Local Foods
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Community Gardens Flourish in Lawrence, Kansas
Community gardens have the potential to beautify vacant lots, augment local food supplies and enhance the urban environment in a variety of ways. But, successful program management requires careful planning and ongoing support, according to Eileen Horn, sustainability coordinator for Douglas County and the city of Lawrence, Kan. In the winter of 2011, the city surveyed its vacant and underutilized properties, identified appropriate sites for agriculture, and made these sites available to citizens through an application process. -
Aquaponic Agriculture Holds Promise for Local Foods
AMES, Iowa -- An aquaponics experiment in Iowa is demonstrating that fresh greens and tasty fish can be produced almost anywhere in an economically and ecologically viable form of agriculture. Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics in which fish waste is used to organically create nutrient-rich water that allows plants to grow without soil. -
Farmer Education Programs Help Sustain High-Tech Farming
On an afternoon in May, a group tours a Wisconsin farm, learning about producing biofuel from soybeans, canola and sorghum. At a pasture walk near Giard, Iowa, individuals learn about rotational grazing, pasture improvements, subdivisions, and watering systems over rough and rolling terrain. In Dubuque, Iowa, the Four-State Dairy Nutrition and Management conference covers adjusting ration starch concentration, corn snaplage and shredlage, pricing homegrown and purchased forages, recycled manure solids for bedding, economics of robotic milking and evaluating farm feeding programs. While your father might recognize the complexities, technologies and possibilities of today’s farming business, your grandfather likely would not. -
Farm-to-School Network Plays Matchmaker for Local Foods
All across America, the left hand is growing crops, raising livestock, and distributing the finished product to consumers. Also all across America, the right hand is purchasing large quantities of food to serve in schools, hospitals, and other institutional markets. Because the two hands don't often work together, the process of food production, distribution and consumption may be more complicated and costly than it needs to be. Bringing the two entities together is the Farm to School Network. Its mission, in part, is to connect K-12 schools and local farms "with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers." This network allows farmers to know where they might find nearby customers for their product, and for those looking for locally produced goods to find a grower. -
Study Finds Organic Agriculture More Profitable
GREENFIELD, Iowa -- Organic crop systems can provide similar yields and much higher economic returns than a conventional corn-soybean rotation, according to 13 years of data from a side-by-side comparison at Iowa State University's Neely-Kinyon Research and Demonstration Farm. The Long-Term Agroecological Research Experiment (LTAR) began in 1998 with support from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. The LTAR is one of the longest running replicated comparisons in the country. Kathleen Delate (pronounced DELL-it), professor in ISU Agronomy and Horticulture, leads the project. -
How to Set Up a Farmers' Market that Works
Farmers' markets are becoming all the rage across the nation. As more consumers become concerned about the safety and quality of mass-produced and processed foods, others just enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables sold in a festival atmosphere. Funding to develop a farmers' market is available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farmers' Market Promotion Program and the Federal State Marketing Improvement Program. -
Urban Gardens Spell 'Victory' for Sustainable Cities
During World Wars I and II, when the public food supply was strained by the war effort, Americans were encouraged to plant gardens to help feed their families and the troops overseas. Nearly 20 million households planted these "Victory Gardens," which produced 40% of the nation's vegetable needs and helped boost the national morale. After the war, gardening steadily declined as industrial, rural farming became the norm, and refrigerated transport across America's new interstate highway system made fresh produce more available and affordable. But, some question whether this trend is sustainable.
- Purpose-Designed Crops for Biofuels, Biopower and Biobased Products
- Posted: April 16, 2013
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SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- NexSteppe, a company dedicated to pioneering the next generation of sustainable feedstock solutions for the biobased industries, announced the launch of its first sorghum hybrid products in the U.S. and in Brazil. NexSteppe’s new Malibu sweet sorghum hybrids and Palo Alto high biomass sorghum hybrids offer a tailored alternative for companies seeking a cost-effective feedstock solution for the production of advanced and cellulosic biofuels, biopower and biobased products.
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- Companies Enter into Joint Venture for Renewable Oils
- Posted: November 19, 2012
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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil and bioproducts company, announced that it has entered into a Joint Venture Expansion Framework Agreement with Bunge Global Innovation LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bunge Limited, a global agribusiness and food company.
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- Entrepreneurs Seek Food Sustainability Solutions
- Posted: June 27, 2012
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FLINT, Mich. -- Finding new ways to produce healthy, sustainable food sources for a growing population is a necessity. Austin Lawrence, a current Kettering University student, and Brian Falther, a 2010 Kettering University graduate, are motivated to offer a solution to food sustainability nationwide, starting in Grand Rapids, Mich.
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- New Resource for Rainwater Catchment System for High Tunnel Irrigation
- Posted: April 23, 2012
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AMES, Iowa -- A potential problem for Iowa fruit and vegetable growers can be turned into a liquid asset, thanks to a one-year research project conducted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and funded by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
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- Soil Moisture Monitoring Reduces Groundwater Contamination
- Updated: April 04, 2012 - 5:24 pm
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FRESNO, Calif. -- Following the publishing of a recent UC Davis groundwater contamination study, PureSense Environmental Inc. announced its ability to help growers prevent nitrate leaching into groundwater through its soil moisture monitoring technology, giving growers the tools to significantly reduce contamination.
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- Anvil Launches Organic Garden Program with Schools
- Posted: March 27, 2012
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NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Anvil Knitwear, manufacturers of the Anvil Eco Collection for the imprintables and private label apparel markets, announced its sponsorship of the Earth Day Organic Indoor Learning Garden program in partnership with Earth Day New York. The program provides organic container gardens to classrooms in public schools in New York City. Anvil's goal is to equip 10 percent of the city's schools with an organic garden by next year's Earth Day 2013 Celebration.
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- Report: Global Warming to Continue Rise in Food Prices
- Updated: January 26, 2011 - 5:12 am
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SANTA MONICA, California -- A recent report on climate change sees crop prices rising over the next 40 years as the globe heats up, according to an article published in the January issue of Food Nutrition & Science. Using computer modeling, researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) assessed the harmful impact of climate change on food security through 2050.
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- High Pressure Pasteurization Process Eliminates E. Coli and other Food-Borne Pathogens
- Updated: October 18, 2010 - 7:58 pm
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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- The Safe PacTM Corporation now offers USDA and FDA-approved High Pressure Pasteurization (HPP) to packers, food processors and manufacturers on a contract service basis.
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- New Hampshire Recovery Corps
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Recipient: Campus Compact For NH
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- Communities Putting Prevention to Work
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Recipient: Hamilton, County of
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- Colorado - Obesity Communities Putting Prevention to Work
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Recipient: Tri County Health Department
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- Addition to Farmer's Market pavilion in Salem.
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Recipient: Salem Area Community Betterment Association
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- Texas - Statewide Policy and Environmental Change - Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Tobacco
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Recipient: State Health Services, Texas Department of
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- Farmer's Market
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Recipient: Fort Valley City of
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- Community Development Block Grant
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Recipient: City of Los Angeles
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- Bland County Farmers Market
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Recipient: Bland, County of
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- Galax Farmers Market Enhancement Project
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Recipient: City of Galax
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- Cedc Farmer's Market
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Recipient: Covington Economic Development Corporation
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