By Lena Moreno, November 18, 2025
Atop the hill behind Collins College at Cal Poly Pomona lies an assortment of student-grown goods produced by Urban & Community Agriculture’s Microfarm.
This student-run initiative serves as an educational learning lab to practice farming techniques through community involvement in a rich biodiverse setting.
What started off as a culinary garden for Collins College back in 2017 has transformed into a half-acre urban farm run by students and the agriculture department’s supporting staff and faculty.
A team of six student managers oversee and tend to the farm, along with the helping hands of student volunteers to keep the farm flourishing to its fullest capacity.
The location provides students with an educational and volunteer space to practice sustainable farm work such as planting, weeding, harvesting and general crop care. It has helped those involved learn how to be farmers or agricultural scientists, according to Microfarm student manager Sage Drohan.
“Huntley College of Agriculture and a lot of the plant science classes are actually hosted at the Microfarm, where students learn hands-on skills and small-scale agriculture,” Drohan said. “So, that’s a lot different than, say, your big corporate agriculture.”
Average duties on the farm vary day-to-day depending on the week’s weather. Managers check around the farm for pest management, conduct general plant care and check their order list from their on-campus partners.
A range of produce is grown on the farm including squash, tomatoes, peppers, herbs and more vegetable and fruit selections.
There are also pollinator-friendly plants and cut flowers including, lavender, zinnias, dahlias and sunflowers among others. Students can even spot monarch butterflies on milkweed plants and native honeybees on sunflowers.
The Microfarm team’s sustainability practices include not using pesticides or weed-killing herbicides. They also utilize longevity efforts like compost fertilizer, static piles and drip irrigation.
No machinery is used apart from a brush mower that helps control weeds in the orchards area. Previous managers of the farm also used rototillers and other gas consuming machinery the current management no longer puts into practice.
Instructional support technician in the plant science department Michelle Baggett i helps lead the Microfarm student managers with daily tasks, needed supplies and mutual support to assist in the team’s overall successes.
“A quarter of the acre is dedicated toward orchard space, growing rare fruit varieties,” Baggett said. “The other quarter acre is dedicated for row crops and raised herb beds.”
More than 300 lbs. worth of produce have been harvested as of June 2025. Rare fruits and veggies harvested include eggplant, okra, jujubes, figs, loquats, persimmons, sapote and pomegranates. The farm’s newest addition of elderberries was planted as of recently, according to Drohan and Baggett.
Produce is sent around campus to Kellogg West, Kellogg Ranch, Innovation Brew Works and Associated Students Incorporated’s Poly Pantry. These partners request specific crops for their establishments.
The Microfarm’s mission is to help fight food insecurity, especially for students in need, through CPP’s free resources. Collaborating with ASI’s Poly Pantry achieves this goal, providing the campus community with healthy products grown directly on campus.
Wildlife such as gophers, squirrels and rabbits often stop by the biodiverse farm, but they can be detrimental to the crops. Drohan and Baggett said coyotes and rodents are especially problematic because the coyotes tear up irrigation systems and consume the farm produce, while rodents damage crops and eat the roots of plants.
“A lot of people say they’re scary or bad, but they’re just trying to live like us,” Drohan said.
Despite their challenges, the Microfarm welcomes biodiversity with no intention of keeping pests and wildlife away, according to Baggett.
“We have a really good coexistence model up there at the Microfarm where we’re not trying to keep all of that away,” Baggett said. “I think it is a cool space to just observe nature right in the middle of campus.”
To get involved, a weekly volunteer program occurs every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Staff, faculty and students from any major can assist with the farm’s needs, such as harvesting compost for the day.
The Microfarm aims to hold more events and involvement in the near future to ensure longevity. Drohan said there is also hope the farm will continue building revenue streams for their services.
Research is also always welcome to any colleges or organizations given the space offerings and supportive volunteers. A clear agreement between the researchers and farm staff must be formed to make clear distributions on the farm. This helps the farm know who will take care of research crops or plots among the farm managers or researchers.
All expenses toward research on the Microfarm must be paid by the research group themselves, like the research paper conducted by HortScience with the Microfarm.
Additional goalsinclude keeping campus partnerships strong, such as growing more food for the Poly Pantry. The Microfarm will also continue to perfect a strong crop schedule to see what produce works well or not and evaluate the farm’s overall health.
“It helps the students get a feel of what it’s like to grow crops and how time intensive it is,” said student manager Izzy Changaran Kumarath. “It also lets them understand where their food comes from.”