Urban farming gaining momentum - Cities are recognizing the benefits of these small-scale operations within the urban environment

By Mark Spowart, Special to Ontario Farmer, Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Urban farms are small intensively grown plots of land located in and around major urban centres. Benefitting from the consumer's increasing desire to eat locally grown produce, urban farming is enjoying a rise in popularity, and in one case challenging traditional farming.

In 2006 London food activist Rose Marie White founded the 'City Farming Project' and began farming on a half acre plot of land within the city limits.

The "farm", located on a major street in the city's south end, is being challenged by developers, who would like to extend a road. White, along with partners Dr. Kathy McCully and Dr. Wayne Myrvold, were also given access to available greenhouse space and backyard gardens. This was particularly important, as the project cultivates its own seeds.

Having the greenhouse allows project members to be involved with the crop right from the beginning, ensuring its quality and nutritional value.

White, who has been studying food safety issues for most of her adult life, began to realize large multi-national companies controlled most of the food being grown on traditional farms. She also learned many farmers today need to take second or third jobs off the farm to be able to support their farming activity.

This model didn't make sense to her. "We thought it was important to foster the art of growing food," says White. "As a community we have forgotten how important growing food is," she said.

During the growing season, The City Farming Project offers a weekly 'Good Food Box' to its member's and volunteers. The box contains eight to 10 varieties of seasonal vegetables and herbs, grown in the city not too far from members' homes.

This year the group are planning to grow over 32 varieties of heritage tomatoes. They hope the sale of these vegetable and seedlings at local markets will generate enough income to sustain the project for future city farmers.

In addition to the food boxes the project also supplies local restaurants.

While not certified organic, the project follows organic growing methods, and the crops are selected based on taste and nutritional value.

In the summer of 2006 an E-coli outbreak in organically grown spinach from California may have prompted many individuals to re-think their food buying decisions, she says. "It doesn't make sense to buy stuff that is picked and then trucked across the country."

IN PHILADELPHIA, PA, urban agriculture has become a solution to the city's water woes. The water utility had a burgeoning problem in maintaining green spaces within the city. Urban farming was their answer and the Somerton Tanks Farm was created.

Named for the two water tanks that frame the plot of farm land, the Somerton Tanks Farm uses a new concept in farming call SPIN - an acronym for Small Plot Intensively Grown, and is the brainchild of Canadian farmer Wally Satzewich of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Roxanne Christensen from Philidelphia.

The Satzewich family started out as a traditional farmer with a farm located outside of Saskatoon. At the same time they were also farming small plots of land back in the city.

He quickly discovered he was very limited on what he could grow in the country. Between insects, deer, and other wildlife, he was forced to limit his product to low value crops.

Meanwhile back in the city, he was getting a premium price for his radishes and salad mix.

A major difference between urban and traditonal farmers, is the amount of vertical integration the urban farmer is able to apply to his operation. "I have much more ability to control price" says Satzewich. "I look at price as a range of price I might charge, I can target certain types of revenue from certain crops."

"I am able to interact with consumers, form that bond, make them understand that higher prices are justifiable" he says.

In 2003 Christensen met with water department officials and proposed a study. "We knew that the people who could help were not aware of the quality of life (that farming provides) so we needed to focus on the economic benefits of urban agriculture" she says.

Agreeing with her proposal, the project had two goals: * it needed to prove to be a viable business; * it needed to be able to be replicated by anyone else.

After conducting soil tests she realized there were no harmful contaminants in the soil they were about to farm but there really wasn't any nutritional value to the ground either.

In order to prepare for the 2003 growing season the project brought in organic soil and planted a cover crop of buckwheat during the winter of 2002-2003.

"Most farming techniques don't tackle how to make money at it," says Christensen. "They tackle how to grow specific crops, how to increase yield. SPIN farming connects farming to specific revenue formulas," she said.

Working a half-acre plot of land does not require the same capital investment a traditional farmer would have to make. In the first year of the project they spent $7,400(US) on a walk-in cooler, an irrigation system, a shed and a used rototiller.

That first year they grossed $26,000(US). In 2004, it was $38,000 (US), in 2005 $52,000(US) and in 2006 the project grossed $68,000 (US), with expenses coming in at $20,000(US).

In addition, having a working farm located within the city gives the farmers a variety of marketing options.

The Philidelphia project supplies three neighbourhood markets, it operates an on-site farm stand, and supplies a handful of restaurants and caterers.

In addition to being close to its consumers, SPIN farming also emphasizes you really need to produce premium produce that requires a significant amount of post harvest preparation.

"You have to wash, double wash and triple wash lettuce" says Christensen. "You have to bag it in a way to get top dollar in the marketplace, and that means increased labour."

The project has learned, even with increasing sales, maintaining labour cost is the biggest contributor to being successful.

Christensen feels the project is viable at 2.5 people.

As part of the study they have tried to quantify the economic impact of various types of green space within the city of Philidelphia.

While not very scientific, workers and volunteers are seeing the return of birds and insects that were not present before. The farm also helps with storm water runoff, which in turn reduces stress on the city's sewer system.

When the project was proposed in 2001 there was no new development taking place within the city. Vacant land was becoming an issue. Six years later, as city officials look at ways at making the city more livable, they are starting to put a value on nature.

As a result of the study, Philidelphia's water department has now become an advocate of urban farming. And Christensen is looking at ways to affect city land policy, to get agriculture reconized as a legitimate use.

"The people who do urban agriculture don't come from traditional farm families. They are young and hip, this is the profile you are trying to attract back to the city. They are just in farming, not web design" says Christensen.

 

The Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC) wishes to thank Ontario Farmer for permission to reproduce this article on our website.

 

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Posted July 2007