Urban Farm Workshop Set for May 6

Go to https://www.morningagclips.com/how-to-create-a-profitable-urban-farm/?utm_content=articles&utm_campaign=NLCampaign&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_term=newsletteredition&utm_medium=email to learn more about the workshop.

Urban Farming Teams with USDA Loans

Urban farming is becoming a big deal in the Big Apple.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency Administrator Val Dolcini and New York State Executive Director James Barber recently went to Brooklyn to tour urban agriculture operations funded by USDA microloans.
 
As more urban farms start in New York City, consumers can find a wider variety of fresh, locally grown vegetables, year round.
 
“The USDA microloan has expanded funding and opportunities for beginning, niche and small farmers to start or expand their agriculture operations,” said Dolcini. “As urban agriculture continues to grow, FSA loan programs have evolved to keep up with the needs of these unique, creative and trend-setting urban farmers.”
 
Nine urban entrepreneurs worked with Square Roots and USDA to start their urban farming operation. Square Roots is an organization that promotes urban farming and coaches people with a passion for local food to grow and sell produce locally while building a sustainable business.
 
The urban entrepreneurs each used the USDA microloan program to secure a low-interest loan to lease a vertical farm from Square Roots and pay for operating expenses such as seed, water and electricity costs.
 
Vertical farms are repurposed shipping containers tailored for hydroponically growing vegetables and include a water system, heating and cooling units and light-emitting diodes designed to mirror sunlight. Each vertical farm is capable of producing the equivalent of what is grown on two acres of farmland.
 
Square Roots aims to connect local consumers to the urban farmers who grow a variety of greens and herbs that will be sold at local farmers markets and to local restaurants. The producers expect to harvest their first crop this month.
 
The urban farmers are growing green salad mixes, lettuce (green and red), spinach, chard and rhubarb chard, arugula, mustards, Genovese basil, shiso (an herb which is a member of the mint family), kale and watercress.
 
USDA microloans are low interest loans developed to better serve the unique financial needs of new, niche and small to mid-sized family farm operations. 

Microloans offer more flexible access to credit and serve as an attractive loan alternative for smaller farming operations, like specialty crop producers. Borrowers can use the microloan for operating expenses or to purchase, expand or improve a farm. The maximum loan amount is $50,000.
 
To learn more about the USDA microloan program, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/microloans or contact your local FSA office. To find your local FSA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov/.
 
Also, you can check out this http://www.businessinsider.com/usda-urban-agriculture-2016-12  story about the urban farming movement.

Farm Service Agency Head Visits NYC Farms

By DEBRA J. GROOM
EMPIRE FARM & DAIRY
 

Dolcini

You wouldn’t think there would be much reason for the head of the Farm Service agency to go to New York City.
 
But there he was — the national administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency — touring farms in Brooklyn and the South Bronx.
 
Val Dolcini was interested in seeing what is going on in urban agriculture in hopes of working with the USDA to develop a variety of new tools to support urban farmers. 

The discussions from this trip to New York City will help the USDA better understand the unique challenges urban agriculture faces, as it looks to expand its capacity to better serve and meet the needs of farmers in urban areas, Dolcini said.
 
While in New York City, Dolcini saw crops being grown on the rooftop at the Brooklyn Navy yard. He saw community gardens filled with crops in little nooks and crannies in the city. He saw families finding little areas of soil near their apartments planting food they could eat all summer and fall.
 
“There is 65,000 square feet of space on the roof of the Brooklyn Navy Yard with a dozen or so Mom and Pop operations,” Dolcini said. 

He said people in the city grow for themselves and also sell their produce at farm stands or even through CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), in which people buy shares of the farm operation in return for some of the bounty of the farm.
 
He said during his tour of New York City, he found people growing all types of greens, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, root vegetables and cut flowers.
 
“There are lots of opportunities for farming in New York City,” Dolcini said.