| Hello Friend, Spring is here – the season of change, the season of hope. With warmer days near, I have been busy planting seeds in the greenhouse; each seed a little promise. Farming is an act of hope, where we ride out the volatility of spring until the crops are planted and given a chance to grow. We come to you on the last day of Women's History Month. Our program centers women's experiences in agriculture, connecting farmers, landowners, and service providers to one another to build a thriving community for us all. Let us recognize the resilience of the women who came before us, overcoming barriers and challenging the status quo to give us a voice and a place at the table. Their bravery should inspire all of us to continue on this path towards an equitable food system future. Farming is an act of courage, and our work is far from over. We don't have a calendar of Women for the Land events to share with you because of funding uncertainties, but we can pass along events and opportunities from our partners. We need your help now more than ever and I encourage you to use the link below to donate to our program to help us sustain this critical work. In times of volatility and in seasons of change, we are stronger together. Please reach out to a neighbor, uplift movements of advocacy, and find ways to take care of one another, however small. Our community is at its best when many hands are working together. Farming is, above all, an act of resilience. In solidarity,
Stephanie Castle
Women for the Land New York Program Manager
American Farmland Trust |
| | | | Seeking Farmers! We are excited to announce the Strengthening Food & Farm Foundations: Farmer Track a part of our New York Farm to School Institute. The Farmer Track, a professional development opportunity for New York farmers and producers to develop and refine their Farm to School market, is seeking applicants for its inaugural 2025-26 cohort. The Institute is coordinated by American Farmland Trust’s Farm to Institution New York State (FINYS) program and supports food service staff, educators, administrators, and community partners in New York schools to help bring more New York grown food into the cafeteria and classroom. This year, farmers will join the network to further develop successful Farm to School programs and connecting schools with farmers. The Farmer Track is also excited to announce our partner, Terrapin Consulting who will be supporting the program by providing a 3-part training, and individualized technical assistance for participants. |
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| | Key features of the Farmer Track include: - An in-person Farmer-School Meet & Greet on August 12, 2025, at the Mabee Farm Historic Site in Rotterdam Junction, NY, where farmers will connect with schools interested in buying local products
- A three-part workshop series, hosted in spring and fall, designed to guide farmers through the foundations of Farm to School sales, on-farm readiness, and securing institutional buyers
- Discussion and training sessions that focus on business needs, peer-to-peer learning, and market networking, helping farmers connect with others navigating similar challenges and opportunities.
- Ongoing technical assistance provided by industry experts with firsthand farming and sales experience, ensuring farmers receive tailored support to navigate institutional markets
- Potential stipends to support their business plans and participating in storytelling efforts, subject to grant funding availability.
Interested farm businesses are encouraged to apply by April 4th at www.finys.org/farmer. Know a farmer who would be a great fit? We invite you to forward this email to them! Please send any questions about the Institute to finys@farmland.org or call 518-581-0078. | | |
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| | |  | Saving America's Working Lands a National Conference Registration is open for American Farmland Trust’s SAVING AMERICA’S WORKING LANDS conference! Attend to deepen your knowledge of agricultural land protection tools, discuss emerging issues and trends, and explore and elevate new ideas and strategies to save the land that sustains us! The conference will feature three days of workshops, field trips, discussion groups, and conference sessions that elevate successes and respond to practitioner needs for approaches to protect our vital agricultural land. Register by visiting the link below! |
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 | Business Builder Sub Award The Northeast Regional Food Business Center is accepting applications for the the Business Builder sub-award program. This program will equip small- and mid-sized farm and food businesses with funding to develop and amplify regional supply chains. In the first funding round, the Center anticipates distributing around $10 million and between 180 and 350 awards. Please reach out to program staff with any questions about the application process. Application Dates: February 24 – April 7 Eligible Entities: Farm and food businesses, including aquaculture and wild-caught fisheries, and non-profits with $1M or less in annual revenue or $350,000 or less in revenue are eligible to apply (funding track dependent). Allowable Uses: Post-harvest activities (farm gate/landing to table), including processing, storage and transportation. Unique Entity ID: Applicants must either present a valid Unique Entity ID (UEI) or provide proof that they are in progress of obtaining a UEI at the point of application submission. Explore the Application Checklist for resources on obtaining a UEI. |
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| |  | Complete a Survey to Help Set Cereal Rye
Breeding Priorities at Cornell University Dr. Virginia Moore is working with a research team at Cornell University to understand the many ways farmers grow and use cereal rye, including for grain, forage, and as a cover crop. Her team is also developing new rye
varieties and wants to understand important breeding priorities for different end uses. She invites you to take part in a farmer survey as part of this project. The survey should only take 5-10 minutes. Results: At the end of this project, research results will be shared through presentations, published in peer-reviewed publications, and shared with stakeholders via a white paper and farmer/industry publications. These publications will also be shared on faculty webpages. |
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| | Agriculture Energy Assistance Programs Available from NYSERDA Financial support and technical assistance are available to help farms take stock of their energy use, implement energy-saving upgrades, and install clean energy technologies through NYSERDA programs. - Agriculture Energy Audit Program (AEAP): This program offers NY state farmers no-cost energy audits to help identify energy efficiency opportunities on their farm.
- REAP Technical Assistance Program (RTAP): This program has been designed to assist farmers at no-cost to make applications to the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). If awarded, farmers can receive up to 50% of the total project cost.
- Energy Best Practices for Agriculture: The best practices have been developed to help educate producers with energy-efficient technologies, how they function, the average cost, and the average payback in years.
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|  | The Nature Conservancy's Expanding Agroforestry Survey Extended The Expanding Agroforestry Project (EAP) is extending the deadline for its Incentive Payment Program Application Cycle to Friday, April 18, 2025. This 5-week extension is due to the uncertainty around the future of projects funded by the Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative, like EAP. At this time, applicants can expect to be notified of their application status in June 2025. |
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 | Celebrating Women in Agriculture Here are some books, podcasts, and resources that highlight the contributions of women in agriculture: |
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| New! AFT Farmer Resource Guide In an effort to respond to the rapidly changing funding and support landscape, our team pulled together a list of resources for folks in the agricultural community. This Resource Guide is for agricultural producers of all sizes and scales, with a focus on resources available nationwide. American Farmland Trust will endeavor to update this list once a week; external links are maintained by their respective owners. |
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| | New York Women for the Land Learning Circles |
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|  | We connect with our community through New York Women for the Land Learning Circles, which are informal, peer-to-peer networking events facilitated by highly skilled discussion leaders and technical service providers focusing on a topic of interest to women in agriculture in New York. These Circles take place at our women-led Demonstration Farms throughout the year, giving participants the opportunity to connect with successful women farmers and landowners like themselves. We provide learning materials, an online library, and service provider contact information at each event. These are free and open to everyone. As we finalize our schedule this year, we will update the event listings here and on our website and send announcements to register when we open registration for each event. We also encourage you to stay connected through the Mighty Networks online learning and community platform, where we will host forums and provide universal access to Learning Circle resources. Join here! |
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| | | | No Farms No Food® is a trademark of American Farmland Trust |
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