Scaling Up Smarter

From the Co-Executive Directors

Greetings!

Welcome to our ninth issue of Living Roots, the first of three in 2026, and the first since we’re in place as RAFI’s new Co-Executive Directors. As always, if you have ideas for stories you’d like to share — or stories you’d like to read — we’d like to hear from you at livingroots@rafi.gameflow.design.

In these pages, you’ll find articles we hope are useful in the everyday work of running a farm business. We cover topics like knowing when it’s time to scale up and what that can involve, record-keeping practices that can help position your farm for USDA programs, and how land commons are helping address land access issues for some. We also share stories of creative solutions farmers have developed to tackle particular challenges related to processing and soil health.

Thank you for being a part of this community. We are grateful for the work you do and wish you a strong and successful growing season.

Kavita Koppa & Mo Murrie
Co-Executive Directors

Record Keeping & Reporting

by Amanda Meyers

Keeping accurate crop records not only helps you manage your farm business, but also can unlock access to USDA programs, loans, crop insurance, and disaster assistance. Here's some record keeping and reporting best practices for small and beginning farmers.

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Silvopasture Stories

by Kara Hoving

Silvopasture intentionally integrates trees, animals, and pasture into a single functioning system that offers innumerable benefits to both the farm’s bottom line and the health and resilience of the land. Silvopasture experts and practitioners share the secrets to designing a successful silvopasture system at any scale.

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