Farmer Alliances

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 » Starting a Business » Special Types of Businesses » Farmer Alliances

Farmer alliances are formalized organizations involved in starting and facilitating the development of value-added agricultural businesses. These value-added businesses are offered to the farmer members of the alliance as investment opportunities, marketing opportunities or provide other methods of participation.

Examples of farmer alliances are the Kearney Area Ag Producers Alliance (KAAPA) of Kearney, Nebraska and Ag Ventures Alliance (AgVA) of Mason City, Iowa.

An investigation into the functioning of farmer alliances and why some succeed while others fail is provided in The Role of Farmer Alliances in Business Formation.

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