Hi, I’m Kate Greenberg.  As the new Western Organizer for the National Young Farmers’ Coalition, I would like to extend warm greetings to everyone in the young farmer community!

As I dive into the first weeks in this position, I am already witness to the enthusiasm, hard-work, and innovation of young farmers and ranchers in the West. Our previous Western Organizer, Regina Fitzsimmons, left big shoes to fill as an advocate and a voice for young and beginning producers. I hope to live up to her work ethic and passion in making our needs and visions central to the future of agriculture.

I’m excited to get to know and work with many of you! In the mean time, here is a little about me. I graduated in 2009 from Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, with a degree in Environmental Studies-Humanities, and since then have lived and farmed in Vashon Island, WA, Tucson, AZ, and Napa Valley, CA. I am now based in Durango, CO, and over the next few months will be traveling throughout the Colorado Basin States to attend conferences, young farmer mixers, and to meet the farmers and consumers in our amazing region!

My passion for local food systems and sustainable agriculture began as an organic farm volunteer in college, and later as a farm apprentice. Since then I’ve worked on urban farms, rural vegetable operations and organic wineries, and have also held positions working with natural resource management and field-based education.

To my fellow farmers of the West: we face unique challenges and opportunities as young and beginning producers and I want your voice to be at the forefront of how NYFC, local communities, and state and federal governments can best assist you in your success over the long-term. I hope that as I travel the West I will have the opportunity to meet many of you—as an advocate, a resource, and a friend—and use our collective force to build exciting new opportunities for sustainable agriculture.

Looking forward to a fantastic year!