Contact

If you have suggestions as to what kind of trainings you would like to see, please email us at solidground@uconn.edu.

Join our email list, so you can be updated on trainings we are presenting  in the state.

Jiff Martin

Jiff Martin

Food Systems Senior Extension Educator

jiff.martin@uconn.edu

Jiff has worked for years to strengthen agriculture and promote local agriculture and food systems in Connecticut. Her current work includes:

  • Leading the development of new training and resources for beginning farmers
  • Creating new tools and programming to help farmers sell to schools and early childhood centers
  • Helping consumers discover local food and farms through outreach and marketing campaigns

Prior to joining UConn Extension, Jiff led farmland preservation advocacy efforts in Connecticut on behalf of American Farmland Trust, Working Lands Alliance, and Hartford Food System. Jiff received the White House Champions for Change Award in Sustainable Agriculture in 2015 and the Northeast Region Excellence in Extension Award in 2023. 

Robert Chang

Program Co-Director

Robert Farms at Echo Farm in occupied Nipmuc Territory, now known as Woodstock CT, where he grows organic vegetables and cut flowers. He is a founding member of the New CT Farmer Alliance and works in policy and advocacy at the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust. He is a proud alum of past Solid Ground training programs and is grateful for the opportunity to serve the beginning farmer community in CT at UConn Extension.

Image of Melanie Desch

Melanie Desch

Program Coordinator

Melanie comes to the Solid Ground team with a passion for food systems and farming. She recently worked at Mesa Comunitaria, a program focused on removing barriers to food access and redistributing existing food resources to the Windham community. Melanie became involved in CT agriculture by working on several diversified organic farms in Eastern CT, which inspired her to start her own. Nestled into Mansfield Center, Foliota Farm produces cut flowers and herbs with a focus on regenerative practices and the intent to convert as much turfgrass into ag production as possible.

At Solid Ground, Melanie will help coordinate the Ag Mechanic workshops and is helping to develop our Skill Shares, which will connect beginning farmers with key production skills through a series of immersive workshops. She is excited to give back to the program that was so instrumental in helping develop her own business and can’t wait to meet more farmers across the state!

Megan White with sunflowers

Megan Herbert

Program Coordinator

Megan joins the Solid Ground team with deep-rooted enthusiasm for local agriculture. A UConn graduate, she received her BS in Agriculture and Natural Resources, and has since gained further experiences working in many agriculture sectors such as: greenhouse/nursery, dairy, cheesemaking, and orchards.  A full-time farmer, Megan operates her family farm, Westview Farm in Woodstock, CT, where she produces grass-fed grass-finished beef, cut flowers, produce, hay, and a pick-your-own sunflower field. With Solid Ground, Megan will be focusing on the Farm Manager Summit, Climate Smart Workshops, and Ag Mechanics series. She is grateful for the opportunity to help serve and connect with farmers and educators across the state. 

Shannon Raider smiling at the camera

Shannon Raider-Ginburg

Program Coordinator

Shannon has extensive experience aligning local agriculture, food justice, and education. As a farmer, Shannon has worked all manner of farms from larger certified organic CSA operations to 450-acre Christmas tree farms, to community gardens and urban agriculture. She has developed farmers markets, mobile markets, run her own small farm business and managed agricultural education programs. Shannon has worked with Extension on developing and implementing Farm to School procurement resources since 2017. Meeting the growing school market is a great way to scale up your farm business. Please reach out to learn more!

Nicole Davidow in a field holding a pumpkin

Nicole Davidow

Outreach Assistant

Nicole joined UConn Extension as the Outreach Assistant for the Vegetable IPM team at the start of 2025. She is excited to expand her responsibilities and increase her collaboration with Solid Ground. As a beginning farmer and having participated in many of Solid Grounds trainings herself, she is grateful to get to know and work alongside new and aspiring farmers who are eager to make their ideas a reality. She looks forward to supporting workshops that provide farmers with practical skills and opportunities for increased connection and collaboration.

  • What Farmers are saying about our programming....Farmer Gatherings: Being able to discuss the season’s highs and lows with people who “get it”, that’s what creates the sense of community and makes me feel less alone as a farmer....Every meeting has resulted in something that has bettered my farming - from first hand reviews of tools I’m looking to invest in, to crop varieties that are favorites or duds, to finding solutions for better record keeping.
  • What farmers are saying about our programming: UConn Extension has already been so helpful to us during this whole process it couldn't be overstated how much the resources you guys offer have assisted us. We seriously appreciate all that you do and recognize how much it has helped us in getting our farm started.
  • What farmers are saying about our programming: One-on-one Consultations: The consult was incredibly helpful, and your advice has really helped us focus and lower the stress of planning for next year.
  • What farmers are saying about our programs: I appreciated that flexibility, being able to walk our fields with Joe who is full of both theoretical and practical knowledge, have him be able to notice things, comment on what he saw, that turned out to be really helpful for us. We changed our grazing plan for the rest of the season and it will impact the way we will graze this upcoming season as well.
  • What farmers are saying about our programs: Ag-Mechanics Class: Tom is an incredible instructor. He was kind, patient, thorough, and very knowledgeable. He was very trusting of the participants, empowering us to apply the new knowledge we had acquired. I believe we all walked away feeling like we had gained a very valuable new skill. Tom is an asset to UConn extension!
  • What farmers are saying about our programming: Agro-Ecology class: The tour was incredible; I really appreciated the tour style taking us through each stage of his farming operation and being open enough to share his methods in great detail. I also especially appreciated the explanation of the equipment and tools he uses, for what purpose and how often he used/uses them both in the beginning of the no-till transition and now, years later.