Jeffrey Hoodlet
Senior Agricultural and Conservation Technical Specialist
Jeffrey Hoodlet brings extensive experience in organic vegetable production, rotational grazing, and conservation planning to his role at American Farmland Trust. With a background in both hands-on farm management and technical conservation planning, he helps farmers implement sustainable practices that improve soil health, water conservation, and overall farm viability.
Jeff began his agricultural career as a farm apprentice in eastern Massachusetts, eventually becoming a farm manager overseeing 10-20 acres of organic mixed vegetable production. In addition to crop planning and soil health management, he managed swine and small ruminants using rotational grazing practices.
For the past three years, Jeff has worked with AFT as a Conservation Planner in partnership with NRCS. In this role, he helped producers develop and implement conservation practices to enhance soil health, improve water use efficiency, and transition to organic systems. As a Senior Conservation Technical Specialist, he also supervised a team of Implementation Specialists, guiding them in supporting farmers through conservation planning and financial assistance programs.
Jeff specializes in Tillage Reduction, Cover Crop Selection and Termination, Crop Planning, Irrigation and Water Conservation, Rotational Grazing, Transition to Organic, Nutrient Management, Pest Management, Pasture and Hay Quality Improvement, and Working with Conservation Commissions.
Through AFT’s Consults Program, he provides expertise in Conservation Planning, Grazing Plans, Implementation, and Monitoring, Soil Health Plans and Implementation, Transition to Organic Conservation Plans and Designs, Pest Management Conservation Systems, Feed and Forage Analysis, and Soil Health and Nutrient Testing.
Jeff holds a Graduate Certificate in Natural Resources Management and Sustainable Ecosystems from Harvard Division of Continuing Education and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the Catholic University of America. He lives in central Massachusetts with his wife, their son, and their dog.
