Abigail Gilson

Abigail Gilson, M.S., P.E. has a professional background in Civil and Environmental Engineering. She started pursuing her life-long dream of farming sustainably in 2016 with the purchase of 38 acres of farmland in the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York, which would become “Shepherd Ridge Farm”. Over-farmed, exhausted, and compacted soils on the property started her on the journey of regenerative agriculture, with a focus on silvopasture using nut trees and cattle. Membership in the New York Tree Crops Alliance (NYTCA) was a natural next step. Her work with NYTCA focuses on creating a regional nut processing facility and nut grower support network that will lower the barriers to entry to the nut growing industry. Her goal is to provide small farms with the means of becoming financially viable while also helping to reverse environmental degradation and climate change.