Education/Training
Programs and courses for education and training in agriculture or horticulture
- CASFS (UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems)
- Santa Rosa Jr. College – Sustainable Agriculture Program
- College of the Redwoods – Sustainable Agriculture Program
- Cal Poly – Agricultural Program
- UC Davis – Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
- Central Carolina Community College - Sustainable Agricultural Program, Pittsboro, NC
- Joliet Junior College - Agricultural Science, Joliet, IL
- Center for Land-Based Learning - California Farm Academy
California Farm Academy
California farmers raise an incredible $20 billion worth of specialty crops per year. However, these essential farm entrepreneurs are also getting older — today averaging 58 years of age. Will you help shape the next generation of farmers?
The California Farm Academy’s six month program takes place on a part-time basis, with classes held on evenings and weekends – serving people with busy schedules. Operated by the Center for Land-Based Learning, this innovative program and farm business incubator teaches and mentors new farmers in agricultural production, business planning and marketing of specialty crops.*
Whether focusing locally or globally, today’s agricultural leaders are being challenged to produce and deliver high quality, nutritious, and affordable food to a growing population while sharing limited land and water resources with all other human needs and activities. For this reason, the need for skilled and qualified farmers to raise our food and care for our agricultural land and surrounding ecosystems is vital to the future.
The California Farm Academy (CFA) is dedicated to training, mentoring and providing access to land for motivated, hard-working farm entrepreneurs.
The California Farm Academy is funded by a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture 2010 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
ALBA – the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association – generates opportunities for farm workers and limited-resource, aspiring farmers to grow and sell crops from two organic farms in Monterey County, CA.
ALBA can provide both comprehensive small farm training and our farm incubator environment with 150 acres on two farms. Currently its under cultivation by 24 farmer-tenants. They work with both beginning and established small farmers in our region.
ALBA classes take place near Salinas on Thursday evenings (with light dinner featuring seasonal vegetables) and Saturay mornings, total 7 hours/week. Historicallyits instruction has been conducted in Spanish, and they are very close to making it bi-lingual. More than half was bi-lingual last year.
ALBA interviews prospective participants in a needs-based and competitive selection process. The course fee schedule is being renewed – likely with a sliding scale from $1500-$150 based on income/dependents (payable by installment). ALBA is accredited by Hartnell College so it seems we can leverage veteran’s educational benefits toward tuition and fees at the community college.
Upon successful completion of the course, students can acccess 1/2 acre for the first year at 20% of the acreage’s market lease rate. Acreage growth is as feasible, and lease rates step-up annually for 5 years to 80% of market. We will likely have more acres available over the next few years. Irrigation and equipment are available on a fee basis.
Throughout the process, ALBA provides more training and technical assistance and work with Californa FarmLink and other local/regional orgs to establish FarmLink IDAs and help farmers gain access to land.
Contact ALBA at the following locations:
Rural Development Center, Salinas (ALBA Headquarters)
(831) 758-1469
(831) 758-3665 fax
Farm Training Research Center at the Triple M Ranch, Watsonville
(831) 786-8760
(831) 786-8766 fax
ALBA Organics
Fresh Produce Sales & CSA Delivery
(831) 758-5958
(831) 758-5315 fax
Staff E-Mails:
Meet our Staff – you may contact ALBA staff members by e-mail by using addresses as such:
<firstname>@albafarmers.org
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 6264
Salinas, California 93912
Top of Page ** Home
The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service provides this guide to opportunities on a state-by-state basis, using a map to helpwith the search. “This directory of on-the-job learning opportunities in sustainable and organic agriculture in the U.S. (and some in Canada) has been published since 1989 as a tool to help farmers and apprentices connect with each other. The listed farms are primarily seeking interns/apprentices from North America.”
Top of Page ** Home
