Todd Erling

With an academic background in environmental design and planning from Miami University and the Pratt Institute, years of experience in community and economic development, and growing up in the family orchards, Todd brings a holistic approach to agribusiness development. Todd lives on his wife’s family farm in Southern Columbia County and has hands-on knowledge of the challenges to the Valley’s agriculture while applying practical Economic Development programs and projects to protect and preserve open space by keeping farmers in business. With HVADC’s Board of Directors, Todd has developed the first regional entity to focus on farms and local food business as economic development in the Hudson Valley. HVADC has grown to having multi-year service contracts with 8 counties’ economic development offices and raising over $10 million since 2007 for programs and service to assist ag-related/ag-dependent businesses in the region. During this time, HVADC established the Farm and Food Funding Accelerator and the Incubator Without Walls to mentor over 235 client businesses and 30 technical services providers and has assisted a variety of projects in accessing over $65 million in funding, ranging from the Hudson Valley Food Hub (which includes Field Goods, Farm Bridge and Hudson Harvest), the FeedHV food rescue/donation system, to the Catskills Food Hub.

Todd was instrumental in forming the FFGF, a 501c3 organization designed as an emerging CDFI to improve the economic conditions of low-income underserved people & residents of distressed communities, providing access to capital & technical assistance for farm & food-related, food- service businesses throughout the Northeast Foodshed Foodshed (encompassing parts of the greater Hudson Valley (NY), western CT, western MA, southern VT & eastern PA). As President/CEO, Todd will be leading the development of the organization providing vision, strategic direction and fostering relationships to bring business technical assistance and access to capital to the 18-county region.

Appointments, Board Memberships, and Affiliations

• NYC Capital Region Economic Development Council—Governor Hochul

• Agricultural Working Group—US Senator Gillibrand

• Agricultural Advisory Board—US Congressman Riley

• Agricultural Advisory Committee—NYS Assemblywoman Barrett

• NYS Hudson River Estuary Management Council Member—Commissioner Sagos

• AFT Farm to Institution New York State (FINYS)—Leadership Committee Member

• Hudson Mohawk Resource Conservation and Development Council—Board Member

• Farming our Future Regional Annual Conference—Steering Committee Founding Member

• Columbia County Cornell Cooperative Extension—Nominating Committee Member

• Columbia County Farm Bureau—Board Member

  
  

• Columbia County Water District—Commissioner

• Columbia County Empire Zone—Former Director

• Southern Columbia County Keep Farming—Livingston Town Coordinator

• New York Agribusiness Development Corporation—Former Board Member

• Mobile Slaughter Task Force—Board Member

• Pride of NY Advisory Committee