ENVI 24
Farming New England: A Deep Dive Into the Regional Food System Winter 2025

Farmers feed us all. In this experiential course, students will learn how. New England produces about 10 percent of its own food: 90 percent of the food is imported from outside the region. Farming in the region has been in decline for decades and farms face a range of challenges, from climate change induced flood & drought, to an economic system that disadvantages family farms, to debt, social isolation, and physical maladies. With more support, climate resilient agriculture, and a new generation of trained farmers, New England’s farms can succeed and continue to contribute to the regional food system. This can only happen with policies that promote family farms and local agriculture, and of course, a new generation of farmers. This class examines the complexities of the regional food system from multiple perspectives: farmers, farming, agronomy, climate change, food insecurity, food systems planning, agricultural policy, agricultural economics and markets, culture, race and class, and land use planning. Five overarching questions shape the class: What are the challenges and opportunities to farming in New England? How can New England’s agriculture succeed and expand? How is climate resilient farming part of the solution? What will it take for the region to produce more of its own food and address regional food insecurity? How can farming be more socially just and racially equitable? Students will learn through immersion in the agricultural world for the month. Class meets 2-3 days a week for farmwork on a variety of farms (cow and goat dairies), dairy processing operations, diversified farms, vegetable & greenhouse, and the Food Bank), Students will also meet with policy and technical experts: agronomists, farmland planners, and agricultural/food system policymakers. Students will learn through hands-on work (yes, you will get dirty!), conversation with farmers and others in the agricultural field, class reading, group discussion, reflection, and writing. The class includes 1-2 overnight trips during the week in the New England region. Students are encouraged to reflect on their daily class experiences and will keep a journal after each class meeting. Interested students should 1) attend the Info Session on Oct 28, 6:30pm, in the Environmental Center living room and 2) send an email explaining their interest in taking the class and any relevant or related experience they have to Professor Sarah Gardner @ [email protected]