By 2030 Megacities May Devour More Than 86 Million Acres of Prime Farmland

By 2030 Megacities May Devour More Than 86 Million Acres of Prime Farmland

By Andrew Amelinckx on January 27, 2017

A recent study by a group of scientists from around the world finds that by 2030, sprawling mega-cities will squeeze out productive farmland, especially in Asia and Africa, putting a burden on what will be an already overtaxed food system.

The study, “Future urban land expansion and implications for global croplands,” published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that by 2030, as much as 86.5 million acres of productive farmland worldwide—between two and four percent of total farmland—will be lost as the world’s so called mega-cities, generally defined as being more than ten million residents, and the adjoining areas, called “mega urban regions,” take over prime agricultural croplands to make room for a growing population and their activities.

The group of scientists from Yale, Texas A&M, the University of Maryland, and research institutions in Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, and Austria, found that the world’s most productive cropland—that which is irrigated—is the most at risk. That’s because 60 percent of it is on the the outskirts of large cities. As these cities expand, cropland is lost. According to the study, this irrigated land tends to be twice as productive as the other 40 percent.

“The loss of these critical farmlands puts even more pressure on food producing systems and shows that we must produce strategies to cope with this global problem,” Burak Güneralp, one of the study’s authors and a research assistant professor in the Department of Geography at Texas A & M told Texas A & M Today.

Urban agriculture, the expansion of farming into areas farther from urban centers, and farming intensification practices (such as the heavy use of fertilizers), will offset some of the loss of farmland, say the scientists. Even so, some arid regions, like North Africa and the Middle East, are already pushing the outer limits of land use and don’t have the luxury of expanding farming into new areas away from large cities.

“The loss of cropland can be compensated by the global food system, but the effects will not be distributed equally,” the scientists write in the study. “Many less developed and emerging countries will face acute losses, both in absolute and relative terms.”

Egypt and and Vietnam would be among the hardest hit, with the former expected to lose more than 34 percent of its total farmland; the latter, more than 10 percent. Relatively speaking, the United States, isn’t at a huge risk; 7.3 million acres (.08 percent of total farmland) could be lost as large cities and mega urban areas expand into agricultural lands.

This trend is likely to result in a shift in global agricultural markets and trade, which will be bad for some countries—Egypt for example—which could become more reliant on food imports and “more susceptible to international food supply shocks” since it won’t be able to produce enough on its own. A good example of what can happen when countries are heavily dependent on imported agricultural products is illustrated by the 2010 food riots in Mozambique, which left a dozen people dead and more than 400 injured.

The study’s authors say that meeting the goals of creating enough housing for the urban population and preserving prime cropland requires “good governance” and urban planning. One big problem is that the countries most likely to be affected by cropland loss tend to have problems with corruption, ineffective governance, and a lack of regulatory control that makes planning for the future tough.

“The results suggest that strategies and policies to effectively steer patterns of urban expansion will be critical for preserving cropland,” say the authors. “In an increasingly interconnected world, the sustainability of urban areas cannot be considered in isolation from the sustainability of resources and livelihoods elsewhere.”

The Urban Agriculture Trend Continues in 2017

The Urban Agriculture Trend Continues in 2017

Urban agriculture can reconnect communities with healthy food, thereby supporting economic opportunities and innovative ideas around land use. Several new resources for urban agriculture were published in 2016 which support the movement going forward.

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Terry McLean, Michigan State University Extension

The practice of urban agriculture and community gardening as an organizational strategy, a comprehensive approach to supporting and engaging individuals and neighborhoods, promoting economic development through food production, improving neighborhood safety through combating blight, and exposing youth to intergenerational interactions and encouraging self-reliance has been a trend in recent years in the United States, particularly in Rust Belt cities that have experienced many years of economic decline. If the number of new resources about urban agriculturepublished in 2016 are any indicator of it’s popularity, there is plenty of interest out there. A recent search found several comprehensive new tools and a comprehensive literature review available. The case for urban agriculture is often made around food production and economic development, but a new publication makes the case that urban agriculture can also increase social capital, community well-being, and civic engagement within the food system.

New resources published/announced in 2016

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Urban Agriculture Toolkit, published in late April, 2016, includes information on funding opportunities, technical assistance, and informational resources from federal, state, and local partners. One major focus of the toolkit is business planning.  Whether a for-profit,  non-profit, sole proprietorship, partnership, or cooperative, an urban farm will need a business plan, and urban farmers will need to understand legal issues that could affect the business. Additional topics covered include: land access, soil quality, water access/use, capital and financing, infrastructure, market development, and production strategies.

The National Center for Appropriate Technology High Tunnels in Urban Agriculture was published in October of 2016, and identifies the unique benefits of high tunnels to urban farmers, and makes the case that the use of high tunnels in urban agriculture can reduce risks and increase profitability. It covers the basics of siting and constructing a high tunnel, as well as some of the policy and zoning challenges urban growers face when planning to erect a tunnel. It also discusses high tunnel management, including soil fertility, irrigation, and disease and pest control. Finally, it includes resources on intensive crop production and other uses for high tunnels.

Senator Stabenow’s Urban Agriculture Act of 2016, announced in Detroit and Flint on September 26, 2016, will help create new economic opportunities, give families greater access to healthy food, and create a healthier environment in cities and towns across our state and nation. The legislation addresses the unique needs of urban farmers by investing new resources and increasing flexibility through existing programs administered by the USDA. Included in the bill are new economic opportunites like farm cooperatives, alternative growing systems like rooftop and indoor food production, and research dollars to explore market opportunities and develop new technologies for lowering energy and water needs. New financial tools and risk management options, a new urban ag office, and mentorship and education support for urban farmers are also part of the bill.

An extensive review of urban agriculture literature was published by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future in May of 2016 titled Vacant Lots to Vibrant Plots: A Review of the Benefits and Limitations of Urban Agriculture . Compelling themes include:

• The face of agriculture is changing, and urban agriculture is one of the latest movements to challenge the traditional view of farming. From rooftop gardens to aquaponics centers in old warehouses to growing crops on abandoned properties, urban agriculture provides many benefits to a community, including closer neighborhood ties, reduced crime, education and job training opportunities, and healthy food access for low-income residents.
• Urban farms won’t feed entire cities — but the can provide residents with an additional source of healthy, low-cost produce.
• The social benefits of urban farming can be large, and when they are shared, the residents of the communities being affected by urban agriculture projects are not just consulted but fully empowered in leadership and decision-making to the greatest extent possible.
• Urban farming isn’t always more environmentally friendly -  some vertical farms, which are often touted as a sustainable option that use less soil and water, can use an enormous amount of energy, especially if they require artificial lighting. When designed right, urban farms can make some modest but valuable improvements to the sustainability of our food system.
• One little-studied aspect of urban farms is that they can teach us to appreciate food. They can reconnect people with how to grow food, and the practice of urban agriculture is most valuable for how it forces us to be more conscientious about the people who feed us.

Detroit has been a leader in urban agriculture over time, having been the first city in the US to offer urban farming programs to help the homeless and assist city residents facing economic hardships in the 1890’s (see Pingree’s Potato Patch Plan). In an economic analysis of Detroit’s food systems conducted in 2014, urban agriculture production in Detroit was estimated to be worth $3.8 M. In Flint, urban farming /gardening has long been a custom, dating back decades, reflecting resident’s resiliency and self-sufficiency in the face of years of economic disinvestment. In Flint and Genesee County, the Genesee Conservation District, in partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, has managed a seasonal high tunnel cost share initiative in 2016 that has 29 new hoophouses contracted, 11 of which are in the City of Flint. In 2017, 25 new applications are anticipated. This is a very new set of urban growers who are in various stages of constructing hoop-houses through the High Tunnel urban initiative, some of whom plan to grow for sales, and will need technical assistance for growing, marketing and food safety. Partnering with Michigan State University Extension, the Genesee Conservation District and the Edible Flinturban agriculture organization, these new Flint area farmers will have the support they need for future success.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

Related Articles

• Getting Ready for Market – Part 2

  May 25, 2016 | Michelle Walk | Treat your booth as your storefront.

• Fruit and vegetable growers: Find new markets at Great Lakes EXPO Meet the Buyers event

  December 3, 2015 | Joanne Davidhizar | Connecting with new buyers and markets for fruit and vegetable growers is made easier through the Meet the Buyers reception at the Great Lakes EXPO Dec. 8.

• Food for Change Summit 2013 focuses on community food systems

  February 23, 2013 | Terry McLean | Second annual gathering puts spotlight on impact local food can have on health, economy and sustainability issues.

Pegasus Agriculture Group and Kennett Township to Cooperate on Indoor Agriculture Hub

Pegasus Agriculture Group and Kennett Township to Cooperate on Indoor Agriculture Hub

SINGAPORE, January 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Today at Indoor Ag Con Asia, the indoor agriculture industry's premier trade conference, international hydroponics expert Pegasus Agriculture Group reinforced its recent decision to actively enter the US marketplace by announcing its intention to support a major public-private initiative to develop a global indoor agriculture production, research, training, and service hub on the US East Coast.

Plans for the hub initiative are being presented publically for the first time at Indoor Ag Con Asia today by Kennett Township, a municipality in SE Pennsylvania, the historic center of the US indoor mushroom industry. The initiative was developed by Kennett's Sustainable Development Office (SDO) with strong support from Kennett area growers and packers, regional economic development agencies, and regional agriculture, engineering, and business schools.  

Pegasus' public announcement of support for Kennett's initiative is the first by any indoor agriculture firm based outside of the Kennett area. According to Mahmood Almas, Pegasus' founder and chairman, "Kennett's initiative to develop a world-class indoor agriculture hub is not only visionary, but eminently practical. That's because Kennett, unlike most other areas, can leverage the extensive infrastructure of its historic indoor agriculture industry. That makes all the difference to Pegasus."

Michael Guttman, who directs the initiative for Kennett, explained that "Kennett currently produces 50% of the annual US mushroom crop - some 500M pounds of produce - all grown indoors year-round and delivered fresh every day with 48 hours of picking all across North America. We've already developed an extensive infrastructure to accomplish this that includes engineering, construction, maintenance, public utilities, cold storage, logistics, transportation, and of course a very experienced workforce. That infrastructure is largely crop-agnostic, so it can just as readily serve the needs of a 'green' indoor agricultural firm such as Pegasus, giving them a fast and easy way to enter the vast US marketplace we already serve at the lowest possible cost and risk."

"Kennett's extensive infrastructure alone makes it an extremely attractive location for us," Almas continued. "But that's only one facet of this initiative. Kennett is also working with a number of its world-class regional agriculture, engineering and business schools to develop a joint indoor agriculture research, training, and innovation incubator center in Kennett, designed to work closely with private production firms located in the area. This center, the first of its kind in a major production area, will be a major asset to the rapidly evolving indoor agriculture industry."

"We very much appreciate the active and public support of Kennett's initiative by Pegasus, a highly respected global leader in indoor agriculture," said Guttman. "In particular, we appreciate how our initiative ties in with Pegasus's global vision of creating a world-wide network of environmentally and economically sustainable indoor agriculture communities to ensure food security. Working with Pegasus and our other partners, our initiative can hopefully serve as a blueprint for developing a network of similar indoor agriculture hubs all around the world."

About Pegasus Agriculture Group

Pegasus Agriculture Group is one of the leading owners and operators of hydroponic farming facilities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Their head office is strategically located in Dubai, U.A.E. and serves as the headquarters for their growing global production and distribution network.

About Kennett Township

Kennett Township is a municipality in SE Pennsylvania, and historically the center of the 100+ year old US mushroom industry, with grows 500M pounds of fresh produce year-round exclusively in climate-controlled indoor facilities. Kennett Township is currently involved in a major initiative to diversify its economy by leveraging its extensive indoor agriculture infrastructure, workforce, and customer base to attract a new influx of 'green' indoor agriculture firms to its area.

For more information, please visit http://pegasusagriculturegroup.com

Pegasus Agriculture Contact
info@pegasusagriculturegroup.com
Dubai Office:
+971-4-818-8300

Huntington Native Brings Urban Farming to Long Island

Huntington Native Brings Urban Farming to Long Island

The farmer, who’s on a mission to grow the perfect head of lettuce, will be at the Huntington Indoor Winter Farmer’s Market this Sunday.

By Paige McAtee (Patch Staff) - January 20, 2017 6:59 pm ET

East Northport resident Jonathan Bernard is on a mission to bring urban farming to Long Island and start a real food revolution.

Bernard, 24, is a graduate from Half Hollow Hills West High School and Stony Brook University, where he earned his Bachelor’s in accounting.

The accountant-turned urban farmer, who has always loved to cook and grow vegetables, gave up crunching numbers to focus on urban farming with Square Roots. He officially started farming in October.

Bernard farms lettuce in a 40-foot-long container and grows about 1,000 heads of lettuce a week. His goal is to grow the perfect head of lettuce.

“I’m getting pretty close to it,” Bernard told Patch. “It’s kind of like a science to get these things right.”

Bringing Urban Farming to Long Island

Bernard told Patch he wants to bring his lettuce to Long Island to show everyone what real food tastes like.

Eating fresh produce is a different experience most people on Long Island don’t get to experience, he said. Fresh produce surprisingly tastes a lot different than the vegetables in grocery stores.

Bernard said he was shocked the first time he tasted fresh spinach.

The Huntington native already sells his lettuce to Lalo, a restaurant in New York City, but is looking to go directly to the consumer.

Bernard will be selling his lettuce Sunday at the Huntington Indoor Winter Farmer’s Market, located at 155 Lowndes Ave. in Huntington Station, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This will be his first week attending.

His goal revenue for the year is $150,000. While accounting isn’t a necessary skill for farming, it does help when he focuses on the business side of things. “Business is definitely harder than I thought it was,” he added.

How to Grow the Perfect Head of Lettuce

“Just by changing the humidity you can make any vegetable crunchier or softer,” the urban farmer told Patch.

The space where Bernard grows his lettuce uses less resources and produces more crops than traditional farming. Vegetables are grown using LED lighting in a controlled climate with no GMO or pesticides used. About 80 percent less water is used in these spaces since the water is recycled.

Unlike produce in grocery stores, these crops are nutrient-dense, Bernard said.

Square Roots vegetables have a higher cost than typical produce, but Bernard says the advantage is you can harvest it and it lasts two to three weeks as opposed to produce in grocery stores that take a week to arrive and wilt three days after they're purchased.

About Square Roots

Bernard is one of 10 farmers chosen to kickstart the Square Roots movement, which is based in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

Square Roots, which was founded by Kimbal Musk and Tobias Peggs, looks to bring fresh, good tasting and nutrient-dense food to consumers year-round.

The farmers/entrepreneurs are required to grow their crops and businesses and after a year, they're expected to go off on their own. Square Roots will choose another group once the original 10 leaves.

By then, Bernard will hopefully be selling perfect heads of lettuce directly to Long Island consumers.

FAO's Role In Urban Agriculture

Urban Agriculture

The rapid growth of cities in the developing world is placing enormous demands on urban food supply systems.

Agriculture – including horticulture, livestock, fisheries, forestry, and fodder and milk production – is increasingly spreading to towns and cities. Urban agriculture provides fresh food, generates employment, recycles urban wastes, creates greenbelts, and strengthens cities’ resilience to climate change.

Report: Growing greener cities in Latin America and the Caribbean


Guidelines: Work on urban forestry 


Paper: Aquaponics in Gaza

Presentation: Urban Agriculture and Food Security - Some Facts and Figures

FAO's Role In Urban Agriculture

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) can be defined as the growing of plants and the raising of animals within and around cities.

Urban and peri-urban agriculture provides food products from different types of crops (grains, root crops, vegetables, mushrooms, fruits), animals (poultry, rabbits, goats, sheep, cattle, pigs, guinea pigs, fish, etc.) as well as non-food products (e.g. aromatic and medicinal herbs, ornamental plants, tree products).

UPA includes trees managed for producing fruit and fuelwood, as well as tree systems integrated and managed with crops (agroforestry) and small-scale aquaculture.

Food Security

UPA can make an important contribution to household food security, especially in times of crisis or food shortages.

Produce is either consumed by the producers, or sold in urban markets, such as the increasingly popular weekend farmers’ markets found in many cities.

Because locally produced food requires less transportation and refrigeration, it can supply nearby markets with fresher and more nutritious products at competitive prices.

Consumers - especially low-income residents - enjoy easier access to fresh produce, greater choice and better prices.

Urban Farming

Vegetables have a short production cycle; some can be harvested within 60 days of planting, so are well suited for urban farming.

Garden plots can be up to 15 times more productive than rural holdings. An area of just one square metre can provide 20 kg of food a year.

Urban vegetable growers spend less on transport, packaging and storage, and can sell directly through street food stands and market stalls. More income goes to them instead of middlemen.

Urban agriculture provides employment and incomes for poor women and other disadvantaged groups.

Horticulture can generate one job every 100 sq m garden in production, input supply, marketing and value-addition from producer to consumer.

However, in many countries, UPA goes unrecognized in agricultural policies and urban planning.

Growers often operate without permits. Since it is officially "invisible", the sector receives no public assistance or oversight in many cities.

Urban agriculture carries health and environmental risks – potential use of contaminated land and water smells and noise pollution, and inappropriate use of pesticides and of raw organic manure that can leak into water sources. These issues require proper attention.

FAO’s Role

FAO supports the transformation of UPA into a recognized urban land use and economic activity, integrated into national and local agricultural development strategies, food and nutrition programmes, and urban planning.

It helps national and regional governments and city administrations optimize their policies and support services for urban and peri-urban agriculture, and improve production, processing and marketing systems.

Its technical programmes support the work of many UPA partners in cities and urban areas.

It helps member countries to develop the sector via data collection on UPA’s contribution to food security.

More on this topic

• Urban and peri-urban horticulture
• Urban and peri-urban forestry
• International seminar on urban and peri-urban agriculture

A D.C. Urban Farm Takes On Urban Problems

A D.C. Urban Farm Takes On Urban Problems

Dreaming Out Loud's new farm hopes to provide jobs, business incubation, and more in a city ward that has often been overlooked

BY WHITNEY PIPKIN  |  Food Deserts, Food Justice, Urban Agriculture

01.19.17

Little more than grass used to grow on the two-acre plot behind a middle school in the District of Columbia where tomatoes, okra, and infrastructure for food entrepreneurs will begin cropping up this year.

In a ward of the city with just two grocery stores serving more than 70,000 residents, fresh produce is hard to come by. But the Kelly Miller Farm, which will be situated behind a middle school with the same name, aims to offer much more: youth programs, a community garden accessible to seniors, and a commercial kitchen from which area residents can launch food-based businesses.

“It’s like a food system in a box—in one space, in one community,” says Christopher Bradshaw, executive director of Dreaming Out Loud. The D.C. food justice nonprofit is partnering with the city and a half-dozen other organizations to run the farm in a way that generates revenue while also meeting the community’s unique needs. “I don’t know too many places combining those things,” Bradshaw says.

With $150,000 in seed money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—through programs promoting farmers’ markets and specialty crops—and a mix of other local grants, the founders plan to build infrastructure such as hoop houses, and a greenhouse while transforming a gutted shipping container into a commercial kitchen space. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring and be completed by midsummer.

A USDA spokesman said the farm will serve as a model for organizations across the country that want to help consumers understand how their food is produced, especially in urban settings. But what sets the farm apart from a rooftop garden in the District’s restaurant row is that it’s catered to the people who live in this often-underserved part of the city, not just the ones who work or spend money there.

After graduating from the District’s historically Black Howard University, Bradshaw, 35, stumbled into urban agriculture while trying to teach in an after-school program at a public charter school that has since closed. The students would arrive each day with stomachs full of the Teddy Grahams and Kool-Aid the school provided as snacks only to bounce off the walls during his lessons on “character development.” Then, they’d crash.

Realizing he couldn’t teach the children without first addressing their most basic needs, Bradshaw’s nonprofit started a school garden and then a farmers’ market, so parents could buy better food, too. The latter often proved an exercise in staying power more than money-making and, eventually, Bradshaw decided to pursue broader, community-level programs.

Last year, when Bradshaw reached out looking for rentable, farmable land, the District happened to be looking for a partner to help create a model urban farm for the city. The two joined forces.

Bradshaw says he couldn’t have come as far as he has without the help of both city and federal partners who have prioritized food access over the past eight years. Having an outspoken advocate for this brand of work in the White House’s First Lady hasn’t hurt, either—though it’s left him leery about the prospects of a new administration this year.

Involving the Community

Bradshaw started the Kelly Miller Farm project, now months in the making, with a step he now knows is crucial to success: Asking people who live in the community what they want.

A short walk from two housing projects in a neighborhood whose population is 96 percent African American and 11 percent unemployed, the farm will serve many people who lack access to healthy food and rely on federal nutrition assistance programs like SNAP, or food stamps. It became clear to Bradshaw and other organizers in the community that residents wanted and needed food options beyond corner stores.

Josh Singer, a community garden specialist with the District’s Department of Parks and Recreation, says the city model needs to go further than growing a lot of food on a little land  to address urban problems like affordable food and housing. If such projects ignore the context in which they’re growing food and the groups that are already at work in those communities, they may do more harm than good, he worries.

“A lot of times, organizations will use these poor communities and their statistics to get grants to do work that the community never wanted in the first place,” Singer says. With the Dreaming Out Loud project, however, “we have a whole coalition focused on making this space serve the local community.”

Given the area’s specific challenges, growing microgreens to sell at high-dollar to the city’s hottest restaurants—as some urban farms do to make money on expensive land—would not be appropriate, Singer says.

From the beginning, the organizers of this farm wanted to do more than show residents how food is grown; they wanted them to be able to do the work themselves. That’s why the space incorporates a kitchen and incubator where entrepreneurs can work on their recipes and business plans alongside a compost space where locals can get dirt under their nails. Bradshaw said the farm is fundraising to hire a manager and assistants from within the community but that volunteer work is welcome, too.

Partner nonprofits will use the space to teach children from the middle school about food production or to host therapeutic gardening sessions for seniors recovering from addiction. The produce will be sold at a nearby farmers’ market Dreaming Out Loud runs in the ward and possibly through a subscription program. (Bradshaw would like parents to be able to pick up a weekly produce box with their kids from the school.)

Initially, some residents were concerned about the project’s impact on their own properties; construction to rebuild the middle school a few years ago involved work with a wrecking ball that some say damaged the foundations of their homes and left them suspicious of new projects. But, after a few meetings during the project’s early stages, many of them began suggesting ideas for the space.

Boe Luther, 52, has lived in the ward’s Clay Terrace neighborhood his entire life and says the farm project couldn’t come at a better time. As the owner of two ice cream trucks and a regular at the neighborhood’s existing community garden, Luther is eager for others to have the chance to become food entrepreneurs. They could use the project’s kitchen space to make salad dressings or salsas, he says, or grow cut flowers to sell at the market.

“We’ll have to do the research and see what people want,” Luther says. “But a lot of citizens of Ward 7 are happy about it.”

Walking the Talk

Beyond the neighborhood, organizations that work to improve access to nutritious food in the city’s poorest areas are rooting for the farm’s success. The city’s newly minted food policy council, of which Bradshaw is a member, sees the farm as a stage for many of the policies they’ve espoused on paper, including growing both farms and food access in the city’s poorest enclaves.

“The Kelly Miller Farm is embodying those values,” says Laine Cidlowski, the District’s food policy director.

After seeing firsthand the big impact of a small garden, Luther thinks a vibrant farm has the potential to bring much more than food to the neighborhood: “Jobs, training, careers, opportunities, peace of mind, serenity—it brings all of that,” he says.

Open Letter from Paul Hardej

Open Letter from Paul Hardej

A Note Regarding the Closure of FarmedHere

Paul Hardej, a Co-Founder of FarmedHere, has been a supportive member of the AVF through his involvement with two of our highly active members: Illumitex and Indoor Harvest. His previous venture, FarmedHere, just announced the closure of FarmedHere's 90,000 sq foot Bedford Park facility. 

While this may appear to be a setback for the industry, we at AVF feel that vertical farming is stronger than ever. Our detractors will point to negative developments like this one as a weakness of our entire practice. Yet we all know that the industry is full of successful vertical farming businesses. We are glad to share this Open Letter from Paul Hardej on this subject.

What follows is a note from Paul Hardej:
 Austin, TX
1/17/2017
 

Open Letter
 
Dear Vertical Farming Colleagues:
 
It’s not unusual that the first movers and shakers in a new industry come across unexpected challenges.  As we all recently learned, FarmedHere is closing its vertical farming operations in Chicago.  I had the honor of co-founding FarmedHere in 2009, when it was unheard of for commercial farming to be located in city centers.  When we started FarmedHere there were no regulations, financing, qualified labor force, nor proven business model for vertical farming.  All we had was the promise of technology for growing plants under artificial light. By 2010 we had our first city farm up and running as an ultra-local grow operation, harvesting greens one day before store delivery and farm-to-store direct distribution. It was truly a disruptive model to the traditional food distribution and farming industry.
 
Despite these challenges, we forged ahead and made great progress.  For example, we went through many months of public hearings and complex legal processes to obtain government approval on the city, county, state, and federal levels.  In addition, we obtained the first vertical farm USDA organic certification.  Ultimately, we scaled our sales of several lines of leafy greens to about 100 grocery stores in the Chicago metropolitan market.  In early 2015 due to a misalignment with some of the new FarmedHere investors on the future of FarmedHere, I moved to other ventures but remained optimistic for continued FarmedHere success.
 
Since vertical farming is a rather unique blend between highly efficient manufacturing and technological farming, its success depends on the following: strong and smart capital, innovative sales and marketing, and a solid management team, working creatively with stakeholders from the local government, growers, technology providers, and customers. While the vertical hydroponic grow technology was proven to work at scale, FarmedHere missed on the business-side, with some of the other necessary ingredients to expand on its initial success. 
 
In 2017 there are many examples of profitable vertical farms across the country and abroad.  As demand for local and organic food grows, so will the industry.  There are numerous reasons vertical farming is in demand – food safety and transparency, consistency, availability, high quality, nutritional value, not to mention a push towards sustainability.  But it’s going to take all of us working together and exchanging ideas and sharing experiences.  Like the industry, I’m evolving to keep up with innovation and technology.  I am very positive about the future and looking forward to working with all of you. 
 
I would like to thank all the creative builders, architects, growers, angel investors and organic grocery stores who made it possible for FarmedHere to impact the food system with a positive and permanent change. Let’s all remember FarmedHere for what it achieved and how it paved the way for many successful vertical farms all around the World.
 
Keep on growing,
 
Paul Hardej
As: Co-Founder of FarmedHere, LLC

Urban Agriculture

Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture is reshaping our cities, and urban farmers and gardeners are creating new opportunities for increasing the economic, social, and environmental effects of growing food in and around cities. There are many benefits to growing food in urban areas, and these benefits are being realized by communities, policy makers, and food-system entrepreneurs. As a result, access to land, capital, and markets is creating the necessary environment for farmers to manage a profitable urban farm. This section provides information and resources specific to urban agriculture. It includes information on community gardens, as well as information for helping urban farmers manage risks associated with farming urban soils.

• General Overview
• Community Farms, Gardens, and Orchards
• Urban Farm Business Planning and Marketing
• Zoning and Policy
• Urban Soils
• Urban Crop and Livestock Production
• Controlled Environment Agriculture (Including Vertical, Hydroponic, and Aquaponic Systems)
• Footnote

Urban Agriculture Pioneer Lufa Farms Opens Third Rooftop Greenhouse Farm

Urban Agriculture Pioneer Lufa Farms Opens Third Rooftop Greenhouse Farm

SUSAN SCHWARTZ, MONTREAL GAZETTE
More from Susan Schwartz, Montreal Gazette

Published on: January 18, 2017 | Last Updated: January 18, 2017 11:48 AM EST

There were two important beginnings in Mo Hage’s world last summer: In July he and his wife, Lauren Rathmell, welcomed their daughter into the world. And in June, work started on construction of the third commercial rooftop greenhouse in the burgeoning urban farming company the couple co-founded, Lufa Farms.

Their daughter, Dani, is six months old. And last week Lufa Farms began to harvest produce from that greenhouse, set atop an industrial building in Anjou. The first week brought mega-sized radishes, watercress, Persian cress, arugula and spinach from among more than 40 varieties of greens started out there as seedlings in December; this week, tatsoi, red and green bok choy, Chinese cabbage, romaine and Boston lettuce were added to the mix. Next week there will be more.

The produce is sold to directly to consumers, to subscribers – Lufavores, they are called – who find it in the baskets they order online, along with produce from small family farms, almost all local, and other products including meat, cheese, baked goods, fish and prepared foods, all sourced by Lufa Farms. The year 2016 was a good one: The Lufa Farms subscriber base grew by fully 50 per cent to more than 9,000 families. 

Hage and Rathmell, partners in life before they were business partners, had a vision: to create an ecologically — and economically — sustainable model for urban farming and to help to change the way people eat. It took the expertise of many and the investment of $2 million from family friends and others, but in 2011 they opened what was reputed to be the world’s first commercial rooftop greenhouse, atop an industrial building in Ahuntsic.

Radishes are ready for harvest at the rooftop greenhouse built by Lufa Farms in Montreal. PIERRE OBENDRAUF / MONTREAL GAZETTE

A second, in Laval, followed in 2013; the newest, at 63,000 square feet more than double the size of the first, is the largest. Produce is grown hydroponically through a system of plastic tubing that feeds them, recycles the water and reuses it; the circulation system and microclimate are managed by computer software. 

Speaking during a Ted-X talk at the Universiteé de Montréal in 2012, Hage observed that our food often travels great distances before it gets to us, losing flavour and nutritional value along the way, that cultivars are often chosen for toughness, and that industrial farms can be “massive consumers of land and water.” A rooftop greenhouse, on the other hand, uses no land. And because it absorbs heat from the building below, it uses 50 per cent less energy than one on the ground – and reduces energy costs for building owners.

How a rooftop farm helps to feed a city

Rathmell, who has a biochemistry degree from McGill University, serves as greenhouse director at Lufa Farms and oversees the farming, plant-science activities and marketing. During a tour on Tuesday of the airy new greenhouse, she pointed out how seedlings are started in small containers of ground-up coconut husks and then planted. Growing times vary, with arugula taking six weeks from seedling to harvest, for instance, and cauliflower twice that. She pointed out four varieties of bok choy, a range of herbs, kohlrabi and mustard greens. Her favourite vegetable, by far, is rainbow chard, with its coloured stems and delicate flavour.

The building on which the Ahuntsic greenhouse sits also contains the Lufa Farms warehouse, where subscribers’ baskets are assembled. Lufavores start out with baskets made up of $30 worth of food, mostly produce, and have until midnight to customize or finalize orders for the following day: The minimum order is $15. At midnight, the “marketplace” is closed and credit cards billed. Partners log in on an online portal to check what was sold that day, then work all night to prepare it.

Lauren Rathmell as a look at fresh greens growing of the rooftop greenhouse built by Lufa Farms in Montreal.PIERRE OBENDRAUF / MONTREAL GAZETTE

“I like the fact that I can customize my baskets and that products are environmentally friendly,” said Verdun resident Sherri Wallace, who has been a Lufavore for about two years. “I get mostly vegetables and, with time, I find the variety has increased. Produce is mostly local but they offer some citrus and collaborate with a farm in Florida so we get a few exotic things like avocados, oranges and grapefruit. And I find the cost reasonable.”

Because only what is sold is harvested, produce is always fresh and both waste and need for storage are eliminated.  There are more than 300 pick-up points in cafés, pharmacies and yoga studies around Montreal and, for an extra charge of $5, orders can be delivered to subscribers’ home by a fleet of four electric cars now working at capacity. Recently drop-off points have been added in Quebec City and Trois-Rivières, where the company has growers and producers.

West Island resident Joel Assouline, whose Lufa Farms shopping list includes produce, dairy, some meat, and pasta, said he admires the company’s transparency. “What is cool is that even though they have their own tomatoes, they still carry tomatoes from other farmers. They have products that compete.”

He said he finds the online shopping cart “so user-friendly, with nice pictures. And your basket stays open all week.” Assouline, who has orders delivered to his home, likes also having access “to local and ethical farmers … When you go on their website, you have access to the information of every producer you buy from. For me, if a farmer is disclosing his name and his address, already it’s a good sign.”

sschwartz@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/susanschwartz

Horticulture Lighting Calculator Speeds Grow Light Development

Horticulture Lighting Calculator Speeds Grow Light Development

January 18, 2017 // By Julien Happich

Designers of grow lights for greenhouses, vertical farms and other horticulture applications can speed up their time to market by using an online calculator freely accessible online Lumileds' website.

The calculator allows the user to input various LED combinations and operating conditions to generate the spectral power distribution, photosynthetic photon flux (PPF), and power usage of a fixture using Lumileds LUXEON SunPlus Series LEDs.

Designed to allow easy modifications of LEDs and operating conditions, the calculator facilitates fixture design by generating real-time feedback on spectral power distribution.

“With the Horticulture Lighting Calculator, fixture manufacturers can test many lighting scenarios in a short period of time, so that their optimum designs can be brought to market much more quickly and efficiently than if each potential fixture were built and tested individually,” explains Jennifer Holland, Product Manager of the LUXEON SunPlus Series LEDs and Horticulture Lighting Calculator.

Try out the Horticulture Lighting Calculator atwww.lumileds.com/horticulture/calculator

The Food Tank Summit in Washington, D.C.

The Food Tank Summit in Washington, D.C.

We are just two weeks away from our Third Annual Washington, D.C., Food Tank Summit, held on February 2 in partnership with The George Washington University and the World Resources Institute. 

Check out our lineup of 35+ speakers, including celebrity chef Jose Andres, actress and advocate Fran Drescher, and organic farmer and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. All panel discussions are being moderated by journalists who are part of major media outlets including Politico, the Washington Post, National Public Radio, VOX, and more. 

If you buy your Washington, D.C., ticket in the next 48 hours, get $100 off by using promotion code: 100OFF. 

Click here to purchase tickets to the D.C. Food Tank Summit.

Also, join us in Boston on April 1 for our Food Tank Summit in partnership with the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. The event will include more than 30 speakers including entrepreneur Kimbal Musk and the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Dean Dariush Mozaffarian.

For a limited time, you can get $100 off your ticket by using promotion code: 100OFF. 

Click here to purchase a ticket to the Boston Food Tank Summit.

Stay tuned for additional Summits this year in New York City, California, Sao Paulo, and more!

Please forward this email to anyone you know who might be interested in participating. All our events are also free to attend via live stream at FoodTank.com. Interact on social media using the hashtag #FoodTank. 

Thank you so much to our sponsors and in-kind donors for making the Summits possible this year, including The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, Blue Apron, Elevation Burger, Organic Valley, Panera Bread, Sweetgreen, and VegFund. If you are interested in sponsoring or partnering on these Summits, please email: bernard@foodtank.com.

We're looking forward to seeing you soon!

All the best,

Danielle Nierenberg
President, Food Tank (www.FoodTank.com)

Purchase Your Tickets

2017 Food Tank Summit: Washington, D.C. 
Let's Build Better Food Policy

2 FEB
9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST

Jack Morton Auditorium
805 21st Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20052

Follow Us • Join the Discussion #FoodTank

Urban Farming Tips From Replantable: The Hottest Urban Farming Project on Kickstarter

Urban Farming Tips From Replantable: The Hottest Urban Farming Project on Kickstarter 

We interviewed co-founder Ruwan Subasinghe of Replantable to chat about urban farming tips, the beginning of Replantable, and the Nanofarm, their new urban farming project taking kickstarter by storm

Patrick: Hey guys this is Patrick from Urban Vine and today I have a very special guest, we have Ruwan from Replantable, his company is developing new technology, a new product for growing mixed greens and some other exciting stuff, right in your kitchen, it's a minimalist design, it's meant to be an easy introduction for beginners, for people who may not be as experienced [with urban farming]. 

How are we doing Ruwan? Are you in Atlanta right now or you guys just got started in Atlanta? 

Ruwan: Yeah, in Atlanta right now, and I'm actually home at the moment but we have headquarters downtown in Atlanta and we actually manufacture the appliance here too.

Patrick: Cool, so I guess we could just get started, for people who may not be familiar with Replantable, or especially you and your co-founder, maybe you could talk about how the company started, how you personally got into Urban Farming, where you got introduced to it, and how you progressed. 

Ruwan: Sure, so my co-founder and I, my co-founder's name is Alex, we met at Georgia Tech, we studied there, and we cooked a lot, pretty night every much, but, we were tired of our fresh ingredients going bad before we could get a chance to use them, and we wished there was a way to be able to just, pick fresh greens right as you're about to use them, but living in Atlanta, we really didn't have the space to do the backyard gardening, I had a tiny little plot but it really didn't get the right kind of light, and the soil back there, it's a city lot, so not optimal soil for growing.

So that's when we turned to hydroponics, really looking at hydroponics for a solution for urban agriculture, and that is when we started experimenting. We went to the local hydroponics store, and we cooked up  a homemade hydroponics unit with fluorescent tubes, and it was a deep water culture system, and yeah, that is kind of how we got started, and we kind of refined it until we got to where we are now.

Patrick: So for people who may not be as familiar, could you talk about what a fluorescent tube and some of the terms you mentioned are?

Ruwan: Sure, so when we were looking for grow lights we started with Amazon, where most searches start for products, but the fluorescents are just one type of bulb you can use to provide plants with the type of light that they need to grow.

Specifically, we used the ones marked as "Daylight", they just have a good spectrum of light for growing plants inside, and there are more professional options, like Sodium lights, metal halide lights, and now LEDs, and actually LEDs are what we use in our product, but we didn't really get into that at first. We started with off the shelf grow light.

Photo courtesy of Replantable

Patrick: Cool, so, for somebody who is kind of, just starting out, what kind of lights would say are best for them , and what do they really need to know, you mentioned how you went through this iterative process of exploring with these different lights and that kind of culminated in what is now your product on Kickstarter, which we will talk about very soon, but can you talk about  that process of figuring out what was best and maybe some tips for people who are just getting started. 

Maybe somebody just wants to grow one lettuce plant on their fire escape or something, what are some good tips for somebody trying to do that? 

Ruwan: Really it's as simple as going to the hardware store, you can buy one of those compact fluorescent tubes, you can buy one that is marked as "Daylight" you can screw it into one of those standing sockets, or like a clamplight or something, and point it at your plant, and the plants love that kind of light.

It sounds simple once you have figured that out, it's actually kind of hard because the spectrum is all invisible, you don't know, light looks like light to us, to plants they use mostly the red colored light or the blue colored light, and a bit of the ultraviolet and infrared spectrum too, so the spectrum that the bulb puts off is really important, for growing the food, but surprisingly, standard fluorescent will do it.

Patrick: As far as the, obviously at Replantable you guys are focusing on several different types of crops, and I know that that has been part of the design, to have a couple different options there, would suggest for somebody just starting out a certain type of crop? Like is there one that is easier than others or is there one that is especially easy, like, is it lettuce, or what do you think regarding that? 

Ruwan: Lettuce specifically is really friendly to grow, it is a cool weather crop, so if you are growing in areas kind of on the warm side, you might want to try something like a Bok Choy, or something like that, but in general, salad greens are really easy to get to germinate, they grow super quickly, which is great for someone who is just starting off, because it is really encouraging to see results really quickly.

If you are trying to grow herbs, those are fairly easy to grow too, but have longer germination times, and the germination rate is lower, so you might plant some seeds and they never actually germinate at all.

Lettuce is an easy crop for beginner urban farmers to start off with

Patrick: Could you talk about the difference between growing outside and growing inside? I know that when we get to talking about urban farming, sometimes some people don't have an option to grow outside, or it may be way too cold outside, or there may be other factors, name your factor pretty much in a city, that forces you to grow inside, so how does that change your approach, and are there any easy mistakes there that you can make?

Ruwan: So with growing inside, you have the benefit of a controlled environment, so you don't have to worry about pests, you don't have to worry about the temperature being crazy high or crazy low, but there are some things that are easy to overlook inside, first, lighting, the sun is amazing, it is the original grower of light, it's amazing for growing food, so you really need to make sure you are replicating that type of useful light.

The second thing is ventilation, which often goes overlooked, because, inside you can have stagnant air, and, if the humidity builds up too much around the plant, it can actually suffocate the plant, and you know, keep that gas exchange from happening at the surface.

But these things are pretty easy to overcome, just set up a fan where you are growing, or even just make sure that your house fan is on. 

But those are two big things, that can effect (plant growth) inside. 

Patrick: So you're saying you could essentially just take a regular house fan, and you would kind of pooint it towards where you are growing, and that would suffice or what specifically is the set up there?

Ruwan: Yeah, you don't need to be rustling the leaves or anything, you just need to be moving air throughout the room. because plants will quickly get a high humidity area around them if the air is standing still.

Patrick: Obviously you are knowledgeable on this (subject), to such a degree that you created this product, I am curious to know, was it a trial and error process, or were there any books that you read, or were there any people that you talked to, or websites that you followed, I know there is a lot of good websites out there, could you talk about how you got this (urban farming) knowledge and how, if someone was also interested in becoming knowledgable, what would they do?

Ruwan: We got a lot of our knowledge by stopping by the local hydroponics shop, here in Atlanta thae one is Atlantis Hydroponics, but there is a lot of really good resources out there, there's (also) actually a lot of misinformation and partially true information out there, about hydroponics, and it's partly because people like to try different things, and it may work anecdotally, but overtime those may not really pan out. 

We looked at a lot of, actually, papers. 

Patrick: Like, academic papers? 

Ruwan: Oh yeah, definitely, especially since NASA is looking into hydroponics a lot, they publish a lot of really good research on how to grow hydroponically, and also there's the farmer resources, if you look up, "farmer growing guides", there are a lot of growing guides for specific crops such as your lettuce, your tomatoes, the things that are really commonly grown hydroponically, there's a wealth of information about those things. If you start with growing those crops, there's a ton of information out there for farmers and hobby growers alike.

Patrick: That's specifically for people interested in hydroponic? 

Ruwan: Right. 

Patrick: Do you think hydroponic is any more challenging to start with or do in general than soil or what's the comparison there?

Ruwan: So I think that if you just want to buy a few things and get started quickly, soil is even easier, because a fertile soil is made for growing plants, hydroponics just gives you more control, so you can dial in certain factors, where, if you were soil growing, and your plant is having an issue, it is hard to diagnose sometimes what that could be, it could be a pest in the soil, it could be that a certain nutrient is low in the soil, with hydroponics you can kind of test and correct, but they are both great methods.

Patrick:  So essentially the key thing to remember here is hydroponics gives you a little bit more control.

Ruwan: Right, but at the same time you need to know what you are doing, you need to research the hydroponic set up, it is not as simple as "buy a few things and throw it together".

You need to have a pH tester, an EC Tester, which is electrical conductivity, that tells you how much nutrients are in the solution. 

Patrick: So you would need an EC tester, and a pH pen.

Ruwan: Those are the 2 basic tools that you can get by on with hydroponics, but you have to know how to interpret the results, you need to know, what is too acidic or what is too basic for the water to be, and then, you have to keep the pH up or the pH down mix, so you can put it in there (the water) and correct.

Patrick: In the water? 

Ruwan: Yeah, (you are measuring) in the actual water (for hydroponics).

Patrick: So, back to the narrative now, we kind of had this Q and A session here, so you meet your co-Founder at Georgia Tech, you have this problem, and what happens next? 

Ruwan: So, like I told you, we cooked up our hydroponic system, at home, we're growing food, you know it's working, but then we thought, and this took months, it took months to get a system where we did not have to think about it too much, and we could grow food continuously, and we thought back on all the trial and error that we had to do, and that's when we thought that there should be something out there that someone can just plug in, and get going, and that is really the inspiration for our product,

Patrick: What were some of the early major mistakes that you made (in the product development)? 

Ruwan: We made every mistake you could possibly make, we overfed the plants, we underfed them, we got the pH wrong, we didn't get them enough light, we gave them too much light. At one point we let it get too hot, too humid, there was just all of those factors, which we had to dial in to get it to work. 

Patrick: How did the company form once you figured out the ins and outs of the earliest form of the product? 

Ruwan: At first we thought that we were not very good at hydroponics, we were just screwing a lot of stuff  up, but when we talked to a lot of people, but when we talked to a lot of people that had tried to grow, both hydroponically and in soil, I mean lots of people have tried to grow their own vegetable garden, sometimes it last just a season, or however long it takes for the things to die when you first plant them,

but we noticed that a lot of people have trouble getting food to grow, and that's when we thought that there could be a product based around this, and then we went one by one through all of those variables that I have been talking about, feeding the plants, the amount of nutrients, pH of the soil or the water, we went through all of those problems and we tried to figure out, how can we create a system that corrects itself, and that was another half a year of development, but we eventually came up with these "plant pads". 

Those are like layers of paper and fabric with seeds, and nutrients and pH buffers built in, so we kind of cooked all of that stuff into one product, that basically makes it so you just add water, and it takes care of itself.

Patrick: How similar were those pads to the product you have on Kickstarter now? I think most people, anyone who checks out your website or the Kickstarter, the thing that they would remember would probably be the (growing) box, so where did that come into the equation and how did that work?

Ruwan: The "plant pads" that we developed, our kind of our version of the "growing medium", so a growing medium can be soil, or cocoa fiber, or clay pellets, there's lots of growing mediums, so the plant pads are our version of the growing medium, the Nanofarm is the simply the box that the plant pads go into.

The Nanofarm provides light and ventilation, and the plant pads provide nutrients and the pH balancing, and just the place for the roots to grab onto and for the plant to support itself. So that's how they kind of work together to form that total solution.

Patrick: To get a perspective on the timeline, you guys first started working on this project one year ago, or was it two years ago? 

Ruwan: Just about a year ago.

Patrick: Your first plant pad was developed then about 6 months ago, and your Kickstarter has been live for about 2 weeks? 

Ruwan: Yeah so we have been pretty quick with the development.

Patrick: once you guys developed the product and it came to marketing it, obviously you guys have had lots of success on kickstarter, gotten thousands and thousands of dollars, so I am curious to know how you guys marketing your technology in this niche (so well?), this isn't a software as a service or something like that, or maybe a couple tips on how you guys did that?

Ruwan: We didn't do much paid advertising or we didn't hire a marketing firm or anything like that...Once we thought we had the product ready to go, we built 30 of these units and actually sold them, and I mean, we hand built these, like, I bent the metal for them myself, and we got them all made up, and we sold them to 30 people in Atlanta, and we saw how they interacted with the product and how they liked the food that comes out of it, and just the word of mouth from that, when you actually have product out there in the world, I mean, you can't walk into someones kitchen and see this growbox on their counter, and not ask them, you know, what is that thing, so we got a lot of word of mouth marketing through that way.

Patrick: For someone who is trying to get some hardcore tips for launching a kickstarter (in this specific space), what would you suggest?

Ruwan: Most of our kickstarter traffic has come through 3rd party reporting, so like journalists writing about it, things like that, and that's what I was saying with the uniqueness of the concept, it's not another app, or something like that, so that helps it standout, the publications that I read regularly, like Treehugger, and things like that...

Patrick: What are some other ones? 

Ruwan: Digital Trends, Mashable, just those tech blogs, tech websites, there are reporters there that are interested in urban agriculture, since it is something that is coming up quickly, it is getting hot, and you know, it's becoming a topic that people are writing about, it gets attention, and viewers are interested and readers are interested in it too, so it benefits both of us when  I write one of these journalists an email, and I let them know what we are doing in the space, in urban agriculture, and a lot of times they are interested enough to publish something on it.

And that kind of reach benefits their readers as well as us.

Patrick: Has the publication coverage been more organic or have you done more outreach for the coverage? 

Ruwan: Definitely I am doing outreach, before we launched the campaign, I got a list together of journalists that cover this regularly, and publications that are in the space also, and I just sent an email saying "Hey, this is what we are doing, if you're interested, I'll send you more information", and that's how we got noticed.

Patrick: Did you send product to them, or that didn't happen because you had so few units? 

Ruwan: A couple people did request product, we just couldn't send it to them, unfortunately, and a lot of these websites do need to have a product to review to cover you. 

Patrick: Would you say that was the more "major" websites (that requested product) or was it more random, some people asked for it and some people didn't?

Ruwan: I think it was more random, there were definitely big publications that were more interested in just finding the cutting edge, before we could even ship them product,

Patrick: Regarding Kickstarter, I know you guys have not quite completed your goal yet but that you are really close...has this been a good channel for you, would you (Kickstarter), would you do it again? Do you think it is a good (channel) for urban agriculture?

Ruwan: I think crowdfunding specifically Kickstarter has been great so far, for us we're so small, we just don;t have the cash to do a manufacturing run, and have product on inventory to sell, so this is the best way to see if you have that demand, and if you have the demand, you now have the money to fulfill that demand. So I think it does a lot of things all at once, not to mention the organic traffic that kickstarter has driven, just because I think there is a lot of overlap between the average kickstarter backer or kickstarter user and that urban agriculture scene.

Patrick: What kind of traffic has kickstarter sent? 

Ruwan: Kickstarter has been sending between a thousand and two thousand hits a day, that's when there aren't any articles or anything out, and then that spikes when someone covers us or there is something out.

Patrick: Which article has sent the most traffic to you guys? 

Ruwan: Last I checked, according to Google Analytics, it was Treehugger's article on us, and I think that is partly because their readership is really sustainability focused. 

Patrick: How much did that drive?

Ruwan: Probably around 15,000 hits so far.

Patrick: and that was over a couple days or? 

Ruwan: That was over 1 or maybe a 48 hour span. Yeah, in terms of the internet traffic
(it) drops off super quick.

Patrick: Wow, now that you have come this far, what are some of the main lessons looking back pertaining to urban farming, maybe something that you thought going into it that your belief has kind of changed, or looking back something you would do differently, what are your thoughts after you reflect on what you have done so far? 

Ruwan: I think overthinking growing inside or growing in an urban setting, it's really easy to over analyze this stuff, but we didn't give enough credit at first to the biology of the plants, and how much they can actually deal with variability in the environment. 

Because at first, we were like, we need to keep the environment at 70 degrees or 68 degrees, exactly, but then, these plants are growing outside and they are fine until it pretty much freezes out there, so I think a lot of urban ags resources are very, maybe, over-analytical about those parameters, including temperature and humidity and stuff like that.

I think allowing your urban environment to swing in a kind of way that mimics the natural environment is totally fine, and it would have saved us a lot of work if we had realized that earlier.

Patrick: Last question, for people who are interested in learning about what you are working on and the kickstarter, what should they do, where should they go? Is this a good product for somebody who is just getting started (with urban farming), and who maybe doesn;t want to mess around with all the stuff that we just talked about? 

What is the value prop for a beginner and what do they do if they want to learn more? 

Ruwan: I definitely think the Nanofarm is kind of a plug and play way to get started, and some may see that as copping out, but if you just want to get started growing food, with the minimal amount of set up, that's really pretty easy with the nanofarm, and it is just a hydroponic system so if you want to get your EC pen and your pH pen, and want to start using that with the nanofarm, that is totally possible too.

If you want to learn more about the Nanofarm, you can check out the Kickstarter.

Ruwan Subasinghe is the co-founder of Replantable, their product, the Nanofarm, is a easy to use hydroponic grow box designed for urban farming. It is available now on Kickstarter for pre-order, if you liked this interview, be sure to check out the Kickstarter page and contribute or check out Replantable's website at www.replantable.com

China Is Setting An Example For The Entire World

China is setting an example for the entire world. During the visit of a Macfrut delegation to the new Easyhome Ankang supermarket in Beijing, the attention of the visitors was caught by the hydroponic lettuce cultivation system.

A Pechino, in un supermercato Easy home Ankang vi è un ampio locale con coltivazione idroponica di lattuga.

Vertical Farms: How To Feed Our Rapidly Growing Cities

Vertical Farms: How To Feed Our Rapidly Growing Cities

By Judith Dubin and Leeron Hoory

Jan 17, 2017 at 4:15 PM ET

“As long as there’s been life on earth, there have been parasites,” says Dickson Despommier, emeritus professor of Public Health and microbiology at Columbia University. And, he says, a lot of us live in one: Cities — which feed off the earth’s resources without replenishing them — basically function as giant parasites. “They take advantage of what’s there and use it for their purposes,” Despommier says.

And they’re growing rapidly. By 2050, nearly 80 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities, and we’ll need a sustainable way to grow enough food to feed everyone. To that end, Despommier proposes vertical farms. Basically greenhouses stacked on top of each other, vertical farming produces food more efficiently to “ease the parasitism of cities on food production.”

These farms in buildings already exist in the real world. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China and Taiwan, have hundreds of vertical farms, as do several U.S states, including New Jersey and Illinois. And that’s a good thing, since already fully one-seventh of the earth’s land mass (or the entire continent of South America) is devoted to producing food for the 7.3 billion people who live here.

If we don’t keep working to implement sustainable ways to feed our cities, Despommier says, “The parasite will exceed its capacity and collapse under its own weight.”

It’s Time We Get Serious About Organic Farming

It’s Time We Get Serious About Organic Farming

Conventional farming and food production practices in this country are creating serious environmental and public health problems. Every day, an industrial farming system spinning out of control confronts all Americans with serious challenges. Among these are the explosion in toxic algae blooms in sensitive waterways, cancer-causing pesticides on foods we feed our children, the rapid spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, and, of course, contaminated drinking water, all courtesy of corporate agribusiness.

Thankfully, we have an alternative: organic.

Study after study shows organic food is better for our health, and organic farming is better for our environment.

Organic milk has higher concentrations of beneficial nutrients than its conventional counterpart, and organic foods can have higher levels of antioxidants and far fewer, if any, pesticide residues than conventionally grown crops. In addition to the notable consumer benefits, organic farming consumes far less energy and can reduce water pollution, increase biodiversity, promote healthy soils and sequester significantly more carbon than conventional farming.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has been advocating for organic food and farming for more than two decades, with much of our research documenting how the practices and finished products of both conventional and organic agriculture influence our health and the environment.

In that time, I have worked alongside many pioneers and have seen organic farming grow from a fledgling movement available to few, into a nearly $40 billion a year industry. Organic is now the fastest growing segment of the U.S. food industry with some of the country’s largest retailers struggling to keep up with customer demand and keep their store shelves stocked.

Despite years of double-digit growth, far outstripping that seen in the conventional food sector, the number of certified organic farms in the U.S. is struggling to keep pace with soaring consumer demand. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2012, fewer than 1 percent of American farms were classified as organic. This has forced many organic food companies in the U.S. to turn to foreign suppliers to meet customer demand.

There is no reason why we cannot be meeting the surging demand for organic foods here at home, growing and producing it ourselves. However, if we are going to grow more organic food in this country we will need more organic farmers. That means recruiting new farmers, and helping existing farmers transition to organic.

Easier Said Than Done

We will need to provide farmers with technical assistance to help them transition to organic. We will also need to invest in more science and research to ensure that organic and transitioning farmers are armed with high yielding, regionally adapted seeds, designed with organic systems in mind.

Now, you don’t have to be a D.C. lobbyist or congressional staffer to know that the purse strings on Capitol Hill have been pulled tight in recent years, and funds supporting agriculture are tethered closely to the interests of Big Ag, not organic. While EWG will continue to call on Congress to make serious investments in organic in the next farm bill, there is a lot that can be accomplished in the interim if the organic community pools its resources, and approves an organic research and promotions program.

That is why EWG supports the organic check-off program.

The principle of a check-off program is simple: Producers of a particular commodity pool their resources, and collectively invest in research and promotion of that commodity. These programs are authorized by Congress and directed by industry-driven boards overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. While this sounds simple, it hasn’t always worked out in the best interest of producers.

EWG is fully aware that farmers have been burned by past check-off programs, and we are glad that so many in the organic community have been part of productive discussions about the organic check-off currently under consideration. After all of those discussions one thing is clear: The organic check-off is not your father’s check-off.

It is the first such program that is not based on a specific commodity, but rather on the notion that if everyone pitches in a little, the organic community can address its shared research, education and promotion needs together.

With the funds raised every year from the check-off, the organic community would be able to provide transitioning farmers with greater technical assistance and training to bring more acres into organic production. It would also be able to fill in the research gaps left every year by limited federal research dollars that all too often skew toward outdated and damaging industrial farming practices. And, the check-off will ensure that the organic sector has an opportunity to educate consumers about organic and promote its benefits in the same way that major commodities like milk and pork were able to do with the “Got Milk?” and “Pork. The Other White Meat” campaigns, respectively.

To be clear, both Congress and organic food companies will also have to do their parts to increase funding for research and promotion of organic in the years to come. But that shouldn’t stop the organic community from supporting the organic check-off program and taking organic to the next level.

After all, EWG not only believes that organic farming can help feed the world, we believe that organic systems and practices may be the only way to do so sustainably. However, the footprint of organic on the agricultural landscape and in Americans’ shopping carts must grow significantly if we are to realize organic’s full potential to feed the planet in ways that enhance the environment and public health.

I hope you will join me in supporting the GRO Organic campaign to make this a reality.

City Commission OKs Urban Agriculture Changes

City Commission OKs Urban Agriculture Changes

Jennifer Bowman , Battle Creek Enquirer

7:49 p.m. ET Jan. 17, 2017

Gardening on vacant property will be allowed in Battle Creek after city commissioners unanimously approved ordinance changes on Tuesday.

Commissioners cast their adoption vote during their regular meeting, allowing community gardens on vacant parcels that are at least 66 feet wide and that have at least 7,500 square feet. Rules for urban commercial farms also were set, permitting them where adjoining properties are at least two acres in size.

Commissioners support urban agriculture in first vote

A farm stand can operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily once the ordinance goes into effect in seven days.

Commissioners are expected later this year to take on whether to allow farm animals in the city's residential areas.

Commissioner Deb Owens was traveling Tuesday and did not attend the meeting.

Read more of the Enquirer's urban agriculture coverage

• Urban farm animals opposed by Battle Creek rescue group
• Sprout BC acquires it Kendall Street property
• See: Survey shows support for urban farm animals in city
• Farm animals in urban B.C.? The city's listening
• A peck of trouble? Backyard chicken dispute in Bedford

Contact Jennifer Bowman at 269-966-0589 or jbowman@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter: @jenn_bowman. Listen to the podcast she co-hosts, The Jump Page, at soundcloud.com/enquirerpodcasting.

FarmedHere, Indoor Farm In Bedford Park, Turning Off The Lights For Good

FarmedHere, Indoor Farm In Bedford Park, Turning Off The Lights For Good

Greg TrotterContact Reporter

Chicago Tribune

FarmedHere, a commercial-scale hydroponic farm in Bedford Park, had lofty goals of expanding to cities across the U.S. and beyond. The company was "on the precipice of international expansion," then-CEO Matt Matros said in July 2015.

Early last year, Matros announced a $23 million, 60,000-square-foot indoor farm that was to be the linchpin of a new development in a blighted area of Louisville, Ky.

But plans fell apart. Faced with onerous operational costs and increasing competition in the Chicago market, Nate Laurell, who took over as CEO last January, decided over the summer to pull the plug on the Louisville farm.

And as of Monday, FarmedHere, a pioneer of the new wave of commercial urban farms in the Chicago area, is closing its 90,000-square-foot Bedford Park facility for good.

"It was a difficult decision. This whole thing has been a hard decision to make. But we continue to be big believers in the (local food) space," Laurell said.

Though the farm is closing, it's not the end of the line. Here Holdings, parent company of FarmedHere, is shifting its focus and resources to making food products — such as juices, salad dressings and spreads — under the Here brand, which will be made at the company's food processing plant in Carol Stream. The goods will be made with produce from local farms, such as tomatoes from Rochelle-based MightyVine, in partnership with Local Foods, a Chicago produce distributor.

New CEO Matt Matros sees FarmedHere close to international expansion

Laurell and other investors believe the new direction will be success. But the rise and fall of FarmedHere, founded in 2011 and considered a national leader in indoor farming, provides a sobering example of how difficult the urban farming business can be.

Last year, FarmedHere arrived at a crossroads: Grow large enough to offset the considerable labor and energy costs — or instead focus the business on making branded products, Laurell said. Ultimately, the company decided return on investment looked significantly better by giving up the farm.

"The more I learned about the reality of farming, it led to a change of strategy," Laurell said.

Some of the 30 or so FarmedHere workers will find employment at the Carol Stream facility; others will be laid off, said Laurell, who said he couldn't provide exact numbers at this point.

FarmedHere's salad dressings, basil and microgreens are sold at stores throughout the Chicago area, including Whole Foods, Mariano's and Pete's Fresh Market. Here Holdings is in conversations with retailers now about selling the new Here-branded products that will be rolling out in the first and second quarters of the year, Laurell said.

"They really grew some fantastic products. They did a beautiful job," said Steven Jarzombek, vice president of produce for Mariano's, adding he expected Mariano's would continue to partner with Here Holdings going forward.

FarmedHere: Mark Thomann's drive to be 'a vehicle for greater good'

Despite the challenges, urban farming continues to grow. In recent years, competitors like Gotham Greens, BrightFarms and MightyVine have opened indoor farming facilities in the Chicago area — part of the "local food" movement that's enthralled consumers and chefs across the U.S.

Such companies also can provide a source of jobs and economic development, which was the hope for the planned West Louisville FoodPort. FarmedHere agreed to occupy more than half of the development, said Stephen Reily, the Louisville developer who formed the nonprofit Seed Capital Kentucky for the project.

The project, touted by the Louisville mayor and Kentucky governor, was approved for up to $400,000 in tax credits.

Once FarmedHere pulled out, Seed Capital couldn't find a feasible way to move forward with the project, Reily said. More generally, he said, the setback reflected the gap between the excitement surrounding indoor farming and the much harsher current reality for the still-budding industry.

"There are not a lot of success stories yet," Reily said.

Reached by phone, Matros mostly declined to comment, referring questions to Laurell. Founder of the Protein Bar fast casual chain, Matros has moved on and is preparing to launch a new coffee company called Limitless High Definition Coffee & Tea in Chicago's Fulton Market district.

Organic, local, sustainable. But can startups make sure food is safe?

"I don't know that it didn't work," said Matros, of FarmedHere. "We just changed entities. ... I know all this stuff is positive."

In July, FarmedHere merged with 87P, a food processing plant in Carol Stream that makes juices, to form Here Holdings, a Delaware entity, Laurell said.

Prior to the failed Louisville expansion, Mark Thomann led FarmedHere as CEO, from April 2014 to July 2015. Thomann, an entrepreneur known for restoring old brands through his River West Brands firm, said he was drawn to the mission of FarmedHere after being diagnosed with cancer.

"I got sick and really wanted to fix a broken food system," Thomann said.

The end of the farm is bittersweet for Thomann, who, like Matros, is an investor in Here Holdings. He believes it will be a greater success financially in its new iteration. But he also still feels personal ties to FarmedHere and believes in the future of indoor farming.

"There's a lot of good that FarmedHere did for indoor farming and hopefully lessons learned will prove beneficial for businesses that come after," Thomann said.

For Steve Rodriguez, the change in business model will mean a shift in his life direction. A graduate of the Chicago Botanic Garden's Windy City Harvest urban farming program, Rodriguez has worked for FarmedHere since 2012, working his way up from washer to crop manager.

Rodriguez described working at FarmedHere as an overwhelmingly positive experience and lamented parting ways with some of his co-workers.

"For us to get shut down like that, to me, it kind of broke my heart," Rodriguez said.

Next, the 29-year-old father of four young children will go to work at the Carol Stream facility — doing what exactly, he's not sure. But he's ready to work his way up again, if he has to. For the forseeable future, he's done with urban farming.

"I have to find another way. I'm not going to go through this again," Rodriguez said. "As much as I love farming, my family comes first."

gtrotter@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GregTrotterTrib

The Green Miracle of the Bronx to Deliver Aglanta’s Keynote

The Green Miracle of the Bronx to Deliver Aglanta’s Keynote

 JANUARY 13, 2017URBANAGNEWS 0

Hearing Stephen Ritz of Green Bronx Machine speak is a sensational experience. Stephen’s energetic style fully engages by binding the listener on a journey of wide ranging emotions. There will bemoments of intense sorrow and despair where the world seems hopelessly broken. Rest assured though, Stephen guides us to emerge from rock bottom with a powerful realization: a movement to grow away our problems is achievable and gaining more momentum every day.

Stephen Ritz is a South Bronx educator / administrator who believes that students shouldn’t have to leave their community to live, learn, and earn in a better one. Moving generations of students into spheres of personal and academic successes which they had never imagined — while reclaiming and rebuilding the Bronx — Stephen’s extended student and community family have grown more than 40,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx while generating extraordinary academic performance. Recently named a 2015 Top Ten Finalist for the $1m Global Teacher Prize, Stephen’s accolades include a 2016 Project Based Learning Champion Award, 2016 Health Champion Award, 2016 Dr. Oz Award, 2015 BAMMY Laureate – Elementary Educator of the Year Award, 2014 Greenius Award, 2014 Green Difference Award, 2013 Latin Trends Award, ABC Above and Beyond Award, Chevrolet / General Motors National Green Educator Award, USS Intrepid Hometown Hero Award, NYC Chancellor’s Award and various others.

Do all those awards get you excited to try Stephen’s flavorfully compelling speaking style? Taste it yourself straight from the source by listening to Stephen’s TED Talk, which has over one million views. During his talk, Stephen discusses how he began his journey as a teacher working at a school in a tough neighborhood. He knew nothing about growing produce, yet he was able to learn alongside his students and eventually shape his organization into an influential thought leader for youth food justice.

Did you just watch the TED talk? If so, we understand that your chest may be bumping like a dryer with shoes in it. By all means, take a deep breath and let that feeling sink in.

Now that we’re on the same page with what Stephen Ritz and Green Bronx Machine are capable of, we at Agritecture are thrilled to announce that Stephen will deliver the keynote at our upcoming Aglanta conference on Feb 19th. Although it feels like we’re stating the obvious at this point, we must say we are filled with honest-to-goodness jubilation about this development.

Our goals in organizing the Aglanta conference are further highlighted here, but in one sentence the target is: to connect the opportunities of urban agriculture to the community of Atlanta. One way we aim to achieve that goal is with an education workshop, which will help Atlanta educators learn to implement a Farm in School model in their city.  We view Stephen’s work with Green Bronx Machine as an ideal node in the advocacy for the farm in school model. Stephen’s experience offers ‘been there done that’ insights as a role model in our movement to grow hope, which is a significant part of what Aglanta is all about.

Green Bronx Machine began as a way to engage at-risk youth, to make  cultivating food as  exciting as an iPad or Snapchat. But Green Bronx Machine isn’t a technology; it’s a way of life that has since expanded to reach many more children. Students at Ritz’s school have grown over 30,000 pounds of vegetables inside their fourth floor classroom using 90% less water than conventional agriculture. “My kids are all losing weight,” Stephen was quoted saying in this article. “They’re eating things that they’ve never eaten before. They’re getting critical nutrition where they need it most: in school. It affects their academic health, their social health and their physical health.”

Stephen recognizes that the best way to really help a child, though, is to have an adult who supports and cares about them. So with Green Bronx Machine’s Health, Wellness and Learning Centervegetables are grown so that parents can come in after school and cook the freshly harvested produce with their children. It has become an adult workforce development program where parents and children have the opportunity to eat, learn, and cook together.

Stephen’s vision has now gone global, taking him and his students from the Bronx to as far away as Dubai. Earlier this year, Stephen was campaigning his green education vision at the White House’s South by South Lawn event. President Obama described South by South Lawn as an event that seeks to tackle the task of “building a future that’s more inclusive, tolerant, and full of opportunity for everybody.” We can’t think of a more perfect fit for what Green Bronx Machine does.

Agritecture is proud to have Stephen Ritz delivering the keynote at Aglanta. We invite you to meet Stephen at the event, and to support Green Bronx Machine by donating or by volunteering.

As Stephen AKA El Capitan would say, “Si Se Puede!”

By Andrew Blume
@ablumetweets
andrew@agritecture.com
Original Source on Agritecture Here

We hope to see you at Aglanta on February 19, 2017
at The Georgia Freight Depot in downtown Atlanta

Register for Tickets here.

Early bird Ticket sales end Jan. 18th, 2017

Or contact Jeff Landau for Sponsorship Information

Jeffrey@blueplanet.consulting

Hospital Farms Grow To Heal

Hospital Farms Grow To Heal

• Published on January 13, 2017

Jim Pantaleo

Director of Business Development at Urban Ag News

By Jim Pantaleo (The below is an excerpt from the January 2017, Issue 16 of Urban Ag News. For the full article please go to: http://urbanagnews.com/emagazine/issue-16/)

Su·per·food, ˈso͞opər fo͞od/

Plural: Superfoods - A nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being.

In my six decades on planet Earth, I’ve never spent a single night in a hospital…with the exception of when I slept on cold linoleum after the birth of my first child back in 1997. So I can credibly say I’ve never been subjected to hospital food, much maligned what with all of its high sodium and sugar (Jell-O!). Given that a hospital should be a place of healing and recovery, it’s no secret that most in the United States are woefully deficient when it comes to the food they serve their patients.

Of course I’m not referring to those patients requiring a special diet or relegated to certain and specific food types. For the majority of “regular eaters” or those who don’t require a specialized diet, one would think hospital dieticians, physicians and administrative policy makers would know better in terms of what’s being put on the menu. They do know better, and there is no question; dietitians and healthcare professionals are dedicating their lives to making a positive difference in providing healing and wellness options to patients.

In a recent New York City Food Policy Center newsletter Dr. Robert Graham, founder of FRESH MED NYC, an integrative health practice that emphasizes nutrition along with conventional medicine, said, “During the past four years of the Healthy Hospital Food Initiative, we can applaud some hospitals for thinking differently about the food they offer patients and visitors. Hospitals are beginning to appreciate the old adage of ‘food is medicine.’”

There is however another (not so) little secret in today’s health care world – cost. Food which is not generally considered healing or restorative is inexpensive. Food that heals? Not so much. Just imagine being a patient recovering from any general ailment and being served a breakfast which includes a fresh wheat grass-apple-carrot smoothie and an egg white omelet with fresh spinach instead of a “fruit cup” and watered down eggs.

Hospital farms are a unique albeit scarce answer to address the challenge of providing healing and wellness through food. Before I dig deep, let’s consider for a moment the proven healing properties of food which can be grown for that which ails us; foods like garlic, turmeric, mushrooms, culinary herbs, micro greens, wheat grass, carrots, sweet potatoes and leafy greens and lettuces. Many of these foods are being successfully grown on available hospital land, within onsite greenhouses or even indoors with the use of LED lighting.

 A 2015 study published in Preventative Medicine Reports found that hospital gardens are not only associated with lower rates of obesity in communities they serve, “they may hold potential to complement other strategies to reduce public health disparities through providing nutrition education, promoting lifestyle physical activity among patients and hospital employees, accelerating healing from injury and disease, and growing food for medically underserved populations.”

Still, it’s hard to believe that some 42 U.S. hospitals actually host either a McDonald’s, Wendy’s or Chick-fil-A onsite. This recently prompted the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to enact the petition “Make Hospital Patient Rooms Fast Food-Free.” (source)

In Ypsilanti, Michigan the St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital is leading the way and in just 6 years following the first crop planting in 2010 on 10 onsite and available acres, the farm has grown to 25 acres, three hoop houses and four beehives. The Farm at St. Joe’s, as it is known, grows fresh basil, collard greens, spinach, garlic and strawberries all on hospital grounds.

 “The farm helps us support a culture of wellness in the hospital,” says director of nutrition and wellness Lisa McDowell. “We can’t grow enough to meet the needs of all of our patients and staff, but we can make an educational statement about the importance of eating a healthy diet.”

As of the writing of this article in Mid December, the weather in Ypsilanti will hit a high of 19 degrees Fahrenheit. This not-so-balmy temperature begs for growing in a controlled, indoor environment not only to supplement greenhouse-grown produce but also to continue to provide jobs and employment for hospital “farm staff” year round.

The Farm at St. Joe’s Video  

There is no doubt that engaging in such Ag undertakings represent an investment and hospital budgets are beastly enough; to the point where I was disappointed when doing my research to find there are not a lot of onsite hospital farms in the United States. In fact, I discovered only about a dozen with actual onsite operations. Many hospitals, especially those with significant food and beverage budgets, rely on large food distribution companies (think SYSCO) to feed patients, staff and hospital visitors (cafeteria). Canned, boxed, processed or ready-to-eat meals are ubiquitous and cost-effective. Fresh, local and possibly even USDA-certified organic options are simply not available or feasible for many hospitals despite the obvious short and long-term benefits.

St. Luke’s University Health Network in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania opened a 10-acre farm in 2015 (onsite at the Anderson campus) which provides over 44,000 pounds of produce per year, all going to patients, cafeterias and farmers markets (source). In partnering with the Rodale Institute, pioneers in organic farming through research and outreach, the Hospital’s Auxiliary raised $125,000 used for farm start-up costs. The result is the St. Luke’s Rodale Institute Organic Farm. The farm’s success also begat a 1,200 square foot hoop house to help extend the growing season, an additional 1.5 acres added in 2016, and a renewed Food Revolution movement at the hospital.

Jim Pantaleo, Director of Business Development at Urban Ag News.

jim@urbanagnews.com

Greenhouse Grows Inspired Young People

Greenhouse Grows Inspired Young People

By Anne Hillman, Alaska Public Media

January 13, 2017

A new Anchorage greenhouse is sprouting more than seeds – it’s helping young people develop life skills and improve their mental health. Anchorage Community Mental Health Services recently began the new program Seeds of Change

Nineteen-year-old Quavon Bracken walked through the facility’s rows and rows of tall, dangling racks of hydroponic growing towers. Green vegetables and herbs were just starting to poke out through slits the sides.

“My favorite over here is the Jericho Romaine,” he said, pointing to small heads of lettuce. “They’re really green right now.”

Their growth is spurred by powerful LED lights that sway back and forth in front of the plants. When the lights switch on with a loud click, it’s so bright, you gotta wear shades.

Bracken started working with Seeds of Change a few weeks ago. Most of the time he’s a peer outreach worker with Alaska Youth Advocates. Their teen center is now located in the same building as the greenhouse in midtown Anchorage, and the youth workers are helping get the project up and running.

Bracken said he’s been interested in agriculture for a while, and he hopes to work on a farm in Israel sometime soon. In the meantime, working with Seeds of Change is giving him the chance to learn about tending plants – what nutrients they need, how much light. Soon he’ll be helping sell the produce at local farmers’ markets and to restaurants. But the experience is having a deeper impact, too.

“I feel like kind of at peace. Like I can plant some seeds and then you know, think about something that challenges me in life,then just go along planting the seeds. I just feel like I can think a little more around it. Probably all the oxygen that’s being emitted from them,” he said, chuckling.

Those are some of the ideas behind the new nearly $3 million-dollar project.

“That sense of being responsible for life and nurturing it is a really powerful thing,” said Mike Sobocinski, the Chief Operating Officer at Anchorage Community Mental Health Services and one of the founders of the program.

Seeds of Change is primarily targeting young people who have been involved with foster care, juvenile justice, and mental health programs.

“We tend to look at these youth as ‘at-risk’ and what we’re doing here is looking at them as ‘at-promise,’” he said. “You give them the opportunity and you have expectations that they’re going to be responsible and you support them along the way. It really does a lot for your mental health.”

The program supplements on-the-job training with life skills lessons, like apartment hunting and resume building. It will employ up to 20 youth at a time for about 6-9 months each. It’s a transitional program to help the young people get started.

Seeds of Change was 15 years in the making. Sobocinski began developing the project well before starting his current post, but he said it was hard to find the money and the space to actually pull it off.

“I like to tell everybody that every community mental health center should own a 10,000 foot greenhouse,” but they don’t, he said.

The greenhouse can produce up to 50 tons of fresh produce per year. Most will be sold to fund the project, which should be self-sustaining by the end of the year. A portion of the food will be donated to people in need.

Quavan Bracken said he’s excited to see the first harvest. “I really wanna like go and slice them down. And I want to see them all piled up in one area and see the massive amount we’re gonna have. Especially for my favorite right there, though, Romaine Jericho.”

The plants should be ready to pick in four to five weeks.