We're actively seeking stewardship farmers and ranchers who thoughtfully manage the natural resources on their land as an integral part of growing fresh, healthy food to join our Stewardship Program.

Qualifying as a Stewardship Farmer makes you eligible to participate in our Access-to-Market programs in which Farming & the Environment works to improve your profits by connecting you with sales to local grocers, restaurants, Community Supported Agricultural porgrams, and our own farmers market dedicated to Stewardship Farmers. 

We work to educate the public on the value of buying from local stewardship farmers through grocery mailers, point-of-sale display boards, and a farm profile in the Meet the Farmers section of our website, highlighting your story of stewardship and directing consumers on where to buy your products.

How to Qualify

To qualify as a Stewardship Farm, you need to meet 70% or 10 of the 15 Stewardship Principles, including the following requirements:

a. All farmers and ranches must meet the specific principles for managing water and soil.

b. All livestock and dairy farmers and ranchers must meet the specific principles for animal health, nutrient, and waste management.

c. All plant farmers must meet the specific principles for water, soil, and pest management.

How the Qualification Process Works

1. Farmers or ranchers complete our the Stewardship Program application and e-mail or send it to us in the mail.
2. The F&E Stewardship Committee will evaluate applications, schedule a farm visit, and congradulate qualifying stewardship farmers while offering to work with non-qualifying farmers on implementing more sustainable farming practices.  The Stewardship Committee is comprised of an equal number of farmers and environmentalists.
3. We'll start working with new Stewardship Farmers to get them access to local markets and draft & publish their farm profile on our website.