Recent Blog Posts
Marilyn Kirkpatrick had an out-of-the-box solution for her district’s parks problem that will, in turn, let hundreds of urban Clark County, Nevada kids out of a box of their own. With millions of dollars in tax revenue built up to create a new park, specifically a 4-H camp, the world would seem to be Commissioner Kirkpatrick’s oyster. But much like oysters, available land surrounding Las Vegas is in short supply, dramatically limited by federally owned land throughout the county — the norm for the state. Over three years, the largest plot she could find for the camp was 10 acres. She and Varlin Higbee, a commissioner in neighboring Lincoln County, hatched a plan. Read more.
Sourced from the National Association of Counties
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Community spaces are on the ascendancy. Almost as a reaction to the isolation of the pandemic, investment and interest are rising in shared spaces that bring neighbors together. Community spaces are all around us but we don’t think of them as a class of real estate. They are unified by the themes of improving community, civic and personal health, building power and lifting up voices of those disenfranchised by capitalism. Read more.
Scorced from Next City
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This OSU Extension 10-Year Urban Extension Report, Reflection, Recommendations provides a historical snapshot of Ohio State University (OSU) Extension’s approach to Ohio’s urban influence during the past 10 years, 2014-2023. Reflections and recommendations connect the past, present, and future. As OSU Extension continues to align strategy with the university, the college, Ohio communities, and national networks, this report provides guidance on integrating relevant strategy. Read the report.
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Agriculture brings so much value to our communities, including food production, open space, and economic prosperity. This is true no matter where an agricultural operation is located – whether rural or urban. USDA is committed to working with farms of all sizes and in all locations, including those in urban areas.
USDA commitment includes opening new offices and providing staff expertise in urban communities to increase access to services designed to meet the unique operational needs of urban producers. Last month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a series of investments in urban agriculture and food and market access, including $40 million for initiatives supporting urban and suburban producers. As part of that announcement, they highlight several new services and opportunities their urban agricultural customers can look forward to and access in 2023 and beyond. Read more.
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Announcing the national GROW Urban Agriculture Conference
- Are you interested in developing multidisciplinary urban agriculture research or education (REE) projects?
- Are you interested in connecting with others interested in developing integrated REE proposals?
- Do you want broader impacts from your research, Extension, and/or education work around urban agriculture?
- Do you want assistance with creating competitive urban ag and integrated REE funding proposals?
Join others with similar interests at the inaugural virtual GROW Urban Agriculture Conference
The GROW (Generating Research Opportunities Workshop) Urban Agriculture Conference strives to enhance urban agriculture and food systems through developing collaborative proposals that tackle critical issues. Working at the intersection of urban agriculture and food systems, we seek to identify value chain concerns and assess their economic, social, and environmental impacts on communities. Join us as we support the development of interdisciplinary REE proposals, bridging disciplinary and geographic divides.
The GROW Urban Agriculture virtual conference is designed to engage researchers, Extension professionals, educators, industry representatives, and community collaborators in the development of integrated urban agriculture funding proposals. During this conference interdisciplinary teams will collaborate to create creative an effective proposals rather than spend resources competing against one another. This conference will occur in three phases:
Phase I: November 1-3, 2023, will focus on developing teams,
Phase II: November 4, 2023 to January 16, 2024, will be a time for teams to work together on proposals at their own pace, and
Phase III: January 17-19, 2024, will include an opportunity for teams to present their proposals to a mock grant review panel and have time to incorporate and refine their proposals.
Registration is required, but there is no cost to participate. This conference is supported by a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant.
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Ashley Kulhanek recently walked The High Line in New York City, a lush secret city garden. The High Line Park is built on an historic, elevated rail line that runs parallel to the Hudson River from Gansevoort St. near the meatpacking district and Chelsea Market, and West 30th St. and Hudson Yards. The park is roughly 20 blocks of a repurposed train overpass growing plants, trees, and displaying art for locals and tourists to enjoy. Read the article and see her pictures.
Sourced from Buckeye Yard & Garden onLine and written by Ashley Kulkanek
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The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE) currently has open application windows for the following grant programs:
- the Research and Education Grant Program, due on October 5, 2023
- the Partnership Grant Program due on October 19, 2023,
- the Youth Educator Grant Program due on November 9, 2023, and
- the Farmer Rancher Grant Program due on December 7, 2023.
Every grant program is tailored to cater to distinct groups and adheres to varying prerequisites. However, the overarching purpose of these grants remains consistent – to bolster research and/or education initiatives that propel the ecological, financial, and societal sustainability of agriculture within the Midwest region.
Research and Education grants are typically awarded to university researchers or non-governmental organizations for major research or education projects. While they offer up to $250,000 per grant, they are the most difficult SARE grants to get. Partnership grants offer up to $50,000 for research or education collaborations between organizations and three or more farms. And Youth Educator grants offer up to $6,000 for projects to develop sustainable agriculture education for youth from elementary school through high school. NCR-SARE also has two other grant programs for which the application window is in late winter – a Graduate Student Grant and a Professional Development Grant. See https://northcentral.sare.org for more information on all of these grant programs.
Sourced from the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
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The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has confirmed several new spotted lanternfly (SLF) infestations across the state, including Columbus and Toledo.
In 2021, ODA designated the spotted lanternfly as a destructive plant pest and established regulations aimed at reducing the risk of spread. As a result of new detections, Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas, Mahoning, and Muskingum counties will be added to the spotted lanternfly regulated area. In regulated areas, spotted lanternfly infestations have been confirmed and inspections are increased. Full article.
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A recent Purdue Extension publication summarizes opportunities and challenges for Indiana’s urban agriculturalists. The data is part of an urban agriculture needs assessment conducted by Purdue Extension. The bulletin presents the findings of the survey areas which sought to capture greater insight into urban ag production practices, the most pressing challenges facing urban ag, the issue areas producers are most interested in learning about, and where they prefer to go to gain new information to overcome their challenges. Learn more.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages urban producers, innovative producers and other stakeholders to submit comments for and virtually attend a public meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (Committee) on August 1, 2023.
The Committee is part of USDA’s efforts to support urban and innovative agriculture, creating a network for feedback. Members include agricultural producers and representatives from the areas of higher education or extension programs, non-profits, business and economic development, supply chains and financing. The committee last met in April 2023.
About the Meeting
Topics for the upcoming meeting will include addressing public comments and discussing the following recommended topics:
- Food waste prevention and food recovery
- Surplus food recovery
- Compostable food packing standards
The Committee will deliberate and vote on proposed recommendations and address public comments during the meeting. USDA will share the agenda between 24 to 48 hours prior to the meeting on https://www.usda.gov/partnerships/federal-advisory-committee-urban-ag.
The virtual meeting runs from 3-6 p.m. ET on August 1, 2023. To attend virtually, register by August 1 on the Committee’s webpage.
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