Dig in! MSU Organic Farmer Training expands to Flint in 2027
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EmailAspiring farmers can apply now to gain hands-on experience, visit more than 20 farms and build a farm plan through learning sites in Flint, Detroit, East Lansing and Grand Rapids.
Sign up now for Michigan State University’s 2027 Organic Farmer Training Program in Detroit, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, or Flint to make your farm dreams a reality! There is no better way to learn how to farm than to dig in and learn on the farm! You'll choose either Keep Growing Detroit, the MSU Student Organic Farm in East Lansing, the New City Urban Farm in Grand Rapids or Edible Flint (a new location for 2027!) as your hands-on learning site to plant, tend and harvest crops on a successful farm.
MSU Organic Farmer Training Program expands to Flint, growing opportunities across Michigan
The Michigan State University (MSU) Organic Farmer Training Program (OFTP) is expanding again. Beginning in 2027, aspiring farmers can choose Flint's Edible Flint as a hands-on learning site, joining existing locations in Detroit, East Lansing and Grand Rapids. The addition creates four regional learning communities across Michigan and makes it easier for more people to access beginning farmer education close to home.
Whether your goal is to start a farm business, strengthen an existing growing operation, build skills as a farmworker, develop an educational garden or create a productive homestead, OFTP combines practical experience with a supportive community of learners. Participants spend the season gaining hands-on farm skills, visiting sustainable farms, and developing a farm plan that reflects their own goals, values and community needs.
New farmers will learn together through a hybrid program with over 20 farm visits, interactive, online learning, more than 20 farmer guest speakers and hands-on training at one of four learning sites: Keep Growing Detroit, the MSU Student Organic Farm in East Lansing, the New City Farm in Grand Rapids or the new Flint site hosted by Edible Flint.
The strength of OFTP goes beyond farming skills. Participants become part of a learning community where growers support one another, share ideas and build lasting relationships.
The 2027 learning community will gather on Mondays from February through November, bringing together beginning farmers, farmworkers, homesteaders, educational gardeners and food system changemakers from across Michigan. Participants learn directly from experienced farmers and from each other while building a clear path toward their own farming goals.
Learn on farms across Michigan
Participants work together throughout the year but choose one learning site as their primary location for hands-on instruction.
Edible Flint – New for 2027!
Edible Flint will serve as the Organic Farmer Training Program's learning site in Flint. The organization is dedicated to increasing access to healthy food, supporting community-based agriculture, and creating opportunities for residents to learn and grow through urban agriculture.
The Flint site expands OFTP's reach in mid-Michigan and offers a new opportunity for learners who want hands-on experience closer to home. Participants at this site will join the larger statewide learning community while building skills in a city with a strong commitment to food access, community development, and local food systems.
Keep Growing Detroit
Keep Growing Detroit is a nationally recognized model urban farm that supports thousands of gardens and farms throughout Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park. This site is ideal for people interested in urban agriculture, community food systems and small-scale production.
MSU Student Organic Farm
Located in East Lansing, the MSU Student Organic Farm combines vegetable, fruit, hoophouse and permaculture production with a long history of farmer training. This site is well suited for growers interested in tractor-scale farming in the fields, hand-scale growing in the hoophouse and food forest-style growing in the Edible Forest Garden.
New City Farm
In Grand Rapids, New City Farm provides hands-on learning in community-supported agriculture, youth development, and farm business management. The site welcomes farmers from across West Michigan who are interested in both urban and rural farming opportunities.
Learn beyond the classroom
A highlight of the OFTP is the opportunity to visit more than 20 sustainable farms and food system organizations. Participants see a wide range of farming approaches, markets, infrastructure, and business and non-profit farming models while learning directly from experienced growers.
These farm tours help participants explore possibilities for their own farms and connect with the broader agricultural community.
Make a plan!
Throughout the season, each person in OFTP develops a farm plan that brings together everything they are learning.
Step by step, they identify goals, evaluate resources, explore production and marketing strategies, and create a plan that matches their vision for the future.
At the end of the program, you’ll get to cheer on your peers as they share their farm plans!
Why join OFTP?
Past participants consistently highlight the value of learning by doing, visiting working farms, and building relationships with peers who share similar goals.
"There has been so much support from my fellow farm classmates throughout this journey. Everyone brings different strengths and experiences, and we’re constantly learning from each other. From helping me identify pests, to sharing tools and tips, to simply offering encouragement when things didn’t go as planned—the support has been amazing." Vantina Jenkins, 2025 OFTP graduate
“OFTP has opened my mind to so many possibilities. I have gained insight into farming as a business, learned practical ideas that I will implement, and made connections that will be beneficial even after the class is over.” Nan'Chang Thompson-Springer, Urban Bush Sistah's Community & Market Garden, Detroit, Michigan is a 2024 OFTP graduate
How to apply
This is your chance to make your farm dreams a reality! To join this learning community, please send the following by Nov. 15, 2026:
- OFTP application
- Your resume or CV
- 2 letters of recommendation (employers, colleagues, farmers you’ve worked or volunteered for, farm customers, etc.)
- Visit the farm or meet online (contact us to schedule a time)
If applying for a scholarship: Complete the scholarship application by Nov. 15 for one of three OFTP scholarships, or check out this list of other scholarship options:
- West Michigan Farmers Scholarship for participants at the Grand Rapids learning site
- Detroit Farmers Scholarship for people farming or living in Detroit, Hamtramck, or Highland Park
- Flint Farmer Scholarship for participants in the Flint learning site
Email documents and questions to oftp@msu.edu.
Scholarships bring together farmers of all backgrounds
Apply for one of three scholarships to make the OFTP a financial reality for everyone interested in starting a farm. The Detroit Farmer Scholarship of up to $3,000 will reduce the total program cost to $900 for farmers, educational gardeners and homesteaders in Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck. These farmers will have Keep Growing Detroit as their base for hands-on learning.
The Flint Farmer Scholarship will support eight farmers who are transitioning their farm to certified organic to take the OFTP.
The scholarship for West Michigan farmers will help growers who want to learn at the OFTP learning site at New City Urban Farm in Grand Rapids.
MichiganWorks! PATH or WIOA programs are a great scholarship option for people who are unemployed, low-income for their household size or are caring for children or people with disabilities. Share this OFTP listing with your local MichiganWorks! office if you qualify for PATH or WIOA and your area has funding.
Dig in!
Reach out to Katie Brandt at oftp@msu.edu or call/text her at 616-885-7776 if you have any questions or would like recommendations for farms in your region where you can gain skills this season before taking the OFTP.
