About the Center

The Center for Integrated Agriculture is an assistance resource to the agricultural community. We strive to deliver offerings to beginning and existing small farmers. Beginning farmers can gain more experience through apprenticeships or attend trainings to enhance their skills of growing, marketing, and running a business. One-on-one assistance is also available at no charge through our request for assistance form. More experienced farmers can choose to isolate trainings that may help add value to their current businesses, as well as obtain feedback through a local food business assessment.

The Center is operated out of three RC&D locations:

Gamble Creek Farm: a working diverse vegetable farm in Parrish, FL specializing in hydroponic production and organics. Gamble Creek Farm places an emphasis on demonstration of water resource management, including alternative water supply and water-savings techniques. This emphasis originates from a program of the RC&D called Manatee Agriculture Reuse System (MARS) Farmer Connection Grant Program, in which the RC&D created a demonstration site on a working farm operation. For more details about the MARS Program please click here.

Geraldson Community Farm: an organic CSA that provides weekly vegetables through onsite pickups to approximately 200 families in Bradenton, FL. Geraldson Community Farm maximizes community involvement through volunteer opportunity and special events. The farm is operated on Manatee County property through a lease held by RC&D. For more information on the history of the farm and the project please click here. Customers can visit either farm location to enjoy fresh-picked produce all harvest season, November through May, on specified days. The proceeds from the farm sales go back into the mission of the Center, providing the farms’ apprentices with real-world direct marketing training and providing venues for community members and aspiring farmers to learn more about sustainable agriculture and responsible farm-business development.

Florida West Coast RC&D: our Ellenton office contains resources for any and all program participants such as our new Beginner Farmer Resource Library. This library contains hundreds of books, industry magazines and catalogues, and other publications covering a wide array of topics useful for any farmer from farm business planning to animal health guides and farm building construction techniques. Call us at (941)981-0111 to reserve a time to visit our office!  

* The Beginner Farmer Resource Library is supported by the Beginner Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Grant # 2010-49400-21800

Mission

Training small scale farmers in a conservation based approach to farming and provide training on agronomy, marketing, businesses feasbility and integrated water resources management. Additionanlly, the Center for Integrated Agriculture provides direct assistance with farm planning that includes both natural and financial resource issues. For further information, please see the "Purpose" tab

Staff

Jacob Leech - Acting Executive Director
Eric Geraldson - Farm Manager at Gamble Creek Farm
William Harris - Farm Manager at Geraldson Community Farm
Maria Leija - Gamble Creek Apprentice
Claudie Babineaux- Geraldson Community Farm Apprentice

Purpose

The Florida West Coast Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In 2006, RC&D and the Natural Resources Conservation Service expanded the scope of their Manatee Agricultural Reuse System (MARS) working agreement to include the establishment of a demonstration site. Through this working agreement an easement was purchased on a 26 acre agricultural property in Parrish, FL. It is on this site that the Center for Integrated Agriculture is now under development.

The site will include:

• Demonstration and evaluation of high-tech integrated water resource management, including automation of different alternative water sources such as reclaimed water, surface water, and well water
• Business training for agricultural businesses
• Alternative energy technologies as appropriate
• Resource conservation and management for environmental and financial sustainability
• Partnership involvement in program delivery to maximize service to clients