FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 20, 2022 • THE QUEENS COURIER 41
Queens Farm announces historic agricultural
expansion in honor of its 325th anniversary
Photo by Dominick Totino
Photo courtesy of Queens Farm
Daniel Morales
BY JENNA BAGCAL
JBAGCAL@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@JENNA_BAGCAL
Queens County Farm Museum has
announced its largest agricultural expansion
in over 50 years, in honor of its 325th
anniversary.
Th e historic expansion plan for the
47-acre farm includes cultivating an additional
fi ve acres of land by 2025; investing
in the farm’s Urban Agriculture Workforce
Development Program; strengthening
upstate and downstate agricultural partnerships;
introducing year-round growing
techniques; expanding its livestock program;
and creating a controlled-environment
agricultural showcase to contribute
to the city’s urban agricultural curriculum.
Th e announcement on Monday, Jan. 10,
follows New York City’s $26 million investment
in Queens Farm’s Education Center,
which will be the fi rst new construction on
the site in almost a century.
“Th ree-hundred-twenty-fi ve years of
continuous farming in New York City is
quite an accomplishment,” said Jennifer
Walden Weprin, executive director of the
Queens County Farm Museum. “Queens
Farm is on the precipice of exponential
growth to expand public service
through increased food
production, job training,
employment opportunities,
education and
cultural programming.
We are excited for this
journey.”
Q u e e n s
Farm hired
Daniel Morales
as its
director of agriculture
and Christina
Leung as
Photo courtesy of Queens Farm
Christina Leung
the farm
m a n -
ager in order to spearhead the expansion.
Th e pair, along with GrowNYC, will work
together to reshape Queens Farm’s Urban
Workforce Development Program in order to
aid apprentices and create a green workforce.
Morales is a Queens native with seven
years of farming experience at Rigor Hill
Farm in the Hudson Valley, Shekomeko
Farms in Dutchess County
and training at Four
Season Farm in Maine.
He earned a B.S. in
environmental studies
with a concentration
in ecosystems from
Binghamton
University.
L e u n g
completed
F a rm School NYC’s Certifi cate program and
came on board at Queens Farm soon aft er.
She was promoted from apprentice two
seasons later. In the program, she studied
food justice, botany, crop planning and
land management.
“What an incredible anniversary — 325
years! Many congratulations to Queens
Farm on this milestone, as well as on
their 5-acre expansion and for selecting
both a new director of agriculture and a
farm manager,” said Marcel Van Ooyen,
president and CEO of GrowNYC. “We
look forward to working together with
Queens Farm in our eff ort to bolster a new
urban agriculture workforce development
program.”
Th e farm’s history dates back to 1697,
making it one of the longest continually
farmed sites in New York state. Today, the
47-acre site is the largest tract of farmland,
home to the single largest apiary and the
only farm with a full range of livestock
in New York City. It recently annexed 1.6
acres of land from the state that was part
of the farm’s original footprint.
Queens Farm uses regenerative farming
methods and grows over 200 types of fruits,
vegetables, herbs and fl owers. In addition
to shortening the distance from farm to
fork, the farm is working toward an aggressive
goal of zero waste by 2030.
“New York Farm Bureau values the
partnership we have with Queens Farm, an
important connection between upstate and
Long Island farmers and the more than
500,000 visitors every year to the historic
47-acre working farm and museum. We
congratulate Queens Farm on 325 years
and its continued growth educating urban
New Yorkers about agriculture and showcasing
the importance of having a strong
regional food system,” said Jeff Williams,
New York Farm Bureau’s Director of Public
Policy.
To learn more, visit queensfarm.org.
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