them.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Resource Innovation Institute

Organization

The nonprofit benchmarking energy and water efficiency in controlled environment agriculture: free best-practice guides on lighting, HVAC, and water plus PowerScore benchmarking.

Free engineering-grade guides to cut your grow's power and water bills.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Xerces Society

Organization

The invertebrate conservation nonprofit: the best free guides anywhere on pollinator habitat, beneficial insects, and pesticide risk.

Regional planting guides and honest answers on which sprays hurt your bees, organic ones included.

Visit ↗

Verified Oct 14, 2026

Every entry links out to its owner — we host nothing, sell nothing, and rank nobody for pay. Each card says what a thing is and what a grower gets from it, in our own words. Links are probed nightly; entries whose sites go quiet are held back or honestly badged rather than served stale. Know a resource we missed? Tell the collective through the Contact page.

Frequently asked questions.

What organizations help small farmers for free?

More than you would guess. ATTRA runs a sustainable-agriculture helpline staffed by specialists who answer individual questions at no charge. SARE publishes its whole library of practical research free. State and regional grower associations often let you attend a field day before you ever pay dues. The shelf above lists them with what each one gives you, so filter by cost and start with the free ones.

Are there online communities where farmers answer each other's questions?

Yes, and the good ones are busier than ever. Grower forums, open-technology communities like the GOAT forum, and crop-specific groups all run on the same fuel: people who have already made the mistake you are about to make. The cards on this shelf tell you what each community is actually good at, so you can pick the room where your question belongs.

How do I find my local Cooperative Extension office?

Every state runs one, through its land-grant university, and it is the single most underused free resource in agriculture. Our state-by-state grower resources page lists the Extension service for all fifty states, alongside each state's Master Gardener program and plant regulatory office. National Extension entries live on this shelf too.

Related categories.