Progress report for CNE25-005
Project Information
Common Good City Farm's Certificate Program in Regenerative Agriculture addresses both food issues and environmental sustainability by training individuals to become skilled farmers. This free, seven-month program teaches regenerative farming techniques, including crop rotation, carbon sequestration, and no-till bed preparation, among others. Participants also learn about land attainment, business planning, and agricultural entrepreneurship. The program's long-term goals include increasing the number of farmers in the Washington DC area, promoting regenerative farming practices, and expanding access to healthy, affordable food. Common Good will track participant demographics, completion rates, and the adoption of regenerative practices, measuring the impact through surveys conducted immediately after program completion, and again at six and twelve months. The program also monitors the number of new farmers. These results will be shared publicly to ensure transparency and continuous program improvement. Through this multi-faceted approach, the program supports both individual career growth and broader community development, while helping to transform the local food system.
Through our Certificate Program in Regenerative Urban Agriculture, now in its third year, we aim to grow the number of urban farmers in this country.
Common Good's Certificate Program has three specific outcomes:
- Increase adoption of regenerative agriculture practices in urban farms. We will increase the number of regenerative agriculture practices utilized in urban farms by providing training, mentoring, and resources while employing an evidence-based curriculum and certifications based on assessments. After each year we will collect surveys to assess pre- and post-levels of adoption. Beneficiaries will be the farmers involved in the program as well as the communities they serve--reaching potentially thousands of residents each year.
- Increase the number of urban farmers. Our City Farmers Certificate Program will increase the number of new and beginning urban farmers. We aim to certify 35 adults in the next cohort.
- Prepare individuals to work in urban farming. Washington DC and the surrounding area has a strong network of urban farms, many run like Common Good does, with a non profit model. Students in our certificate program will receive the training they need to be ideal candidates for employment opportunities with these organizations. It is key that our program is setting our certificate students up for success in a farming career, either through an existing farm or via their own project. We will track success in this through our follow up surveys and by staying in touch with program alumni.
The program is designed to further the community's momentum and eagerness to produce healthy, local food by expanding opportunities to do so and building expertise in minimizing environmental impacts. Through relationships with city government and other local organizations, we can help students identify growing spaces available to them through the city's tax-abatement program, city-owned land, or underutilized land owned by private citizens or corporations. The curriculum also contains components to help students write a business plan for their possible future agriculture business.
Through its multi-faceted approach, the program not only cultivates a new generation of urban farmers but also supports the broader community by increasing access to healthy, locally-grown food. As the program evolves, Common Good City Farm remains committed to evaluating and adapting its approach to meet the needs of participants and ensure long-term impact, ultimately contributing to the growth of urban agriculture, and the success of the students whom we certify.
Common Good City Farm strives for changing our existing farming system and creating new career opportunities for our community members. Members of our community have a history of being financially and systematically alienated from succeeding in the agricultural field. Farming is a thriving business that is essential to the survival and well being of our society and our program will build those opportunities for our hyper local community and the DC community overall.
Urban farming, while growing in popularity due to its promising approach to solving the food and environmental crisis we are facing, continues to omit many individuals. For many, urban farming programs are inaccessible due to their pricing and/or requirements, as many require specialized knowledge or proximity to USDA service centers located in rural areas, which are difficult for car-free urban residents to access.
Common Good’s Certificate Program in Urban Agriculture is entirely free of charge, making it the most financially accessible program of its kind in the Greater Washington region. Other beginner farmer programs focus on large-scale farming or sustainable agriculture techniques, which are not always applicable to urban settings. Common Good’s program fills this gap by providing education in regenerative agriculture techniques tailored to small plots of land that will allow members of our community to find opportunities.
We look forward to sharing with SARE our findings on how this project changed this community need after our cohort concludes in October of 2026.
While we primarily work with the communities of Wards 1 and 5, our Certificate Program has a broader reach and while it attracts people of all backgrounds, the majority (96%) of our students are considered historically underrepresented in farming.
Most students join the program because they are interested in growing food for themselves or as an investment in their communities. They not only see the financial benefit in this program, but they see urban farming as a tool for community-building, self-exploration, and emotional healing. Several of our students expressed the importance of this program as a means to connect with ancestral land practices, to gain new knowledge that they plan to pass on to the next generation, or to reverse practices they have previously encountered in farming. According to one of most recent graduates, she joined this program because, “as the grand daughter of a farmer, [she was] keen to learn more about farming to ensure that [she’s] able to carry that knowledge to the next generation, especially as a Black woman whose family was deeply impacted by discriminatory structures in farming practices.”
We are currently in the process of recruiting for our 2026 cohort, which begins in March of this year. We look forward to sharing the demographic information of our student body with SARE in the fall of 2026.
Our work is ultimately focused on dismantling food and economic challenges. We view food rights as more than just access to nutritious food; it is also about providing access to ownership of food-producing businesses and leadership opportunities within the urban farming community. We are committed to creating ongoing avenues for input, representation, and decision-making for all community members—especially those most impacted by food insecurity. This ensures that we continue to educate ourselves on how to build a more equitable food system and foster a culture of fairness within our organization. Above all, we aim to shift the agricultural system in America so that individuals in urban areas can fully participate in and benefit from this economy.
Every three years, Common Good’s leadership team collaborates to create a comprehensive strategic plan. The Board of Directors works closely with community stakeholders and staff to set the primary goals for the organization. Our current strategic plan is built around the redistribution of power, and we are actively working to transition Common Good’s organizational power into the hands of the community. To this end, we have formed an alliance with the Resident Council of a neighboring housing complex and hired a well-connected and respected community leader as our Community Engagement Manager. One example of the programmatic changes resulting from this collaborative decision-making is the updated summer teen entrepreneurship program. We believe that this inclusive approach to decision-making is the most effective way to meet the needs of our community.
In addition to offering educational opportunities such as our Certificate Program, we also support the growth of local, small agri-entrepreneurs through our market. Many of the individuals who engage with our programs or use our farm operate small businesses. We prioritize inviting vendors to sell their products at our market who would otherwise be unable to afford the fees required for participation in similar markets. For many, this opportunity serves as a stepping stone to expand their businesses and grow their customer base. One such vendor, Yucca Florals, was launched by a volunteer and constituent of ours. We were proud to hire Yucca Florals to provide the decorations for our most successful fundraising event, A Night on the Farm.
We recognize that negative systemic practices are often interconnected, resulting in an imbalance not only in the food system but also in housing, education, employment, and the justice system. Ultimately, our vision is for urban farming to serve as a powerful tool to combat food insecurity, build community, foster cultural belonging, steward the urban environment, and create financial mobility opportunities for our constituents
We are still in the planning stages of this project, which will launch in March 2026, but we are confident in the value that this project will bring to other organizations working to support the community. We look forward to sharing our findings in the fall of 2026.
While we are currently recruiting our 2026 cohort, we are happy to share a quote from one of our past students:
“I love learning about farming and how we can build a sustainable future for our communities. Personally I grew up in an environment that told me money solves all of the world problems. Constantly conflicted by this idea I became cynical. I felt like there was this heavy burden weighing me down. When I learned about composting and permaculture it changed everything. The world started making sense and everything around me started connecting. It spurred creativity, peace and ultimately a sense of purpose. There was a solution and it became clear to me that understanding my relationship with the earth was fundamentally more important than making money. I want to be able to pass that knowledge and feeling to the people that aren’t exposed to this or around people who will show them these things. Being a part of this program allowed me to continue to push myself to learn more about farming I am unfamiliar with and put me in a position where I can implement this knowledge so I can build the future I want for my community.”
We will gladly share more testimonials from our 2026 students once they complete the Certificate Program in the fall of 2026.
Cooperators
Research
Through a free seven-month long training program, Common Good City Farm trains and certifies 35 adult participants per year with a curriculum designed and based on best-practices in regenerative urban agriculture, adapted for urban spaces. It focuses on techniques that are easily put into practice in small spaces, including crop rotation, carbon sequestration, cover cropping, no-till bed-preparation, terracing and contouring, drip irrigation installation, perennial and biomass establishments, mulch and compost application, integrated pest management and more.
The program also focuses on the relationship between climate change and crop resiliency, to provide participants with tools to build resiliency in their own crops through adopting these regenerative practices. In order to build an internal talent pipeline and provide graduates with a career launch pad, Common Good offers employment opportunities to students and graduates of the Certificate Program, as well as opportunities to become educators, providing a comprehensive workforce development program.
Some of the lessons include:
March
- Orchard Management
- Crop Planning and Record Keeping
- Plant Propagation
- Protecting the Soil and Bed Preparation
April
- Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus and Climate Change Solutions
- Irrigation
- Pest and Disease Management
May
- Nutrient Management
- Planting and Crop Support
- Spiritual Connection to the Land
June
- Harvesting and Processing
- Land Access Basics
- Planning Your Business with the USDA
July
- Extension Office Basics
- Preserving and Value Added
- Forestation
August, September, October
- Individual Projects
October
- Graduation from Program
The program also includes field trips to visit urban farms like EcoCity and The Well, where we will get to see some of the techniques we teach in action and hear from guest speakers in the field. The program is taught by Common Good's Farm Production Manager, Foster Gettys, and by Wes Mahmud, Farm Educator and a graduate of Common Good's Certificate Program.
The long-term goals of the Certificate Program are to increase the number of urban residents (including teens) who see agriculture as a possible career field, to increase the use of regenerative techniques among urban farmers, growers, and producers, and to improve crop and environmental outcomes through the promotion of those regenerative techniques.
Education & outreach activities and participation summary
Participation summary:
We sincerely appreciate SARE’s investment in our Certificate Program in Regenerative Urban Agriculture. We are currently in the planning phase for the 2026 cohort and remain on track to meet our funding objectives. By the program’s conclusion in October 2026, we look forward to submitting a comprehensive status report detailing student growth. We anticipate significant gains in participant knowledge across key areas, such as regenerative agricultural practices (including bee pollination, greenhouses, water management, soil protection, integrated pest management, composting, etc.) business planning, and the management of land for small-scale agricultural production.
Our program and farm managers are currently finalizing the foundational phase of the project. This preparation includes developing a strategic outreach and recruitment plan, launching the application process, and updating our digital presence. Simultaneously, we are refining the 2026 curriculum by auditing previous course materials, finalizing the schedule, and confirming our roster of expert guest speakers. Student recruitment is currently underway, with a goal of certifying 30 urban farmers this year.
Learning Outcomes
We sincerely appreciate SARE’s investment in our Certificate Program in Regenerative Urban Agriculture. We are currently in the planning phase for the 2026 cohort and remain on track to meet our funding objectives. By the program’s conclusion in October 2026, we look forward to submitting a comprehensive status report detailing student growth. We anticipate significant gains in participant knowledge across key areas, such as regenerative agricultural practices (including bee pollination, greenhouses, water management, soil protection, integrated pest management, composting, etc.) business planning, and the management of land for small-scale agricultural production.
Our program and farm managers are currently finalizing the foundational phase of the project. This preparation includes developing a strategic outreach and recruitment plan, launching the application process, and updating our digital presence. Simultaneously, we are refining the 2026 curriculum by auditing previous course materials, finalizing the schedule, and confirming our roster of expert guest speakers. Student recruitment is currently underway, with a goal of certifying 30 urban farmers this year.
Project Outcomes
This metric is pending the start of the program in March 2026, as projected in our timeline. Once the cohort begins, we will track the adoption of sustainable practices and the resulting benefits to participants, which we will share in our subsequent update to SARE in the fall of 2026.
We look forward to sharing our findings, successes, and challenges with SARE after our cohort concludes in October of 2026.