LANDING @
Black Farmer Ecosystem

Welcome to the Black Farmer Ecosystem landing page. This is a link tree of sorts, and a container to hold what we're working toward. There are more exciting things to follow!

Our Work

More Info

The Fight Back Against the 2025 Federal Funding Freezes

The Trump presidency has unleashed an unprecedented flood of executive orders and misinformation, drowning the public in chaos while systematically dismantling progress for all historically marginalized communities. This administration's politicized overreach is fueling a war, one front of which is the sweeping federal funding freeze targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion.This war is against those who bring diversity, have been denied equity, and now demand inclusion into their society’s systems. This war intends to annihilate Black farmers, but we will not surrender.Our goal is clear: to ensure the survival of Black farmers and the institutions that support them, despite the Trump administration’s blatant attempt to erase decades of progress in land justice and economic empowerment.

With your support, we can make an impact.
Stand with us and help ensure our communities thrive.

We are committed to building community wealth and strengthening the Black food system, and continuing to provide crucial resources like land access, training, and capital to Black farmers. Your donation can make a real difference.It's time to lean into what we can do for ourselves and each other, and build the systems of justice and sovereignty we deserve.Please read our full response and political analysis in our op-ed: The Heist: Trump's Attempt to Rob Black Farmers and Their Fight Back.

The 2024 emPower Fund has closed, and will re-open in 2025. Thank you to everyone who submitted an application!This redistributive, general operating fund supports activities and projects that strengthen the work of New York’s emergent Black-led farms, food businesses and food sovereignty efforts.emPower fruited as the result of a collaboration between the Black Farmer Ecosystem and Professor Myles Lennon, the Dean's Assistant Professor of Environment and Society and Anthropology at Brown University’s Department of Anthropology and the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society. If you’re interested in learning more about this effort, check out the project overview.Since we launched emPower in 2024, we have modified the program award from a “grant” with obligations on the part of the grantee to a “gift,” with no obligations in return.

Since 2023, the Ecosystem has sponsored the Black Urban Farmers & Gardeners Annual Conference (BUGS), and provided 15 scholarships that supported the attendance of Black ag & food system growers, leaders, and visionaries.BUGS is America's largest urban grower's conference cultivating Black agriculture and reimagining Black futures via the advocacy of food and farm issues. From keynote speakers, presentations, community huddles, and workshops, attending the conference is an opportunity to grow our knowledge and learn from leaders across our Black food system who have developed unique, innovative, and ancestral solutions to food systems issues –strengthening the resilient web of America’s Black food systems.In 2024, we hosted Building Up & Building Out, a workshop series focused on building farm businesses and the income stream generated to support farmers’ livelihood.

Collaborations across Ecosystem Partners

Our Story (So Far)

The Black Farmer Ecosystem is a collective exploring how to operate as an ecosystem of organizations to shift power and ownership to Black farmers in New York State by cultivating community, resources, skills, and learning to ensure thriving Black farmers drive policy and advocacy, hold capital and land, and control markets.

In alphabetical order, Ecosystem organizations include: Black Farmer Fund, Black Farmers United - New York State Inc., Corbin Hill Food Project, Farm School NYC, Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust, and Soul Fire Farm Institute.