The Farm Report Episode 4: What’s the Future of Urban Agriculture?

The Farm Report Episode 4: What’s the Future of Urban Agriculture?

Melissa and Wythe were honored to joinThe Farm Report team for this special and important series on the Farm Bill and the politics of food. Please check out the interview, and followThe Farm Reportfor more critical news and analysis of what's happening across all of agriculture.

Despite an increasing number of farmers growing food in cities urban agriculture wasn’t acknowledged in the farm bill until 2018. Lisa Held, journalist with Civil Eats and former Farm Report host provides the scoop on how the Farm Bill will impact the future of urban ag.

Melissa Metrick and Wythe Marschall, co-hosts of HRN’s Fields podcast, give us some perspective on urban land-access challenges and what’s happening on the ground in cities across the country. And, our very own co-host Alita Kelly shares some of the urban agriculture projects she’s been working on in her community.

For more information on the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovation, visit the USDA website.

Learn more about the NYU Urban Farm Lab and the Map N.Y.C. projects that Wythe and Melissa mentioned.

Visit Civil Eats to catch the latest food system stories.

The Farm Report is hosted by Leigh Ollman and Alita Kelly, produced by Leigh Ollman, Evan Flom and H Conley, and edited by Hannah Beal and H Conley.

Audio engineering is by Armen Spendjian and H Conley. Music is by Breakmaster Cylinder and Jangwa

Learn more about the National Young Farmers Coalition here and consider becoming a member. Click here to take action on the farm bill and other important policy issues.

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Fields by becoming a member!

Fields is Powered by Simplecast.

Vicki Sando on Green Roofs at Schools

Wythe chats with NYC educator Vicki Sando about her years of research into green roofs—especially those on schools—and her creation of the illustrated book What is a Green Roof? Vicki created the book to help kids and adults understand the benefits of green roofs, including to urban farmers. We talk about her own work to green the roof of one school in New York, how green roofs help kids learn across subjects, and how some of our favorite green roofs function. This is an excellent introduction to the topic for all listeners, young and young-at-heart! Here are links to resources that Vicki mentions during the episode:

• www.educationalgreenroofs.org
• www.greenroofsnyc.com
• www.grownyc.org
• www.cretf.org
• www.kidsfightclimatechange.org
• www.ps41.org/m/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=357954&type=d

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Fields by becoming a member!

Fields is Powered by Simplecast.

Henry Obispo on the Resilience of the South Bronx

Melissa and Wythe host the inspiring food and urban agriculture entrepreneur Henry Obispo. Henry is founder of Born Juice, the United Business Cooperative, and ReBORN FARMS. We talk about Henry’s background, the importance of the South Bronx in inspiring him, why he started a juice company, and how he started organizing other Bronxian food entrepreneurs into a worker cooperative. Henry tells us the story of the Bronx Salad, and we discuss his future plans for growing greens in the Bronx.

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Fields by becoming a member!

Fields is Powered by Simplecast.

Henry Gordon-Smith on the State of Indoor Farming

Following up on their review of recent bad news in the field of vertical farming, Melissa and Wythe catch up with an expert: Henry Gordon-Smith, founding CEO of the urban and controlled environment agriculture consultancy Agritecture. Henry relates his thoughts on recent shifts in commercial indoor and urban agriculture, reflecting on some of Agritecture’s experiences and what could happen in the near future. It’s a short, fun, and informative conversation!

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Fields by becoming a member!

Fields is Powered by Simplecast.

Catching Up with Wythe: The Recent Troubles in Vertical Farming

Melissa and Wythe catch up with each other regarding a recent trend in urban agriculture: the closure or financial restructuring of several high-profile indoor farms in urban areas. We look at recent news articles on this topic, theorize why the indoor ag-tech sector is struggling, and speculate about what could happen next. We’ll return to this important topic with guests over the course of the season, so subscribe!

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Fields by becoming a member!

Fields is Powered by Simplecast.

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Fields by becoming a member!

Fields is Powered by Simplecast.