A Guide to Sharing Farm Equipment

A Tool-sharing Toolkit for Farmers, Cooperators, and Organizers of Shared Equipment Pools

Created with SARE support
Faith Gilbert | 2018 | 43 pages

Hudson Valley New York farmer Faith Gilbert of Letterbox Farm Collective wrote this guide for farmers, service providers, cooperators, and organizers of shared equipment pools. The guide covers an array of practical concerns for equipment sharing. Contents include case studies, a review of different ownership and management arrangements, financial considerations, annotated budgets, sample fee structures, legal considerations, operational concerns and best practices, and annotated legal documents for forming a tool-sharing initiative.

Table of Contents

  1. Project Profiles: Types of Equipment
    1. Tool Lending Networks
    2. Direct Co-Ownership
    3. Shared Equipment Businesses
    4. Equipment Co-operatives
    5. Programs of State or Federal Agency
    6. Programs of a Non-Profit Agency (NGO)
  2. Designing Your Equipment Sharing Program
    1. Equipment and Services
    2. Financial Feasibility & Planning
    3. Ownership
    4. Operations
  3. Organizers Toolkit
    1. Equipment Checklist
    2. Equipment Needs Survey
    3. Equipment Use Agreement
  4. Resources
  5. Notes

Want more information? See the related SARE grant:

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.