Posts by Nicole Waters

Nicole is the Beginning Farmer Project Coordinator for the Cornell Small Farms Program. Her work focuses on the human side of farming, with the day-to-day operations of the Labor Ready Project as her main priority. Trained in organizational communication, leadership, and English as a Second Language (ESL); Nicole’s work aims to foster healthy and positive working environments through professional development programs.
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Futuro Project Continues Summer Outreach with Suffolk County Visit

By Nicole Waters / August 1, 2022

“Ask Long Islanders, we live for this time of year,” Vanessa Lockel, executive director of CCE Suffolk, stated as we drove past the spectacular scenery of Eastern Long Island farm fresh vegetable stands, fields of sunflowers, vineyards, and orchards all in peak season glory. The mid-July visit to the region by our Futuro project team…

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Spanish-First Field Day Celebrates Latino Community Leadership, Spirit and Contribution to WNY Apple Industry

By Nicole Waters / July 13, 2022

Year to year, New York State harvests more than 1.2 billion pounds of apples, cares for more than 1.6 million apple trees, and farms more than 55,000 acres that provide fresh, nutritious apples to more than 68 million people around the country. A huge portion of this effort is due to the massive contribution of…

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Spanish-Language Field Days Grow in Western New York and Beyond

By Nicole Waters / June 3, 2022

Join the Cornell Small Farms Program, CCE Lake Ontario Fruit Program, and NYS Integrated Pest Management for a Spanish-language field day!  By Mildred Alvarado, Nicole Waters, Mario Miranda Sazo, Alejandro Calixto, Hannah Rae Warren [Vea este artículo en Español] These days, the busy season never seems to stop. Luckily, neither does the collaboration between the Cornell…

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Call for Applications: Farm Financial Peer Learning Circles

By Nicole Waters / January 21, 2022

Assess Your Farm Business Health within a Farm Financial Peer Learning Circles The Cornell Small Farms Program and Cornell Cooperative Extension are teaming up with farmers in New York State to analyze farm finances and have productive, honest discussions about the state of the farm business and opportunities for improving financial outcomes.  We are currently…

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SFQ Fruit tour presentation Mario Sazo

Celebrating the Success of NYS LatinX Agriculture Leaders & Entrepreneurs

By Nicole Waters / January 10, 2022

As the Winter season approaches, we are sharing information on existing and upcoming programs and we welcome the opportunity for collaboration and adaptation to all NYS growers, producers, and service providers. By Nicole Waters, Alejandro Calixto, and Mario Miranda Sazo Puede leer este artículo en español aquí. What Mario Miranda Sazo began in 2015 as…

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Our Team is Growing: Now Hiring Farmer Veteran Program Assistant

By Nicole Waters / November 8, 2021

The Cornell Small Farms Program team is continuing to grow, and we are hiring! We are excited to share that the application is now open for our newest team member, Farmer Veteran Program Assistant. Through the efforts of the Farm Ops project to support military veterans entering into farming as a career, our farmer audience…

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How We’re Building a Strong NYS Agricultural Industry with Current and Future Programs

By Nicole Waters / October 1, 2021

As the Winter season approaches, we would like to share information on existing and upcoming programs currently available to fruit producers. We welcome the opportunity for collaboration and adaptation to NYS’s vegetable producers and service providers. The Cornell Small Farms Program is currently recruiting for the Winter 2022 Futuro Financiero course! The Futuro Financiero course…

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Join Our Team: Now Hiring Bilingual Program Coordinator

By Nicole Waters / August 6, 2021

The Cornell Small Farms Program is hiring! We are excited to share the application for our newest team member, Bilingual Program Coordinator. Through the efforts of the Labor Ready Project and the successful Master Class Program, our farmer audience has grown to include many Spanish-first farmers. We aim to welcome new farmers and expand our Spanish…

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Sergio and Silvia Rosario participated in the Master Class series, then applied for a Smart Farming Team grant, gaining access to a small team of Spanish-speaking agricultural consultants to further their financial skills sets in support of their farm business.

What it Means to Join a Smart Farming Team

By Nicole Waters / April 5, 2021

Two farms’ stories of building new skill sets while also building community.  The Smart Farming Team initiative has become one of the most impactful elements of the Labor Ready Project. Offering farm business owners the time and space necessary to address specific challenges facing their farm businesses, New York State producers worked in teams to build critical…

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Labor Ready Project Shares Farmers’ Stories

By Nicole Waters / March 12, 2021

Our Labor Ready project seeks to enhance the efficiency and overall success of NYS fruit and vegetable farm businesses through professional development for Ag managers, with a special emphasis on creating opportunities for growth and career development for aspiring Latinx farm employees. In a new video series, we highlight the experience of two NYS farmers…

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