School of the New American Farmstead

The School of the New American Farmstead offers leading-edge courses & Professional Certificates in regenerative farming and artisanal food production to support professionals and lifelong learners of all ages.

Check out the 2020 Class Schedule!

Students successfully completing these courses are awarded continuing education units (CEUs), included in the course tuition as listed. Students desiring undergraduate academic credit pay per credit tuition fees and must fulfill additional academic requirements. If you have any questions about when a course is being offered, how to register, or the process for receiving undergraduate credit, please contact us at newamericanfarmstead@sterlingcollege.edu. Courses will continue to be listed as they become available. Sign up for email notifications below if you would like to be updated.

NOTICE: Due to COVID-19, we have postponed all in person courses until June 2021 at the earliest. Online courses will be listed as available below:

Title	Course ID	Credits	Start Term	Faculty
Surviving the Future: Conversations for Our Time			Coming Soon	Shaun Chamberlin

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Receive updates on courses, professional certificates,
special offers, scholarships and more!

Check out our new certificate programs!

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medallion that reads "artisan cheesemaking professional"

medallion that reads "sustainable food craft professional"

medallion that read "organic wine and spirits production professional"

medallion that reads "educational farm and garden management professional"

About the School of the New American Farmstead

We provide a variety of classes, study tours, and professional certificates that will inspire you, equip you with marketable skills, and provide you with new perspectives on regenerative farming and artisanal food production.

Our hands-on courses will require you to roll up your sleeves and dig in. The School of the New American Farmstead’s experiential approach will engage all of your senses and offer insights into techniques perfected by some of the world’s most skilled ecological farmers and craft-food producers.

Give your passion for food and farming the time and space it deserves. Explore professional opportunities and lifestyle choices that will feed your body, mind, and soul. Learn to replenish the land, relish its bounty, and revive time-tested culinary and agricultural arts–in Vermont’s majestic Northeast Kingdom, Brunnenburg Castle & Agricultural Museum in the Italian Alps, the dairy region of the Upper Loire Valley of France, and Point Reyes, California.

The School of the New American Farmstead at Sterling College is waiting for you to join our international network of students, alumni, and instructors. See our upcoming course offerings and new professional certificate programs below.

photo of many students surrounding a copper kettle filled with milk and extracting cheese from it

SNAF cheesemaking

SNAF Class

Students work on the Sterling College Farm

Students picking sugar snap peas in the Sterling Garden

Bread from SNAF Class

NOFA VT Farmer Olympics

photo by Sharon Palmer

Mushroom Class

Alex heats the metal to make it workable

Instructor Lucian Avery works with a student one-on-one

photo by Sharon Palmer

Chelsea Green Publishing Logo The School of the New American Farmstead at Sterling College is generously underwritten by Chelsea Green Publishing, the preeminent publisher of books on the politics and practice of sustainable living. Chelsea Green and the School of the New American Farmstead at Sterling College share a deep commitment to Sterling’s mission of empowering lifelong students to boldly advance ecological thinking and action in their communities.

Support the School of the New American Farmstead

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Questions?

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Frequently Asked Questions

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USA Today's Back to School magazine featured Sterling College as part of the Work College Consortium. Check it out. Link on bio.

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@adventurejournal talked with John Campbell, Founder of @alpine_luddites and Adjunct Faculty at Sterling College about our Gear Design and Repair class. "Well, I think I think the four-year model of education broken. I don’t think it actually works for today’s world. The skills that people are going to need due to climate change and other things that are on our radar aren’t taught in four-year schools and they aren’t taught in high school pretty much anywhere. Sterling is one of the few colleges that really takes that head-on," remarked Campbell. Read more. Link on bio.

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Sterling Alumnx (‘01) Theresa Snow, Founder and Director of Salvation Farms, conveys the origin of her non-profit and explores the practical and ethical importance of food surplus management. This conversation reveals the multifaceted potential of gleaning and surplus management activities, which serve as an eye-opening and activating type of experiential service learning while also supporting more equitable access to Vermont’s bounty of fresh produce. Theresa also speaks about her first-in-the-nation statewide study of edible food remaining on farms, and how to appropriately integrate technology and data to reveal supply-demand dysfunction and support more full food utilization for the benefit of farmers, eaters, and the environment. But in the end, she makes and defends some important claims about how change really happens -- and, despite all the good work that Salvation Farms and its organizational partners have done, Theresa doesn’t view institutions as the most important change agents. Link on bio.

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Sterling College is pleased to host an outdoor conversation with John Hayden and friends, Charlotte Rosendahl and Nicole Civita. Join us for Take A Walk on the Wild Side: An Evening with John Hayden and Friends on Thursday, July 22nd, at 7:00pm at The Farm Between in Jeffersonville, Vermont.

John Hayden has been working to design and implement agricultural systems with positive environmental and social outcomes for over 35 years as a researcher, extension agent, university educator, international consultant, and practicing regenerative organic farmer. Hayden's willingness to farm wildly and to share the bounty of his carefully tended, not-entirely-cultivated land among the more-than-human inhabitants of the farm created the foundation of Sterling's newest instructional site, The Farm Between. At the talk, John, Charlotte, and Nicole will explore the benefits and challenges of a wilder approach to farming and a more holistic approach to nourishment. The evening ends with a Q&A segment followed by light refreshments made by the Sterling Kitchen.

The talk is free and open to the public. Space is limited and parking can get a little tight. Consider carpooling with a friend. To help us fit everyone comfortably, it would be helpful to let Nakasi Fortune (nakasi.fortune@sterlingcollege.edu or 802-586-7711 x 147 know that you plan to attend.)

📷: Jessica Sipe

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New Podcast Alert: In this mini-cast, we rejoin Rick Thomas, Faculty in Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems at Sterling College, as he shares with us thought leaders that have inspired his work including Lynn Miller, the Small Farmer's Journal, Rural Heritage Magazine, and more. Take a listen and glean and apply the practical knowledge to your life.

Link on bio.

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At many higher education institutions, you are a number. At Sterling, with less than 125 enrolled undergrads, you are community. So if you've spent the spring and summer hiking and seeking out swimming holes, no worries. We got you. We will even waive the enrollment deposit to make things easy. So go for that July creemee run and come back and finish your application.

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We are saying limited seats, but that's almost funny. Why? Because Sterling prides itself on getting you out of your seat. Some call this experiential learning, we call it ecological thinking and action. So if you feel like college isn't for you because classrooms aren't for you, think again. Give us a shout and let us show you the inside scoop on outside classrooms. Send us a PM.

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They have an obsession with cheese; aged, blue, and smelly are all adored and cherished! They dream of someday being the front-human of a David Bowie cover band. They pose with chickens. If you are digging this person already, meet Moxie, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid. If you've dragged your feet all summer, have no fear. Fall enrollment is still in the cards for you, and this radical human can help make it happen. Drop us a PM and we can navigate you through the process in a way that leaves you nothing to bock, bock about.

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@guidesgonewild Podcast featured @len_tikyeler , Faculty in Environmental Humanities, and captured Laura's powerful testament to the importance of the right mentors and messaging, and how difficult it can be to see, never mind overcome, all the barriers we tend to build in front of ourselves. Take a listen. Link on bio.

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Take a seat around our virtual campfire and hear the stories we have to share: https://www.youtube.com/c/SterlingCollegeVT

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New Podcast Alert: @teaching_teamster , Faculty in Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems at Sterling College, joins us and discusses the definition of draft animal power systems, the student experience at Sterling’s Wendell Berry Farming Program in Kentucky, and the philosophy of Wendell Berry. Rick guides us through challenges of working with draft animal power and the conscious choice of doing right for the land. In this episode, we explore the failed food systems and transition from what is to what can be.

Link on bio.

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Dig In!

Finding & Using the Voice of an Advocate

On a late March morning, my Food Policy class ventured to the Statehouse in Montpelier for Rural Vermont’s Small Farm Action Day. Throughout the semester we have been discussing a…

Sterling College Launches School of the New American Farmstead

Renowned visiting instructors for short courses include David Asher, Andrea Chesman, Pete Colman, Sandor Katz January 19, 2016 • Craftsbury Common, VT • Sterling College has launched the School of…

Nourish the Roots: A $9 Million Comprehensive Campaign to Strengthen Environmental Stewardship at Sterling

Sterling College has launched the most ambitious fundraising effort in its history. Nourish the Roots: The Campaign for Sterling has a goal of $9 million, and the College announced that…

Professional Studies

School of the New American Farmstead

Artisan Cheesemaking

Sustainable Food Craft

Organic Wine & Spirits Production

Educational Farm & Garden Management

The School of the New American Farmstead offers leading-edge courses & Professional Certificates in regenerative farming and artisanal food production to support professionals and lifelong learners of all ages.

Check out the 2020 Class Schedule!

NOTICE: Due to COVID-19, we have postponed all in person courses until June 2021 at the earliest. Online courses will be listed as available below:

Want to keep up with us?

Receive updates on courses, professional certificates,
special offers, scholarships and more!

Check out our new certificate programs!

About the School of the New American Farmstead