Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

Much of this mirrors the way we plan and market tho I don't follow anyone's 
prescription religiously (spiritually maybe, but not religiously ;-)

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SPIN-Farming: advancing urban agriculture from pipe dream to populist movement
http://sspp.proquest.com/archives/vol3iss2/communityessay.christensen.html
Roxanne Christensen
Co-author, SPIN-Farming, an online learning series on subacre farming (email: 
rchristensen@infocommercegroup.com)

Author's Personal Statement
I began advocating for urban agriculture in Philadelphia in 1998. What 
appealed to me is what draws many people to the cause: its social and 
environmental benefits are obvious and easy to understand. But it quickly 
became apparent that, compelling though they are, these benefits were not 
enough to motivate policy makers in a position to help urban agriculture 
succeed on any kind of scale. Instead, the economic benefits that many 
proponents had long acknowledged in theory, but few were able to demonstrate, 
had to be proven. SPIN-Farming is a very powerful tool for validating the 
economic viability of urban agriculture. However, while I had initially 
focused on solving some urban problems, it became clear that SPIN could also 
help to revive the farming profession, and this is where my professional 
background came into play. My working life has been spent helping 
entrepreneurs position, package, and promote their ideas and build them into 
successful businesses. In helping to develop SPIN, I applied that experience 
to farming. The big opportunities I see for SPIN-Farming are that it provides 
a farming concept that can be learned and practiced across all economic 
classes and geographical boundaries, and that it will foster engaged, rather 
than escapist, agriculture, whereby farmers return to cities and towns and 
rebuild local food systems that are human in scale and joyful in spirit.

Citation: Christensen, R. 2007. SPIN-Farming: advancing urban agriculture 
from pipe dream to populist movement Sustainability: Science, Practice, & 
Policy 3(2):57-60. 
http://sspp.proquest.com/archives/vol3iss2/communityessay.christensen.html.

Published online August 28, 2007

Though social idealists in the United States and elsewhere have advanced the 
philosophical and moral imperatives of urban agriculture for decades, this 
has not been enough to motivate government and urban agencies to accord it 
the status and support of other industries. These circumstances have 
relegated urban farming to an add-on to not-for-profit “feel good” projects 
and kept much of its potential untapped. Recently, however, a different case 
for urban agriculture is gaining ground, one based on more practical concerns 
(for an overview refer to Mougeot, 2005).

Foremost among these concerns is that vast tracts of farmland continue to be 
lost to development. As suburban encroachment erodes the rural way of life, 
agriculture is having to adapt. For the first time in history, a majority of 
the American population is living in urban or peri-urban areas. As the United 
States Department of Agriculture (2000) notes,

    Urban agriculture is an alternative to what has been labeled conventional 
agriculture. However, it should not be considered solely an alternative means 
of producing food; it also is a viable adaptive function and response to 
urbanization. Urban agriculture is not so much an alternative to existing 
agricultural systems as it is an established branching of modern sustainable 
agricultural systems.

Second, more and more people want a direct connection to the food they eat. 
The reasons have become personal, not altruistic. Diet-related diseases, 
food-safety concerns, pollution created by transporting food great distances, 
water shortages, record heat waves, and extreme weather events are impinging 
directly on people’s lives. And even when events do not have direct impacts, 
media coverage brings the damage very close to home and fosters a widespread 
awareness that today’s most pressing problems are directly linked to the 
health of our food system. Increasingly, urban and suburban consumers 
want—and are willing to pay premium pricing for the opportunity—to know the 
face behind their food.

Third, growing numbers of policy makers are acknowledging the value of 
quality-of-life issues in attracting residents back to cities. Sustainability 
has gone beyond a buzzword and is now spurring specific plans for significant 
change in how cities function. Producing food for residents within municipal 
borders is a cornerstone of these plans. Some cities are considering, or have 
actually implemented, initiatives that require meeting a quota of their food 
needs through local food producers. This has very positive implications for 
commercial urban farming. The emerging consensus on climate change is also 
providing impetus to rebuild local and regional farming systems, and for 
supporting smaller, sustainable farms that are less energy intensive. People 
knowledgeable about cities, together with people knowledgeable about 
agriculture, are now beginning to recognize that commercial urban farming 
needs to play a role in the contemporary food production system.

While individuals in a position to help establish urban agriculture on a 
meaningful scale are at last finding the will and justification to do so, 
there is also, now, a way. It is called SPIN-Farming and it is the first 
method (1) to marshal the entrepreneurial benefits of urban farming; (2) to 
turn the challenges posed by urbanization to the farmer’s advantage; (3) to 
make farming compatible with high-density population; and (4) to remove the 
two biggest barriers to entry for first generation farmers–land and startup 
capital. Urban agriculture therefore enables many more people to enter the 
farming profession.

SPIN stands for Small Plot INtensive.1 The system was developed and is 
practiced by a Canadian farmer named Wally Satzewich who farms 25 plots 
located in residential backyards throughout Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. 
Satzewich’s farming career began traditionally. He and his wife, Gail 
Vandersteen, initially started farming on an acre-sized plot outside of 
Saskatoon twenty years ago. Thinking that expanding acreage was critical to 
their success, they bought some farmland adjacent to the South Saskatchewan 
River forty miles north of Saskatoon where they eventually grew vegetables on 
about twenty acres of irrigated land.

After six years farming their rural site, the couple noticed that they were 
growing high-value crops like spinach, salad mix, carrots, and radishes in 
their backyard plot in town and low-value crops like potatoes, peas, and 
beans on their acreage in the country. This recognition led Satzewich to 
realize other advantages to subacre (less than an acre) farming in town.

In town, his irrigation system was the water faucet–he did not have to rely 
on fluctuating river levels. He and his wife comprised the work crew for his 
subacre plots; they did not have to depend on outside labor. The financials 
showed that, though the overhead costs of a subacre operation are a fraction 
of those for a large-scale conventional farm, their bottom lines were 
similar. It was at this point that Satzewich realized that a subacre farmer 
could earn significant income with a lot less stress and a lot less overhead 
and with much more certainty of success from year to year. Satzewich sold his 
farm in the country and his experiment in subacre city-based farming became 
the basis for the SPIN-Farming system.
What makes SPIN different from other “small scale” farming schemes is that it 
outlines a process for growing commercially on subacre land bases. Farmers 
need own little, if any, land. SPIN can be practiced on only 1,000 square 
feet, or it can be located on a half-acre of municipally-owned land, or it 
can be multi-sited on several residential backyards.

What also sets SPIN-Farming apart is that it requires minimal infrastructure 
and is therefore low capital intensive. Its major investments include 
commercial refrigeration capacity, a post-harvesting station, and a shed. 
Irrigation relies on the municipal water supply and the system consists of 
inexpensive garden hoses that can be purchased at most hardware or garden 
supply stores. The only mechanized equipment is a rototiller. Because of its 
subacre scale, labor requirements for a SPIN farm are minimal and can be 
readily obtained within a network of family, friends, or the local community.

In addition to its subacre and low capital-intensive orientation, what 
differentiates SPIN from other farming systems is that it ties crop 
production to specific revenue targets. Its revenue targeting formula is 
based on balancing production between high and low value crops, segmenting a 
farm into different levels of production intensity, and formulating 
market-driven planting plans. It also outlines specific workflow practices so 
that the farming operation can be managed like any other type of small 
business. So while other systems focus on growing techniques, SPIN outlines 
how to approach farming as a small business.

SPIN is also environmentally friendly. It is based on all-organic practices 
and its reliance on biological cooperation keeps operating overhead low. Most 
farm inputs are generated onsite and there is very little waste. In contrast 
to traditional large-scale agriculture’s aim to produce predictable and 
uniform results from soils and plants, subacre farming unleashes a natural 
set of variables and is based on continual trial and error. SPIN farmers can 
be out constantly tending their plots and can be always vigilant to soil 
health and pest imbalance. Some of the main biological principles are: 
healthy soil produces healthy plants; natural resources such as water and 
biomass are meant to be conserved and recycled; and stable ecosystems are 
diverse. By respecting natural forces, SPIN demonstrates that the more 
sustainable a farm’s agricultural practices, the more economically viable is 
its business.

The following points comprise the key concepts of the SPIN-Farming system:

    * Subacre land base–SPIN transfers commercial farming techniques to 
subacre land bases. Farmers do not need to own much or any land to start 
their operations, and operations can be single or multi-sited.
    * Structured work flow practices–SPIN outlines a deliberate and 
disciplined day-by-day work routine so that the wide variety of farm tasks 
can be easily managed without any one task becoming overwhelming.
    * High-road/Low-road–SPIN distinguishes between different harvesting 
techniques. The high-road utilizes commercial refrigeration equipment; 
low-road harvesting does not.
    * High-value crops–SPIN devotes most of its land base to the production 
of high-value crops, defined as those that generate at least US$100 per crop 
per bed.
    * Relay cropping–SPIN calls for the sequential growing of crops in a 
single bed.
          o Intensive relays–Three to four crops per bed per season are grown.
          o Birelays–Two crops per bed per season are grown.
          o Single relay–One crop per bed per season is grown.
    * 1-2-3 bed layout–This term refers to the three different areas of a 
SPIN farm devoted to the different levels of production intensity.
    * 75/25 land allocation–This principle dictates how much land is assigned 
to the different levels of production on a SPIN farm. The aim is to balance 
production between high-value and low-value crops to produce a steady revenue 
stream and to target revenue based on farm size.
    * Farm layout–SPIN provides guidelines for segmenting a land base into a 
series of beds separated by access alleys, which are small two-foot strips, 
just wide enough for a rototiller. An acre accommodates approximately 400 
standard size beds, including the necessary paths and access alleys. SPIN can 
also be incorporated into more traditional approaches to land allocation.
    * Standard size beds–SPIN utilizes beds that are two feet wide by 25 feet 
long.
    * Revenue targeting formula–By growing high-value crops worth US$100 per 
harvest per bed, and by practicing intensive relay cropping that produces at 
least three crops per bed per season, SPIN targets US$300 in gross sales per 
bed per season. With 400 beds per acre, the maximum revenue potential is 400 
beds x US$300 per bed per season = US$120,000 gross sales per acre. When 
farming is approached in terms of beds instead of acres, the result is a very 
precise idea of how much growing space can be utilized, and how that space 
can be managed to generate predictable and steady income.
    * Organic-based–SPIN relies on all-organic farming practices. There are 
minimal off-farm inputs and very little waste.
    * Crop diversity–A SPIN product line contains a much wider diversity of 
crops than most contemporary farming, with some SPIN farms producing over 100 
different varieties and 50 different types of crops per season. However, SPIN 
also provides models that specialize in a particular crop.
    * Season extension is optional–SPIN does not rely on season extension to 
expand production; however season extension can be used to push SPIN yields 
and income significantly higher.
    * Direct marketing–SPIN bases crop selection on what local markets want. 
Being close to markets allows for constant product feedback and ensures a 
loyal and dependable customer base. “Grow what you sell, do not sell what you 
grow,” is the SPIN farmer’s mantra.
    * Mix-and-match multiple unit pricing–SPIN’s marketing approach is to 
pre-bag produce items and sell them at certain price tiers–for example, 
US$3.00/unit or any two for US$5.00.
    * Commercial refrigeration capacity–SPIN calls for commercial 
refrigeration capacity because cooling crops immediately after they are 
harvested retains their quality which supports premium pricing. Refrigeration 
also provides control over the harvest schedule and allows for a manageable 
workflow.
    * Minimal mechanization and infrastructure–SPIN’s most important and 
costly equipment is a rototiller and a walk-in cooler or upright produce 
cooler. All other SPIN implements and infrastructure can be sourced at local 
garden supply or hardware stores.
    * “Home-based” work crew–Supplemental labor requirements for a SPIN farm 
are minimal and can be readily obtained within a network of family, friends, 
and/or the local community.
    * Use of existing water sources–SPIN relies on local water service or 
wells for all of its irrigation needs.
    * Low capital intensive–SPIN farms have minimal infrastructure and 
minimal overhead to keep start-up and operating expenses manageable. The 
bottom line is little or no debt.

The intricacies of the SPIN system go far beyond what is outlined above, but 
this itemized list gives an idea of how SPIN can produce significant revenue 
from subacre land bases. Compared to a large-scale operation, a subacre farm 
can produce the same, or even greater, income, with much less stress and 
overhead and much more certainty of success from year to year.

Who is starting to practice this new spin on growing food? Some have been 
educated in other professions, or have had other careers. Some have home or 
community-gardening experience, while others have never had dirt under their 
fingernails. Some come from traditional farm families, but most do not.

SPIN farmers are refugees from unsatisfying jobs. Or they are seeking to 
balance their mentally demanding computer-oriented work with some purposeful 
exercise. Some people pursue farming full-time, others part-time. Some 
adherents have more money than they know what to do with, while others have 
less than they need. What unites them all is an ability to view and practice 
farming in a new way.

People who take up SPIN farming have a sense of idealism/romanticism, 
embracing independence and a pioneering spirit that is tempered by a 
pragmatic capacity for consistent effort. They recognize that cities are 
impulsive, boisterous, spontaneous, and competitive, while agriculture is 
plodding, tranquil, deliberate, and deferential. And they are capable of 
envisioning a world where for one to be right, the other does not have to be 
wrong.

Whether SPIN farmers establish their farmsteads in the middle of urban 
jungles or sprawling suburbia, they are all uniting behind SPIN to advance 
engaged, rather than escapist, agriculture. They are returning to the cities 
and towns that have segregated food production beyond their borders and are 
re-introducing the practice of intelligent, dedicated craft- and soil-based 
farming. They are making food production visible and palatable and 
galvanizing their neighbors around an activity that delivers both economic 
and environmental benefits. And they are bringing the well-documented 
redemptive power of agriculture to their communities in a commercially viable 
manner.

Examples of SPIN-Farming in practice include:

    * A woman at the University of Minnesota who has created a subacre campus 
farm, sends emails about produce availability to people on her customer list 
each week, and harvests and delivers exactly what is needed to fulfill orders.
    * A food co-op in Oklahoma City that is organizing a cooperative of local 
SPIN-Farmers so that it has a steady and reliable supply.
    * A writer in Norfolk, Virginia, who has converted her backyard to 
subacre production to supplement her income.
    * A woman in Kewanee, Illinois, who specializes in salad mix and sells 
via an email list.
    * A man in Napa Valley who is redeveloping a mobile home trailer park and 
is incorporating SPIN-style farm plots into the individual residences.
    * A woman who is redeveloping eight acres on a housing project in Milton, 
Florida, which sustained extensive hurricane damage, incorporates subacre 
SPIN-style farms to help residents generate income to offset the cost of 
their homes.
    * A semiretired man in Zanesville, Ohio, who is farming a quarter-acre 
backyard and selling at the Muskingum County farmer’s market.
    * An urban farming organization in Buffalo, New York, that is using SPIN 
to convert 2.25 acres of vacant lots to a sustainable farming operation that 
will sell commercially as well as provide free distribution to low-income 
neighborhood residents.
    * An immigrant senior center in Edmonton, Alberta, that is using SPIN to 
create an urban farming training program for immigrant seniors.

SPIN-Farming has more possible applications for individuals as well as 
developers, planners, and nongovernmental organizations. By recasting farming 
as a small business in a city or town, SPIN is providing people with a tool 
for redefining farming for the 21st century–subacre, low capital intensive, 
environmentally friendly, close to markets, entrepreneurially driven. This 
trend is helping to undo the image of urban farming as an activity of last 
resort for the downtrodden and the disadvantaged. It is redirecting aspiring 
farmers away from traditional agricultural products that lose money and 
toward products that meet the needs of urban and suburban customers. And it 
is helping to accelerate the progression of urban agriculture from an elitist 
pipe dream to a populist movement that cuts across geography, generations, 
incomes, and ideologies to provide common ground, quite literally, beneath 
everyone’s feet.

Notes

1 Further details about SPIN-Farming are available at 
http://www.spinfarming.com. See also, Ramsay (2007).

References

Mougeot, L. 2005. Agropolis: The Social, Political, and Environment 
Dimensions of Urban Agriculture. London: Earthscan.

Ramsay, M. 2007. Urban Agriculture: Redefining Urban Communities Through 
Local Growing. Masters Thesis. Department of Engineering. University of 
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. http://hdl.handle.net/10012/2750

United States Department of Agriculture. 2000. Urban Agriculture: An 
Abbreviated List of References and Resource Guide 2000. Beltsville, MD: 
National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service. 
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/urbanag.htm.