www.sare.org publications best-practices-for-the-sustainable-urban-farm looking-to-the-future Looking to the Future Urban farming is an actively developing sector of agriculture, with more and more cities recognizing its value by responding to residents who advocate for policies that promote urban farming. Taking California’s lead, states like Missouri and Louisiana recently passed legislation to establish urban agriculture incentive zones where urban farmers are provided with tax incentives to […]
www.sare.org publications best-practices-for-the-sustainable-urban-farm nonprofit-versus-for-profit-urban-farms-and-farmer-training-programs Nonprofit Versus For-Profit Urban Farms and Farmer Training Programs The formal business structure of an urban farm influences its business strategies and potential revenue streams. Urban farms are typically established as either for-profit or nonprofit, or they may take a hybrid approach where a part of the farm business is established as a nonprofit organization for charitable purposes. For-profit or commercial urban farms focus […]
www.sare.org publications best-practices-for-the-sustainable-urban-farm marketing-in-urban-areas Marketing in Urban Areas Urban farms support the community and local and regional food systems by directly marketing fresh, healthy foods to nearby residents, businesses and institutions. Marketing your products comes with challenges, however. Perhaps most significant is competition from rural farms that can typically produce higher volumes at lower costs. Still, there can be many upsides to growing […]
www.sare.org publications best-practices-for-the-sustainable-urban-farm aquaponics-and-hydroponics Aquaponics and Hydroponics In recent years, growing vegetables with soilless media has become more common and represents a growing market opportunity for urban producers. These growing systems are increasingly popular among urban producers as a way to get around the challenges of poor soil and limited space typical of urban settings. Hydroponic systems involve producing vegetables in water […]
www.sare.org publications best-practices-for-the-sustainable-urban-farm sustainable-pest-management Sustainable Pest Management Insect pests, weeds and pathogens are a challenge to farmers everywhere, and they’re often symptoms of poor environmental quality, crop stress or excessive soil disturbance. Frequent soil disturbance and fragmented habitats for pest predators are of special concern to urban farmers. The hotter temperatures that are common in urban areas can also result in increased […]
www.sare.org publications best-practices-for-the-sustainable-urban-farm season-extension-and-controlled-environments Season Extension and Controlled Environments Urban growers can get the most out of the growing season—and continue production into the off season—through season extension. Season extension strategies, especially physical structures, allow you to produce crops beyond their normal growing window by protecting them from harsh weather like freezing temperatures and strong winds. Products grown and stored for off-season sales can […]
www.sare.org publications best-practices-for-the-sustainable-urban-farm water-access-and-management Water Access and Management Access to reliable and affordable water is critical for all farming operations. For urban farmers, water access can be especially challenging because many have to depend on relatively expensive municipal water. Depending on your region, installing a permanent water line on your urban farm can be an expensive process, often costing thousands of dollars. Contact […]
www.sare.org publications best-practices-for-the-sustainable-urban-farm soil-remediation-soil-health-and-nutrient-management Soil Remediation, Soil Health and Nutrient Management Farming on urban soils comes with a somewhat different set of challenges compared to farming on cropland. In many urban situations, soils start off in poor condition due to the land’s history. The soil in urban areas tends to be heavily compacted, with low organic matter or topsoil, and it often contains chemical contaminants or […]
www.sare.org publications best-practices-for-the-sustainable-urban-farm land-access-and-security Land Access and Security Finding long-term, stable access to land is often the biggest hurdle that urban producers face. Because cities generally have higher property values than rural areas, traditional land ownership is cost prohibitive for beginning or limited-resource urban producers. In cities, land access is further complicated by high input and administrative costs (e.g., water, electricity, permit costs, […]
www.sare.org publications managing-stress a-path-to-farm-community A Path to Farm Community Note: This article in our Managing Stress series was contributed by Violet Stone, a project coordinator at the Cornell University Small Farms Program and the Northeast SARE professional development coordinator for New York. “One of the hardest things we must do sometimes is to be present to another person's pain without trying to "fix" it, […]