New Co-op Farmland Project
(In various stages of consideration and development in NY, MA, NH, and ME)
Cooperative farming is based on the development of an interconnected group of cooperatively owned and managed diversified “modern” farms. NEFA is currently identifying and organizing a cohort of farm-seekers with complementary skills and aspirations to participate in a multi-farmer operation, convening vegetable, livestock, ag-educational and/or ag-tourism or other enterprises.
As innovative as this approach is, it harkens to the traditional patterns of farmer cooperation and mutual support characteristic of times when enough farmers, tractors, technical advisers and engaged consumers were woven together into a system and economy that was sustainable through scale and diversity.
The model assists in efficient use of natural and financial resources, creates opportunities for farmers to be profitable, accommodates farmer mobility and builds equity and benefit from secure tenure. For some farm-seekers and some farms, this model is the approach that takes advantage of opportunities and manages risk in the most socially, physically and financially sustainable ways.
