Category: Frontpage

Women have been contributing to American agriculture (often invisibly) for centuries. Now, they’re stepping into the profession’s spotlight in a new way.

When the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) surveyed more than 3,500 farmers under 40 in 2017, 60 percent of the farmer respondents were women. And in 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census of Agriculture found that 14 percent of principal farm operators were women, a nearly 300 percent increase since 1978, when it began counting women as farmers.

Before that, as “farm wives,” women’s work went unnoticed. “There are real implications from that,” says Audra Mulkern, who started the Female Farmer Project to call attention to how women were missing from agricultural narratives. “What have we missed because we haven’t heard women’s voices? What lessons did we not learn? What knowledge is missing?”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: “FoodTank.com“

“The growing information about possible negative health effects caused by over-processed foods and artificial additives like artificial sweeteners has fueled interest in eating clean. Now more people are opting to eliminate artificial additives, such as flavors and preservatives, and replace them with simpler whole ingredients like fresh produce and whole grains.

“A real estate development in the works for Silicon Valley is bringing together affordable senior housing with an urban farm, as part of the “agrihood” movement. The project exemplifies the growing trend of combining farming and senior living, as well as the trend of multi-generational housing.

An agrihood places agriculture right in the midst of residential neighborhoods. The concept has gained in popularity over the last several years and seemed a natural fit for a 6-acre parcel of land in Santa Clara, California, said Vince Cantore, senior development manager at The Core Companies. Based in nearby San Jose, Core was awarded the site through a request for proposals issued in 2015, and now the integrated development and construction firm is in the last stages of the entitlement process.

“We’re paying homage to the past history of the site,” Cantore told SHN.

The site — 17 acres in its entirety — was previously used by the University of California to conduct research on agricultural best practices. The real estate also included housing constructed in the 1920s to house widows of Civil War veterans.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT: “SeniorHousingNews.com“

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Many city residents have come to rely on small urban farms to put fresh crops on their tables as they supplement what they buy at the grocery store.

“Right now we’re in the fall season so we’ve got lots of greens, you’re looking at lettuces, kale, collards, mustard greens, cabbage, radishes, all that fun stuff,” said Charlotte Haase, with Civic Works.

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “Baltimore.CBSLocal.com“

“Eco-consciousness is a hot trend. It’s become a common occurrence to see shoppers with reusable grocery totes at the supermarket. Bamboo straws are flying off shelves as people opt for eco-friendly products. Urban gardening and composting, too, has taken root as consumers try to minimize their carbon footprints.

These small actions are encouraging first steps, but they’re not enough when it comes to tackling agricultural contributions to climate change. Strong-worded warnings from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) detail the potential for climate disasters to worsen if modern consumption patterns don’t change — and soon.

There’s evidence that reimagining urban environments’ food systems might help reduce carbon emissions. With more than 60% of the global population expected to live in cities by 2030, urban agriculture might be one piece of the puzzle for reducing strain on city resources. The practice typically involves growing food in smaller, city environments such as on rooftops, apartment balconies, or even walls.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “Mashable.com“

“The Apprentice sent its remaining contestants into the brave new world of urban gardening in last night’s (November 14) episode, with the not-so-green-fingered candidates being asked to make London a little bit brighter.

The task saw the teams set up their own urban gardening businesses, where they carried out commercial and domestic jobs for their (often not very happy) clients, which included laying some astroturf, popping a few plants along a wall and forgetting to tell the driver of the van that contained everything they needed where he should be going.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “DigitalSpy.com“

“In the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, locals stroll through Greensgrow Farms. A couple picks up baby spinach and collard greens grown on site, while a few teenagers greet Milkshake, the farm’s resident pet pig. Neighbors ask each other for recipe ideas as they reach for bundles of fresh herbs. Looking in on this lively urban farm, it is hard to believe that just over 20 years ago this space was nothing more than a vacant lot in a forgotten space.

The chances that more urban farms will grow in the city’s empty lots improved dramatically with the recent launch of the Philadelphia Land Bank, which makes it much easier for the city to transfer its 8,700 vacant lots into private ownership. How easy? It costs about $1 to acquire the vacant lot next door, plus closing fees. Says Mayor Michael Nutter, “We would have liked to have had this about a decade ago.”

Vacant lots, which account for roughly 16.7 percent of large U.S. cities’ land area, have long been perceived as eyesores. Many are unkempt, empty hunks of land between buildings that all too often become sites choked with litter, contaminated by asbestos, lead, and arsenic, and breeding grounds for disease-carrying animals like rats. But more cities are seeing in vacant lots an opportunity to revive neighborhoods.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT: “AlterNet.org“

“Horticulture and red wine were served up the other night at the Sill, a boutique on Hester Street, as Christopher Satch, a botanist wearing a T-shirt that read, “Plants Make People Happy,” the company motto, led a workshop on carnivorous plants.

It was plant stand-up — slightly blue patter with quick takes on Linnaeus and Darwin; binomial nomenclature (note the shape of the Venus fly trap for cues to how it got its name); detailed care instructions (carnivorous plants evolved in acidic bogs, which means they need distilled water, not tap, and lots of it); and a show-and-tell of Mr. Satch’s collection of butterworts and sundews.

Among the rapt attendees were Madison Steinberg and Lindsay Reisman, both 23 and working in public relations, and Brayan Poma, also 23, who works in construction; afterward they each took home an attractive tropical pitcher plant. “I like plants, but I kill so many of them,” said Mr. Poma, who wore a green hoodie and a goatee. “Maybe that’s why I find them so alluring.””

MEET THE PLANTFLUENCERS HERE: “NYTimes.com“

“Local gardening enthusiasts on Saturday braved freezing winds to learn winter plant management techniques at an urban garden in Uptown, the latest in a series of grassroots workshops aimed at educating city growers.

Breanne Heath, the education program manager at Peterson Garden Project, offered participants tips for caring for perennial herbs, planting garlic and preparing unplanted raised garden beds to weather an oppressive Chicago winter until the spring growing season.

Peterson Garden Project, a Chicago-based non-profit founded in 2010, provides 4-foot by 8-foot raised garden beds, growing materials and learning resources for members, who pay an annual $85 fee to participate. However, membership was not required for the weekend workshop, which cost $25.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE: Medill Reports Chicago

“When Gracie and Bob Cavnar launched the Recipe for Success Foundation in 2005, their main goals were to battle childhood obesity by changing the way children understand, appreciate and eat their food, and to provide the community with healthier diets. Today, their hands-on curriculum is the largest outreach of its kind in the nation, empowering over 4,000 children every month through various initiatives.  But rather than sitting on their laurels, the couple became inspired to do even more. In the historic Sunnyside neighborhood of southeast Houston, they found the ideal location for an urban farm to expand their mission.

Thanks to a generous seed grant from Wells Fargo Foundation and support from the UnitedHealth Foundation and other corporations and philanthropists, the Hope Farms Showcase and Training Center came to life in one of the city’s largest food deserts.  To further their important mission, Hope Farms instated a grant-supported program to train U.S. military veterans to become new urban farmers.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE: “Forbes.com“

“Marcus Roberson has a vision. He wants to grow crops on an empty lot in the Kingman Park-Rosedale neighborhood, close enough to Miner Elementary School to hear children during recess. “If we can get to the kids, we can get to the parents and touch the community,” he says.

Roberson is the co-owner of Woodbox Farms in Alexandria and graduated from Arcadia Farm’s 2017 Arcadia Veteran Farmer Program. The Southwest D.C. resident is submitting a plan to the city, hoping to be awarded the 10,000 square feet of public land to use as an urban farm.

In addition to engaging the elementary school through educational programming, Roberson imagines creating a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that relies on cyclists to deliver produce to neighbors. He was among a handful of likely bidders at a site visit on Oct. 24.

Earlier this month, the Department of General Services put out a request for proposals for two plots of land totaling 20,000 square feet as a part of D.C.’s Urban Farming Land Lease Program. Site one is on the 1600 block of Kramer St. NE between 16th and 17th streets NE in Ward 6. Site two is at Longfellow and 9th streets NW in Brightwood Park. ”

READ THE FULL STORY: “WashingtonCityPaper.com“