Where Buffalo Roam, Vertical Growing Towers Rise to Propel Local Agriculture

American Pavilion at 2015 World’s Fair. Courtesy Amy Storey.

By focusing on building a quality product, encouraging community and supporting their farmer customers, Laramie, Wyoming-based Bright Agrotech looks to have a bright and busy future ahead of it.

The company has continued to grow since Seedstock first profiled them here in 2012, something CEO and founder Dr. Nate Storey attributes to the broad appeal of the company’s mission.

“No matter if you’re like the uber liberal kind of person on the left side of things, or a super conservative person on the right side of things, everyone can get on board with the idea that local production is better,” says Storey. “Everyone can get on board with the idea that when we spend money in our communities, that money stays in our communities.” Read More

Looking forward, Riverside Food Systems Alliance Sets Eyes on Education, Health, and Local Food in the Region

The Riverside Food Systems Alliance is striving for a thriving and equitable local foods system in Riverside and the surrounding areas. (Image courtesy Seth Wilson/Riverside Food Systems Alliance)

The Riverside Food Systems Alliance (RFSA), a public-private partnership with members from the community, government, and business sector works to grow a resilient and productive local food and agricultural system in the greater Riverside, CA region. The organization, which has been around for a little over a year continues to trace and mark its progress by looking back, and forward, to annual GrowRIVERSIDE conferences.

In 2014, the year of the first GrowRIVERSIDE event, consultant and former Seattle City Councilman Richard Conlin helped the group get established. With an original focus on Riverside’s Greenbelt, Conlin assisted in hammering out goals that would positively impact the community. These goals include sustainable agriculture and its economic viability in and near Riverside, California; agricultural economic development and infrastructure; education about food and agriculture; equitable access to healthy foods; and public health.

Shortly after the 2015 GrowRIVERSIDE conference, the RFSA formed a five-member board and an advisory board of more than 20 members. The organization also became a nonprofit with official 501(c)(3) status, hired a new executive director and secured a fiscal sponsor—Community Partners. Read More

CityCrop Venture Seeks to Address Future Water Needs of Urban Agriculture Operations

A plot of land in Vancouver, British Columbia has served as the site of a research study to determine the water needs of urban agriculture. (Photo courtesy Mark Johnson)

Cities around the world are transforming blight into gardens, turning bleak rooftops into greenspace, and using empty buildings for vertical farming. But will this upsurge in urban agriculture create even more demand for water?

This is the question Mark Johnson, professor of water and sustainability at The University of British Columbia, is looking to address. Johnson, along with other colleagues, has developed a tool to measure just how much water urban agriculture operations need.

The tool, dubbed CityCrop, uses LiDAR (remote sensing technology—stands for Light Detection and Ranging) and climate readings to determine the level of shade provided by buildings and trees. This data helps scientists figure out city-dwelling plants’ rates of evapotranspiration, which in turn reveals their water needs. Read More

Grassroots Efforts Target Food Insecurity in San Bernardino County, CA

A feast is enjoyed at Huerta Del Valle Community Garden in San Bernardino County. (photo courtesy of Arthur Levine/Huerta Del Valle)

San Bernardino County, the largest county in the United States, stretches all the way from Southern California’s Inland Empire to the California-Nevada state line.

In addition to numerous farms and other agricultural businesses, the county is home to Amy’s Farm, a polyculture-oriented farm in Ontario with a focus on education; Huerta del Valle, a robust community garden in Ontario; and the Upland-based Incredible Edible Community Garden.

Thanks to people like Arthur Levine, local and urban agriculture in San Bernardino County is experiencing a burgeoning grassroots movement. Read More

Sparks, Nevada Passes New Urban Agriculture Ordinance

Courtesy of City of Sparks

Residents of Sparks, Nevada now have a lot more options when it comes to farming inside city limits.

In October, city council members voted unanimously to approve a new urban agriculture ordinance that allows for community gardens to be built on vacant or blighted plots in the city. Citizens will also be allowed to raise chickens and bees on private properties.

According to City Manager Steve Driscoll, the revamp of the city’s zoning codes had been in the works for quite some time. As a result of the housing recession, the city council wanted to take a fresh look at what would make the smartest uses of available land and zoning designations.

“In the late 1990s, we were building 300-400 new houses a year in Sparks,” says Driscoll. “From 2003–2005, we were building 2,500 houses a year. In 2008, we built zero. We looked at all our building processes and asked, ‘What lessons did we learn? If we ever ramp up and do that number of houses again, what would we do differently?’” Read More