Asian American & Pacific Islander Farmers
Today we are highlighting some AAPI owned farms and farmers. Big shout out to these folks for the work they do to help feed so many communities — give them some love and click on their accounts to learn more!
This is by no means an exhaustive list so please feel free to comment below with additional farmers!
This is a post made in collaboration with @washyouthgarden.
Asian American Farmers in DMV
Potomac Vegetable Farm @potomac_vegetable_farms
Farm started by Tony & Hiu Newcomb, a Chinese American, in 1960s in Fairfax County, VA
Dicot Farm @dicotfarm
3 acre farm started by Erik de Guzman (Filipino American) along with his wife, Meghan Ochal, in Waldorf, MD that grows all kinds of Certified Organic vegetables for farmers markets & CSA
Cultivate the City & H St. Farms @cultivatethecity @hstfarms
A network of urban farms in NE DC specializing in growing strawberries and ethnic crops founded by Niraj Ray, an Indian-American
Young Sohn Gardens @youngsohngardens
farm in Derwood, MD founded by Sarah Sohn that provides a gathering space for people with autism and their allies
Asian American Farmers on West Coast
Kitazawa Seed @kitazawa_seed
seed company based in CA specializing in Asian vegetable seeds since 1917
Cultural Roots Nursery @culturalrootsnursery
nursery in CA on Patwin land started by Zee Husain and Li Schmidt to increase the availability of plant starts significant to their heritages — Pakistani and Taiwanese
Namu Farm @namu_farm
farm founded by Kristyn Leach that grows plants and seeds significant to Korean-Americans in California's Central Valley
Shao Shan Farm @shaoshanfarm
farm in CA founded by Scott Chang-Fleeman, a 3rd generation Chinese American
Another Spring Farm @anotherspringfarm
farm on Chinook land, founded by Serena Milne, a Black and Japanese queer femme farmer
Radical Family Farms @radicalfamilyfarms
1.5-acre farm in CA that focuses mostly on Asian produce founded by Leslie Wiser, a Chinese-Taiwanese-German American, and Sarah Deragon
Kamayan Farm @kamayanfarm
farm 25 miles east of Seattle on Snoqualmie people’s land growing long beans, bitter melon, and ginger founded by Ariana de Leña, a Filipina American
Mai Nguyen @farmermainguyen
a first-generation Vietnamese American farmer growing grains in CA and founder of Minnow, a people of color-led organization dedicated to securing farmland tenure for California’s farmers of color, while respecting indigenous sovereignty and furthering land rematriation
Masumoto Family Farm @masumoto_family_farm
80 acre farm that grows certified organic peaches, nectarines, apricots, and grapes (for raisins), founded in 1948 by Takashi “Joe” Masumoto after returning to CA from being unjustly incarcerated during World War II with 120,000 other Japanese Americans
Pacific Islander Farmers
Ma’o Organic Farms @maoorganicfarms
281 acre farm founded in 2000 in Waiʻanae growing organic food and young leaders working for a sustainable Hawai’i
Asian American Farmers on East Coast
Good Chi Farm @goodchifarm
half-acre farm in NY, founded by Betsy Ho, a 2nd generation Chinese American
Choy Division @choydivision
½ acre farm in the black dirt (super lush soil) in NY focused on growing East Asian heritage crops founded by Christina Chan, a 2nd generation Chinese-American
farm in NY founded by Katherine Chiu and Abe Young, both 2nd generation Taiwanese Americans
Assawaga Farm @assawagafarm
3/4 acre farm in Connecticut specializing in Japanese varieties of vegetables founded by Yoko Takemura and Alex Carpenter
Sang Lee Farms @sangleefarms
farm in Long Island, NY founded in 1940s by the Lee family to supply NY's Chinatown with quality Asian produce
Beginning Farmers
a 2nd generation Chinese American immigrant currently farming with Randall’s Island Park Alliance on Lenape land (NYC). She is focusing her learning on intensive crop diversity, building soil, herbalism, building communities of mutual aid, and Asian ancestral food ways.
Yun-Yun Li
a 1st generation Hong Kongese American currently farming at Oak Spring Farm in Freeland, Maryland on Piscataway land
Yu-Shing Ni
a 1st generation Chinese-American growing food and providing youth garden education at Seed to Table in Sisters, OR on the traditional land of the Wasco, Wishram, Northern Paiute, and Warm Springs peoples
Collaboration Efforts
This post was a joint effort between Josephine Chu and Emilia Kawashima.
Josephine Chu, a Chinese American with parents immigrating from Vietnam and Hong Kong, supports produce distribution, community events, workshops, operations, and communications at Common Good City Farm.
Emilia Kawashima is a beginner farmer and educator at the Washington Youth Garden, 1st generation Japanese-Polish American.
More Reading
Why a Small Sebastopol Farm Has 1,000 Copies of This Iconic, Out-of-Print Chinese Cookbook by Luke Tsai, Eater San Francisco, November 17, 2020
Young Asian Americans turn to farming as a means of cultural reclamation by Allison Park, NBC News, October 28, 2019
Opinion: What ‘Minari’ is doing for Asian American farmers like me by Mai Nguyen, CNN, April 19, 2021
The One Thing My Farm Training Never Covered: Racism by Mai Nguyen, National Young Farmers Coalition, July 3, 2017
‘Minari’ Shines a Spotlight on Asian American Farmers by Nadra Nittle, Civil Eats, February 12, 2021
SoCal farmers sees many parallels to his life in ‘Minari’ by Jo Kwon, Spectrum News 1, April 20, 2021
Nonprofit Helps California’s Asian-American Farmers Grow Their Businesses by Clarissa Wei, NPR, July 12, 2017
Bok Choy isn’t ‘Exotic:’ A Young Generation of Asian-American Farmers is Reclaiming Asian Vegetables—and in the process, their own culinary heritage by Cathy Erway, Eater, April 8, 2019
Upcoming Event
Asian American Farmers Look Back to Go Forward as part of CULINASIA: The Future of Asian Food in America, Presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center & the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art & Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Wednesday, June 23, 2021, 6:30 - 8 pm ET