About

The Cornell Small Farms Program was established in 2001 as a program of Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) to increase research and extension for small farms.

We support farmers at all phases of farm business development.

In the years since, the Cornell Small Farms Program has engaged in research and extension projects focused on small farm viability by working collaboratively with a network of CALS faculty and staff, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) educators, and other small farm advocates throughout New York.

These partnerships have helped our program offer an increasingly dynamic set of programming to engage farmers of all enterprises and experience levels. Thousands of farmers participate in our online courses, in-person trainings, and other programming each year.

We commit to ensuring, to the greatest extent possible, that our time, energy, and financial resources are committed equitably to all people. We will continue to be actively engaged and involved in relationship building, collaboration, and support of efforts to build diverse, equitable and just food systems. Read more about this commitment in our Equity and Justice Statement.

person watering plots in field at robbins farm

Our Vision

We envision a future where diverse and vibrant urban and rural farms build human capacity, revitalize communities, supply regional food systems, and foster ecological resilience in a changing world.

Our Mission

We help farmers get expert assistance to facilitate all phases of small farm business development, from initial growth to optimization to maturity.

Our Work

We foster research, extension, and education projects that support and encourage the sustainability of diverse, thriving small farms.

History of the Cornell Small Farms Program

Interactive timeline coming soon...

Cornell Small Farms Program Staff

Anu Rangarajan

Program Director

Bailey Colvin

Veterans Project Associate

Erica Frenay

Course Coordinator and Livestock Specialist

Jamie Johnson

Multimedia Assistant

Kacey Deamer

Communications Manager

Kara Peet

Online Course Coordinator

María José Oviedo

Bilingual Agricultural Educator

Mildred Alvarado

Futuro en Ag Coordinator

Molly Riordan

Urban Agriculture Specialist

Nicole Waters

Beginning Farmer Project Coordinator

Nina Saeli

Veterans Project Associate

Sarah Bassman

Extension Aide

Suly Valdez

Bilingual Agricultural Educator

Tim W. Shenk

Bilingual Communications Specialist

Violet Stone

Project Coordinator

Current Student Interns

Clara Tagliacozzo-Lee
Edwin Santana
Sammi Lin
All Interns

Key Partners

CCE plays a key role in our program's work, from educators leading a majority of our online courses to collaborating on some of our projects. Learn more by clicking the logo above.
CALS faculty and staff work with our program on research and extension projects focused on small farm viability. Learn more by clicking the logo above.

Project Partners

A complete list our partner network is coming soon. For now, you can see project partners on each project page.

Advisory Committee

Coming soon...