| Hello Friend, The year ahead offers us opportunities for growth and new beginnings. As the days grow longer, I invite you to explore the many ways you can connect with your fellow farmers through educational events or personal growth. I am thrilled to announce a women's mentorship program, open for applications through February 14. This program will pair aspiring farmers with two fantastic mentors, Laura Colligan of Dirt Rich Farm and Amanda Grisa of Schenk Homestead Farm, for a two-year immersive learning experience. Looking ahead, we will be expanding our Learning Circles statewide. This expansion includes a special series focused on climate-smart farming for non-operating landowners, and new partnerships in the central and eastern portion of New York. We are truly leaning in to building supportive peer networks that promote a thriving, equitable food system across our state. I hope to see old and new faces alike at our outreach events this upcoming year! In community,
Stephanie Castle
New York Women for the Land Program Manager
American Farmland Trust |
| |  | Call for Mentees: Accepting Applications through Feb. 14, 2025 Our women's mentorship program will pair early career and aspiring farmers with an experienced vegetable farmer to learn first-hand how to start and run a successful farming operation. Participants will work closely with their mentors to complete a curriculum that covers the basics of starting a farm enterprise and will develop a business plan in the second year of the program. Mentor farms are Dirt Rich Farm, LLC, located in Springville, NY and Schenk Homestead Farm located in Naples, NY. Each farm will mentor up to two mentees, and mentees will be invited to participate in community building and educational events in partnership with American Farmland Trust. Please note that this is not an apprenticeship program, and participants are not expected to work directly for their mentor farms, but may have their own operations and/or off-farm jobs during this program. Closing date for this application is Friday, February 14, 2025 at 5 p.m. EST. Please note that mentors will be conducting interviews with potential candidates and may ask for a resume and additional personal references. |
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|  | Date: Thursday, February 6, 2025 Location: Jordan Hall @ Cornell Agritech Campus in Geneva, NY Learn more on the Cornell Field Crops Website. Topics: - Reducing Tillage and Organic No-Till
- Pest Management & Biocontrol
- Diversifying your Crop Rotation Profitably
- Transition to Organic
- Cornell Organic Research Briefs
…and more! |
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 | Northeast Fiber Exchange (NEFX) Farmer Training When: Friday, February 28, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Where: Cornell University, Frank B. Morrison Hall
507 Tower Rd., Ithaca, NY 14853 What: Hudson Valley Textile Project and PRO-LIVESTOCK Small Ruminant Program will be hosting an event for the Northeast Fiber Exchange Cost: FREE
Certification Training: All farmers must participate in the certification training in order to sell to the NEFX Program. At this time the program will be accepting the following fiber types: Wool, Mohair, Alpaca, & Llama. Training will cover skirting and quality requirements, as well as best practices for quality fiber on the farm. All interested farmers are welcome. |
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| |  | Climate Emotions Webinar Series for Farmers Ecological Grief. Eco-anxiety. Climate Grief. Climate distress. Complex emotions can arise upon witnessing or learning about environmental destruction or loss (e.g., flooding, fires, and drought), especially for farmers, ranchers, and other food producers. Reckoning with these emotions means reconnecting to the reality that climate change is already changing the ways we farm and live on planet Earth. Fostering resilience involves acknowledging our collective experience so we can find a way through it. This winter, American Farmland Trust will host and facilitate a 4-part virtual workshop for farmers and ranchers to join in community to explore their mental and emotional experiences of climate change as well as strategies for showing up in our lives and in our work amidst the growing challenges offered by climate change. Inspired by the Good Grief Network, the sessions will integrate multi-media resources, large and small group discussions, journaling, and other activities. When: Four Wednesdays in March 2025, noon - 2 p.m. EST, March 5, 12, 19, and 26 Where: Zoom *$200 self-care stipend available for participants who attend at least 3 of 4 sessions* This group is for you if: - You are a farmer or rancher stewarding land
- You’re willing to go deep and be vulnerable with a group of peers
- You’re able to commit up to 12 hours over 4 weeks to exploring climate-related emotions in community (8 hours of workshop time + 4 hours to complete required pre-work for each session)
- You have lived experience or learned understanding of power, privilege, and systemic oppression
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| | | | Calling all farmers applying biochar or interested in biochar! American Farmland Trust is conducting the first-ever national biochar survey to better understand who is applying biochar or interested in biochar and why and where in the U.S., as well as challenges and successes. Survey responses will inform AFT’s work to provide a blueprint for supporting greater adoption of biochar use among farmers. Respondents will have the opportunity to enter a drawing to win a $100 gift card as a thank you for your participation. The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete. |
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New York’s top leadership development program accepts applications from professionals in the food, agriculture and natural resources sectors of the Northeast. The application for Class 21 will be open from January 1 through March 15, 2025. LeadNY, a pioneering training program for mid-career professionals, provides intensive one- or two-year programs to improve leadership skills, self-awareness, issues analysis, critical thinking and civic engagement. Based at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the program links Cornell leadership and global development expertise with real-world training to help professionals maximize their potential in their careers and their community-based impact in the Northeast. |
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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. We provide learning materials, an online library, and service provider contact information at each event. These are free and open to everyone to attend. As we finalize our schedule for 2025 we will update the event listings here and on our website and will send announcements to register when we open registration for each event. Please note these are estimated dates, topics, and locations that will be confirmed in our upcoming newsletters. 2025 Learning Circles April | Climate Smart Agriculture Series: Climate-Beneficial Fiber Farming, Lazy Acres Alpacas, Bloomfield, NY May | Hudson Valley: Farmer Collaborative Models + Land Access June | Fire Creek Farms, Livonia: Raising Farm Kids and Rural Childcare June | Climate Smart Agriculture Series: Costs and Benefits of Conservation, Hudson Valley July | Millbrook Farm, Groton: Farm Business Planning + Marketing | July | Boston Valley Farms, Hamburg: Siting the Land / Considerations for Purchasing or Leasing | | August | Tamberlane Farm, Canandaigua: Pasture Walk | | September | Climate Smart Agriculture Series: Agroforestry, Finger Lakes Nut Farm, Locke, NY October | Schenk Homestead Farm, Naples: Year-Round High Tunnel Production | |
| | |  | Join our Women for the Land - New York Mighty Networks Community! Our Women for the Land - New York team invites you to join our Mighty Networks Community. Mighty Networks is a free online community platform that will allow us to deepen our connections with each other. As a member of this community, you can expect: -
Universal access to Learning Circle resources. Learning Circles 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. -
Networking with fellow women farmers and landowners across New York! This platform is a place for you to ask questions, share stories, and grow relationships. -
Opportunities to inform future Women for the Land programming. As we expand our programming across New York through Learning Circles, farm tours, policy work, and other events, you can expect opportunities to share feedback, topics of interest, priorities, and more. -
Access to the WFL National Network and Special Interest Communities. In addition to being a member of the WLF-NY community, you are also a member of our overarching WFL National community. As such, you'll be able to see announcements, updates, and activities happening across other regions. |
| | | | No Farms No Food® is a trademark of American Farmland Trust |
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