A Conversation with Jay Canzonier

Why farmworker housing, and why now

This project began with a simple realization in studio: the people who feed cities are essential workers and yet safe, stable housing is often the most fragile link in the food system. That gap made me curious about how housing, health, and work actually intersect for farmworkers across our region.

Jamie and I started our research online and in the library, collecting demographic data, policy notes, funding programs, and precedent examples to frame the landscape. The goal was to understand who a farmworker is, what “seasonality” really looks like, and which models of housing appear most often.

But data alone can’t tell the whole story. We wanted to speak with someone who works inside this reality every day. That’s why we reached out to Jay Canzonier (Cornell CALS), whose field experience spans funding, compliance, and the day-to-day logistics farms navigate. The conversation that follows helped us test our assumptions, clarify what’s changing, and translate research into design criteria.

Interview: Jay Canzonier, Extension Support Specialist, Cornell CALS (Horticulture).

From our conversation with Jay, we learned that many employers are actively trying to provide decent farmworker housing because it’s now both a moral imperative and a practical one: housing helps recruit and retain crews. The challenge is financing and feasibility: construction costs have climbed since COVID, and while programs like the NY Farmworker Housing Revolving Loan Fund and USDA 514/516 exist, aligning farms with these programs takes time, paperwork, and cash-flow planning. There are incentives pushing toward better housing (labor stability, compliance, and reputational value) but seasonality complicates the math when beds sit empty for part of the year. That’s why longer, more flexible occupancy (and hybrid typologies of houses, mobile homes, dorms) matters, along with envelopes and systems that perform across shoulder months. Governance and ownership are evolving too, with interest in co-ops and community land trusts where they fit. Overall, the takeaway is clear: good housing is achievable and increasingly in farmers’ interest, but it needs the right funding pathway, adaptable models, and design choices that treat housing as health infrastructure.