Northeast Farm Access, LLC, is glad to welcome Michelle Hughes as its Program Coordinator, with oversight of both the Copake and Chester Agricultural Center projects in New York State. Michelle Hughes has been creating programs that increase knowledge, collaboration and equity across all levels of the food system for nearly 15 years.
As the Director of the New Farmer Development Project in New York City, Michelle helped to establish nineteen new immigrant-owned and -operated farms on a combined 400 acres. She brings her experience developing and delivering participatory farmer-education programs, Spanish translation and interpretation skills, and a deep respect for the wisdom of nature to NEFA’s work. Michelle holds a BS in Conservation Ecology and Agroecology, is a board member of the National Young Farmers Coalition and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of NY, and dreams of running a flock of East Friesian sheep.
IN HER OWN WORDS: A MESSAGE FROM MICHELLE
I was honestly thrilled–though there was also an element of the inevitable—when Bob asked me to join the NEFA team in November 2014, in the capacity of program coordinator for the Chester and Copake Agricultural Centers.
I met Bob over a year ago when NEFA was just a tiny seed, and I was just beginning to think a little deeper about alternatives to the prevailing models of land tenure and access. After working for nearly 10 years with beginning immigrant farmers, I had seen many of the challenges, pitfalls and heartbreaks of finding and keeping the right farmland. And so I could see the incredible potential of an idea like NEFA…but could it work??
It has been truly amazing to watch NEFA grow and the Copake Center take shape so quickly, and just a few miles from my home. Most heartening is hearing and feeling the farmers’ satisfaction at having 30-year leases, and seeing how Copake residents have rallied around this new presence in the heart of their town. I think we are just beginning to see the myriad benefits that will emerge from this new model. So even though my professional interests had veered off of late more in the direction of food access, it seems that I have been called back to the land.
What is most exciting to me, and what really sealed the deal, is that the Ogden Foundation, the lead investors in the Chester Agricultural Center, are committed to developing programming there that will create greater farmer and farmworker equity. I have been facilitating the development of this effort, and am looking forward to continuing to find ways to increase participation, recognition and capabilities for both farmers and farmworkers in Chester and at other NEFA Centers.
I also hope to be a general resource for the farmer lessees—assisting with labor issues, but also supporting business plan development, expediting access to USDA programs and more. I will also be facilitating communication and looking for new ways to bring farmers, investors, NEFA staff and the wider community together with each other and with the land.
I will keep you posted as this programming takes shape over the next few months. And please contact me in the meantime with any questions and ideas.
–Michelle Hughes, michelle [at] nefarmaccess [dot] com
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