Growing New Farmers at The Seed Farm

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Taylor in Beginning Farmers, Education, Farming, Sustainable Agriculture, Training Programs // 0 Comments

The Seed Farm in Pennsylvania has been Growing New Farmers for More Than a Decade – Check Out Their Two Signature Programs and Give Your Farming Career a Boost

The Seed Farm, in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, offers two main programs to meet the needs of new farmers who may not have grown up on farms and therefore lack access to land, training, and/or equipment:

New Farmer Training – Growing New Farmers

New and aspiring farmers are invited to come to our farm and receive hands-on training in all aspects of running an agricultural business. The Seed Farm’s training opportunities cover production, set-up and management of infrastructure (greenhouse, high tunnel, irrigation system, etc.), equipment use and safety, direct and wholesale marketing, business plan creation, and more.

Farm Business Incubator – Growing New Farmers

New farmers who can demonstrate adequate skills and solid business plans may launch their own farms on the incubator portion of the Seed Farm. Produce and market your own products, while having access to land, equipment and infrastructure at reduced rates. Incubator farmers will also receive continued guidance from experienced local farm mentors and Seed Farm staff.

This spring kicks off the twelfth season at The Seed Farm, and it promises to be the busiest season yet! They are thrilled to be hosting four new farms in their farm business incubator, as well as two new gardening initiatives. Their greenhouse is full of plants for next month’s Plant Sale, which will bring hundreds of community members out to the farm over the course of two weeks. And they just moved their production into previously unused fields in order to make room on the main site for their incubator farmers!

They are excited to introduce you to two of the entrepreneurs launching farms in their incubator this season:

Kegan Hilaire

Kegan is the owner/operator of Blackbird Farms, a brand-new, 4.5-acre, diversified vegetable farm. He will grow veggies and herbs for sale via a unique Farm Share program, at farmers’ markets, and to local restaurants. Kegan trained at the Rodale Institute in 2020 and has been working toward organic certification for his plot. One of his hopes for Blackbird Farms is that it will serve as “a hub for our local community to bond, (soon) gather, and eat!”

Michelle Wagner

Michelle is the owner/operator of the newly launched Rise and Root Farm, a small-scale vegetable farm prioritizing access to nutritious produce within food deserts in the Lehigh Valley. Michelle started out gardening, with a plot at her local community garden, and gained some additional experience in The Seed Farm’s CSA Workshare program.

Thanks to these introductory agricultural experiences, which Michelle calls her “saving grace through quarantine,” she decided to take her hobby a step further and launch a farm of her own!

Check our The Seed Farm and get started today!