Ithaca, New York’s Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming gives beginning farmers the tools they need to start a profitable, ecologically sound agricultural business. The center helps individuals develop the necessary agricultural skills for a thriving, equitable, and sustainable new farm. It provides everything from sustainable workshops on topics like soil health, water usage, and animal welfare to business planning courses and one-to-one guidance — and a hands-on Incubator Farm.
“We offer different types of support for people who want to connect to the land and connect to farming,” Juliana Quaresma, executive director, told Ithaca Week. “We also prioritize people of color, people with disadvantaged backgrounds, and try to diversify and promote equity in the food system.”
Photo Courtesy Groundswell Center
Ithaca is located in New York’s Finger Lakes area, which is still abundant in a diversity of farms and small enterprises. Historically, the area focused on peach and apple orchards, maple sugar bushes, and various grains.
At the Center’s Incubator Farm, each grower is given a quarter-acre plot of land, including a walk-in vegetable cooler, an indoor-outdoor vegetable washing station, a storage shed, a kitchen station, and an outdoor classroom.
The goal is to get people back to the land in a region that was historically dominated by the agricultural community. All farming at the center is done organically, focusing on soil health.
“Organic management simply means the absence of chemicals in all your operations, from soil building to harvesting,” Yao Foli, farm manager, told Ithaca Week. “I make sure the farm is tidy, and I work with a curriculum we designed together to also educate our students on why we chose organic management systems.”
“That is where one of our major strengths is when we work with new students,” he continued. “For them to understand that nature, on its own, is a symbiosis with all other elements and can grow healthy food for all.”
Photo Courtesy Groundswell Center
Many growers who participate in the Incubator Farm share their harvest with their families and even local restaurants and communities. This outgrowth is a core tenant of Groundswell — “healthy food for all” — and the hope is that the program will help fight food insecurity and continue to strengthen the relationship between businesses and farmers in the region.
Application submittal for the 2024 Incubator Farm program ended on March 1.
Workshops and tours are also available, focusing on technical farming skills, land management, food production, tool and equipment use, herbalism, livestock husbandry, and more.
The sessions are open to people of all experience levels, including gardeners, aspiring farmers, and experienced agricultural business owners. Interested participants must commit to farming the given land and show respect for it.
Photo Courtesy Groundswell Center
The Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming is a great example of an organization working to strengthen local and sustainable food systems. From teaching about farming business to hands-on growing at the Incubator Farm, the Center is changing lives by training the next generation of sustainable growers in the Finger Lake region.
