$8.5 Million Restored For Urban Ag – Including Indoor Farms
From Vertical Farm Daily — U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, successfully restored $8.5 million in funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production in the Senate-passed Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill. The Office assists urban, small-scale, and innovative producers with technical and financial assistance that supports community farms and gardens, and rooftop, indoor, and vertical farms and other innovative production. Together, this increases greenspaces in communities, access to fresh, local foods, and new pathways to jobs in agriculture.
Initially, neither the Senate nor House agriculture appropriations bills included dedicated funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture and innovative production until Stabenow filed an amendment and led her colleagues to restoring funding to the office and its programs. The amendment was cosponsored by Senators Brown, Blumenthal, Booker, Durbin, Fetterman, Gillibrand, Rosen, Warnock, Markey, Wyden, and Cassidy. It was approved by voice vote. The appropriations package that included Stabenow’s amendment passed the Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 82 to 15 and must now be conferenced with the House before being signed into law.
“Urban agriculture is growing in cities and towns across the country, creating new economic opportunities and healthier communities,” said Stabenow. “It also increases greenspace, builds more resilient communities, and provides access to fresh, local foods. That’s why my amendment was so important – restoring this funding will ensure that urban agriculture can continue to grow and thrive as an emerging sector.”
“The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds Senator Stabenow and her colleagues’ leadership in securing essential funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production,” said NSAC Policy Director Mike Lavender. “Demand for the Office continues to steadily grow – from connecting urban centers to fresh produce, enabling growers to explore emerging indoor technology, offering training opportunities for youth, and much more. We look forward to continuing to work together to secure funding for the office in any final FY2024 appropriations legislation.”
Read full article from Vertical Farm Daily here.
The concept of Vertical Farming is not as contemporary as it might seem, with roots plunging deep into ancient history, as far back as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in 605 BCE. However, it wasn’t until the 20th century that it truly began to blossom as a practical method of farming. The turning point was during WWII, when hydroponics—a subset of Vertical Farming—was employed on a large scale to feed the Allied Forces in the South Pacific, yielding over 8,000 tons of produce. The concept was refined further at Columbia University between 1991 and 1999, under the guidance of Professor Dr. Dickson Despommier. Now hailed as the father of modern Vertical Farming, Despommier and his students successfully devised a way to sustainably feed New York City’s populace via rooftop agriculture, birthing the contemporary approach to multi-story farming.
