Greenhorns is more than just a non-profit organization; it is a vital, multi-media agrarian institution and cultural movement dedicated to supporting and celebrating a new generation of ecological farmers. For over eighteen years, Greenhorns has served as a cultural space and practical professional resource for "entering agrarians," positioning itself at the nexus of sustainable agriculture, local activism, and cultural storytelling. Operating from the historic coastal village of Pembroke, Maine, the mother-run organization actively challenges narratives of industrial inevitability, arguing that humans must reform agriculture to survive on this planet.
Greenhorns defines its core purpose through a powerful combination of practical resource-sharing and profound philosophical commitment. Its mission is explicitly tied to survival, recognizing that the health of human culture is intrinsically linked to the health of the planet’s soil and water systems.
The institution views young farmers not merely as food producers, but as essential participants in cultural survival. Their work is celebrated as dignified work tending to land and water stewardship. Greenhorns offers thanks for "the food and the effort it took," establishing a tone of deep respect and gratitude for the labor involved in ecological farming.
The organization’s foundational belief is clear: we humans must reform agriculture to survive on this planet. To that end, Greenhorns focuses on creating a welcoming cultural space and a practical professional resource for newcomers. The organization operates on a belief system rooted in deep engagement with the living world, expressing its solidarity with future generations and the non-human world. This philosophy links Greenhorns directly to the international movement of LA VIA CAMPESINA, advocating for food sovereignty and the rights of peasants and small farmers globally.
Central to the Greenhorns' mission is the creation and dissemination of media and cultural content. They offer a beautiful archive of films and publications, establishing a rich, ongoing dialogue about farming life. This commitment results in a "burble of cultural content," including radio, symposia, workshops, and exhibitions, all designed to foster community and document the unfolding story of the young farmer movement. This cultural output ensures that the labor, beauty, and challenges of ecological farming are given serious literary and artistic weight, moving the subject beyond mere commodity production.
The New Farmers' Almanac stands as the literary heart of the Greenhorns institution. It is a unique publication—a literary journal powered by farmers, for farmers, with farmers—that seeks to interpret the complex relationship between human existence and the natural world.
The choice of PREMONITION for Volume 7’s theme is highly significant. It challenges the common narrative of inevitability often associated with climate crisis and industrial agriculture. Instead, the Almanac posits that literature, as in dreamworld, allows our human psyches to sort, unfold, and reorganize memories and meaning. This framing suggests that farmers, as "earth-bound beings tuned to a world wide web of soil," receive transmissions and warnings from the living world that must be heeded.
To capture this expansive theme, the Almanac gathers over 100 new works from a diverse collective of practitioners. This inclusive authorship—including farmers, artists, activists, organizers, journalists, poets, scholars, and scientists—ensures the content is rich, multilayered, and defies simple categorization. The Almanac thus functions not just as a how-to guide, but as a space for reflection, activism, and cultural critique. The commitment to printing in full color for the first time further elevates the Almanac from a resource guide to a serious piece of agrarian art and literature.
Greenhorns’ work is intrinsically linked to its physical location in the historic coastal village of Pembroke, Maine, where the organization has been gratefully lodged and rooted for years. The physical setting of Downeast Maine informs much of their specialized programming, linking sustainable land practice with coastal ecology.
The organization is proudly based on a working family farm, Smithereen Farm. This operational farm serves as a living laboratory and community hub:
A significant portion of Greenhorns' programming focuses on coastal and marine ecology, reflecting their Maine location. They are deeply involved in the seaweed Commons network, advocating for a precautionary and conservation-minded approach to seaweed aquaculture. Their key principles here include:
This advocacy is manifest in direct educational events:
Greenhorns understands that the vitality of rural life requires strong community infrastructure.
Greenhorns’ influence extends beyond its farm in Maine through collaborative media, resource creation, and sister organizations.
Through the EarthLife digital magazine and podcast series, Greenhorns creates multi-media learning experiences focused on the Downeast Maine region. This series, featuring episodes on ALEWIFES, BERRIES, CIVIC HALLS, and SEAWEED, uses short films, audio interviews, and collected articles to promote an ecological farming approach, rural enterprise, and coalition building. This digital content ensures their educational mission reaches an international audience.
Greenhorns actively fosters a larger network of support for young farmers and agrarian reform. Their published resources, such as THE GUIDEBOOKS and the RESOURCES MAP, are essential tools for newcomers. Furthermore, they highlight the work of crucial partner groups, acknowledging that agrarian reform requires collective effort. These sister organizations include:
In all its endeavors—from the philosophical dreamworld of the Almanac to the hands-on seaweed harvest workshops—Greenhorns acts as an essential catalyst. It celebrates the dignity of farming labor, fights for the environmental and social justice of coastal communities, and empowers a new generation to build a future rooted in the health of the earth. Their work remains a powerful testament to the idea that cultural survival, ecological stewardship, and political action are inseparable facets of a bright agrarian future.
