MISSION:
Urban Farm Syndicate is a co-operative, action-oriented social entrepreneurship venture that aims to turn Bed Stuy's biggest problem into its greatest resource. Currently, 13% of Bed Stuy is vacant land. This vacant land creates opportunities for crime and dumping, structurally weakens the surrounding architecture and drives down property values. Real estate speculators often leave privately owned land vacant. Because property values are low, there is no incentive to develop the land, and a depressing cycle ensues, in which there are no winners. The Urban Farm Syndicate believes that we can create a net win for every stakeholder by farming vacant lots on an interim basis. This abstract outlines our strategy for developing an economic model for farming vacant lots that is sustainable and has the potential for growth. We are defining growth as creating a local economy that feeds all its members, provides dignified, living-wage jobs to its citizens and increases property values for landowners.
SHORT-TERM GOALS:
- Reach out to NYCHA and private property owners to negotiate a land-use partnership mutually beneficial to all parties
- Obtain one or two medium-sized vacant lots to begin educating all UFS members on the basics of sustainable food growth
- Detail documenting of our progress and process with images, notes, and eventually a blog
- Potential partnerships with other organizations such as Design Trust to expand our knowledge, reach, and growth
LONG-TERM GOALS:
- Turn as many vacant lots as possible into productive, occupied spaces, thereby reducing the space available for illicit activity
- Feed Bed Stuy healthy, sustainably grown food at a great price, working with WIC and EBT to ensure that fresh produce is not a luxury item
- Lift hundreds of local residents out of unemployment with a Works Initiative Program geared toward training people to enter the workforce for the first time, and working with myriad businesses to permanently place workers
- Work with property owners to plant trees and shrubs, so that developed lots incorporate mature green space.
- Increase the social and real-estate value of Bed Stuy by catering to its entire population
- Become a destination for agriculture intellectuals wanting to experiment with soil remediation, high-yield techniques and other issues specific to urban farming.
- Turn this body of intellectual and practical effort into a global resource of urban farming knowledge, perhaps in the context of a storefront or farmer's market.
- Create a composting program that is productive, sanitary and efficient in an urban setting, thereby reducing the amount of methane-producing waste Bed Stuy sends to landfills.
STRATEGY:
We believe that as longtime city dwellers, farming vacant land in Bed-Stuy gives us an opportunity to learn more about sustainable farming in an urban setting, has the potential to draw us closer to those in our ever-changing community, and provides beneficial services to landowners. By educating ourselves and then sharing that knowledge and the fruits of our labor with the entire neighborhood, we can create a sustainable economic model for urban farming.
1. Beneficial Services To Landowners
Rather than paying for land, we hope to create value for landowners by occupying vacant lots in a meaningful way that increases property value, decreases the number of sanitation tickets and alleviates the owner's burden to maintain the lot, without creating a legal or practical liability for the owner. By allowing us to farm the land, owners will receive free snow-shoveling and weed-clearing services, as well as fence repair and other minor maintenance. This is an immediate tangible effect on the lot owner's bottom line. Additionally, better-utilized vacant lots are more aesthetically pleasing, create fewer opportunities for vermin and criminals, and are therefore going to increase the property value of the surrounding neighborhood. This means that the lot owner's investment has the potential to become much more liquid and much more profitable in less time than was perhaps previously calculated.
By offering services instead of paying rent, we will be able to work at a larger scale and be much more flexible than farmers paying for land. We understand that the very nature of this transaction creates turnover, and that eventually we will farm ourselves out of any available land. When that day comes, if we have not grown to the point that we own land ourselves, we will gladly retire, and consider our mission a success. We are not in this to take over privately held land. We are in this to ensure that there is no such thing as a vacant lot in Bed Stuy.
2. Intensive Farming
Intensive farming relies on serious soil preparation, organizes crops vertically, interplants sympathetic specimens so that fewer herbicides and fertilizers are used, and uses space much more efficiently. Interplanting a wide variety of crops in four-foot wide raised beds instead of traditional rows can increase our yield as much as X amount.
3. Farming Sustainably
Intensive farming relies on companion planting and soil management to reduce the need for herbicide and pesticide, but there are also other strategies that are worth exploring. By planting fertilizer crops, such as comfrey, the Syndicate could not just fertilize its own crops but sell fertilizer as a product. Similarly, a large-scale neighborhood farm could create a neighborhood compost program that cleanly and effectively turns the entire neighborhood's kitchen scraps into diverse, rich compost. Pairing with a neighborhood restaurant might be the most effective way to begin such a program. There is almost no limit to the amount of money sustainable farming practices can save us. We can plant heirloom crops and save seeds instead of relying on hybrids that must be purchased every year. We can plant crops that work with the existing soil chemistry instead of adding soil conditioners. We can use recycled materials to build raised beds, cisterns and other garden infrastructure.
4. Working For The Entire Neighborhood
The usual farm-market scenario involves the cost of transporting food from a rural location to a more urban one. Working to feed our surrounding community is practical: it builds a powerful efficiency into our system, and turns a food desert into an oasis of abundant local produce. Bed Stuy's demographic is diverse and changing, and most new businesses in the neighborhood choose to target a specific subset of this community. By working with block associations and the community board, we hope to use food to bring this somewhat fractured community together. We believe that everybody benefits equally from a more beautiful neighborhood and a positive relationship between vacant lot owners and the rest of the community, and are committed to whatever outreach effort it takes to make it clear that the Urban Farm Syndicate's mission is to serve the entire community.
REVENUE SOURCES
- Sales of produce and plants
- Sales of products such as fertilizers, green manures and compost
- Sales of intellectual property, such as books or planting guides
- Advertising/sponsorship
EXPENSES
- Materials and soil for raised beds, cisterns, tool sheds and other farm infrastructure
- Farm Labor
- Sales labor
- Management labor
- Seeds and plants
IMPLEMENTATION OF PHASE ONE: PROVING CONCEPT August, 2009--September 2011
Our first goal is to farm one lot intensively and sustainably, and measure our output over two years. The ideal lot will be sunny and centrally-located in Bed Stuy, and will allow opportunities for growing fertilizer crops in addition to produce. Over two years, the Syndicate aims to develop a set of best practices and an economic model that is scalable, in which farmers are eventually paid for their work, the lots are as well-maintained and as beautiful as possible, and the community gets the best, freshest, least-chemically treated produce possible. Our first step toward economic sustainability will be to make enough food to feed the team, and hopefully also enough to cover our initial costs. By 2011, we hope to be able to pay farmers. Below is a possible timeline for realizing Phase One:
August 2009--October 2009:
Secure a lot and local resources. Develop relationships with community board, block associations, local politicians and business owners. Research appropriate lots and reach out to landowners. Find best sources for organic material, mulch and other materials. Discuss composting with local cafes and restaurants.
October 2009:
Clear out lot and prepare soil for spring 2010. Test soil for heavy metals, Ph and nutrients. Begin site analysis based on soil tests. Create rain water collection system for irrigation. Bring in organic matter and mulch. Sheet mulch and/or plant cover crops and winter vegetables as appropriate. It might also be a good time to plant perennials around the fence line. Keep extensive notes so that process can be refined and duplicated.
Winter 2009-10:
Plan for spring planting. The focus in year one will be on produce and beautification of the lot. Tend lot as necessary.
Spring-Summer 2010:
Plant according to site analysis and tend garden, maintain and beautify lot. Troubleshoot production, storage and inventory problems as necessary, from theft to pest control. This year's goal is to grow enough vegetables to pay all invested farmers in produce, plus yield enough additional inventory to sell at Hattie Carthan Farmer's Market to cover initial expenses. Keep extensive notes on yield, pests, etc, including weighing all produce.
Late Fall 2010:
Plant cover crops for winter and begin analyzing notes and experience. Fix mistakes, think about improving the system, figure out how the lot is working as an economic unit, run profit-loss. Ideally, there has been profit. Use profit to grow: consider bees, chickens or fish. Build relationships with local restaurants. Develop a strategy for paying farmers.
Spring 2011:
Implement changes and improvements, keeping extensive notes so that we can all tell whether or not improvements actually worked.
Summer 2011:
Consider adding another lot.
