Urban Agriculture Farm Business Management

What is an “Emerging Farmer”?

“Emerging Farmers” include historically underserved communities including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, immigrants, women, veterans, persons with disabilities, young and beginning farmers, LGBTQ+ farmers, and others. As our Emerging Farmer Legislative Report describes, there’s value in taking this inclusive and intentional approach:

The term reflects the diversity and intersectionality of farmers, and the way that barriers affect multiple communities at the same time.Using the term “emerging” farmer helps to frame the conversation around the shared experiences of many communities within the conversation.

“Emerging” refers to something that is starting to exist, or something which is just beginning to be noticed. In this regard, Emerging Farmers encompasses both those individuals who are entirely new to farming as well as those individuals who have been farming for generations but were outside the scope of traditional state and Federal agricultural support programming.