Specialty crop farmers must learn all aspects of running a business to be successful. This places a high burden on the individual farmer and can act as a barrier to success. In The Land Connection's project titled, "Comprehensive Farm Risk Management for Healthier Bodies, Books, and Businesses," producers diminished this burden by participating in a series of trainings and downloading critical resources and tools that address production, financial, legal, and human risks experienced by specialty crop farmers in central Illinois.
Over 300 producers participated in four workshops and two webinars to improve the economic viability of their operation by discovering efficient, scalable weed control strategies, writing food safety and workplace safety plans, learning techniques to improve the productivity and reliability of farm labor, and improving their financial record keeping. This project also produced eight how-to videos, five fact sheets, and two templates to accompany the workshops and webinars. All content can be accessed online through The Land Connection's website.