We recommend that you consider attending an agriculture conference, a beginner farm school and/or program before deciding to go full-time into farming. You may want to ease into farming. Farm requires multiple skillsets: business and accounting, scientific processes, engineering resourcefulness and lots of manual labor.

Or if you are just curious, you may want to participate in one of many farm tours statewide or consider homesteading. We recommend visiting other farms through farm tours such as the Piedmont Farm Tour and/or our very own Davidson County Farm Tour. Consider the following options to see if farming is the lifestyle/occupation for you.

Getting Started

If you’re just starting out in agriculture, resources are available to guide you. The USDA provides specialized support for beginning farmers and ranchers—defined as those who have been running a farm or ranch for fewer than ten years.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO RESOURCES

LIVING WEB FARMS

Living Web Farms provides free videos for homesteaders, gardeners and farmers. They have compiled a vast archive of videos that they continually update covering topics from seed saving to farmscaping to winter cattle grazing.

RECOMMENDED FARM ORGANIZATIONS TO JOIN

CAROLINA FARM STEWARDSHIP ASSOCIATION

The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA) is a farmer-driven, membership-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that helps people in the Carolinas grow and eat local, organic food by advocating for fair farm and food policies, building systems that family farms need to thrive, and educating communities about local, organic agriculture. 

Members can access free business consulting services for business development, food safety, organic certification, conservation activity plans and high tunnels, and an incredible network of farms and farming resources. New members ($25 only).