Grow Your Knowledge: What to Read While Social Distancing

While many farmers are getting out in the fields and folks in other essential industries continue to get out there and do their jobs, the Tillable team is dedicated to following local stay-at-home guidelines…and staying out of their way. As always, we’re grateful to all the people who are continuing to go out and help take care of all Americans—thank you!

One silver lining to having more time at home is that it’s a great opportunity to tackle your reading list: learn something new, challenge yourself, or just read something for fun. If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few ideas:

Beef up your ag knowledge

This is a great opportunity, especially for non-operating landowners, to dig into the details of farming and land ownership. We humbly offer these resources from our own site:

American Farmland: Always A Good Investment
You already know what a valuable asset farmland can be. But determining its value and understanding the farmland investment market can be difficult. This report provides a great overview of who owns America’s farmland; what makes evaluating the sale and rental value of farmland a challenge; and how landowners can use data to better understand the value and performance of their land. Download it free here.

The ABCs of Farmland Ownership
At Tillable, we are working hard to help every landowner feel as informed as possible about their land. That includes getting a handle on the vocabulary related to farming and farm leasing, so you can have more productive and meaningful conversations with the folks who help you take care of your farm. That’s why we’ve included all the terms you need to know—from the easy ones like “cash rent” and “flex lease” to the lesser-known ones like “biodynamic agriculture” and “pivot irrigation”—in one place. It’s another free download; get it here.

The Guide to Farmland Inheritance
Inheriting farmland can be overwhelming, especially when you factor in the emotions and family dynamics during such times of transition. Our new guide gives you a place to get started, sharing the first steps to take and helpful information about ownership and rental structures. You’ll even learn tips for navigating a shared inheritance, so you and your family can work together to help your farmland thrive. Read it here—no download required.

25 Free Resources Every Farmland Owner Can Use
Whether you’re new to agriculture or you’ve been around farming all your life, there are many free resources you can use to make educated decisions about your land. In one of our most popular articles, we’ve collected 25 free resources from a variety of providers to help with finances, sustainability, general ag knowledge, legal questions and local considerations. Use them to direct you through important choices about your farmland’s health, productivity and efficiency. Read the full list—and potentially go down a rabbit hole—here.

And of course, you’ll find lots of other great resources and insights on our blog. Almost every article is also available for download in PDF format, too.

Your farm-related reading list

Back in 2018, AgDaily published “29 great farm books for your reading list” and it’s worth revisiting if you have some time on your hands. Compiled based on the recommendations of a dozen farmers and ag professionals, there’s something for everyone: non-fiction commentaries on the state of the food industry, how-to guides to help improve your farm, biographies and memoirs, farm histories, even a little fiction.