About the Farm

The Hampshire College Farm:

• supports teaching and research opportunities for faculty and students;
• serves as a model for land stewardship and ecological agricultural practices; and
• provides a “living lab” for Hampshire College’s values, particularly in the areas of sustainability, social justice, community-building, and experiential education.

Our vision is of a thriving, well-run farm that inspires interdisciplinary inquiry through the enterprise of ethical and sustainable food production; fosters connection to place and community through authentic and practical work; and provides opportunities for research, individual creativity, reflection, and recreation. We see the operation and governance of the farm, and our potential to influence similar efforts at other colleges, as powerful components of Hampshire College’s pursuit of a larger mission to foster a lifelong passion for learning, inquiry, and ethical citizenship that inspires students to contribute to knowledge, justice, and positive change and, by doing so, to transform higher education.

Sustainability at the Farm

The farm, like the rest of Hampshire College, has worked hard on its sustainability efforts. From organic crop production to solar-powered tractors, we strive to ensure a safe, environmentally sound, and equitable future for generations to come. For more details, please visit our sustainability page.

History of the Farm

Created in the late 1970s as an experimental research project of the natural science faculty, the Hampshire College Farm continues to be a place where students and faculty integrate science and alternative technology as a means for testing sustainable methods of farming. The farm expanded its scope in 1992, when some students began a 30-member organic vegetable CSA as a Division III project. The Hampshire College Farm now provides organic produce and pasture-raised meat to the greater campus community — all while maintaining its academic roots. You can read a history of the beginning of the farm, written by Ray and Lorna Coppinger, in the book Fields of Learning: the Student Farm Movement in North America.

Download excerpt from Fields of Learning

Follow the Farm

You can stay up-to-date with Hampshire College Farm happenings by following us on Instagram.