Cooperative Extension Agents The Cooperative Extension System is a nationwide, non-credit educational network. Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land-grant university and a network of local or regional offices. Find your local Extension agent at https://pickyourown.org/countyextensionagentoffices.htm
Food policy councils A local food council, or food policy council, is an organization comprised of community members from various sectors within the food system including health officials, farmers, local food processors, local food distributors and retail outlets, farmers’ markets, restaurants, farm preservation advocates, cooperative extensions and local government formed to facilitate partnership, provide learning and growth opportunities, and offer and promote policy recommendations that can improve local economic conditions for farmers and access to local foods. You can find out whether there is a council in your area or how to start a council at https://connectourfuture.org/tools/ and http://www.foodpolicynetworks.org/directory/.
Business structures and legal risk management
Newhall, A., & Goeringer, P. (2014). EB-422 Using a business organization structure to limit your farm’s liability. University of Maryland Extension and Agriculture Law Education Initiative. http://umaglaw.org/publications-library/
Crane, A, Gantz, G, Isaacs, S, Jose, D, Sharp, R (2013) Understanding agricultural risks: Production, marketing, financial, legal, human. Extension Risk Management Education and Risk Management Agency. http://extensionrme.org/pubs/introductiontoriskmanagement.pdf
Attorneys in your area
Every state has a bar association to which every attorney who is licensed to practice in the state must belong. And, in larger cities, there are local chapters or associations that attorneys belong to. A search on the Internet for the name of your state and “bar association” will provide you with the website for your state’s bar association. The same search can be done for your city. Contact your state and local bar associations, tell them you are looking for local legal assistance, and get information about their lawyer referral program.
Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic. (2017) Good laws, good food: Putting local food policy to work for our communities. https://community-wealth.org
Mancuso, A. (2009) How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation. Published by NOLO.
Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Season extension activities in Kansas: Legal issues and local policy options. (2017). www.publichealthlawcenter.org
Rosen, J., Ruhf, K., & Wagner, B. (2018). Farmland Access in Urban Settings Farmland Access in Urban Settings. Retrieved from www.landforgood.org
Vaage, A., & Taylor, G. (n.d.). Municipal Zoning for Local Foods in Iowa. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. https://blogs.extension.iastate.edu
Yuen, J. (2014). City farms on CLTs: How community land trusts are supporting urban agriculture. Land Lines. http://www.lincolninst.edu