Who this is for
Built by ranchers. Free for everyone.
01
Cattle Ranchers
EQIP for fencing and water. CSP for grazing management. Disaster programs for drought and wildfire. We've navigated all of these on our own operation.
02
Beginning Farmers
Your first 10 years come with significant advantages — enhanced cost-share, advance payments, loan priority. This guide helps you use them before they expire.
03
All Producers
Crop, livestock, dairy, specialty. Every state has a guide. Every major federal program covered in plain English, not legalese.
Real Scenarios
Find your situation
Full walkthroughs with timelines, numbers, and step-by-step preparation — based on where you are.
Starting From Scratch
Buying your first ranch. FSA loans for the land, EQIP for infrastructure, and how to use beginning farmer advantages from day one.
Been Ranching for Years
A working operation that's never used federal programs. A mid-size ranch is typically leaving $100K+ on the table over 5 years. Here's how to start.
Taking Over the Family Ranch
Succession, updating records, and making sure your beginning farmer status is set up correctly. The clock is ticking.
After a Disaster
Drought, wildfire, blizzard, or livestock loss. What to do in the first 48 hours and which programs cover what.
The Programs
Plain-English guides to every major program
No jargon, no legalese, no 47-page PDF. Just what you need to know.
EQIP
Cost-share for fencing, water, grazing improvements, buildings, and conservation infrastructure on your operation
NRCSConservation Stewardship
Annual payments for conservation work you're already doing, plus incentives for new enhancements
NRCS + FSABeginning Farmer Advantages
Enhanced cost-share, advance payments, loan priority, and dedicated funding pools for your first 10 years
FSADisaster Assistance
LIP, ELAP, LFP, ECP — programs for livestock loss, emergency feed costs, drought, and infrastructure damage
FSAFSA Farm Loans
Operating loans, farm ownership loans, microloans, and the down payment program — often better terms than commercial lenders
StrategyProgram Stacking
How to combine multiple programs on the same operation — most producers qualify for more than one
FSAConservation Reserve
Annual rental payments for retiring environmentally sensitive or marginal land from production
State-by-State
Every state is different
Different EQIP priorities, state cost-share programs, and tax provisions. Find yours.
All 50 states covered.
Why this is free
We run a small cattle ranch in Oregon. We spent years figuring out how to navigate EQIP, CSP, FSA loans, and disaster programs — mostly through trial, error, and perseverance.
Along the way, we watched our neighbors leave real money on the table, not because they didn't deserve it, but because the information is scattered across agencies, buried in jargon, and hard to piece together. This guide is the homework — arrive at your NRCS or FSA office prepared, and the whole process goes faster.
We don't charge for this. We don't sell anything. If something here helps you access a program you didn't know about, that makes us happy.
Not sure where to start?
Answer a few questions about your operation and we'll show you which programs to look into and how to prepare.
Find out where to start →