SAHC Community Farm

Volunteers from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville’s Center for Leadership and Service worked on the Discovery Trail, helping to create a section of accessible trail on the farm property.

Conservation • Education • Celebration

SAHC’s 140-acre Community Farm hosts beginning farm businesses, educational workshops, and service learning experiences. It’s a working model that blends productive agriculture and responsible land management with educational opportunities and community engagement. Contact us for more info about the programs, event space, or opportunities to visit the farm (by appointment).

The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program has awarded a $600,000 grant over three years to support Beginning Farmer Success: Farm Pathways To Long-Term Land Tenure, in which SAHC partners with the Organic Growers School (OGS) and NC Farm Link (NCFL). This ongoing strategic partnership provides much needed, high value resources for beginning farmers to create, run, and maintain successful, resilient farm enterprises throughout WNC. We will offer the following programs to provide a trajectory of support: 1) OGS offers Farm Beginnings® Farmer Training, a year-long comprehensive program (the only one of its kind in the Southeast) to promote holistic, practical, whole-farm business, financial, and marketing education; Mentoring and Technical Assistance to provide long-term, targeted, and farmerspecific support; a new Journeyperson: Advanced-Beginner Farmer Education Program for farmers in years 3-10 designed to serve the beginning farmer from start-up to establishment. 2) SAHC provides a Farmer Incubator Program which offers land, infrastructure, and equipment along with support, training, and coaching for beginning farmers; The Farm Production Workshops Series; and Agricultural Conservation Easements and Farmland Acquisition services which assure longterm availability of affordable farmland for beginning farmers. 3) NCFL contributes Land Matching Services, which link beginning farmers with farmland owners; One-on-one consultations for both landowners and farm seekers, including succession planning support.

Community Farm Manager Chris Link instructs FBRA volunteers on seeding garlic.

This fall, we have been joined by multiple volunteer groups who assisted with diverse projects, including the French Broad River Academy boys and girls schools, the Willows Recovery Center and the accounting firm of Corliss & Solomon, PLLC. Community Farm Associate Tamarya Sims continues to focus on outreach, education and volunteer engagement. Tamarya has been working to analyze the local food system and explore ways SAHC can better serve our community.