Farming for the City
Decline in New Farmers and Loss of Connections with Farms
There are limited opportunities for young people to learn how to become organic farmers, which is a threat to hopeful movements toward a food system based in sustainable agriculture. The Mid-Hudson Valley and greater Poughkeepsie area are examples of the kind of rapid suburbanization that results in loss of farmland, farmers, and a connection to our land and local food sources. In the PFP’s experience, it is through 
connections to land and local food sources that informed constituencies emerge who understand the importance of local agriculture and make choices to protect sustainable farms. According to the most recent statistics reported by the USDA, the proportion of farmers who are over age 55 has increased dramatically since the 1950s, reaching over 61%, while the proportion of farmers under age 35 has halved since the mid-twentieth century, reaching an all-time low of 8% in 1997, and less than 6% in some states.
Similarly, the proportion of the population engaged in agriculture in the Mid-Hudson Valley has declined in recent years, as has the share of younger farmers. Some individuals posit that, with increasingly scarce energy resources, the markets for agriculture will need to shift from global to regional and local, requiring many millions of new farmers. An aging farmer population coupled with a growing demand for skilled organic farmers who participate in local food systems makes it critical that young people are provided with opportunities to gain the skills to pursue sustainable agriculture as a vocation.
The PFP: An Urban Farm in a Threatened Agriculture Region
The PFP is uniquely situated to raise awareness about and address these issues directly. We operate a 10 acre “rural-style” vegetable farm using sustainable practices. The PFP is located in an urban context – within the boundaries of the City of Poughkeepsie, the farm is only a couple of miles from densely populated downtown areas of a small city with a rich racial and ethnic diversity, poverty levels twice the national rate, diet-related health issues and limited access to fresh food. Agriculture in our region is threatened by development, even as there is a burgeoning demand for local food.
Farming for the City
Responding to this demand, Farming for the City trains future farmers who become well-versed in sustainable farming production and local distribution methods that are responsive to concerns of public, environmental and community health. This can have a tremendous beneficial impact on our food system. We believe that training future farmers and thereby investing in building human capacity to ensure access to sustainable food into the future will address problems that stem from the existing food system, including over-reliance on scarce energy resources, nutrition- and diet-related health crises, harm to the environment and disintegrating communities. PFP trains future farmers to be skilled growers who are poised to influence beneficial change in the food system. Alumni of the PFP have gone on to make a significant difference in the food system by producing and promoting access to ecologically, economically and socially sustainable food.
Intensive Internships
Farming for the City offers a number of intensive internship opportunities each season that providing training for future farmers in the practice of sustainable agriculture and issues in the food system. Full season apprentices focus on extensive farm training with responsibility for green house, planting, cultivation (by hand and with tractor), harvest, supervising crews and volunteers, managing a CSA distribution, and supporting PFP farm-based education and programs. Summer Community Food Fellows focus on farm-based education, distributing food through an urban farmers' market and special projects while learning about farming.
Experiential and Hands-On Learning in Context
Training consists of informal on-farm workshops; visits to / workshops on other farms (through the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training - CRAFT) in the Mid-Hudson Valley (as part of a collaboration we coordinate) and in Eastern NY and Western MA (as part of a collaboration we participate in); and opportunities to apply learning in a hands-on way through direct work experiences on the farm, in the City of Poughkeepsie and in the surrounding region. Training enhances interns’ knowledge and skills in the areas of:
- Sustainable Food Production Practices and Models [including topics like Greenhouse
Management; Preparing the Ground, Transplanting, Irrigation and Harvesting; Tractor Use, Safety and Maintenance; Weed Control and Mechanical Cultivation; Cover Cropping, Soil Management and Soil Health; Composting and Vermiculture; Organic Pest Control; Seed Saving; Diversification; Beekeeping, Orchards, Chickens and Dairy; Grazing, Livestock and Draft Horses] - Local Food Distribution [including topics like Season Extension, Direct and Winter Marketing; Business Planning and Management; Starting up a Small Scale Farm; Managing a CSA; Selling at a Mixed-Income Farmers’ Market; Facilitating Access to Fresh and Quality Food for Low-Income Families]
- Farm-Based Community Outreach and Issues in our Food System [including topics like Building a Just Urban Food System; Integrating Education and Outreach into Production Agriculture; the US Farm Bill; Hunger in the US; Dynamics of Food, Poverty and Racism; Leading Meaningful Work; Conflict Management and Resolution; Working with Urban Youth]
“Farm Structure: Questions and Answers.” Economic Research Service. 2002. United States Department of Agriculture. 3 March 2009. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/farmstructure/Questions/aging.htm. 1997 is the most recent year for which the USDA has reported these statistics.
For example, Richard Heinberg, an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on ecological issues and who argues that we will need 40 to 50 million new farmers in the US in order to transition away from fossil-fueled agriculture.
