2024-11-14T01:14:05-07:00 2023-12-31 990 2023-01-01 262847063 THE EXPERIMENTAL FARM NETWORK COOPERATIVE EXPE 2152640446 5447 Morris Street Philadelphia PA 19144 Nathan Kleinman Co-Director/Co-Founder 2152640446 2024-11-13 1 2023 2024-10-15 13:58:12Z Experimental Farm Network EFN Nathan Kleinman 109 Oak Street Suite B Elmer NJ 08318 444835 0 X www.ExperimentalFarmNetwork.org X 2015 PA From our Articles of Incorporation: "To coordinate the efforts of its staff, members, and the general public to facilitate the creation of new crops and growing systems, and work toward a permaculture-based, environmentally sustainable, climate change-mitigating agricultural system. EFN's mission includes, but is not limited to, encouraging the adoption and wider use of the following: organic farming practices; soil conservation; composting; seed-saving; perennial crop plants; agroforestry; renewable energy sources; sustainable building practices; bicycle-powered human transportation, trade, and waste-disposal systems; recycling; open source technology and open network philosophy; cooperative organization of agricultural enterprises and societies; and land banks and other means of connecting would-be farmers with land." 7 5 0 25 0 0 98835 135632 0 0 0 0 283059 239422 381894 375054 40249 0 0 0 103993 48160 0 0 0 303803 219465 448045 267625 -66151 107429 246219 353953 -305 0 246524 353953 From our Articles of Incorporation: "To coordinate the efforts of its staff, members, and the general public to facilitate the creation of new crops and growing systems, and work toward a permaculture-based, environmentally sustainable, climate change-mitigating agricultural system. EFN's mission includes, but is not limited to, encouraging the adoption and wider use of the following: organic farming practices; soil conservation; composting; seed-saving; perennial crop plants; agroforestry; renewable energy sources; sustainable building practices; bicycle-powered human transportation, trade, and waste-disposal systems; recycling; open source technology and open network philosophy; cooperative organization of agricultural enterprises and societies; and land banks and other means of connecting would-be farmers with land." 0 0 202345 309203 Seed production, conservation, and distribution: The Experimental Farm Network Cooperative produced or collected over 500 varieties of heirloom and open-pollinated seeds, intended for sale or free distribution. We managed a collection of over 2,000 rare heirloom vegetable, grain, and herb varieties. We conducted variety trials and plant breeding research on over 100 different species. We performed research in agroecological farming methods and educated members of the public on our work. Over the past year, we continued making advancements on various in-house research projects, including perennial grain sorghum, perennial leaf beets, Chilean pine nuts, strawberries, chinquapin chestnuts, hazelnuts, mayapples, perennial wheat, perennial rye, and other perennial crops. Customers made 7,595 purchases, a 3% decrease from the previous year, through our online store (which has become our primary means of disseminating seeds for breeding projects, research, and to inspire growers to become breeders and researchers themselves), and we also shared free seeds with an estimated 10,000 people through more than 200 local and regional seed hubs through our Cooperative Gardens Commission project (which we started in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic). 27253 15000 Public education, outreach, and travel: We attended various farming conferences and other public events, speaking to audiences about our work. We traveled extensively to build relationships with other farmers, plant breeders, and seed growers. For each of these activities, our overarching long-term goal is the development of new crops and growing methods for carbon-sequestration, improved soil health, and ecosystem services. 4750 0 In 2022, we continued and expanded our work of seed rematriation (defined similarly to "repatriation", but using a word that recognizes and honors the role of women as seed-keepers in most traditional societies), which involves identifying and growing seeds connected to a particular historical community, returning regenerated seeds to the communities from which they originally came (and/or individuals living in diaspora), and developing long-term mutually-beneficial relationships with members of those communities, including through offering programmatic support wherever possible. Our most important rematriation success-story involved a collaboration with Native Roots Farm Foundation, a Nanticoke-led organization aiming to revive the agricultural life of the Nanticoke people (indigenous to parts of modern-day Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey) through land conservation and education. In 2023, we expanded access to two types of Nanticoke squash, a winter squash simply known as "Nanticoke Squash" (Cucurbita maxima), and a summer squash known in English as "Maycock" (Cucurbita pepo), from the Nanticoke word for squash, "Macac", as well as a Lenape sweet corn variety. This work also has a major educational component, involving teaching others about seed rematriation in order to inspire and encourage them to undertake similar work (there's no shortage of need for such work). 31777 119277 In 2023, we served as fiscal sponsor for five projects related to our core mission, including a lost apple identification project (which seeks to find and identify historically known apple varieties before they are lost) directed by Michael Clifford, Greenbridge CDC (a Lenape-led organization that works to restore degraded traditional lands of the Lenape people in Delaware), the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library (which preserves critical crop biodiversity from the Fertile Crescent), an urban farming focused design, installation, and community-process facilitation project (Root Catalyst), and a food-share program for new parents led by a community-based farm in Philadelphia (Dirtbaby Farm). We provide oversight of their projects, all of which conducted important charitable work in 2023. 31777 0 119277 266125 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 7 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 PA X Nathan Kleinman 2152640446 109B Oak Street Elmer NJ 08318 Nathan Kleinman Co-Director/Board Member 60 0 X X X 36000 0 36000 Dustin Hinz Co-Director/Board Member 40 0 X X 12160 0 12160 Jacques Sapriel Board Member 1 X 0 0 0 Brianna Barton Board Member 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Owen Taylor Board Member 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Sally McCabe Board Member 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Vandana Shiva Board Member 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 48160 0 48160 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 135632 0 135632 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 309203 69781 239422 239422 0 0 0 375054 239422 0 0 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 48160 48160 79141 79141 14617 14617 38333 38333 6019 6019 32740 32740 23390 23390 0 0 10550 10550 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 110 Miscellaneous expenses 5380 5380 0 Free food for new parents ("Giftbaby" program) 5042 5042 0 Farming equipment, supplies, and soil amendments 2643 2643 0 Seed vendor permit from State of Minnesota 1500 0 1500 267625 266125 1500 0 80437 99760 -305 -305 0 141884 230295 0 24203 0 24203 24203 0 0 0 0 0 246219 353953 -305 0 0 -305 0 X 223160 284684 23364 69269 246524 353953 246219 353953 107429 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 X 89615 116474 178692 98835 135632 619248 40865 81035 179547 288059 309203 898709 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 130480 197509 358239 386894 444835 1517957 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1517957 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 130480 197509 358239 386894 444835 1517957 1 1 0 0 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24203 0 0 24203 0 0 0 0 24203 Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 2 One independent contractor who provides management services as co-operations manager for our seed sales operation (Colton Hinz) is the brother of a Board member (Dustin Hinz). Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b This form is being prepared by Nathan Kleinman, with some assistance from Dustin Hinz. No other persons will review it before submission, but it will be made available to the Board of Directors after submission. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 Documents are available upon request. Form 990, Part IX, Line 11g Two contractors (Colton Hinz and Kierra Jeffers) were paid $27,000 each for packing seeds, shipping, managing operations, and organizing seed conservation facilities. Other services included here include: germination tests, garlic nematode tests, coordinating volunteers for free seed distribution efforts, packing seeds, cooking at public events, and limited on-farm field work (all individuals paid for services earned less than $600 in 2023). We requested and received an extension to file late because spring is an exceptionally busy time for the directors of our organization due to planting season, as we are all farmers.