Incubator Farm Program Set to Debut in Hillsborough, NJ

In collaboration with Duke Farms, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey (NOFA-NJ) is launching an incubator farm that will create a network of solutions to a complex issue -- too few beginning farmers and not enough access to farmland. The goal is to once again make small-scale farming a viable profession in New Jersey.

“We are thrilled to offer this new program,” said Eve Minson, Beginning Farmer Program coordinator. “The Incubator Farm is basically a low-risk opportunity for a new farmer to launch a business. Through this three-year program, he or she will have access to land and a chance to test out a business model on a small-scale, build up capitol, graduate onto his or her own land and run a successful business.” Application information on the Beginning Farmer Program will be available later this year and farming will get underway in 2013.

This project was supported by the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Grant #2011-49400-30739.

For more information, visit the NOFA-NJ website at < www.nofanj.org >.