periodiCALS, Vol. 9, Issue 1, 2019
From the rooftops of New York City to the weathered sidewalks of inner-city Buffalo, urban farms are sprouting across the Empire State. Working these small plots are farmers young and old from backgrounds as diverse as their agricultural needs and challenges—and urban agriculture specialists from Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) are helping these farmers make the most of these distinctive environments.
In New York City, growing space is a major limiting factor. Farmers there are being helped by urban agriculture specialists Sam Anderson and Yolanda Gonzalez, who joined CCE’s Harvest New York program in 2017.
“One thing I love about working in agriculture in this city is that there’s such variety,” said Anderson. The New York City specialists work on everything from rooftop farms in Manhattan to shoreline farms on Rockaway Peninsula along the coast of Queens. “People in the city are coming into agriculture from a gardening background or from an activist background or from an interest in food or social justice. Not many are coming into it with a commercial vegetable-growing background.”
The Cornell specialists host workshops sharing the latest in plant science research and food safety best practices to help current and prospective growers improve profitability. The pair provide educational programming and on-site technical assistance in all five boroughs for commercial vegetable growers and nonprofits operating commercial urban gardens.
They also provide one-on-one technical assistance on certification requirements and help create food safety plans. Gonzalez said consultations on food safety certifications options with large-scale urban farms have allowed those operations to sell produce directly to distributors and retail outlets, such as the Wegmans supermarket slated to open in Brooklyn.
On Brewster Street in Buffalo, a tiny organic farm sits among apartment complexes and convenience stores. Newly resettled refugees from around the world farm the two-acre operation at Green Shoots for New Americans Refugee Agricultural Program.
The produce they grow is sold locally through farmers’ markets and in local restaurants, and shared with families in the inner-city neighborhood.
For the past four years, the farm has relied on Cornell Vegetable Program specialist Judson Reid for technical expertise and horticultural experience. “Experts like Jud help us decide when, where and what to plant and help us troubleshoot plant disease issues,” said farm manager Jenna Walczak.
Reid, who consults on urban farming initiatives in cities across New York, has helped the Buffalo farm grow tomatoes using vertical trellises and employ advanced integrated pest management and soil fertility techniques. Reid said CCE puts research-based knowledge in the hands of people—in this case, those who want to grow their own food to eat, or grow food as a business.
“We often find that urban agriculture gives people an opportunity to develop a sense of belonging, a sense of contribution to the greater community,” said Reid.
