Urban farming brought you us by the hantz group

[Spitty]

This story makes it sound like more than a pipe dream. I don't think that picture has anything to do with the farm, but having MSU and the Kellogg Foundation in talks sounds pretty promising. I guess we'll have to see.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/29/news...tune/index.htm

[Pcm]

"Detroit's first proposed commercial farming enterprise will plant about 1,000 trees, mostly oak saplings, this fall on 3.5 acres of land purchased from the city. The land is behind the Hantz Farms headquarters at 17403 Mt. Elliott on the city's east side."

More here:

http://www.freep.com/article/2011080...it-1-000-trees

[Django]

Watched the movie Urban Roots at the DFT aweek or so ago. I missed some of the movie but the big concern with the other gardens in Detroit was if a Monsantos type of group would be horning in on this type of project. Thats a big concern if you know about Monsantos [[which I only know a little).

Sounds all good but non organic farming in a mainly organic farming area could lead down a bad road.

School me, anyone.

[wolverine]

I hope large scale commercial farming takes root. I think community gardens have their place, but if you want TRUE sustainable agriculture, you need capital intensive investment. There's companies here in Chicago buying vacant warehouses and creating indoor ecosystems.

The problem with community farms is they aren't always

net-zero energy and net-zero waste. That's the way to go....generate entire ecosystems indoors. In enclosed environment, quality goes up as there are no harsh conditions or pests to destroy crops. Additionally, you maximize your yield per square yard since plants are grown vertically. Delivery to people who need produce can also be cheaper since these companies intend to use electric vehicles, and generate their own power source on site. I've also heard another issue with community gardens is they are time and labor intensive, and there isn't always the kind of cooperation you'd want.
I think they are great for building strong relationships with your neighbors. But this isn't agriculture, and it's not what is going to help Detroit. You need to be talking hydroponics and huge industrial warehouses to feed a city...and that's exactly what other cities are doing.

[Hypestyles]

I hope some of these projects can happen. I see room for both select small-scale and select larger-scale to exist. No, city-wide farming is not the ultimate solution to Detroit's woes. No, city-wide farming is not the ultimate solution to Detroit's woes. No, city-wide farming is not the ultimate solution to Detroit's woes [[hopefully I repeated that often enough for people to understand, but probably not, lol)..

[Det_ard]

I hope large scale commercial farming takes root. I think community gardens have their place, but if you want TRUE sustainable agriculture, you need capital intensive investment. There's companies here in Chicago buying vacant warehouses and creating indoor ecosystems.

The problem with community farms is they aren't always

net-zero energy and net-zero waste. That's the way to go....generate entire ecosystems indoors. In enclosed environment, quality goes up as there are no harsh conditions or pests to destroy crops. Additionally, you maximize your yield per square yard since plants are grown vertically. Delivery to people who need produce can also be cheaper since these companies intend to use electric vehicles, and generate their own power source on site. I've also heard another issue with community gardens is they are time and labor intensive, and there isn't always the kind of cooperation you'd want.
I think they are great for building strong relationships with your neighbors. But this isn't agriculture, and it's not what is going to help Detroit. You need to be talking hydroponics and huge industrial warehouses to feed a city...and that's exactly what other cities are doing.

This sounds incredibly capital-intensive. How are they net-zero energy in the winter in Chicago? Are they sustainable on an unsubsidized financial basis?

[wolverine]

This sounds incredibly capital-intensive. How are they net-zero energy in the winter in Chicago? Are they sustainable on an unsubsidized financial basis?

Sadly they don't receive subsidies so it is a slow growth process of adding equipment. The buildings are heated by decomposition of waste plant materials. There's enough heat generated from composting to keep the building warm. The buildings must also have been constructed in such a way that USDA standards can be met. But Chicago has plenty of those laying around being once a major center of food production.

But I wouldn't call these operations capital intensive, especially if you can lease the spaces cheap and equipment continues to drop in price, or can be self built. Community farming is extremely labor intensive and have very low yields. Again, I'm in favor of community farming....but for the sake of enhancing neighborhood relationships and education. But you can't feed a neighborhood. When I hear people champion them as a food source for low income folks...that's just impossible.

In the case of Detroit, I see plenty of cheap land that quick to construct, inexpensive facilities can operate on. Basically pull-barns that take up a city block. Not all the operations have to be centralized, but ideally they'd be close to more densely populated areas so that delivery requires the least amount of energy possible.

[CMooreBMoore]

[QUOTE=Johnlodge;7951]Oh, THAT Matt Allen! Instead of beating his ho, he'll be hoeing his beets.

I just died laughing!
My goodness...

[corktownyuppie]

Heard the owner on the Craig Fahle show earlier. What a great way to add a successful business to the city and give hundreds of unskilled employees decent jobs.

This article is a month old or so....I gathered from Fahle's show that this project is now a go.

Now we just need 49 of these and we can really make a dent in turning this ship around.