Our mission is to support young, aspiring, beginning, and BIPOC farmers through community-building, resource and knowledge sharing, and advocacy.
Since 2019, we’ve been a farmer-focused, farmer-led organization
Goals and Objectives
SUPPORT
Support Cooperative Farming - SeTNYF will work to create an environment of collaboration and cooperation with regional farmers and other community members and will explore cooperative opportunities that could expand our current markets and allow young farmers pathways to enter the marketplace.
These cooperative opportunities include, but are not limited to: expanding local animal protein sales; marketing aggregation and distribution of farm products; purchasing and sharing inputs and equipment; sharing labor (work parties, apprenticeships, employees); elderberry processing and marketing; and supporting and enhancing existing structures/organizations such as Rooted Here.
Share Knowledge - SeTNYF will support farmer to farmer training, will help to disseminate relevant information and educational resources, and will support farmers as they pursue educational opportunities.
Support Apprenticeships & Mentorships - SeTNYF will create and/or support mutually beneficial opportunities which provide established farms with labor while providing work experience, education and a pathway to farming for aspiring professional farmers.
ADVOCACY
Analyze and Advocate Policies - SeTNYF will stay abreast of local, state, national policies, proposed or passed, which impact agriculture, in order to provide members with analysis and help organize collective action. SeTNYF will advocate for policies which foster the health and well-being of our farms, communities, and planet.
Promote Policies to Address Climate Change - SeTNYF will promote and support regenerative practices that reduce carbon emissions and increase carbon sequestration with the belief that small farms have a pivotal role to play in reversing the climate crisis.
Address Regulations - SeTNYF will address regulations which affect young farmers and will advocate for scalable regulations that promote reasonable governance without undue burden. SeTNYF will also work to deconstruct the blind partisanship around regulation by speaking up about the real effects of regulation/de-regulation on our farms and on the health and well-being of our communities.
Promote Land Access - SeTNYF will forge partnerships and advocate for policies that promote land access for young and beginning farmers.
Our Team
Jess Wilson
Jess grew up on a dairy farm in central New York state and studied sustainable agriculture at Sterling College in Vermont before following her love to southeast Tennessee where she has grown vegetables, chickens, goats, sheep, and children for the past 18 years. She is passionate about building soil, building community, and ensuring a future for agriculture (and humanity).
Ali Simpson
Ali spent the first part of her career in publishing and at Habitat for Humanity and SCORE, a national nonprofit with a mission to provide education and resources to aspiring small business owners. After a year of working at farms across the U.S. through WWOOF, she decided to pursue her dream of starting her own small farm.
Ali and her partner, Tim, grow vegetables and raise livestock at Kimberly Ann Farms in Ten Mile, Tennessee. With a shared passion for sustainable, small-scale agriculture, they hope to grow and raise healthy food for their community for many years to come.
Randall Tomlinson
Randall stumbled into farming at the age of nineteen while in search of his life's purpose. He has pursued his passion in organic vegetables, permaculture, grazing and multispecies management, and eventually fell in love with dairying at Sequatchie Cove Creamery. He continues to follow his passions, highest among which, are providing pathways for careers in southern agriculture.
Tegan Alspaugh
Melonie Lusk
After a lengthy career in the non-profit sector and taking on the Executive Director role at Crabtree Farms of Chattanooga, Melonie joined the SeTNYF Leadership Team with a focus on coalition-building. With her expanded interest in regional food systems building upon her passion for an equitable future, she feels blessed to have an opportunity for continued growth and learning. She hopes that sharing her skill set creates positive impacts for both farmers and consumers for years to come.
Kelsey Keener
Kelsey is a second-generation regenerative farmer. Growing up at Sequatchie Cove Farm, Kelsey experienced firsthand both the beauty and struggle of making a living off the land while also tending it in the most environmentally balanced way. Now he is raising his own children on the farm (3rd generation) with his wife Ashley. While the farm is well-recognized and supported by the local community, Kelsey still feels there is much missing - that we, as a society, no longer have a support structure for folks wanting to make a living from the land. Kelsey sees this Young Farmers chapter as a way toward reconnecting the community and supporting those who wish to take part in this farming journey.
Afreen Taqui
Afreen and her partner Russell started their farm in 2020 on a plot of land in Trenton, Georgia where they produce anywhere from a quarter to half an acre. They began selling mostly vegetables and a couple of fruits in the spring of 2021. Afreen has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and appreciates exploring the intersection of nutrition and mental health.
Emily Heid
Emily was one of our founding chapter members back in 2019 and has since volunteered with the Southeast Tennessee Young Farmers on various projects including the Coordinated Crop Planning initiative. As she walks her own path toward farming, helping her fiance as he manages Cove Creek Farm's pastured pig operation and tending her own small herd of dairy goats, Emily is super excited to work for and with other beginning farmers to create a brighter future for agriculture. She is hopeful about the potential to reshape our food system via collaborative action the local level while pushing for policy change at the state and federal level.
Thank you to our former team members who have shaped the chapter.
Emma Busby, Project Coordinator 2021-2023
Matt Sparacio, Leadership Team 2019-2023
Jamar Sanders, Leadership Team 2023
Hudson Myracle, Leadership Team 2022-2023
Ritchie Wai, Leadership Team 2019-2022
Michael Klug, Leadership Team 2019-2020