Roots Memphis Farm Academy

Roots Memphis Farm Academy is a farmer incubator program that educates, trains, and launches new sustainable farmers in the region. 

As part of Roots Memphis Farm Academy, farmers-in-training participate in an incubation phase, during which they manage a quarter-acre farm plot and learn to operate a successful and sustainable small farm business.

Roots Memphis Farm Academy is assembling a Tool Share for its farmers-in-training. The Tool Share helps to defray the costs for new and beginning farmers, because they don't have spend money stocking their own, complete set of tools. Instead, they can use the tools provided through the Farm Academy's Tool Share. Tools will be shared and used cooperatively by Farm Academy farmers-in-training. Access to quality tools makes it easier to start a new farm business in and around Memphis and will help ensure a productive and efficient first season of growing for new farmers.

Roots Memphis Farm Academy will use the money raised through ioby to purchase the tools identified in the project budget. These include exciting things like a powerful walk-behind rear tiller, a sleek and efficient Earthway seeder, a woodchipper for mulching, a quality skilsaw, sturdy harvest lugs and produce crates, assorted hand tools like shovels, pitchforks, and weeders, and a few other items. We invite our donors to come out to the incubation site so they can spend some time with the tools themselves. Tilling is exhausting, but invorating!

Those tools will be stored at the Farm Academy's incubation site. Farmers-in-training will be able to borrow tools from the Tool Share as needed. They will not have to rent, lease, or otherwise pay for the time they spend using the tools. Big savings for them.

The Memphis region needs more local AND sustainable food. To get there, we first have to create new farmers. Roots Memphis Farm Academy is providing an education, training, and incubation process that will make it easier for aspiring farmers to launch their farms and is working diligently to ensure their long-term success.

The Tool Share we are raising money for is an important part of lowering the barriers to entry for new and beginning farmers in our region. It will mean money saved for every single aspiring farmer who comes through our program. One tiller that can be shared by ten students this year, means savings of ten times the tiller cost, once for each farmer who doesn't have to purchase or rent their own.

Giving to the Tool Share is a very economic and efficient way to contribute to creating more farmers in our region, and ultimately seeing the results in more local and sustainable food, a healthier food system, a cleaner environment, and a stronger local economy.