The concept of the Northeast Small Farm & Rural Living Expo (EXPO) developed initially as a joint university Cooperative Extension effort by County Agricultural Agents from Rutgers University (Everett Chamberlain, Donna Foulk and Bob Mickel), along Gregory Solt from Penn State University who collaborated for many years as the "Penn Jersey Extension Partnership" on numerous regional inter-state extension programs encompassing livestock, dairy, field crops, equine, forages, marketing and multiple applied subject matters.  Their efforts culminated in the "first" EXPO in 2001 and subsequent annual EXPOs, right up to the current "6th Annual" event.

In 2003, Cornell University joined Rutgers and Penn State to make the EXPO into a three cooperative extension university supported regional program.  The working relationship between the respective agents at the universities and the related networking historically done by the agents with other organizations, clients and sister agencies has assisted with the growth and development of the EXPO concept and its ultimate program delivery.  In 2005 the Northeast Small Farm and Rural Living Expo incorporated and established a 501(c)(3) status to further the three university collaborative effort for small farm programming.

The EXPO was developed with the idea of assembling as many agencies associated with "small farms" at one location so that small farm enthusiasts can gain first hand knowledge of what is happening across the northeast in small farm endeavors.

Livestock exhibits, service agency and supply industry displays, combined with respective active demonstrations are presented throughout the two-day event, so that interested participants can gain first hand knowledge and information on what could be beneficial to their small farm activity.

Combined with the live static exhibits, the EXPO features two-days of scheduled lectures presented by professionals in small farm enterprises and by cooperative extension personnel.   Five different tracts or themes are presented simultaneously over the two-day event as twenty scheduled lectures per day.

The whole EXPO is designed to show new and existing small farm entrepreneurs how to be successful, which is measured by various scales-monetary, personal and numerous levels of achievement.