Value-added Agriculture Centers

a national information resource for value-added agriculture

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Cities Developing Urban Agriculture Codes

Urban agriculture has become increasingly popular in recent years as a way to deal with vacant properties, revitalize neighborhoods, and provide job skills and nutrition to local residents struggling with poverty and a lack of access to fresh produce.

In Austin, Texas, a working group of the Sustainable Food Policy Board is meeting to clarify and update city code related to urban farms, livestock, size of farm, employees and dwellings, according to the Austin Chronicle.

The working group has been holding public sessions to gather input from urban farmers and community members about pending updates to the urban farm ordinance.

In April 2013, the Flint Farmers' Market reported that the Detroit City Council adopted the city's first urban agriculture zoning ordinance recognizing agriculture as a legitimate land use and setting standards for it.

Other cities working to update or create urban agriculture codes include Boston, Massachusetts;
Fort Collins, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon.

For more information, see USDA's National Ag Library webpage on Urban Agriculture.

Home » Business Development » Getting Prepared » Value-added Agriculture » Value-added Agriculture Centers

A wealth of business development and other information is available at Value-added Agriculture Centers across the nation. A list of many of these centers follows:

Cornell University and University of Vermont - Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship

Rutgers Food Innovation - Research and Extension Center

Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs

Ohio State University - The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center

Ohio University - The Innovation Center

Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma Food and Agricultural Products Research and Technology Center

Oregon State University - Food Innovation Center

Purdue University - The Center for Food and Agricultural Business

St. Joseph University - Center for Food Marketing

University of Georgia - Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development

University of Minnesota - Retail and Food Industry Center

University of Missouri - Value Added Development Center

University of Nebraska - The Food Processing Center

University of Tennessee - Center for Profitable Agriculture

University of Wisconsin - Agricultural Innovation Center

Purdue University - Agriculture Innovation and Commercialization Center

Michigan State University - MSU Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources

Kansas State University - Kansas AgriFoods Innovations

Pennsylvania State University - The Keystone Agricultural Innovation Center

Minnesota's Center for Producer-Owned Energy - Marshall, Minnesota

Montana Agriculture Innovation Center

Cornell University - New York Agricultural Innovation Center

Rutgers University - Food Innovation Center

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