Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production News

Opportunities

• USDA Risk Management Agency’s Whole-Farm Revenue Protection and Micro Farm programs insure revenue earned through sales of crops and value-added products, thereby helping growers manage risk. Beginning or Veteran Farmers may receive reduced premiums. Learn more and find a crop insurance agent near you at RMA’s Agent Locator Tool, our webpage, or regional office. Application Deadline: Ongoing.
• USDA Food and Nutrition Service Farm To School Technical Assistance-Cooperative Agreements help nonprofits and Tribal Organizations implement national- and/or regional-level farm to school activities. Application Deadline: Oct. 10, 2023.
• U.S. Forest Service Forest Landowner Support provides financial assistance for underserved and small-acreage forest landowners to participate in emerging private markets for climate mitigation and forest resilience. Application deadline: Oct. 21, 2023.
• USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Community Food Projects Competitive Grants aim to reduce food insecurity while improving access to services. Application deadline: Oct. 30, 2023. 
• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Innovation Grants are dedicating $65 million for the development of new tools, approaches, practices and technologies for natural resource conservation on private lands. Application deadline: Oct. 30, 2023. 
• USDA’s Discrimination Financial Assistance Program is open to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination from USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021. Application details (in English and Spanish), office locations, and local events are listed at 22007apply.gov. Filing an application is FREE and does not require a lawyer. Application deadline: Oct. 31, 2023. 
• Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Partnerships Program supports capacity building and capital for local, regional, or state food financing programs. Application deadline: Nov. 3, 2023.
• Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization is soliciting applications from Tribal Nations and entities to provide specialized technical assistance for brownfield programs and reuse. Application deadline: Nov. 13, 2023. 
• Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program e-Solution Grant is open for interested state agencies, Indian Tribal Organizations and territories, or multi-state agency collaborations. Application deadline for fiscal year 2024: Jan. 23, 2024.
• USDA is hosting virtual and in-person Controlled Environment Insurance Program Informational Sessions to introduce a new Federal Crop Insurance program that provides greenhouse growers an opportunity to insure against losses due to destruction orders based on detection of plant disease vectors.
• Learn about establishing a Registered Apprenticeship Program, including high demand agriculture apprenticeship occupations to help create a future workforce, improve productivity, and reduce turn-over.

Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production on the Road

Richmond, Virginia Urban Service Center Opening 

• USDA Staff, Virginia State University, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and community stakeholders met at the Miles Jones Elementary school to celebrate the opening of Richmond’s USDA Urban Service Center. The event highlighted the importance of urban agriculture to Richmond’s Southside neighborhoods and beyond. Urban ag producers and technical experts, including former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jewel Bronaugh, held a panel discussion on the benefits of urban agriculture to local economies and food systems.

New Orleans, Louisiana Urban Service Center Opening 

• The USDA Urban Service Center in New Orleans was opened by NRCS State Conservationist Richard Kacir and FSA State Executive Director Ronald Guidry along with USDA staff, FSA Urban County Committee members, Louisiana State Agriculture Center Extension, the Soil and Water Conservation District, urban growers, city officials, and local businesses. “The office is in the perfect location within the community, and we want everyone to feel welcome when they come here,” said Richard Kacir, NRCS State Conservationist.

Brownfields 2023 

• Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP) staff attended Brownfields 2023 where they shared information on USDA resources that support climate-resilient food systems. Best practices across government, industry, and the community on the remediation and redevelopment of contaminated properties, known as brownfields, were shared. Visit EPA Brownfields and Land Revitalization for additional resources.

Urban Agriculture Conservation Forum 2023 

• The San Antonio Food Bank, with NRCS, FSA, and partners, presented agricultural workshops and demonstrations for urban/small acre farmers. Hands-on sessions included outdoor demos for using small farm tools, a rainfall simulator demonstrating soil health, and techniques for raised bed gardens. Attendees had opportunities for networking, learning new innovative approaches specific to small farms, and learning about financial and site-specific resource management ideas and options.

Composting and Food Waste Reduction Recipient Henderson County, North Carolina

• OUAIP staff met with Henderson County to learn about the great things happening in their food waste composting facility. Their USDA Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) Cooperative Agreement was instrumental in providing power and equipment to the facility which is currently collecting food waste from six Henderson County Public Schools. County personnel sought out funding after their contract expired with a private hauler. The once public-private partnership is now a fully public operation, demonstrating that municipalities of all sizes have the capacity to implement their own composting and food waste reduction strategies.
• Henderson County Environmental Programs Coordinator Amy Schmitte said, “The CFWR project has had a great impact on Henderson County and our ability to implement and expand the composting facility and programs. The County has increased diversion through the residential food waste drop off, expanded the school compost program, and increased home diversion methods by offering backyard compost bins to residents. We look forward to diverting additional food waste in the future through other collection sources like restaurants and farms.” 

People’s Garden Initiative

Sign up to join the People’s Garden movement of over 1,400 gardens at usda.gov/peoples-garden today! In joining the community, your garden will be highlighted on the People’s Garden website, provided a sign to display in the garden, and invited to network with gardens from across the country.  

USDA Headquarters Garden Highlights 

If you are in Washington, D.C., join us for USDA’s Sukkot Celebration! Sukkot is known as the Festival of Booths, referring to temporary structures where the Jewish people dwelled during the exodus from Egypt. 

• When: Friday, Sept. 29 10am-1pm ET
• Schedule: 
  • 10am – 12pm: Make Decorations at the USDA Farmers Market (USDA parking lot at 14th Street & Independence Ave., SW)
  • 12 – 1pm: Sukkot Dedication Ceremony at USDA People’s Garden (Mall side of Whitten Building by 12th St. SW)
• The event is sponsored by USDA’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in partnership with the USDA People’s Garden Initiative, USDA Farmers Market, Adamah, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Capital Jewish Museum, Jewish Farmer Network, and MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. 

People’s Garden Apiary

• USDA staff recently harvested delicious, local honey from the People’s Garden Apiary located on top of the Jamie L. Whitten Building!

People’s Garden September Highlight 

• Following a simple motto – Germinate. Educate. Advocate – The West Virginia University (WVU) Campus Food Garden strives to empower the WVU community and all West Virginians to end food insecurity through garden-based education, advocacy for food justice, and community engagement. “Being a People’s Garden connects us with others who are engaged in America’s rich history of providing fresh, sustainably, and locally grown produce for our community,” a garden representative said. “Appalachia has long lived by the value of taking care of our own—both the land and the people who call it home. The combined efforts of our WVU Campus, local social services, and faith communities in this garden and urban farming project reflect the collaborative strength and relationships that bring out the best in us as we envision a more just and generous food future for our region.” 

Xerces Ambassador Program

Our partners at the Xerces Society are recruiting volunteer ambassadors until Sept. 30. The program mobilizes volunteers to advance invertebrate conservation by participating in community science, organizational tasks, and community engagement. 

What We’re Reading

• Planting Tiny Indoor Farms in Strip Malls and Office Parks | Ambrook Research
• Environmental Challenges Threatening the Growth of Urban Agriculture in the United States. 
• Safety of Gardening on Lead- and Arsenic-Contaminated Urban Brownfields

In Case You Missed It

• Modernizing SNAP Transactions with Local Farmers.
• Check out the new USDA Urban Service Center video!
• The Farm Service Agency Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program Projects
• Biden-Harris Administration Invests More than $100 Million in Recycling Infrastructure Projects Through Investing in America Agenda (including composting and food waste reduction!)

• Biden-Harris Administration Invests $1 Billion for Nearly 400 Projects to Expand Access to Trees and Green Spaces in Communities and Neighborhoods Nationwide through Investing in America Agenda

• The NRCS Pollinators and Beneficial Insects - Spanish Webinar Series is on-demand:
  • Conservación de polinizadores 101
  • Conservación de polinizadores e insectos beneficiosos en tierras agrícolas
  • Biodiversidad climáticamente inteligente y conservación del carbono en tierras agrícolas
  • Conservación de polinizadores y plantaciones de hábitat climáticamente inteligentes en granjas urbanas y jardines comunitarios