In farmer David “Mas” Masumoto’s latest book, Wisdom of the Last Farmer, he looks back on his agrarian life so far. In it, Masumoto focuses primarily on the things he has learned from his father — the things he wishes he’d paid more attention to (like welding) and the things he chose to do differently once he’d taken over his 80 acre peach, nectarine and grape farm near Fresno, California (like transitioning to organic, and making the tough decision to rip out some very old grape vines in order to preserve and nurture others). Meditating on farm legacies seems to have more meaning just now, when his 23 year old daughter, Nikiko, has decided that she too will continue farming Masumoto peaches.

Wisdom of the Last Farmer contains within it a wealth of experience, which make great lessons for young and beginning farmers. It made sense, then, that Mas and Nikiko Masumoto led a workshop together for young farmers last weekend at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Tarrytown, NY. The workshop gave beginners the opportunity to ask questions of the experienced farmers present, including Stone Barns’ own livestock manager Craig Haney and four-season vegetable grower Jack Algiere. It was also a chance for local apprentice farmers to get to know each other, fostering a sense of farmer community — something Stone Barns hopes to continue building upon. (For more details on Stone Barns, here is a piece I wrote about my visit there last fall, and here is an interview I did then with chef Dan Barber, whose restaurant on the property, Blue Hill, buys much of the farm’s produce.)

Nena Johnson, Public Programs Director for Stone Barns, had this to say:

“Stone Barns Center’s Growing Farmers initiative is meant to fill the gap in technical training that exists for those in our region who are new to farming. Sky-high land prices combined with an aging farmer population have made it all the more difficult for young farmers to receive the traditional knowledge and support that new agriculturalists need to be successful.”

The young farmer focus at Stone Barns really took hold last December during the Young Farmers Conference, a series of workshops and talks to inform newbies about farm skills, acquiring land, and policy issues, giving new farmers the chance to network and even swap seeds. The interest and attendance for the event was more than expected — 171 people took part, and there was even a waiting list of others who wanted to attend. (One of the attendees, Annie Myers, wrote about it for us here) This year, the event will take place again, December 3rd-4th. According to Johnson, workshops will include Beginning Poultry, Introduction to Permaculture, and Financing the Farm among others. But aside from the conference, Stone Barns hopes to continue to support young farmers through workshops like the one with the Masumotos throughout the season.

“In addition to the annual Young Farmers Conference and a robust apprenticeship program,” Johnson said, “the evolving Growing Farmers initiative will also include monthly skills-building workshops and a vibrant online community for participants to network with other young farmers. As the program continues to grow, Stone Barns Center will support and educate our region’s burgeoning population of young farmers working in sustainable agriculture.”