Posts Tagged: urban
Could empty lots be growing food, economic opportunity?
UCCE scientists study feasibility of specialty crops for small urban growers
The vacant lots around your neighborhood could be growing fruits and vegetables and making local produce more accessible – while reducing energy needed to transport and distribute the food. Could turning those empty lots into small farms also become opportunities for economic development?
To answer this question, a team of researchers from University of California Cooperative Extension in San Diego County are investigating the economic feasibility of growing high-value specialty crops in urban settings like vacant lots. The project – led by Eric Middleton, UCCE integrated pest management advisor for San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties – is currently in progress at The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, a seasonal attraction for locals and tourists.
Tucked away in the back of the field is the Small-Scale Urban Ag Demonstration Site where Middleton and his team established a small farm on approximately 17,000 square feet, starting fall 2023. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the farm is designed to evaluate containerized production both outdoors and under high tunnels.
Growers don't necessarily need land, just space
High tunnels, also referred to as hoop houses, are semi-permanent structures that act similarly to greenhouses in providing a controlled environment. For the experiment, Middleton will compare cost, effort and durability of two types of high tunnels: one made of steel and the other out of PVC pipes.
“We want to give interested growers information on as many options as we can,” said Middleton, who explained that the project is motivated by the challenges of urban settings, including limited space and lack of arable land.
In the trial, they are growing turmeric, ginger and blueberries. The high-value crops were selected because of their potential to earn a profit. Data evaluating plant variety, soil mix, fertilizer, growth performance, yield and pest and disease pressures will be collected and reported when the project concludes in 2026.
As the crops develop in containers – blueberries in pots and turmeric and ginger in grow bags – Middleton pointed out the mobility aspect of the study, noting that growers don't necessarily need land, just space.
Whether it's a backyard or a rooftop, containerized production means easier transport, especially since vacant land doesn't always remain vacant forever and urban lots may often need soil remediation. Growing in containers solves the anticipated problem of having to relocate.
Where to set up shop in San Diego County
Jan Gonzales, project coordinator and community education supervisor for UCCE San Diego County, is leading the effort to identify available urban land in San Diego County as well as the policies and procedures for growers to access these spaces.
Gonzales is collaborating with community members who are working on similar projects to identify space for prospective growers.
“This has been done before for different objectives and for specific areas in the region, but the information was either project-specific and not publicly available, or not easy to find,” Gonzales said.
Having spoken with people associated with previous or ongoing agricultural land mapping projects, Gonzales has agreed to coordinate and facilitate an advisory work group to discuss areas of potential collaboration and develop project efficiencies. She anticipates holding the first group meeting before the end of the summer.
A production guide to help community members re-create the project
The ideal audience for a study like this is anyone who wants to grow specialty crops, according to Lindsey Pedroncelli, interim director of UC South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine, who worked on the project alongside Middleton when she was a staff research associate with UCCE San Diego.
“If you're a new grower or a grower who wants to diversify your crop production, what we're learning here can be applied to you,” said Pedroncelli.
Pedroncelli has been instrumental in bringing the experiment to life and documenting its step-by-step workflow thus far. The production guide, which is being created as the study unfolds, will include instructions detailing how to replicate the experiment from the ground up. Currently, it contains information on how to design your farm, the materials to buy, building structures, irrigation setup and crop management.
The most intriguing open question, whether the operation is profitable, is the driving force behind the production guide and will certainly be addressed, Pedroncelli said.
Book a tour and visit the farm
When visiting the farm, you'll encounter three varieties of blueberries: Star, Snowchaser and Misty. Snowchaser has been a top producer since it was planted in January, but the variety is known to be an early season producer.
Using only one variety of each, the turmeric and ginger were planted in late March-early April. With some unanticipated cold weather in San Diego County, both crops struggled when transitioning out of dormancy, leading to very slow progress, which the team is still navigating today.
Visually, Middleton and his team have noticed differences between the crops growing under the high tunnels versus those grown outdoors, although the data has not been analyzed to confirm or explain notable differences.
Attempting to demonstrate how to profitably grow high-value crops in urban settings using limited space and resources, Pedroncelli said she hopes this study will also encourage people to grow culturally significant crops for their communities.
To tour the Small-Scale Urban Ag Demonstration Site at The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, email Eric Middleton at egmiddleton@ucanr.edu with "Urban Agriculture Demonstration Site Tour" in the subject line.
To learn more about the project and its progress, visit https://ucanr.edu/sites/socalIPM/Small_Scale_Urban_Agriculture_Project_/.
/h4>UC offers resources for urban farmers at EcoFarm
University of California scientists will be participating in the 44th Annual EcoFarm Conference Jan. 17-20 in Pacific Grove. EcoFarm participants gather to celebrate and learn about advances in farming and food systems throughout the state. This year, the three-day conference will highlight Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities that depend on agriculture, while also showcasing the new technological advances that further the development of agriculture.
Researchers from the UC Davis Veterinary Teaching Hospital's Department of Population Health, the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources will be attending the conference to highlight the importance of food safety and technical skills in urban farming.
At EcoFarm, the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security will showcase its Civic Urban Farmer Program with an exhibit. The program, led by UC Davis assistant project scientist Sara Garcia and supported by UC Cooperative Extension, strives to uplift BIPOC communities.
The Civic Urban Farmer Program
The Civic Urban Farmer Program – a no-cost, 11-week program for farmers in the Sacramento region and Bay Area – provides technical support for new and upcoming urban farmers through webinars and in-person events. The program is available for any race, gender, age and skill ability, and seeks to provide safe, expert advice for farmers at any scale.
Soil health, composting, pest management, business marketing, food safety and urban policy are among the topics covered in its lecture-style classes.
Earlier this year, the program graduated its second cohort, with the support of two nonprofit organizations, Three Sisters Gardens in West Sacramento and Common Vision in Oakland. The program is supported by industry professionals, researchers and government officials, as well as local nonprofit and non-governmental organizations.
Elina Niño, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in apiculture, joined the Civic Urban Farmer Program to support urban farmers with training on managing pollinators to increase crop yields and create value-added products such as honey. The success of the pollinator program revealed that small urban farmers desire resources and education that are tailored specifically toward the cultivation of healthy and safe food.
For more information about the Civic Urban Farmer Program, visit https://www.wifss.ucdavis.edu/urbanfarmers.
Organic Agriculture Institute
The UC Organic Agriculture Institute, led by UC Cooperative Extension specialist Houston Wilson, will have an exhibit at EcoFarm. UC Organic Agriculture Institute brings together growers, certifiers, consultants, community groups and other stakeholders with UC research and extension personnel to share information about organic farming.
For more information about the UC Organic Agriculture Institute, visit https://organic.ucanr.edu.
Workshop speakers
Several UC Cooperative Extension advisors will be speaking at EcoFarm, including Richard Smith, UCCE emeritus vegetable crops advisor; Patricia Lazicki, UCCE vegetable crops advisor; and Margaret Lloyd, UCCE small farms advisor.
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Backyard chickens stay healthy with help from UC researchers, website
In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of backyard poultry farms as people have taken an increased interest in farming. With raising these animals comes new challenges in taking care of them and ensuring they stay healthy.
However, there is a gap between the needs of these small avian communities in Californians' backyards and the current services available that generally work for service large-scale poultry operations alone.
This is where Beatriz Martinez Lopez, professor of infectious disease epidemiology, and Alda Pires, associate professor for Cooperative Extension and agronomist, come into play. Both in UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, the two women work on projects addressing avian influenza, animal health and food safety needs of people raising backyard poultry and livestock.
“Alda has a lot of experience and her work is amazing,” said Martinez Lopez.
To better address the diseases and problems associated with raising birds in the California context, they completed a series of needs assessments to understand the animal health requirements of small farms and backyard chickens.
“It has helped us be more organized and structured in our outreach,” Pires said. “There is a need to apply simple, practical biosecurity plans that are adapted for multiple species to small-scale, backyard and diversified farms.”
Through a multistate project funded by the USDA National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, they created a website, FARM PPE, for producers to easily access biosecurity plan templates and additional resources. PPE stands for prepare, prevent and evaluate to reduce disease risk.
“Our clients are benefiting from the structured network we created,” Pires continued. “This website project, FARM PPE, aims to improve uptake of biosecurity measures on small-scale farms, by focusing on farmers and other professionals, including extension educators and veterinarians.”
The website project also created several trainings for farmers and educators to generate consistent messaging for small-scale farms.
With backyard birds being one of the potential sources of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, it is important to understand how the disease could spread to commercial flocks. The major challenge of the project is the complexity of the human/wildlife interface and the difficulties in predicting where an outbreak may arise.
Together, Martinez Lopez and Pires have published several papers about modeling disease transmission, and the work yields valuable information about hotspots for targeting surveillance strategies and wildlife surveys.
Their professional partnership is rooted in their personal connection; the scientists met as graduate students in 2006 and were delighted to cross paths again at UC Davis.
“Our collaboration started with friendship and our common interests in epidemiology and animal health,” said Pires.
As exemplified by their own careers, Martinez Lopez and Pires stress the importance of networking, getting involved and taking risks.
“Invite farm advisors and outreach partners from the beginning of the process so that they are part of the team,” Pires said. “That way you can create solutions that will give them the knowledge and resources they need.”
New UC ANR publication educates public on cycles of cattle production, grazing and economics
The pandemic has brought more people into nearby parks and public lands for hiking, biking and other recreational activities. In areas like the East Bay Regional Parks – a San Francisco Bay Area park system totaling more than 120,000 acres where about 65% of the land is grazed by livestock – visitors might see goats, sheep and, most likely, cattle.
Those encounters with animals (or their manure) represent a prime opportunity for members of the public to learn about agriculture and the ecological benefits of rangelands, according to Larry Forero, a UC Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor.
As livestock grazing (mostly by beef cattle) constitutes a significant portion of land use across the state, Forero – along with fellow UCCE advisors Sheila Barry and Stephanie Larson – recently authored a UC Agriculture and Natural Resources publication summarizing the mechanics of cattle production.
“Beef Cattle on California Annual Grasslands: Production Cycle and Economics,” published in October and available as a free download on the UC ANR Catalog, describes the seasonal phases of cattle production and the factors that impact ranchers' financial calculations and management decisions.
“This concise publication walks through annual stock flows and calendar of operations and gives tables for estimating costs, return over cash, and gross income under various scenarios,” said Forero.
“Even if only a relatively small percentage of park goers are interested, you still touch a lot of people with a document like this,” Forero explained.
He said he hopes park signage and QR codes will direct visitors to the publication for more information about the cattle and their seasonal movements.
“People often wonder where the cattle go when they leave the park and when they will return,” co-author Sheila Barry said. “The cattle may go to grass or feed yards in other places in California or even out of state.”
But, as this new UC ANR publication explains, the cattle production cycle turns over anew.
“There will be more cattle next fall, I promise,” Barry said.
Cover cropping season has begun: Free recorded webinars, demos available
Cover crops, typically planted in early fall, deliver a host of agricultural and conservation benefits. But many growers have gone away from planting them due to technical challenges and extra costs associated with the practice. In partnership with the Contra Costa County Resource Conservation District, two University of California Cooperative Extension advisors collaborated to support farmers' cover cropping efforts and reduce costs.
Kamyar Aram, UCCE specialty crops advisor for Contra Costa and Alameda counties, and Rob Bennaton, UCCE Bay Area urban agriculture and food systems advisor, developed online project content for a free educational series on cover cropping, which entails growing non-cash crops to add beneficial biomass to soils.
“Our site visit videos include a diversity of cropping systems, operation types and scales, and levels of experience with cover crops, so we really capture a variety of perspectives,” Aram said. “Now, with the videos online, I hope that they will serve as tools for other farm educators, as well as a resource for growers directly.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic scrapped plans for in-person workshops and visits, the series organizers pivoted to online webinars, starting in fall 2020, which drew more than 150 participants. The recorded videos – which cover basic methods, financial assistance, tips for orchards and vineyards and more – expanded the potential reach and impact of the series far beyond Contra Costa County.
“Each video, whether it's a webinar recording or a virtual site visit, emphasizes different aspects, and the titles are designed to help viewers find the resources they are most likely to benefit from,” said Aram. “There really is something for everyone.”
In particular, the organizers of the series recognized the importance of including technical and extension support to urban and semi-urban farmers in the East Bay and beyond.
“We wanted to make sure to include practical support from fellow farmers that was both accessible and relevant to our diverse small and urban farmers,” said Julio Contreras, UCCE community education specialist. “This meant covering topics like seeding with spreaders or by broadcasting – using small equipment and machinery or no-till systems – and even cover cropping in planter boxes.”
Aram and Bennaton also credited their Contra Costa Resource Conservation District partners: Ben Weise, agriculture conservation manager; Derek Emmons, agriculture conservation coordinator; and Chris Lim, executive director.
The project, funded by a Specialty Crops Block Grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, was also made possible by the generous contributions of time and expertise from presenters and hosts of farm-site visits, according to Aram.
“I hope that the videos will enjoy a long life online; they really contain a wealth of knowledge,” he said.
The series is available for view at http://ucanr.edu/CoverCropsCoCo.