Education

 

TC3 Farm

A Living Laboratory

Supplementing the educational offerings of Tompkins Cortland Community College, the TC3 Farm provides the ideal opportunity for students to experience food production at a human-scaled, local level. Students learn year-round, modern organic vegetable production with the added benefit of doing so in direct relationship with the distribution and preparation needs of the College's downtown Ithaca culinary center, Coltivare. 

Forming the foundation of an innovative suite of programs known as Farm to Bistro, this dynamic farm/restaurant partnership provides students hands-on experience in every aspect of the food-production system, answering market demand and leveraging the tremendous wealth of local food, wine, and agricultural production in the Finger Lakes.

Explore Farm to Bistro

  • Sustainable Farming and Food Systems emphasizes the practical skills needed to manage a small, diverse farm, while providing students with a broad exposure to the social and ecological considerations of food production and distribution. Focusing on sustainability, students experience cultivating the land and working in hoophouses on a farm run free of the commercial energy grid through the use of solar and geothermal technology.
  • Culinary Arts teaches aspiring hospitality and culinary students the “farm-to-table” concept currently driving menus in some of the finest restaurants worldwide.
  • Wine Marketing focuses on the business aspects of the industry and was developed in response to the rapid growth of the wine sector locally, nationally, and internationally.
  • Hotel and Restaurant Management prepares students for supervisory positions in hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality-related organizations.
  • Coltivare
  • TC3 Farm
  • Culinary arts
  • TC3 Farm
  • Wine Marketing

    • Meet The Farmer

    TC3 Farmer Todd McLane

    Todd McLane, the Director of the TC3 Farm, originally hails from Central New Jersey and is a graduate of the University at Albany-SUNY.  Todd’s passion for having a positive impact on his community led him to pursue a career in agriculture. Growing high quality, healthy food wasn’t enough for Todd. He wanted to educate and inspire folks about local food. This led him to the TC3 Farm, which is part of the Farm to Bistro initiative at Tompkins Cortland. The TC3 Farm directly supports the A.A.S degree program Sustainable Farming and Food Systems. In addition to being the Farm Director, Todd is also an Adjunct Associate Professor teaching various courses in the Sustainable Farming and Food Systems program.

    Before his work at Tompkins Cortland, Todd was the Farm Manager at West Haven Farm in Ithaca, one of the oldest certified organic vegetable operations in the area. Todd is also involved with Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming, a local non-profit focused on building a just and equitable food system, since 2008, as a farmer-educator and currently the Chair of the Board of Directors.

    Todd has served on various area Agriculture committees, including the Ithaca Farmer’s Market and Healthy Food for All. Currently, he is on the Agriculture and Horticulture Committee at Cornell Cooperative Extension – Tompkins County. He also has served as a mentor for beginning farmers through NOFA-NY.

    When Todd is off the farm, he enjoys spending time with his wife, and children exploring all the beauty the Finger Lakes has to offer.