Farms can also be educational centers, where children, families, and teachers can come to learn. Some farms have become nonprofit organizations whose main mission is to educate others about sustainable issues. Below are some examples.

More and more universities are starting their own student-run sustainable and organic farms, where students can learn about farming and get hands-on experience. Many of these farms are also open to the public for educational classes and tours. For a listing of universities, please visit New Farm's Directory of Student Farms. For a listing of all kinds of educational programs related to organic and sustainable agriculture programs, including those from non-profit organizations, visit the USDA’s directory.

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REGIONAL

Farm to College
Farm-to-college programs connect colleges and universities with producers in their area to provide local farm products for meals and special events on campus.  These programs may be small and unofficial, mainly involving special dinners or other events, or they may be large and well-established, with many local products incorporated into cafeteria meals every day.

Northeast Organic/Sustainable Agriculture Education Directory
Maintained by the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA), this directory lists a variety of educational programs devoted to sustainable / organic agriculture. The directory includes programs offered in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Organic Volunteers
Organic Volunteers provides an online database of educational opportunities offered by small-scale, organic farms. The organization enables individuals to become directly involved with local, sustainable agriculture by helping them find volunteer positions on farms and with grassroots organizations. The website lists over 700 opportunities in the USA and Latin America.

Slow Food in Schools
Slow Food USA has started up educational school programs around the country in many of their chapters, to introduce children to sound food production and to the enjoyment of wholesome, healthy meals. Check out their web site to see if a program has been started in your area - if you're not sure, check with your local Slow Food Chapter to see if a school program has been started, or if one is slated to start soon.

NATIONAL

California

The Children's Garden
Part of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California Davis. The Children's Garden is a working farm that hosts field trips each spring for elementary school classes and offers support to educators working on school garden projects.

Waldorf School and Farm, Santa Rosa, CA
Is a preschool through high school that is also a working biodynamic farm. Hosts summer day camps for one-week sessions for children ages 4-5 and 6-9.

Illinois

Garfield Farm Museum
The Garfield Farm Museum and Inn, listed in the National Register of Historic Sites, is a 281-acre farmstead 40 miles west of Chicago and 5 miles west of Geneva, Illinois. Offering farm tours, seminars, school group programs, and internships, the museum promotes America 's prairie farm heritage with rare breed livestock shows, heirloom garden products and seeds, and collections of antique farm tools. View their Calendar of Events website for other educational, family, and entertainment events.

The Prairie Crossing Learning Farm
The Prairie Crossing Learning Farm is a non-profit enterprise that works with students and volunteers to grow certified organic fruits and vegetables and raise a flock of 300 laying hens on a 3-acre farm. The farm works closely with two local schools to provide outdoor, experiential, farm-based education programs. They also offer field trips, farm tours, summer camp programs, and on-going volunteer opportunities. Organic eggs, honey, and seasonal produce are available for purchase at the Learning Farm.

New Jersey

Genesis Farm
Located on 140-acres of land in the Delaware River Watershed of New Jersey, Genesis Farm is "a learning center for re-inhabiting the Earth" run by Dominican Sisters. By combining spirituality, education, and sustainable agriculture, the Genesis Farm seeks to promote human and ecological health and to foster a feeling of mutuality with nature. Offers courses and workshops.

New York

MADE in Schoharie County
This community coalition of farmers in upstate NY has established a collaborative internship program focused on pasture-based livestock farming. The 15-week program offers hands-on experience in pasture management, marketing, meat processing, livestock management, as well as formal learning modules covering topics such as holistic management, whole farm and family monitoring, holistic herd health, grazing land management, and meat science.

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture
Just north of New York City, this center is a non-profit farm, educational center, and sustainable restaurant located on 80 acres in the heart of Westchester County. Their mission is to teach and promote sustainable, community-based food production to visitors of all ages. Check out their website for programs and events related to sustainable agriculture.

The Teva Learning Center
The Teva Learning Center, North America's foremost Jewish Environmental Education Institute, is a non-denominational educational service for participants from throughout the Jewish community. Working with Jewish Day Schools, Congregational Schools, synagogues, camps and youth groups, Teva's programs touch the lives of 2,000 participants annually.

Massachusetts

The Farm School
A family run farm that provides multi-day residential school-year and summer programs for over 1,500 young people and their teachers, a year-long apprentice program to train adults in modern sustainable agriculture, and an on-site middle school.

The Food Project
Works with over a hundred teens and thousands of volunteers each year to farm on 31 acres in rural Lincoln, MA, and on several lots in urban Boston. Offer educational materials, youth training and professional development opportunities to organizations and individuals worldwide. Have their own Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and sell at local farmers markets.

Moon in the Pond Organic Farm
Located in Sheffield, Massachusetts, this working farm educates people of all ages by displaying traditional farming methods and heritage livestock breeds. Apprenticeships, full and part time internships, work-camp visits, workshops, and tours are available. Visit the website to sign up for their e-newsletter.

Red Gate Farm
Owned and operated by the Kistner Foundation, an educational organization committed to promoting an understanding and appreciation of small farming and environmental awareness, Red Gate Farm offers programs for children, adults, and families. With nature hikes, workshops, festivals, and a children's summer camp, this educational farm in Buckland, Massachusetts, provides a hands-on approach to agriculture and the environment.

Oregon

Zenger Farm
Their Grow Wise Youth Education Program offers students grades K-12 the opportunity to visit a working urban farm.  Program options include farm tours, service-learning projects, wetland ecology, as well as insect, soil and seed based curricula.  Students can visit once or arrange for multiple visit partnerships. They also run a CSA (community support agriculture) program and an immigrant market garden, where a portion of farmland is reserved for recently immigrated families in the neighborhood. Families grow food common in their country of origin and sell any surplus at local farmers markets.

Pennsylvania

Maysie's Farm Conservation Center
This non-profit educational organization near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, encourages ecological living by demonstrating and advocating organic agriculture, farmland preservation, and community supported agriculture. Dedicated to increasing public understanding of the importance of conservation and ecological thinking, their educational programs for students and teachers explain the principles and practices of sustainable agriculture and ecological resource management.

Vermont

Shelburne Farms
Shelburne Farms is a non-profit educational center located on the shores of Lake Champlain in Shelburne, Vermont. With a grass-based dairy farm and on-site cheese-making facilities, this farm hosts school field trips, workshops and courses for educators, apprenticeships, internships, and agriculturally-themed summer camps.

Wisconsin

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, East Troy, WI
Conducts research into agricultural practices, provides education to the public, and works to establish a sustainable food system. The institute is a certified organic, hands-on training farm that instructs students in vegetable production. Also conducts tours for groups and individuals, has a community supported agriculture (CSA) program for residents in the area, and hosts various conferences and workshops.

Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, Inc. (MOSES)
A non-profit education-outreach organization located on an organic farm in Spring Valley, Wisconsin, MOSES promotes sustainable organic agriculture through events such as the Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference (UMOFC). As the largest organic farming conference in the nation, annually attracting over 1,400 participants and 120 exhibitors featuring 40 workshops and all organic meals, the UMOFC is held annually in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in late February or early March. Their website lists other events and resources concerning sustainable agriculture.

INTERNATIONAL

Earth University
Located in Costa Rica, the Earth University is a nonprofit university dedicated to education in the agricultural sciences and natural resources in order to contribute to sustainable development in the humid tropics by seeking a balance between agricultural production and environmental protection.