Organic Farm School

Mission

As a learning center, the Organic Farm School trains new farmers to develop and manage small farms focused on ecological, economic, and social regeneration - simultaneously offering opportunities for our community and others to learn about their role in strengthening local/regional food systems.

Description

We train new farmers to not only grow healthy food in regenerative ways, but how to plan for business and marketing success. Simultaneously, we engage our community in cooking classes, farm tours, work parties, and more, in an effort to shorten the distance between those who grow food and those who eat food. Our organizing principle is that in order to shift to more regenerative agricultural systems, we must also seek regenerative practices within our cultural and economic systems. To do this work, each year we offer an 8.5 month intensive training program for 3-6 students, one-month experiences for 4-8 participants, one high school internship, multiple incubator opportunities, and events and activities for more than 1000 visitors. We grow annual vegetables on a 10-acre field, where students integrate what they are learning in their classes with what is happening in the ground.

They learn how to follow and create a crop plan, manage crops and labor, set irrigation, produce seed crops, work with farmers markets and direct-to-retail outlets, contribute to food banks, develop their own business & marketing plan, and so much more. As they do all of this, they provide fresh produce for community cooking classes and gatherings, where non-farmers are invited to come learn with our students about how to transform crops into meals. Along the way, eaters and farmers alike are learning about how to best support the kind of agriculture that regenerates soils and people, how to advocate for local/regional farmers and food systems, and how to support new farmers in accessing land.

Our one-month "Summer Block" sessions are for those interested in the full-year program, wanting to make sure it's a "fit" for them, or for those who are looking for an experiential break from their regular professional lives. We work to create post-graduation opportunities for our students, to include paid positions with experienced grads, farm business incubators, and connections to land leases. We just launched a Farm Stay program, giving non-farmers the chance to dive deeply into what it takes to get food from place to plate. And of course we offer workshops and tours throughout the season

Beyond the 10-acre teaching farm, we collaborate with other organizations, agencies, and institutions to explore: small farm grain production; use of cover crops to build healthy soil; and integration of small scale livestock for soil development and vegetation management.