Editor’s Letter, Spring 2023
Dear farmers and friends,
Over the last few years, the Cornell Small Farms Program has been growing in both staff and program areas. With this growth comes an invitation to also reflect on how we must to plan ahead to meet future needs. What are the emerging opportunities and challenges that our small-scale farmers will face?
To prepare, we are leaning into a strategic planning process. Just as you make a plan to invest your time and resources to meet your business goals, we too must think carefully about how we invest to best support you.
Over the next month, we will be hosting several focus groups with different groups of farmers and educators. We will be asking these folks to tell us about hopes and challenges and to learn possible directions and priorities for the Program. In April, we will be taking all of this information into a staff retreat, where we will reimagine the program, our vision, and future directions.
As the plan starts to emerge, I will be inviting you to review and comment on different possible directions. Your feedback will help us direct our energies in ways to best grow a vibrant small farm sector.
As always, we are in this together.
Anu Rangarajan
Director of the Cornell Small Farms Program
