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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 » Commodities & Products

what's updated:

Avocados, Fruit, January 2013 - Per person consumption of avocados in the United States has increased significantly from 1.1 pounds per capita in 1989 to a record 4.5 pounds per capita in 2011.

Blueberries, Fruit, March 2013 - The United States is the world’s largest producer of blueberries. Michigan was the nation's leading producer of cultivated blueberries in 2012, and Maine was the leading producer of wild blueberries.

Dairy Products, Livestock, March 2013 - In 2011, the U.S. milk supply was used to process a a wide range of dairy products: 10.6 billion pounds of cheese, 6.1 billion pounds of ice cream, 4.3 billion pounds of yogurt, 1.8 billion pounds of butter and 1.3 billion pounds of sour cream.

Maple Sugar, Specialty Crops, February 2013 - The U.S. production of maple syrup in 2012 totaled nearly 1.9 million gallons, down 32 percent from 2011. Production was adversely affected by mild winter temperatures and a short tapping season.

Organic Poultry, Livestock, January 2013 - Chicken is the most widely available organic meat and also the most popular, purchased by more than seven in ten shoppers (Food Marketing Institute 2007).

rev 3/26/13.

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