The national small-farm information service run by the nonprofit NCAT, with free publications and a specialist hotline.
Written for people who sell what they raise, not for a household with three hens, so read it as a producer would. The livestock and poultry publications go deeper than anything else we list, and the hotline (1-800-346-9140) is answered by agriculture specialists. Funded by USDA since 1987; nonprofit status confirmed with the IRS.
Best for Livestock, poultry, and small-acreage production
Free
Start here: ncat.org/tools-and-media?media-type=publication
Clemson Extension's fact sheet library, with the plainest explanation of why acidity decides the canning method.
Canning Foods, the pH Factor puts the 4.6 rule and a pH table on one page, and its numbers match the national center. The Safe Canning Recipes page says what every specialist says: no untested recipes from relatives or the internet. The phone line is for South Carolina residents; the fact sheets are for everyone.
Best for Understanding acidity and the pH rule
Free
Start here: hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/canning-foods-the-ph-factor
Michigan State's preservation program, with authored articles and a staffed food safety hotline.
The Food Safety Hotline (1-877-643-9882, weekdays 9 to 5 Eastern) puts a specialist on the phone. The dehydrating guide takes its drying tables from the national center's source publication and says so. Articles carry authors and dates. Classes are offered, online and in person.
Best for Dehydrating, and a hotline for preservation questions
Free
Start here: canr.msu.edu/resources/dehydrating-produce-basics
The University of Georgia center that hosts the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning and the tested recipes every extension program defers to.
When a canning question comes up, every state extension office we read points here. Its pH 4.6 rule and 240 degree pressure-canning guidance matched Penn State and Clemson word for word. Start with Ensuring Safe Canned Foods before any recipe, and treat anything not found here or in a state extension publication as untested.
Best for Tested canning, pickling, and drying methods
Free
Start here: nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/general-information/ensuring-safe-c...
Oregon State's preservation program: peer-reviewed publications, a canning timer app, and county gauge testing.
Updated days before we read it, with named authors on every publication. Its elderberry guidance is the source for why the berries must be cooked and why syrup from most varieties cannot be canned. The gauge-testing advice matches Penn State. Free to read; the publication store and donate links are the university's.
Best for Elderberries, wild fruit, and pressure-canner gauge care
Free
Start here: extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-9446-play-it-safe-wh...
Penn State's home food preservation program, built around the free, authored Let's Preserve fact sheet series.
Each fact sheet names its authors and its revision date, and the canning basics agree with the national center on temperatures and altitude. Spanish editions exist. Penn State sells workshops and a few paid webinars alongside the free fact sheets, so expect a shopping cart in the site shell.
Best for Dated, authored fact sheets on each preservation method
Free
Start here: extension.psu.edu/lets-preserve-basics-of-home-canning
Utah State's food storage program, the one extension source with research articles on keeping dry staples for decades.
The research pages on white rice, dry beans, and packaging cite the storage studies behind the 25 to 30 year figures, which no federal site addresses. The front page is mostly course sign-ups, some paid, and the research articles carry no dates; they are the reason it is here. Start with Storing White Rice.
Best for Long-term storage of rice, beans, and other dry staples
Free
Start here: extension.usu.edu/preserve-the-harvest/research/storing-w...