MSU Extension And USDA Launch New Beginning Farmer Resource

Dec 10, 2025

By Jonathan LaPorte

Running a farm business involves passion, vision and drive to be successful. These qualities are especially important for new or beginning farm managers as they face a number of challenges early in their careers. Common challenges include knowledge of production, finding land, constructing or retrofitting housing facilities and financing. Recognizing the significance of these and many other farming challenges, a new resource to assist beginning farmers has been developed by Michigan State University (MSU) Extension and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with support from GreenStone Farm Credit Services.

The "Beginning Farmer Resource and Decision-Making Guide" provides a pathway to resources a new farmer or decision-maker may need to get started and support their production journey. Starting with production in mind, resources give farmers an introduction to important farming topics and direct them to education and decision-making tools and how to connect with agricultural partners.

The resource guide can be reviewed in multiple ways. First, as a single, complete guide with all of the chapters and sub-sections. Alternatively, individual content sections of the resource guide can be downloaded.

Content areas include:

Bees and livestock
Equipment
Organic practices
Plants
Soil health
Water management
General topics (including marketing, setting up a business, tax management and more)

Source : msu.edu

Video: What Drives Profitability in Farrowing? - Dr. Daniel Gascho

In this special episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, marking World Veterinary Day, we welcome Dr. Daniel Gascho, swine production veterinarian and partner at Four Star Veterinary Service. He discusses how farrowing decisions must align with each farm's business model, why labor execution defines protocol outcomes, and how PRRS strategies should be tailored to each operation's health status and market position. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Protocols are only as strong as the labor that executes them, and that final step is what separates a plan on paper from results in the barn."

Meet the guest: Dr. Daniel Gascho / daniel-gascho-4a1bbb242 is a swine production medicine veterinarian and partner at Four Star Veterinary Service, based in Indiana. He focuses on individualized health strategies, vaccination planning, biosecurity, and practical protocol implementation across farrowing, nursery, and grow-finish systems.