Starting this week, dozens of young farmers-in-training from all over the Hudson Valley will begin convening weekly to learn more about their trade. CRAFT, or the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training, provides the means for supplementing on-farm training in a cooperative effort with a number of participating farms. A CRAFT visit is an operational tour, a talk or demonstration on a specific farm management topic, a networking opportunity for young farmers, and an occasion to socialize.
Mid-Hudson CRAFT is beginning its fourth year. This effort has been so successful that we drew participants from as far south as Queens! Since there was tremendous interest from our neighbors south of the Mid-Hudson area, this year marks the launch of Lower Hudson CRAFT: formed to support farm intern and apprentice training on operations ranging from the urban farms of New York City to farms in Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam Counties, and a few in western Connecticut.
I think I can speak for all of our participating farm managers when I note that we are committed to CRAFT and appreciate how its augments our farm training efforts. These visits have helped make a better farmer of me since my first involvement in a CRAFT group in 2000.
Please return to this blog for stories and updates on our CRAFT visits throughout the season. And if you are interested in joining us, be in touch!
The Mid Hudson CRAFT group has visits ranging from Ulster to Putnam Counties. If you would like to join Mid Hudson CRAFT, please contact Wendy Burkhart-Spiegel, Farm and Program Manager, Poughkeepsie Farm Project at wendy@farmproject.org.
The Lower Hudson CRAFT group has visits ranging from NY City to Putnam County. If you would like to join Lower Hudson CRAFT, please contact Maryellen Sheehan, Market Farmer, Hilltop Hanover Farm at mes9@westchestergov.com.
Dave Llewellyn is Glynwood’s CSA Manager.
This entry was posted on Monday, May 17th, 2010 at 12:18 pm and is filed under CRAFT. You can follow this blog through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
