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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 » Markets & Industries » Understanding Markets

AgMRC-Developed Materials

Photo courtesy of the USDA NRCS.

Can Spot and Contract Markets Co-Exist in Agriculture?, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), Iowa State University - This paper provides a model to study how fundamental economic factors influence the contracting behavior of farmers and processors.
Information Sharing and Oligopoly in Agricultural Markets: The Role of Bargaining Associations, CARD, Iowa State University.
Observations on Cooperative Bargaining in U.S. Agricultural Markets, CARD, Iowa State University.
Private Sales and Public Information: Does the USDA's National Berry Report Provide Information on the Relationship between the Spot Market and Precommitted Sales?, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California.

Links to Other Sites

Food & Agricultural Policy Research Institute, Iowa State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia - Providing economic analysis of trade and agricultural policy for decisionmakers and stakeholders in world agriculture.
Food Markets & Prices, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA.
Food Processing Center, Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources - A clearinghouse of research reports, case studies and other industry-specific articles and links related to value-added market opportunities.
Global Food Markets, ERS, USDA.
New Directions in Global Food Markets, ERS, USDA, 2005 - This report describes how consumer preferences are driving changes in global food supply chains.
U.S. Food Market Estimator, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University - This estimator is designed to help users determine the potential demand, by U.S. county, for more than 200 different food items.

Links checked December 2012.

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