Meet our newest NYFC affiliate– Young Farmer Nights of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts!

Young Farmer Nights (YFN) was formed to build a community of young farmers, farm interns, and folks interested in food/farming in the southern New England area.  YFN organizes every event with an educational component, but the organization’s main goal is to create friendships that lead to real and meaningful communities and collaboration.  We are thrilled to announce that YFN has officially joined the ranks of NYFC’s affiliates.

NYFC affiliates bring beginning farmers together to overcome – through collaboration, skill-sharing, advocacy, and community building – the barriers they face in starting a farming career.  To accomplish this, we are working with farmers across the country to build a unified national young farmer movement.  We welcome YFN into the vibrant NYFC community!

Are you part of an existing young farmer network? Or are you interested in organizing a chapter in your area? Email organizing@youngfarmers.org for more information.

A local young farmers’ chapter is important because it:

• Builds and strengthens community
• Provides opportunities for new friendships and business relationships
• Offers cost-sharing opportunities for seed or equipment, price negotiation, and labor pooling, a.k.a. “crop mobs”
• Creates a venue for continuing education, mentorship, and open dialogue
• Offers young and beginning farmers and ranchers a collective voice in their community and nationally
• Provides a platform for advocacy and greater traction with elected officials

Starting an NYFC chapter is a way of gathering strength for the future of farming. It gives you a voice in Washington, D.C. through the national coalition; and it gives you a voice at your Main Street restaurants, farmers’ markets, and with your local representatives.