September 18, 2012

UMass steps up to meet the demand

For evidence of farming’s increasing popularity, look no further than Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2000, when the school launched its sustainable food and farming program, 10 students were enrolled. Today, the program has 75 students, about 25 in the two-year associate’s degree program and 50 pursuing a four-year bachelor of science.

Stockbridge, with a total enrollment of about 329 students, also offers majors in areas such as horticulture and turfgrass management.

Not everyone who goes through the sustainable program ends up in farming. “About a third of our students are looking at small farms,” says John Gerber, a professor at the Stockbridge School. “But a third are looking at public policy and advocacy, and about a third are looking at youth education. Growing things is what we know best, but the students are broadening how we think about agricultural education.”

Keith Boyle, 22, is one recent Stockbridge graduate who started farming before the ink on his diploma was dry. At 14, the East Bridgewater native began working for cranberry grower Peter Oakley, at first reluctantly, and then with great enthusiasm. He attended Norfolk County Agricultural High School and then Stockbridge.

When a small bog came on the market a couple of years ago, Oakley purchased it and held it for Boyle until last spring, when he was able to buy it, thanks to an interest-free loan from UMass’s Lotta Crabtree fund and another loan from Oakley.

“The loan went through in April, so before I graduated, I had the property,” Boyle recounts proudly.

As of this summer, the 94-year-old UMass agriculture program has been elevated to a full academic unit, with its own faculty and education offered up to the doctorate level and a new Undergraduate Agricultural Learning Center in the offing.

“UMass has decided this is a growth area,” says Gerber, “and the Stockbridge School is growing.”

——————————

JANE DORNBUSCH

Images added by J. Gerber

Today was the kick-off of a long-term commitment from the Big Y grocery store in Hadley, MA to sell produce grown by UMass students in the Student Farming Enterprise class.  UMass instructors, Amanda Brown and Ruth Hazzard, were out in front of the store today with several of their students displaying fresh vegetables grown at the Student Farm.

Please check out this short video about the partnership with the Big Y World Class Market!

2012 Marks the 6th season of the UMass Student Farming Enterprise program at UMass. SFE began in the fall of 2007 with two students growing kale and broccoli through an independent study project to sell to the UMass Earthfoods Cafe.  In spring 2008, the farming enterprise project was established as a year-long university class.  This year the farm will increase production again to allow more students to participate in the course and serve more diverse local markets.

The class is sponsored by the Stockbridge School of Agriculture and currently listed under the title PLSOILIN 498E – Student Farming Enterprise.  The project has received support from the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, UMass Auxiliary Services, and the Sustainable Food and Farming program.

The Student Farming course is limited to 10 students (there is one opening remaining for this semester), and takes place both on and off campus.  Students are responsible for identifying markets for the produce, planning out in advance for the crops, visiting farms in the immediate area, managing plants in the greenhouse, using market strategies to achieve desired yields, and learning farming methods.  All produce grown is United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic.

In addition to selling to the Big Y, student farmers sell produce to the UMass Dining Services and directly to customers through their Friday afternoon farmers market in the UMass Student Union as well as a membership CSA.  In the fall of 2012, the Student Farming Enterprise will offer 50 shares of local, organic produce to the UMass community. Members include students, faculty, and staff.  Shares include over 15 pounds of fresh weekly organic produce over a 10 week period (September through November). The cost of a share is $325 for the season.  Anyone interested in purchasing a share may contact the student farmers at studentfarm.enterprise@gmail.com

For more on the UMass Student Farming Enterprise class, see this short video:

For information on the project, contact Amanda Brown at studentfarm.enterprise@gmail.com.

As many of you know, the Stockbridge School of Agriculture has always offered exciting programs.  However, Over the last couple of months, significant changes have occurred which will make it even better than before. These changes are born out of a committee appointed to review agricultural education at UMass and develop approaches to strengthen all agricultural work at UMass. A refocus of agricultural efforts is now the main effort as a result of this review.

The approach that we began about 1.5 years ago was to elevate the Stockbridge School of
Agriculture to a full academic unit with a faculty, education offered at all levels from A.S. to Continue reading Exciting Time at the UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture →