Brandon Family Farm was started in the summer of 2014 by Alby Brandon on leased land in West Kingston, Rhode Island. In 2015, they began to focus on Certified Organic Fruits and Vegetables, growing from 3 acres in 2015 to over 15 acres of production in 2019. In 2022, Alby’s wife Heather Brandon joined the farm full time. That same year, they were able to purchase a ten acre property down the street from their leased land. Today, they grow over 40 different kinds of organic fruits and vegetables and operate a popular Pick Your Own strawberry field.

Anna Jane Kocon owns Little State Flower Company, a 5 acre year round flower farm in Tiverton RI. Anna Jane has been professionally flower farming for 19 years, and her business is 11 years old. Along with a 2 acre heavily diversified home farm, she long term leases two other fields for her bulk production. The majority of her flowers are either sold through her bustling farmstand, or sold directly to her dedicated florist clientele.

Anna Pierce-Slive was deeply changed by working the earth over a decade ago and hasn't stopped since. She has gotten her hands dirty as the Garden Manager at the Esalen Institute’s Farm & Garden, was an apprentice and then assistant teacher at the University of California's Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems and was most recently the farm manager at Haley House’s Thornton Street Farm in Boston. Anna is the co-owner and co-founder of Revival Road Farm, successfully running all business and farming operations.

Barry Cohen and Courtney Rocha are co-owners at Walt's Farm. Courtney and Barry purchased Walt's Farm from the Westport Land Conservation Trust in the fall of 2021. They are slowly restoring a neglected orchard, blueberries, and highly depleted soil, while building a neighborhood customer base.

Benoit Azagoh-Kouadio lives and works as Garden Manager at Round the Bend Farm, a 115 acre non-profit working farm and sustainable education center in South Dartmouth, MA, dedicated to Valuing Diversity, Modeling Nature and Redefining Wealth. He is a survivor of Lyme disease and other tick borne-illnesses and a lifelong student, occasional teacher, and community practitioner of herbal medicine.

Calla Pederson is a second-year master’s student, studying sustainable agriculture and food systems at the University of Rhode Island. Born in New York to graduate students in the environmental sciences, and raised in a small town in rural Georgia, she credits her upbringing with instilling a deep sense of importance of and connection to nature and its rhythms. While Calla spent much of her life in nature and surrounded by conservationism, it wasn’t until an internship on a small organic-practicing farm and farm animal rescue that she fully recognized her passion for sustainable agriculture. Since then, she spent a semester studying sustainable agriculture in Denmark and Scandinavia and worked on an organic, low-till diversified vegetable and flower farm in South Carolina, before starting at URI in the fall of 2023. While at URI, she has conducted one season of field trials for her thesis on heat-tolerant broccoli varieties and built on her biology background, considering both the human and plant aspects of sustainable agriculture.

Camille started farming in 2013 at Little River Farm, which she managed until 2022. She acquired her dream property and farm house with her wife Devin in Warren in 2020. Long Lane Farm was started in 2023 with the goal to create a farm that can support a family and provide abundant produce to the surrounding community. All of Long Lane’s products are grown using organic and no-till practices. These practices and our attention to detail produce a high quality, delicious, and nutritious product.

Christina Russell-Ierardo is the owner of Wild Bean Flower Farm. She is 20 years old and has been an avid gardener since she was a child. In 2017, she began running her floral business out of her family's vineyard and winery. Wild Bean Flower Farm is a small, local flower farm in Westport, MA. She grows all the flowers from seeds and tubers in the spring to then create beautiful, fresh bouquets that are sold at her farm stand, a CSA program and local stores during summer months. Christina also provides services for weddings, special events and funerals year round!

Barry Cohen and Courtney Rocha are co-owners at Walt's Farm. Courtney and Barry purchased Walt's Farm from the Westport Land Conservation Trust in the fall of 2021. They are slowly restoring a neglected orchard, blueberries, and highly depleted soil, while building a neighborhood customer base.

Dee Levanti grows veg and plants at Ivory Silo Farm in Westport, MA and works with Land For Good as a Field Agent, deepening her understanding of the ongoing land challenges faced by farmers.

Derek Christianson grows vegetables at Brix Bounty Farm in Dartmouth, MA

Desiree Robertson-DuBois is a Senior Conservation Technical Specialist for American Farmland Trust. She assists farmers across the state, working hand in hand with NRCS, with grazing and forage management and implementation of conservation practices from NRCS contracts. Desiree started her farming career at Hampshire college in 1997 just before her graduation with a BA in Early American Women’s History. She spent the next twenty years specializing in starting successful diversified vegetable and livestock operations for CSA and direct market. Her focus has been on training young farmers, building community, and growing beautiful, delicious food while building healthy soils and enhancing habitat for ground-nesting birds and other wildlife. She continues to assist her family with the running of their farm business, Finicky Farm- a small ruminant flerd of goats/sheep that practices conservation and solar field grazing throughout Western and Central Massachusetts.

Ed Lowe, A Lifelong resident of Assonet and recently Retired Engineer has been Beekeeping since the "Turn of the Century". A Member of the Bristol County Beekeepers Association, Inc as well as many other Beekeeping Clubs throughout New England. Has been an Instructor for Bristol County Beekeepers, Beekeeping School, for over a dozen years. Keeps a total of 15 Hives in Apiaries in Assonet and Sconticut Neck Fairhaven.

Eduardo (Lalo) is the Associate Director for the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (New Entry) since August 2024. As an Associate Director, he helps to shape and carry out the strategic agenda of New Entry and works hand-in-hand with staff, consultants and partners to provide strategic leadership and management to different programs. Previously, Eduardo was the Hub Manager for the Yucatan Peninsula region in the Southeast of Mexico, with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). He also has experience working at a consultancy firm specialized in land and water management in the Netherlands, and conducting new product development with Pepsico Foods Mexico. He holds a Bachelor degree in Food Chemistry from La Salle University in Mexico and a Master of Science degree in Organic Agriculture from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Eduardo believes curiosity is a powerful driver for improvement. He enjoys cooking, eating and talking about food.

Jamie Pottern is the Senior New England Program Manager at American Farmland Trust. She works across New England to address land access barriers for farmers, protect farmland, and provide support to conservation organizations and communities. In Massachusetts, Jamie works closely with federal, state, and local partners to increase the pace and scope of farmland protection, access, and succession efforts. She is the co-author of AFT’s Farms Under Threat: A New England Perspective research report, which analyzes threats and opportunities for a more resilient and justice-driven agricultural system in New England. Prior to joining AFT in 2019, Jamie worked at Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust in north central Massachusetts as their Farm Conservation Program Manager. Jamie holds a Masters in Sustainable Landscape Planning & Design from The Conway School of Landscape Design and a BA from Brandeis University in Environmental Studies and International & Global Studies.

Jay Rosa is an Acquisition Planner with the MA Dept. of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) program. His regional focus is southern portions of the state including SE MA. The APR program aims to compensate landowners for permanent protection of their critical farmland resources. Prior to joining MDAR, Jay worked as a municipal and regional land use planner.

Julie Raymond is the dedicated farmer-florist behind Bittersweet Gardens, based on the South Shore of Boston. Cultivating a diverse array of blooms on less than half an acre, she supplies her thriving wedding floral business, which serves clients across Boston, Cape Cod, and Rhode Island. Julie also provides fresh flowers to the New England Wholesale Flower Exchange. With over 25 years of experience, she has masterfully refined her crop selections to align with the ever-evolving demands of the wedding industry.

I have spent 10+ years as a farmworker in organic vegetable production. Being a farm worker is often seen as transitional where the goal is to own and operate, but I prefer my position. It has been most stressful to navigate finances and long-term goals as there are very limited resources for Farm Labor. I have learned through experience about addressing needs with managers/owners in a respectful way, negotiating for personal time, utilizing MA resources for low-income people, and understanding that my body is my number one asset in this line of work so as an older (41yrs) farmer, I have to take care of that and plan for the future.

Lily Dias grew up on her family farm in Norton, MA and graduated from Bristol Aggie High School in 2021 where she studied large animal science . On the family farm, they raised beef cattle and other livestock. When she was old enough, she started showing her livestock through 4-H and since then has moved onto showing her beef cattle all over the country. Since aging out of 4-H, Lily took a big leap and turned the farm into a small business where she sells beef, pork, and eggs all raised on our farm in the hopes to provide her community with a local, high quality source of protein!

Lisa McKeag is an Educator with the UMass Extension Vegetable Program. She works with commercial vegetable growers throughout Massachusetts on topics such as Integrated Pest Management and Produce Safety, including understanding and meeting the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act. She is a co-editor and contributor to Extension’s Vegetable Notes newsletter and the New England Vegetable Management Guide and is a member of the New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference Steering Committee.

Lucía Cueto Kearney has worked in small-scale, sustainable agriculture for over a decade. She is a co-founder of the Wolf Tree Cooperative and the founder and farmer at Pea Shoot Farm LLC/Quinta Arvejita in Foster, RI. She’s especially interested in the ways in which farms can be sustainable not just for the environment but for farmers and communities as well.

Margie Brennan is a dedicated and innovative educator with over 22 years of experience in science education and curriculum development. She currently serves as the Science Instructional Coach and Curriculum Coordinator for Portsmouth Schools, where she designs and leads engaging, inquiry-based programs that connect classroom learning to real-world STEAM applications and career pathways. A key highlight of Margie’s work is her leadership in developing the Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm, a six-acre, student-led initiative that addresses food security while fostering hands-on learning in sustainability and agricultural science. Since its creation, the farm has produced over 2,000 pounds of food for local food banks and provided students with opportunities to explore environmental stewardship and innovative farming practices.

Matt’s previous farming experiences prepared him well for his role at SCLT, which he joined in early 2021. In the early 2000s, before robust support networks for urban farmers existed, Matt co-founded Red Planet Farm, one of the earliest independent urban market farms in the Providence area. He and his partner developed multiple city plots and rural fields into year-round market gardens, selling organic produce, eventually through Little City Co-op, which they founded with City Farm. While no longer farming full-time, Matt continues to work with NRICD and RI DEM to help secure land access for local farmers. Matt is also a visual artist whose work can be seen at www.matttracyart.com.

Melissa Adams is the Programs Manager for Farm Viability and Agricultural Business Assistance at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. Melissa manages the Department’s Farm Viability Programs, which are targeted to beginning farmers, established farmers, and owners of permanently protected farmland. These programs provide business planning, financial and technical assistance to participating farmers and $2.4 million in capital grants for farm improvements annually to increase the viability of Massachusetts farm businesses. She also manages Agricultural Business Assistance at the Department, offering a farm business plan course and farmer workshops & trainings, as well as assistance to senior farmers to help transfer their farm to the next generation. Melissa has more than 25 years of experience in agricultural and community planning. She has a B.S. in Business Management from Syracuse University and a Masters in Regional Planning with a concentration in Natural Resource Economics from UMass Amherst.

Mike Roberts is the co-owner of Roots Farm with his wife Kelli. Roots Farm is a 2 acre certified organic vegetable farm in Tiverton, RI. The diversified farm uses an intensive, year-round growing style with high tunnels and low tunnels that allows for maximum efficiency of the land acreage, while making a variety of nutrient dense crops available throughout the year.

Molly Cohen is a co-founder of Wolf Tree Cooperative, a consensus-driven intentional living community developed in coexistence with Pea Shoot Farm/Quinta Arvejita. Through her professional role as co-founder and COO of Advancing Agency, she partners with social impact organizations to develop collaborative, values-aligned solutions to systemic challenges. Her experience spans both the practical aspects of alternative land access models and strategic partnership development in and beyond the food system.

Presenter Myrna Greenfield is the “Top Egg” at Good Egg Marketing, a Boston-based provider of business planning and marketing services for farms and food-related enterprises. Greenfield is the author of “Marketing Your Farm: A practical guide to attracting loyal customers and increasing sales.”

Nate brings a unique blend of experience amassed from more than 20 years of work in the education, non-profit, and agriculture sectors. His unique skill set will help to strengthen Grow Education’s reach and impact as school gardening programs expand and deepen across the Southcoast. He was most recently working with Round the Bend Farm where he wore many hats over nine years; working with land-based farming systems, community building, sustainable design and construction, beekeeping, and finally as the Education Manager leading field trips, presentations, tours, workshops, professional development, service learning, overnight camps, and curriculum development. He spent several years teaching and running afterschool and summer programs in Seattle and moved back to the east coast after completing a three-year pilot with Seattle Public Schools and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that focused on school and community partnership collaboration and alignment.

Nick Riolo is a 20-year-old traditional blacksmith from Bellingham, MA. He began his craft in
early 2019 at the age of 14. Today, he specializes in crafting high-quality, custom
goods, ranging from simple decorations to heirloom tools. He does this while continuing his
academic and vocational journey as a traditional tradesman and artist. He graduated from
Norfolk Aggie High School in 2022, majoring in horticulture, and later attending college for IT with a concentration in cybersecurity.

Nick Wildman is a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP) and the Executive Director of the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust. His responsibilities extend to every part of the Trust’s mission, “to preserve and protect Dartmouth’s natural resources for people and the environment, forever”. Prior to joining the DNRT, Nick was the Dam Removal Practice Lead for the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration. In that role, Nick led the removal of 20 dams and consulted on another 20 river and wetland restoration projects. Nick holds a Master’s degree from Duke University and Bachelor’s from the University of Maine at Machias. He lives in New Bedford with his wife and two children.

Paul Gove is the sixth generation at Gove Farm, growing fruits and vegetables and selling retail to the public. Everything they sell through their farmstand, they grow on their farm. The farm has been hosting foreign exchange students since 1992 and has had many experiences, both amazing and challenging. With many years of J1 hosting he can help you learn if this program would be a fit for your farm.

Marine Resource Specialist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Sea Grant and Barnstable County’s Cape Cod Cooperative Extension.

Rich has been the City Farm Steward at Southside Community Land Trust since 2003 and is continually trying to maintain a supportive and fun learning environment while demonstrating how to grow mega amounts of produce, safely, in the city. He proudly boasts that he was the first farmer in this area to bring garlic scapes to the farmers market. Rich is a founding member of the Little City Growers Co-op and the Southside Market Collaborative. He loves his work.

Ridge is a nationally renown regenerative grazier of 40 years and author of “Grass-fed Beef for a Post Pandemic World”. NGBI recently received a grant from Ocean Hour Farm to implement a regenerative hides initiative. Geoff is a regenerative grazier offering mobile grazing services and operating specifically in Dartmouth and Westport, MA for the past 15 years. Soil health strategies, Grazing strategies, Fencing, Irrigation, Animal Transport, Economics.

Finicky Farm is owned and operated by the Robertson-DuBois family, based in Northfield Massachusetts. We are passionate about raising our livestock with respect and in a manner that benefits both the animals and the soil they graze on. Jesse and Desiree have been managing diversified livestock flerds for over 20 years and Elspeth since she was big enough to drag electric netting and turn a breech lamb. Together, this farm team works together to build and rebuild pasture systems that provide renewable energy and high quality meats for their local communities.

Sam Corcoran, PhD, is the manager of the UMass Extension Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Lab and an instructor for the Stockbridge School of Agriculture. Her research areas include crop production, nutrient management, and soil health.

Sharon Hoskins started Brilliant Dahlia Flower Farm in 2020 after retiring from a 24 year career in federal law enforcement. She was an avid gardener for over 20 years and took her experience to the next level by taking Floret Flowers on-line workshop which jump started her business. The farm specializes in flower subscriptions, special occasion pieces, wholesale and farm stand sales and several workshops throughout the growing season which now runs almost year round with high tunnel growing and indoor tulip and lily forcing. In 2024, the farm trialed several Pick- Your -Own events and will be bringing them back in 2025. The farm strives to have healthy soil and healthier pollinators, using no-till methods as well as practicing organic farming. Sharon lives with her husband, Erik and their three children in Rehoboth, MA. on their 13 acre farm.

Siedric White brings over 20 years of diverse experience in farming and hospitality. In addition to sitting on the board of the renowned Urban Farming Institute and establishing several urban farm sites in the greater Boston area, Siedric has made his mark on dozens of fine-dining restaurants and worked as the founding chef at Fresh Food Generation. Siedric brings extensive culinary knowledge and passion to farming and farm-marketing endeavors. Siedric is the co-owner and co-founder of Revival Road Farm, successfully running all business and farming operations.

Steve Hadcock is the Team Leader for the CCE Capital Area Agricultural and Horticulture Program. Steve focuses on agricultural entrepreneurship with new and beginning agricultural (or ag-related) businesses. He provides education and one-on-one technical assistance to individuals who aspire to start their businesses. Steve also provides technical assistance and business and market development education for any farm or small-scale food process, regardless of how long they have been in business. Steve’s interest and passion for farming started at age 10 when he visited a dairy farm near his home and participated in various 4H projects, including dairy cattle production. He attended SUNY Cobleskill and Cornell University and received a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. Upon graduation, he was employed by Cornell Cooperative Extension and has been an Extension Educator for over 40 years.

Sue Scheufele is an educator and researcher with the UMass Extension Vegetable Program where she works with growers and conducts research to improve vegetable production and pest management on organic and conventional farms. As the state IPM coordinator, she works closely with fruit and cranberry Extension staff to address the needs of commercial specialty crop producers and increase IPM implementation across commodities and across Massachusetts.

Tiferet Rose hails from Cambridge, MA and has been involved in farming since she interned at Drumlin Farm in 2002. She currently teaches Science to 4th and 5th graders in Providence, RI and serves on the leadership board for the Seed to Seed Farm School. Seed to Seed (S2S) Farm School’s mission is to educate the next generation of growers while helping to reduce labor costs for established farmers. We aspire to be a regional hub for educational courses, workshops, and on-farm research for organic and real regenerative practices.

Tyler Hertzwig is the Environmental Scientist I, and the program lead for the Farm Ecology Program at the Rhode Island Department of Environment Management, Division of Agriculture and Forestry. In this role since 2021, he oversees four state programs. These include being the State Apiary Inspector, the lead for the Division of Agriculture’s Farmland Designation Program under Rhode Island’s Farm, Forest, and Open Space Program, the lead for the Deer Damage Program and lastly, the lead for the Agricultural Composting Facility Permitting Program. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Salve Regina University in Newport Rhode Island.