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Urban Farms Revitalize City Neighborhoods | Add Comment

    • Commercial Urban Farming 2/8/2008
    What has held back commercial urban farming is the lack of a scalable, economically viable business model. SPIN-Farming provides one. Developed by Canadian farmer Wally Satzewich, SPIN-Farming is an organic-based, non-technical, easy-to-learn, inexpensive-to-implement farming system that makes it possible to earn significant income from land under an acre in size. Minimal infrastructure, reliance on hand labor to accomplish most farming tasks, utilization of existing water sources to meet irrigation needs, and situating close to markets all keep investment and overhead costs low. SPIN therefore removes the 2 big barriers to entry for new farmers – land and money, and is close to a franchise-ready farming system as you can get while still respecting the creative and place-based nature of farming. It is helping to not only re-imagine the current food production system, but also provides a tool for re-building it.

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      • Franchise SPIN Farming 2/15/2008
      There is an immediate, low-cost way to jump start city-based agricultural industries, and that is to encourage the establishment of entrepreneurial sub-acre farming. Sub-acre farming was developed by Canadian farmer Wally Satzewich. His method, called SPIN-Farming (S-mall P-lot IN-tensive), makes it possible to earn significant income from land bases under an acre in size by growing common vegetables. Minimal infrastructure, reliance on hand labor to accomplish most farming tasks, utilization of existing water sources to meet irrigation needs, and operating close to markets all keep investment and overhead costs low. SPIN therefore removes the two big barriers to entry for first generation farmers – land and capital – and shows how to incorporate agriculture into the built environment in an economically viable manner. SPIN is as close to a franchise-ready system as you can get while still accommodating the creative and place-based nature of farming. Start-up investment ranges from $5,350 for a 5,000 square foot hobby farm to $15,700 for a full acre full-time farm, with gross revenue ranging from $16,900 for the hobby farm to $60,000 for the acre model. Here in Philadelphia, PA we applied SPIN-Farming to create Somerton Tanks Farm, a half acre demonstration farm located on Philadelphia Water Department land. In its fourth year of operation the farm grossed $68,000 from a little over a half acre. There is now a growing corps of farmers across Canada and the U.S who are taking up commercial farming in their backyards and front lawns and neighborhood plots in cities and towns. By re-casting farming as a small business, SPIN is helping to make farming an integral part of urban and suburban economies, rather than something a part from them. It is helping not only to re-envision food production, but provides a tool for re-building it. You can see some of these backyard and front lawn farmers in action in the gallery area of the SPIN-Farming web site (www.spinfarming.com).

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