Getting to the Root is a new video series being put out by Solid Ground that focuses on the entrepreneurial spirit of farm businesses in our region and highlights the unique markets farms have formed around in order to succeed and create a loyal following of consumers. Hear how these farmers identified a need, applied a unique approach to their business model and continue to innovate in their agricultural enterprises. Each video is accompanied by a recorded webinar with other farmers discussing different approaches to growing their business. Topics in this series include Cut Flower Farming, Raising Niche Livestock, and (coming soon) Growing Ethnic and Specialty Crops, and Including Value-Added products in Your Farm Business.

This video series visits different farms in CT that have completed small projects, looks at the different ways they have accomplished it, and shows various levels of Do-It-Yourself integrated into the work. The series focuses on such topics as Coolbot Installation, Season Extension Structures, Humane Animal Handling, and more. Each video is built around interviews with beginning farmers at their operations to showcase different design options. Viewers will gain an understanding of materials, cost-benefit analysis, structure considerations, uses, and best practices. Each topic has multiple videos in the series to explore how farmers approach projects to make it work best for their skill set and farm operation.

In partnership with Grown ConNECTed, we put out workshops to help farmers with marketing their farms using different tools that are easy to use, and some of them are free! Whether it be through point of sales, or how to advertise over social media, we try to prepare our farmers so they can reach a great audience and grow their customer base. Take a look at some of these trainings to help you gain more customers for your farm and keep them!

These live webinars were recorded so that you could benefit from some wonderful conversations with professionals, and some of our own CT farmers, to have a better understanding of the ecology of your farm.  This series covers topics such as composting, how to implement no-till practices on the farm, and different methods to integrate these practices in a way that fits your farm's operation.

Farmers have a lot going on. When they're not farming, they're thinking about farming. When they are farming, they're thinking about all the other things they need to do in their personal life. It's stressful because sometimes it feels like your playing a giant game of catch up. Join us as we talk with farmers about how they deal with and recognize stress. We'll talk with farmers who are farm owners, employees, and have small and large farms. Hopefully you'll get a chance to see what best helps you. This work is supported by the 2021 SDA Farmer Rancher Stress Assistance Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

If you are feeling like you are in a moment of crisis, please check out this list of resources to see how you can get help: https://www.farmaid.org/our-work/resources-for-farmers/farmer-resource-guides/crisis-support-farm-aid-resource-guide/

UConn Extension is enormously grateful to the farmers who shared their stories for this series of short videos. Our goal was to showcase a variety of ways that farmers in Connecticut have been able to get started and grow their farm business.  In these stories you'll learn about farmers that needed to find or restore farmland to expand production, build a loyal customer base for a new business, and develop their market for high quality products.  See them talk about how they started and where they are now.  As these videos were produced close to 10 years ago, it's also helpful to look at these farms and see how they have progressed now!

To see more videos about how to set up your farm successfully, see our partner website, Farm Risk Management.