We are excited to welcome Young Farmer Nights of Rhode Island / Southeastern Massachusetts to our all-star directory of young and beginning farmer groups! 

YFN began as informal on-farm gatherings of like-minded folks and is now beginning its fourth season this year.

The idea behind the Young Farmer Nights is to build a community of young farmers, farm interns, and folks interested in food/farming in the southern New England area. It is a way to get to see and learn from one another and get off the farm for an evening. The model for each event (which move around to different farms in the RI/SE Mass area) is this:

Eat dinner together (usually potluck style), have a farm related activity (e.g. a tour the fields or a presentation on something that works well on the farm), and then hang out (e.g. bonfire or play cards).  The events are intended to start the process of developing a lasting community. Last season the connections and friends made at YFN led to collaboration such as: tool borrowing/trading, brainstorming on pest management, etc.

In 2013, the group plans to add more educational/discussion-type events to the schedule, in addition to the bi-weekly farm tour/potlucks.  The first panel discussion – entitled “Advocacy from the Experts” is tomorrow – check it out if you’re in the area!

Learn more about the group on the YFN web site.

Interested in organizing a group in your area?  Contact us at organize@youngfarmers.org for more info.