Author: Whitney Jaye

The crafting of SAAFON’s Farmer Brigades over the past five years has laid the foundation for a model of mutual aid and kinship building that connects our principles with our practices. Operating from a legacy of mutuality and collectivism, our solidarity and seasonal farmer brigade model represents a commitment to community survival, and helps keep our farm communities nimble, responsive, and joyful. The brigade in Virginia was no exception. 

Day one began in Rice, Virginia, at PineBrook Farms with Mama Lafern “Fern” Joseph. A New York native, Mama Fern fell in love with the South after her mother purchased the land in 1968. Helen Joseph, Mama Fern’s mother, held her own dream for the land she acquired at a price she could not pass up. The South Carolina native founded the farm – 123 acres of Southern Virginia rich in hickory, oak, spruce, and pine. 

Mama Helen used a straw buyer– one who purchases property on behalf of another – in order to bypass racial discrimination. The farm was formerly an apple orchard, which was cut down by the previous owner once they found out the new owners were Black. Yet Mama Helen carried no resentment; her vision for the land remained. In 1969, she planted her first tobacco crop and, for the next four years, worked in tandem with other local family farmers—growing tobacco while still living in New York. Eventually, Helen transitioned from tobacco to Angus cattle, which was cutting-edge at that time. 

After years of traveling back and forth, in 1984 Mama Lafern moved to Virginia to attend Longwood College (now Longwood University) in neighboring Farmville, VA. She sold her Brooklyn home to build a new house in Rice after a tenant had burned the previous one down. When asked what finally pulled her South, she explained, “Between the food and the sweetness of the people, that’s what pulled me south… and there’s something about Southern men.” Today, PineBrook Farms is a certified organic operation with GAP certification growing produce and hemp, producing a range of value-added products from salves to CBD-infused wine.  

This year’s brigade project focused on deer suppression. With market demands increasing and a noticeable percentage of crops being lost to local wildlife, the need for deer and rabbit fencing was urgent. Through the USDA NRCS EQIP program, PineBrook was able to purchase supplies for electrical fencing. However, the initial fence stood only five feet tall—well below the minimum eight-to-ten-foot requirement for proper deer control. From this challenge, our goal was born: to add three additional electrical wires, bringing the fence height to nine feet, and to strengthen the corners with wooden posts to improve overall integrity. 

The project began with an opening mystica, honoring the land and those who worked it with integrity. Soon after came the ting-ting-ting of T-posts being pounded into the ground in a circumference just shy of a quarter-acre. The chainsaw hummed as hickory and cedar trees were harvested to serve as corner posts, while the kitchen stove burned hot, preparing a meal that had been days in the making. The vision was clear and the hearts were willing—though hands were few. Even with a shortage of help, by the brigades end a nine-foot electrical fence stood strong, with only the farm gate left to be hung on its hinges. 

Our next stop was MysticPine Farms with Stephanie Miller in Altavista, Virginia—about an hour and fifteen minutes west of Mama Fern. These farmers often support one another, collaborating on projects and even on market opportunities. Stephanie is a fifth-generation farmer that purchased land link to the same plantation her family purchased from in the 1920s. When Black families were often allotted the poorest parcels, Stephanie’s family was no exception. The land, compacted with rocky soil and mostly forested as it slopes into a creek, now stands as a century farm under her care. 

Sister Stephanie family land holds a historic farm number consisting of only three digits. Previous generations lived and worked this land, growing tobacco and raising cows and chickens. Stephanie’s grandfather was the last to farm the land, and today her elder uncle still lives there and helps as a steady hand. This soil has witnessed the snarls of racism that haunt southern Virginia, yet it has held Stephanie’s family – and they have held on to it. MysticPine carries the traits, customs, and legacy of Southern Black Agrarianism. It is a place where people and land harmonize to drown out the echoes of systemic oppression. Here, Sista Stephanie Miller now steers the ship. 

With a vision to create a “therapeutic safe space for Black women,” Stephanie has transformed her family farm into a thriving produce and herb operation, with glamping-quality quarters under construction to expand the MysticPine experience. This brigade was organized to give her a jump start on fall and next year’s planting season through bed preparation. In-ground beds were created both in the field and in one of the greenhouses. Because soil restoration is a high priority at MysticPine, soil amendments were purchased and discussed in depth. 

• Cottonseed meal was added as a slow-release fertilizer that also improves soil structure. 

• Bone meal was incorporated to reset calcium levels, aiding root development and nutrient balance for plant solubility and structure. 

• Blood meal was applied as a slow-release nitrogen source that promotes microbial diversity and increases soil water retention capacity. 

MysticPine reconnected us to South Virginia’s agrarian legacy, from intergenerational collaboration painted in tones of red, black, and green, to songs of resilience attuned to the sovereignty of safe spaces for Black women to come, grow, and heal. 

Virginia, too, is a host of Black Agrarian legacy, traditions, and lifeways. Though it holds some of the oldest European settlements and a history steeped in the enslavement of African people, SAAFON Fall Brigades 2025 found itself rooted in resilience, blossomed in determination, and stretched across generations: past, present, and future. With hospitality true to the South, the brigades were a unique blend of ancestral land stewardship kept in alignment with agrarian pathways, and blood-deep visions continued.  

This past May and early June, SAAFON held its bi-annual Farmer Brigades in Alabama — a deeply collaborative effort rooted in shared labor, mutual aid, and the generational spirit of Black agrarian practice. Across two weeks and four farms, over 38 farmers, organizers and community members came together to support both legacy and new SAAFON members in building infrastructure, deepening relationships, and stewarding land in community. 

SAAFON’s staff led two rounds of brigades with care, alongside farmer members and regional agricultural specialists, on a diversity of farms in central and northern Alabama: Fountain Heights Farms, Honey Haven Farms, Huckleberry Hills Farm, and Queen Bey Farms. 

On a warm Monday morning, the SAAFON team arrived at Fountain Heights Farms, where we came together to construct a four-bin compost system designed to serve multiple sites in the surrounding neighborhood. The day opened with a “Tools of the Trade” presentation hosted by Fountain Heights — grounding the workday in the purpose and process of composting as a key practice in soil regeneration and food justice.  

As M. Dominique Villanueva Co-Founder of Fountain Heights Farms reflected, “What would’ve taken a week was completed with excellence in one day! That is the power of farmers helping farmers.”  

We were joined in this work by members of the Alabama State Association of Cooperatives (ASAC) and stewards & fellows from the Braiding Seeds Fellowship, whose presence brought additional labor and wisdom to the day. Exemplifying SAAFON’s landscape organizing imperative, inviting partners to throw down in the field with us, share their gifts and talents, makes the lift lighter and expands the resource and relational ecosystem that farmers and institutions alike benefit from.  

The following day, we shifted to Honey Haven Farms, where the brigade cleared land to make way for an expanded beekeeping operation and a new food forest. This was a day of hands-on transformation — cutting, clearing, weed eating — all in service to making space for abundance. Farmers from Fountain Heights and our friends from Braiding Seeds Fellowship returned, continuing the thread of solidarity across farms. 

The second round of brigades brought us to the Alabama counties of Huntsville and Talladega, where participants gathered to support two more SAAFON members: Huckleberry Hills Farm, a legacy member, and Queen Bey Farms (also known as Healers Land Farm), a new addition to the network. 

EcoParadigm’s diligent development of its team, skills and services has been in service of growing and deepening their reach and offerings across the region. Providing skilled labor to farmers and farms help that union achieve their goals in ways that are economically viable and ecologically sound. Showing up and showing out during our brigade on Huckleberry Hill represented a concrete practice of years of relationship and vision cultivation together. During our brigades our objective is to see a project through from start to finish and this partnership certainly made it more possible to achieve our goals with more ease and more pleasure.  

The final brigade was held at Queen Bey Farms, where the team installed three raised beds and two metal tubs using the Hügelkultur method — a soil-building approach rooted in mounding, layering, and water retention. Together, seven participants, including members from Honey Haven, planted the Spring Garden and several fruit trees. As the day came to a close, participants named each bed in honor of the shared effort and collective care that brought them into being. 

The purpose of SAAFON’s Farmer Brigades is more than a series of workdays. They are an affirmation of our core values: to encourage member-to-member engagement that deepen relationships between members in their own locale, to provide a space to share technical skill and wisdom amongst the collective, and to fellowship and practice our culture as a tool for liberation. Facilitating farmer to farmer labor and cultural exchanges not only provide help and hands-on support for farmers taking on projects too big to do alone but anchors SAAFON’s presence in the field as a living, breathing institution grounded in ancestral practice and future vision.  

In a time where land and labor are under constant pressure, the Spring Farmer Brigades reminded us: we are not alone in this work. We are a network, rooted on the land, tending not only to our crops — but to each other. 

In partnership with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), SAAFON awarded three scholarships to two undergraduates and one graduate student for their continued work in agriculture that promotes racial equity in food systems. The recipients of the annual Cynthia Hayes Memorial Scholarship are Vicki Mines, Alaina Parr, and Mikelanj Ajinaku.  

Vicki Mines is a community nutrition education and attends La Salle University and is pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Health.  Alaina Parr, who is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is currently attending Northwestern University, pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Policy with a second major in History and a minor in Environmental Policy. Mikelanj Ajinaku is a rising senior at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness. These students were chosen because of their demonstrated level of interest, commitment, and understanding of the importance of transforming our food system, from food accessibility to justice for farm workers.  

Now in our seventh year of co-stewardship of this award, SAAFON honors the organizing legacy of the late Cynthia Hayes, who co-founded SAAFON in 2006. Her life and work were rooted in relationships and amplifying Black farmer voices as essential aspects of building an alternative to the food system, the continuity of Black agrarian culture, and the movement towards Black liberation.  

Since then, SAAFON has continued to weave past scholars our Southern Agrarian Youth Network (SAYN), which connects young agrarians across the Southeastern U.S. and Caribbean. We are excited to continue offering the Hayes Memorial Scholarship and enhance connection opportunities for all scholars.  

Black Southern culture is rooted in agrarian lifeways. From black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day to spitting on okra seeds before planting, the roots of the Black experience in America are Southern, and the water within those roots is collective work. 

Our first day opened with storytelling, grounding us on the very land where we stood, Petal, Mississippi, nestled within the Sheeplo community. Sheeplo is made up of Black families, mostly farmers, whose ancestors fought for the Union during the Civil War. Where most communities carry land deeds, Sheeplo holds a land patent signed by Abraham Lincoln himself. 

Years later, this same land became home to the Indian Springs Farmers Association. After decades of farming and going to market together, a group of farmers, including Ben Burkett Sr., formalized their collective efforts in the late 1970s and early 1980s into what we now know as the Indian Springs Co-op. 

That legacy continues to thrive. Ben Burkett Jr. walks in his father’s footsteps and does so shoulder to shoulder with his community. A fourth-generation steward of land his family has owned since the 1880s, Mr. Burkett has spent over four decades as a leading voice in agro-activism and cooperative economics. While Mr. Ben played a central role in organizing the convergence, it was his daughter, Darnella Burkett, who held the space – she is the continuation of the Burkett legacy. With care and clarity, she guided us through the history of Indian Springs and brought us firmly into its present. Her words offered a vision rooted in the past yet alive in the now, committed to the continuation of a collective legacy. 

The second day brought the stories to life through labor. We worked alongside co-op members in and around their facilities to lend our help in the spirit of collective work. With more than thirty member-owners, the co-op remains vibrant, holding several certifications that sustain both the organization and the farmers who built it. With large orders going out, peas coming in, and audits just beyond the horizon, there was plenty to do. So, we rolled up our sleeves—packing boxes, patching walls, hanging food safety signs in the fields. We made good on the saying: many hands make light work. 

The convergence concluded at The Hub Kitchen in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, home of the brilliant Valerie Clark. She catered the event with meals that were true to Southern foodways, true to Mississippi. Every vegetable came from the Indian Springs Farmers Association. Val summoned the ancestors through her cooking, calling each meal “Thanksgiving.” And though the 2025 Watermelon Convergence wasn’t Thanksgiving, it felt like it – family reunited after long travels, soul-deep conversations with relatives newly met or long unseen, and plates stacked high with fried catfish, rib tips, speckled-peas, and okra. It was a homecoming. 

Watermelon is the pinnacle of Black agrarian legacy. It makes our land a portal, not just soil, but memory, spirit, and resilience. Gatherings like this reclaim watermelon from the grip of racist caricature. They remind us of its true role: a symbol of economic independence, communal pride, and cultural rebirth. That alone is a chapter in our story of how we got over. 

This convergence wasn’t about commerce – not yet. It was created for us to connect, to deepen our relationships, to heal. It wove historical fact with personal and communal truth, and birthed our experience from the womb of always, a poetic invocation of Black time, ancestral knowing, and the long journey home. A place where sun-browned hands meet sun-browned fields, and within that red clay, our seeds are pocketed like memory. 

The story of watermelon within the Black agrarian experience is epochal, stretching far beyond the Americas. For years, scholars believed the melon’s origins lay in South Africa, linked to the citron melon. Yet, recent genetic studies reveal that the domesticated watermelon of North America is most closely related to the Kordofan Melon of Sudan, nestled in the heart of Northeast Africa. Across West Africa, other melons share a deep kinship with the fruit we now recognize as watermelon.

Regardless of the specifics, one truth remains indisputable: the watermelon is, without question, African. Its seeds knew African soil long before the Atlantic bore witness to kidnapped African people. Long before Europe emerged from the depths of the Dark Ages, before the Mongols knew the rise of the Khan. When this revolutionary crop took root in America, it fashioned a new identity, bearing characteristics found nowhere else in the world. The earliest wild watermelons of Africa were bitter, watery, and bland. Yet, through centuries of Black agricultural expertise, both during and after slavery, the fruit was refined—its sweetness deepened, its flesh turned redder, and its succulence amplified.

This transformation was not by chance. Attentive care for the soil, inherited knowledge of irrigation, and generations-old cultivation techniques—all rooted in African traditions—played a pivotal role in making the watermelon of the Americas richer and juicier. Even the very varieties we revere today are shaped by Black hands. Take the Georgia Rattlesnake, cultivated by Black farmers in South Carolina and Georgia as early as the 1830s. Though still popular today, this heirloom once reigned as the most cultivated watermelon in the South. Then there’s the once-endangered Moon and Stars watermelon, which held its prominence in the early 1900s but, by the 1980s, was brought back from obscurity by Black farmers across Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas.

In the years following the Civil War, during the Post-Emancipation Farming Boom, Black farmers arguably became the nation’s largest producers of watermelon. More than just a crop, it was a symbol of liberation—one of the first cash crops cultivated and sold by newly freed Black agrarians. Watermelon was sold at bustling markets, along dirt roads, and even directly to white business owners who sought out the sweetest, juiciest melons grown in the South. It was more than sustenance—it was economic power, a means of independence for a people forging their way in an America still unwilling to see them free.

Yet, the Black agrarian stronghold on watermelon could not withstand the relentless assault of systemic racism. Discriminatory financial institutions, racially targeted government policies, and the rise of industrialized agriculture all worked to dismantle Black landownership. At its peak in 1910, Black farmers owned a staggering 16 million acres of land, much of it devoted to crops like watermelon. But by 1997, over 90% of that land had been lost—stolen through legal loopholes, denied access to loans, and driven into foreclosure by discriminatory policies. Today, corporate interests dominate the watermelon industry, but its Black agrarian roots remain undeniable.

Like country music, the blues, and gospel, watermelon is another Black gift to American history—a crop nurtured, perfected, and carried forward by the hands of Black farmers. And now, Black agrarianism is rising once more, growing at a rate unseen since the early 1900s. With its ancestral significance, the watermelon is reclaiming its rightful place—not just as a fruit, but as a symbol of Black independence, resilience, and cultural power.

Last week, the Southeastern African American Farmers’ Organic Network (SAAFON) and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) opened applications for our annual scholarship in honor and memory of the late Cynthia Hayes, co-founder of SAAFON.

This year’s scholarship welcomes applications from Black and Indigenous undergraduate and Masters students from all Tribal Nations, U.S. states, and territories. Applicants should be prepared to discuss their interest in food justice, sustainable agriculture, and how these issues impact Black and Indigenous farmer communities in the United States.

“SAAFON is proud to announce the 2025 Cynthia Hayes Memorial Scholarship, in honor of our visionary founder and her immeasurable impact on the sustainable agriculture and Black food justice movements. We look forward to continuing our investment in the next generation of leaders in partnership with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, for this year and well into the future,” said Whitney Jaye, Co-Executive Director at SAAFON. 

The Cynthia Hayes Memorial Scholarship will offer one graduate and two undergraduate students a $5,000 award. Scholarship recipients will also have the opportunity to connect with sustainable food and farm advocates and become more involved with the partnering organizations and their networks.

“The Cynthia Hayes Memorial Scholarship is a powerful way for NSAC and SAAFON to honor Cynthia’s legacy, especially when programs that uplift Black and Indigenous students are under threat,” says Tyler Edwards, Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator at NSAC. “With this scholarship, we are investing in the education of Black and Indigenous advocates who will go on to support diverse and resilient food systems around the country.” 

To be considered, undergraduate students must have completed half of their respective programs by the end of December 2024, and graduate students must have completed at least 4 courses by December 2024. Applicants will be evaluated on their interest in sustainable agriculture, policy, and grassroots organizing, and must have demonstrated knowledge or experience in racial equity and an interest in pursuing leadership or a career in the sustainable food and farm movement.

The deadline to apply is May 1, 2025.

Apply at this link: Hayes Memorial Scholarship Application

Questions related to the Cynthia Hayes Memorial Scholarship should be directed to scholarship@sustainableagriculture.net.

Authors:
Alsie Parks and Whitney Jaye, SAAFON’s Co-Executive Directors

As you may have noticed, our website and our newsletter have a new look! Rooted in the wisdom, stories, experiences and visions of our founders, and Black farmers across the U.S. South and Caribbean, these refreshed elements tell the story of our history and future. We hope that you will enjoy them, as we look forward to providing more robust storytelling about our work and network.  

The buzz of the summer season has still not winded down, even as we swiftly approach the autumnal equinox. In this spirit, much like nature, Summer for SAAFON has been a time of activation, moving and shaking, being in the “field.” We get busy when our farmers get busy, and the months leading up to Fall are spent on farms, in the landscape, and continuing our institutional development work to be in solidarity and service.  

Although we hold our roles and responsibilities as institutional stewards, we will always be field organizers. Time in the field, with our farmers and our organizing kin, enriches the quality of our touches and feeds the organization’s vision and mission. Some recent personal highlights:  

• Cooking and preparing meals for our farmers at the Weaving Wisdoms gathering, one of the largest in-person gathering of our members coming together across geographies to date;  

• Linking up with Braiding Seeds fellows on the land as they gathered in Georgia, helping our farmers hold space for radical hospitality and sharing our kinship and analysis;  

• Weaving cultural connections through storytelling and sipping homemade sapodilla wine while hosting a mixer for the community we are becoming a part of on St. Croix.  

Our consistent desire to be with our folks and be of service to farmers is one of the many rewards that comes with the hard work of relationship and institution building.  

While SAAFON has diligently worked to serve our members, we do nothing without being in relationship. We understand the value of an ecosystem of care – the web of support necessary to increase the viability of farms – and are a part of the support system, alongside organizers and institutions in our region. Building within our landscape is a part of our organizing strategy, and we prioritize lifting the vast work happening in our collective movement. 

This season, we celebrated our collaboration and co-stewardship of the Southern Black Farmer Community Led Fund, a space where we invest in the Southern region, which has entrusted SAAFON to cultivate our Southern Agrarian Youth Network (SAYN). It is exciting that we can prioritize intergenerational exchange, and nurturing and connecting young farmers and land stewards in the South. This past weekend, we realized months of planning for the 2nd Annual SAYN Gathering at Foxfire Ranch in Waterford, Mississippi. With an intersection with blues artists, camping out underneath the stars, and eating Big Mama Annie’s food, this gathering fed and nourished the legacy extension and continual renewal of Black agrarianism by next the generation farmers and youth.  

Amid our ongoing building of relationships, institution, and landscape, we recognize the nexus of the historical and current conditions that shape our material and climate reality. During our time in St. Croix in July, we heard from farmers about their visions, needs, and the continued advocacy it has required for them to provide the vital role they play in the island food system. This summer, as Ernesto transitioned from a tropical storm to a hurricane on route to the U.S. Virgin Islands, farmers collectively organized themselves, rebuilding, and remaining steadfast in their call to feed their people and communities, now and in the future. This persistence of farmers is the foundation of our system – their commitment calls for movements that prioritize food security, sovereignty, and justice to continue to invest in the farm infrastructure and farmer organizing that it takes to sustain us all. And it is with that imperative that we at SAAFON continue to serve, and be in service to, expand, laugh, craft kinship, build, work alongside each other, and dig in. 

We are pleased to announce our inaugural Agrarian Revival Fest: Rooting in Our Practices on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at Boggs Rural Life Center in Keysville, Georgia. 

This free festival is a celebration of organic agriculture and Black agrarianism, designed to highlight the enduring legacy of Black farmers across the Southeast. A farmer-centered, family-friendly daylong event, Agrarian Revival Fest promises attendees an exploration of land practices that are both sustainable and ancestral, integrating the past, present, and future of Black agrarianism. Festival happenings include: 

• Farm Tours: A two site farm tour led by Tianna Neal of Starlit Roots, highlighting small scale organic agriculture and collective farming 
• “Ask an Organic Farmer” Booth: Engage with Jesse Buie, of Ole Brook Organics in Mississippi, to learn about the journey and evolution of organic certification. 
• Skill Shares and Farm Demonstrations: Participate in a nature/herb walk, community dye demo facilitated by Keisha Cameron of High Hog Farm, and see various practices led by SAAFON farmers including seedsaving and compost tea. 
• Storytelling Trail: Take a walk through history to experience stories of the Boggs Rural Life Center’s vibrant past at the intersection of education, agriculture, and rural life skills. 
• Cultural Celebration: Enjoy a drumming circle, and come learn more about Black agrarian culture! 

While there is no charge to attend Agrarian Revival Festival, SAAFON encourages attendees to complete the attached registration form for more logistical details and event updates, including how to take advantage of the roundtrip chartered bus ride between Atlanta and Keysville on Saturday, October 12th, and overnight camping village tickets on Boggs Center grounds for those who want to extend their experience. 

SAAFON seeks co-sponsors for this significant agricultural celebration. Interested donors should contact Alisha Johnson Perry, Director of Development, at 504-564-5845 or ajperry@saafon.org on or before Friday, September 27, 2024, to meet printing deadlines.

We are honored to host our inaugural Black agrarianism festival at the Historic Boggs Rural Life Center. Boggs holds deep cultural and historical significance as a site of Black educational and agricultural excellence, and its support of community farming – including eight acres of community farming land maintained by the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) farmer cluster – makes it the perfect setting for this landmark event.  

All are invited to join us on October 12th as we celebrate and uplift the legacy of Black Agrarianism and sustainable farming practices! For media inquiries or more information, please contact SAAFON Co-Executive Directors Whitney Jaye & Alsie Parks at wjaye@saafon.org, aparks@saafon.org, or (920) 372- 2366.