Kickstarter aims to grow organic farmers in northern NJ

With a few days to go, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey is halfway toward a $20,000 Kickstarter goal to help "grow" new organic farmers in the Garden State.

Specifically the money will fund much-needed scholarships through the group's Beginning Farmer Program, but only if the full amount is reached.

"If we do not reach the full Kickstarter goal, then we get zero money for a scholarship fund for beginning farmers," said Erica Evans, Beginning Farmer Program Coordinator for the Farming Association, "And there will be no scholarships available to new farmers for their education for the foreseeable future."

The scholarships help beginning farmers - someone who has operated a farm for less than 10 years - attend courses and conferences to help them get started. They also subsidize the cost of training for farmers and provide them access to production and business information.

The Kickstarter's donation rewards range from a flower pot with basil seeds to tickets to the group's annual Harvest Dinner and a personally cooked farm to table dinner.

As of last Thursday afternoon, the Kickstarter had exceeded $11,000, but the group will only receive the funding if the the full $20,000 goal is met by 10 a.m. May 14.

Due the costly investment of starting a farm and New Jersey's high cost of living, emerging farmers can't always afford to educate themselves about the farming business.

"Becoming a farmer from scratch in our state is really challenging," Evans said. "These programs new farmers attend on scholarship provide not only a knowledge base, but also a support network of other farmers and resources, which is super important for the local food economy."

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey previously received a Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Program grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which was used to launch the Beginning Farmer Program and fund the scholarships among other things.

But that grant ended in August 2014, and Evans said the Kickstarter was launched when the group found out how important the scholarships were to emerging farmers.

"New Jersey is one of the most expensive states to start a farm, and scholarships help the farmer defray the cost of their education. After seeing how many fewer beginning farmers were registering for programs like our Annual Winter Conference, we realized just how important scholarships are to new farmers," Evans said. "We talked to some farmers who have received scholarships in the past to see what they thought, and it was obvious that we needed to build a scholarship program regardless of grant fund availability to continue supporting new farmers in our state."

Evans said the Beginning Farmer Program fills a gap of new farmer education that was previously filled by parents and grandparents on a traditional agricultural career path. But because farming is no longer a widespread occupation, beginning farmers need classes, workshops, and conferences to learn the necessary skills.

"We are here to provide those learning opportunities," Evans said, "So that new farmers start out on their best foot with production and business skills they need to succeed."

The Northeast Organic Farming Association has worked with hundreds of farmers in New Jersey, including eight in Morris County, half of whom are beginning farmers.

The need for local farmers is only growing in the Garden State. According to the group, farmers markets in New Jersey have increased from 40 in 2000 to more than 140 this year.

Evans said there is a need for emerging farmers not just throughout New Jersey but the country in general.

"The average age of the U.S. farmer rises every year," Evans said. "And if we want to secure the future of our food we need to be creating more farmers."

"Please, back the campaign, share it with your friends, family, co-workers, and foodies in your life. The more the better," Evans said. "We've got a few days to ensure new farmers in New Jersey will have access to education for years to come."

Beginning farmers can request scholarships at http://www.nofanj.org/scholarships.htm.

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com

Go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nofanj/nofa-nj-growing-new-organic-farmers?ref=card to donate to help New Jersey organic farmers.