Urban Farming in Boston
Learn more about how GrowBoston supports farmers in Boston.
Urban farming gives residents better access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. It also cuts down on transportation costs and carbon emissions. The City passed Article 89 in 2013 to support commercial urban farming in the City. Our goal is to bring communities and small businesses together through farming and to give residents easy access to fresh food.
Urban Farming Resources
Urban Farming Resources|
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| Urban Agriculture Program | The MDAR grant supports community scale farming initiatives. |
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The grant is for commercial farmers who have a new idea that they want to test. All projects should benefit other farmers and work to make farming more sustainable. |
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The program offers grants to improve competitiveness of fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops. |
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Natural Resources Conservation Services and Conservation Innovation Grants |
The grants are for people who want to adopt new ways to conserve resources while they farm. |
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The program helps new farmers with startup or expansion costs. They also help with business plans and financial aid for equipment and other needs. |
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The program aims to improve the production and viability of farming on protected land. |
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You can get a 10 percent discount on natural gas and electricity through the program. You need to work in production farming. You may have to get certified by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. |
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If you run a startup farm or ranch business, you may qualify. |
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The project offers loans for small farms from $5,000-$250,000. |
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The program gives small business loans to people who can't borrow from the bank. |
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You can get loans for a small food and brewing related business. |
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MA Growth Capital Corporation For information, call Jose Luis “Pepe” Rojas at 617-337-2815. |
The program connects entrepreneurs with micro lenders. There’s a program for loans over $100,000. |
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The fund gives loans to nonprofit co-ops, employee-owned businesses, co-housing developments, and community land trusts. |
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The fund offers loans, royalty financing, and equity capital to food growing businesses. |
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For general information about land purchases, you can email Shani Fletcher at shani.fletcher@boston.gov. |
There are many vacant areas around the City that offer opportunities for farmers. Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan are priority areas. |
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The program connects farm seekers and property owners in New England. |
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Farmers can get help locating and transferring farms in New England. |
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Tufts New Entry Sustainable Farming Project and Farmland Matching Service |
The program helps qualified beginner farmers and growers find land. |
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Farmers can find land and take part in training programs. |
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Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Research and Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program |
The program pays farmland owners in exchange for deed restrictions. This protects the land from developments that affect farming. |
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Eastern Massachusetts Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training |
Beginner farmers can find training programs. There’s also a network of farmers who share ideas and information. |
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The project gives free soil testing and safety materials to new farmers. |
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The program works to connect farmers and communities. |
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Marketing Manual from the Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture |
This guide can help farmers develop marketing plans. |
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The community of farmers, gardeners, landscapers, and consumers works to educate the public on organic farming. |
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| Urban Farming Institute | The Urban Farmer Training Program trains residents from Boston neighborhoods, (primarily in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan), the nuts & bolts of small scale urban farming in the city, intro to food systems, and business planning basics. |
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DESCRIPTION |
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Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Agricultural Business Training Program |
The five-session course is for farmers who have been operating for two or more years. There’s also training for expansion. |
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The program helps new farms develop growth plans. You need at least five acres of land and to have been farming for three or more years. |
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The network offers free services to help with business growth strategies, financing, and analysis. |
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Tufts New Entry Sustainable Farming Project Farm Business Planning |
New and potential farmers can get help developing business plans. |
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DESCRIPTION |
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| Beginner Farmer’s Network Massachusetts | This association of farmers shares resources, strategies, and tips for farming in Massachusetts. There are resources for new farmers, experienced farmers, and those interested in farming. |
| The Carrot Project | The Carrot Project offers many professional development programs. Programs include skills workshops for farmers and business management. Their programs focus on financial advice and coaching for farmers. |
| Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training | Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) in Eastern Massachusetts, brings together farm workers and apprentices from CRAFT farms at farm sites across Massachusetts to discuss farming topics. The goal of CRAFT is to build a community of farmers and exchange ideas. Their website features their email list, discussion notes, and resources from past meetings. |
| Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture | Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) has a diversity of resources for farmers, including a Local Hero program to connect farmers to their communities, business assistance programs and workshops, and tip sheets and other resources. Their tip sheets cover topics such as marketing, farmers' markets, crop storage, and CSAs. |
| Freight Farms | Freight Farms is a Boston urban farming company that has webinars and events related to urban agriculture. Topics include food justice, technology, and profiles of successful small urban farms. Additionally, customers of Freight Farms get access to professional development support and training programs. |
| Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust | Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust is an informal network of BIPOC farmers that builds community among BIPOC farmers, shares skills and resources, and coordinates policy demands. |
| New Entry Sustainable Farming Project | New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (NESFP) is a Tufts University project. They offer courses for farmers including for those looking to start a farm and for farmers to grow their farms. NESFP also offers ongoing technical support for farmers. |
| Northeast Organic Farming Association | Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) holds conferences and workshops on carbon sequestration, organic agriculture, and more. Monthly, NOFA hosts a roundtable discussion on best soil health practices. Here, farmers can ask questions and share resources. NOFA also gives technical aid to farmers with bad soil. |
| Red Tomato | Red Tomato is a food hub for New England growers, distributors, and grocers. They have a personalized advice program for farmers, an Eco certification program to help farmers grow organic food, and access to a network of innovative farmers and grocers. |
| Seeds of Solidarity | Seeds of Solidarity is an education center for farmers based in Orange, MA. They share resources, have a regular newsletter, and run programs on different agricultural topics. Some workshop topics include planting tips, no-till farming methods, and harvesting strategies. |
| Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership | Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership has various farmer assistance programs and resources on their website. They offer guides for farmers interested in HIP/SNAP, business development and assistance, and a resource library that has a wealth of information on different agricultural topics such as sustainability, marketing and business planning, and finances. |
| UMass Extension | UMass Extension at UMass Amherst has a Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment. They offer educational resources for anyone interested in agricultural subjects such as orchard planning, pesticide management systems, and crop insurance. |
| Stockbridge School of Agriculture | The Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass Amherst offers various degree and certification programs for farmers. Their offerings include programs for sustainable food and farming, arboriculture and urban forestry, and plant and soil sciences. |
| Urban Farming Institute | Urban Farming Institute hosts a program to train urban farmers. The program is open to all, but with a focus on applicants from Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan. Their courses cover building resilient food systems, business planning, organic agriculture, and more. |
| World Farmers | World Farmers is an organization dedicated to uplifting and training immigrant and refugee farmers. They host a mentorship program that helps farmers of all experience levels find appropriate mentorship and assistance. |
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| USDA Urban Agriculture | The USDA has an Urban Agriculture resource page, as one of their priorities is supporting urban agriculture. They offer many resources, including links to grants, support programs, and educational resources. Check out this resource that gives a quick overview of all the USDA’s urban agriculture support programs. |
| National Resources Conservation Service | National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers free technical and financial support for urban farmers. They support developing weed and pest management strategies, composting facilities, irrigation, and more. Apply on their website or visit a NRCS field office to discuss urban farming techniques with an expert. |
| Farmers.gov | Farmers.gov has resources on business management, technical farm aid, and selling produce. These resources include grants, educational toolkits, personalized help, and more. |
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| Am Hydro Learning Center | Am Hydro Learning Center offers educational resources on hydroponics technologies for new farmers. Keep up to date with innovations with their hydroponics dictionary, overview of the technology, and educational videos on hydroponics. |
| Polygreens Podcast | Polygreens Podcast features two leaders in the urban farming field. They discuss urban farming topics with guests each week. Episodes include how to grow an urban farming business, new innovations, interesting urban farming companies, and more. |
| The Urban Farm Podcast Library | The Urban Farm Podcast Library has over 700 episodes of a podcast on urban farming. They dive into new topics with new guests each week. Topics include seed saving, starting an urban farm, indoor farming technologies, and more. |
| University of Illinois Extension: Local Foods and Small Farms | University of Illinois Extension: Local Foods and Small Farms has a YouTube channel for farmers. It features recorded webinars from their Small Farms Winter Webinar Series. Topics include vermicomposting, regenerative agriculture, aquacultures and aquaponics, and more. |
| Freedom Farmers | Freedom Farmers is a Canadian company that offers virtual courses for anyone interested in starting a microgreen business. |
| The Urban Farmer | The Urban Farmer offers online guided courses for new urban farmers and microgreen farmers. |
