2025 Small Farms Summit: NYC Mushroom Gathering

We hope you will join us for the 2025 New York Small Farms Summit: Stronger Together! This is an opportunity to meet other farmers and ag supporters, learn about research and education projects, and set priorities for future efforts to grow small farm success. This is one of eight sites hosting the Summit across New York State. You can view all of the sites on the Summit homepage.

Small farms are managed by diverse people integrating multiple enterprises to meet personal, local, environmental, and food systems goals. The Cornell Small Farms Program is dedicated to uplifting small-scale farming as a dignified and viable livelihood by providing intentional, innovative, and inclusive services. We envision a future where small farms are valued, respected, and supported for the vital role they play in creating a stronger and more resilient food system. 

We often host listening sessions to hear directly from farmers about their challenges and needs. The NY Small Farms Summits create regional gatherings of small-scale farmers and service providers who work together to analyze challenges and prioritize responses to improve small farm success. 

This one-day Summit will bring together farmers, extension educators, university faculty, and other service providers at multiple sites across the state. Select locations will focus on different topics and farming communities. Each summit site will connect virtually in the morning to hear from agricultural leaders in New York State. Subsequent in-person conversations will explore topics on small farm entrepreneurship, resilience, support networks, and priorities moving forward.

The Mushroom Summit will take place at 570 Lexington Ave in NYC. We will convene a regional network of mushroom farmers and educators from indoor, outdoor, and community production systems; restaurateurs, food creatives and chefs; and extension, government and industry representatives. This diverse group will work together to determine grower research and marketing needs, interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities, and community building initiatives. Group conversations and presentations will be structured around value added products, frontiers in mycology research, and peer-to-peer learning.

This Summit is free to attend, with lunch provided and refreshments served throughout the day. Therefore, seating will be limited, and we will open a wait list once registration is filled.

We look forward to meaningful engagement and conversations focused on how we can be stronger together as we build a future for mushroom farmers across the region.