The purpose of an incubator farm is to facilitate new entrants to farming. The basic concept is to assist aspiring new farmers by providing them land, water, equipment, and other shared resources along with mentoring so that they can establish their enterprises, develop markets for their products and services, learn from their mistakes and successes, and peers. Once they have successfully established their new farm enterprise, successful participants are expected they will find their own land and vacate the incubator farm so that subsequent new entrants can take their place.

Examples of Incubator farms and supporting programs:

FarmStart in Guelph, Ont.

The Intervale Center in Burlington, VT.

Maverick Farms in Valle Crucis , NC.

Business Models

There are a number of business models under which incubation farms and farmers can operate:

1.0 Community Supported Agriculture

2.0 Royalty model

3.0 Share cropping

4.0 Land and equipment rental.