Urban Agriculture

The Cornell Cooperative Extension Urban Agriculture Program offers an email publication, NYC Market Growers Update. This occasional publication is focused on production-oriented resources for NYC urban farmers who are growing for market or growing at a similar scale.
Join the NYC CRAFT Google Group to stay informed on all Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training events happening in our area. NYC CRAFT is a cooperative model encouraging enhanced educational and networking opportunities for farmers across the NYC region.
For more frequent updates on our work:

How to Create Habitat for Beneficial Insects
Yolanda Gonzalez, Urban Agriculture Specialist
Harvest New York

The How to Create Habitat for Beneficial Insects factsheet will teach you what attracts and keeps beneficial insects on your urban farm or garden.
Beneficial insects include a diverse collection of pollinators — not just honey bees — as well as flies, wasps, beetles, bugs and other insects that kill pests. While not technically insects, spiders and predatory mites also serve as natural enemies of pests.
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La hoja informativa Cómo crear un hábitat para los insectos benéficos le enseñará lo que atrae y mantiene a los insectos benéficos en su granja o jardín urbano.
Beneficial Insects on NYC Farms Pocket Guide
Sam Anderson, Urban Agriculture Specialist
Harvest New York

The Beneficial Insects on NYC Farms Pocket Guide provides information on beneficial insects commonly found on New York City farms as well as how to recognize and identify them.
Beneficial insects in this guide refers to natural enemies of pests as well as pollinator insects, like bees.
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Esta guía brinda información sobre los insectos benéficos que se encuentran comúnmente en las granjas de la ciudad de Nueva York, así como también cómo reconocerlos e identificarlos.
Guide to Farming in New York State Available in English and Spanish
Yolanda Gonzalez, Urban Agriculture Specialist
Harvest New York
For nearly two decades, the Guide to Farming in New York State has been the Cornell Small Farms Program's go-to resource for those looking to start a farm business, and has been referenced by both new and experienced farmers alike! As a living document, the guide is regularly updated and is a valuable reference material for CCE educators, ag service providers, and farmers throughout New York State and beyond. The guide includes straightforward and readable fact sheets that summarize key information, and points readers toward other local and state resources, to leverage opportunities and answer key questions for farmers.
It is important to make this information accessible to all farmers, including our Spanish-speaking farm owners, supervisors, and employees, whose contributions are vital to NYS agricultural sectors and will define the future of the NYS food system. The decision to create a Spanish language version of the guide, called "Guia para Granjas en Nueva York," is part of a larger effort to promote greater access to agricultural information and opportunities and support new and beginning Latino/a/x farmers to overcome challenges to access land and create successful farm business.
Vegetable Planting Guide for the New York City Area
Yolanda Gonzalez, Urban Agriculture Specialist
Harvest New York

This handy table lists common vegetables grouped by the approximate planting times in the New York City area. Find out what crops will fare well in early Spring plantings, late Spring or early Summer plantings, or that are hardy enough to be planted in late Summer or in the Fall.
NYC Agricultural Soil Survey
Sam Anderson, Urban Agriculture Specialist
Harvest New York

In order to better understand the unique soils used in New York City's urban farms, Cornell Cooperative Extension's (CCE) urban agriculture program is conducting the NYC Survey of Agricultural Soils.
Expanding Specialty Mushroom Production on Urban and Rural Farms
Yolanda Gonzalez, Urban Agriculture Specialist
Harvest New York

As a response to the growing demand for both mushrooms and technical production knowledge, Yolanda Gonzalez, Urban Agriculture Specialist from Harvest NY, and the Cornell Small Farms Program, along with partners Farm School NYC, Just Food, and Grow NYC, were recently awarded two multi-year grants. The first grant is the USDA NIFA Grant "Expanding Specialty Mushroom Production on Urban and Rural Small Farms," which will engage growers, service provider organizations, and industry partners to enhance the collective knowledge base and capacity of farmers to grow specialty mushrooms and sell them profitably to local and regional markets within 250 miles of New York City. The second grant is the Northeast SARE Professional Development Program "Spawning a network of northeast mushroom educators serving urban and rural farmer audiences," increasing the educational capacity through a network of Community Mushroom Educators throughout the region.
NYC Urban Agriculture Website

The City of New York created a website in 2018 devoted to urban agriculture resources and questions. The website summarizes New York City programs and regulations urban farms and gardens and provides key contacts within city government and for other service providers.
Cornell High Tunnels

Soil-based urban growers around the country are increasingly adding high tunnels to extend the season, expand which crops they can grow, and ramp up production in small spaces. The Cornell High Tunnels site includes excellent resources on buying and building the structures, figuring out the economics of adding a high tunnel, and guides for growing vegetables, fruit, and flowers.
Controlled Environment Agriculture

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is an advanced and intensive form of hydroponically-based agriculture. Plants are grown within a controlled environment so that horticultural practices can be optimized.
CEA techniques are not simpler than older systems for growing plants. Indeed, they demand sound knowledge of chemistry, horticulture, engineering, plant physiology, plant pathology, computers and entomology. A wide range of skills as well as a natural inclination to attend to details are necessary for a person to operate a successful CEA production in either a research or commercial setting.
Guide to Urban Farming in New York State

Are you interested in or currently farming in a city? Do you wonder how to access land, how to reclaim a contaminated site, how to maximize use of a small growing space, or how to most successfully target your urban market?
The Guide to URBAN Farming in NYS, produced by the Cornell Small Farms Program, answers these and many other common questions about farming in urban environments, and can help you launch, continue, or expand your urban farm business.
Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities

The Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities project is a research and education partnership with New York's urban gardeners and others interested in healthy gardening. We help people make more informed decisions to address concerns about lead and other contaminants in gardens, farms, and other community spaces.
The Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities website includes information on soil contaminants (including soil testing), healthy gardening practices, compost (at home and in gardens, schools, and other community spaces), and other resources.
USDA's Urban Agriculture Toolkit

USDA's Urban Agriculture Toolkit is an electronic document that helps urban and small farms navigate more than 70 helpful resources, including technical assistance and financing opportunities. It focuses on some of the most pressing challenges confronting urban producers such as land access, soil quality, water resources, capital and financing, infrastructure, market development, production strategies, and applying for federal, state or private foundation grants. University extension service partners in Chicago and Indianapolis helped develop cost estimates for starting urban farms and the toolkit includes information on best practices and check lists for start-ups and early-stage producers planning outdoor or indoor operations.
Announcements
Specialty Grains for Local and Regional Food Systems
Cornell University, led by Dr. Mark Sorrells, CALS Professor of Plant Breeding, and in partnership with other states and community-based partners, received a second Organic Research Extension Initiative (OREI) grant, in the amount of $3,347,535, titled Value Added Grains for Local and Regional Food Systems. This project will develop new varieties and add value and knowledge in the production and marketing of specialty food grain crops to improve organic farm economics with the goals of increasing their utilization and enhancing biodiversity and sustainability.Harvest NY will be supporting Objective 3: Assess and increase opportunities for local and regional organic grain market demand, aggregation, and distribution. Specifically focused on New York institutions, Harvest NY will provide education to food service providers about these grains, how to menu them, and where to find them. Other activities include conducting a demand side analysis of public institution's current use of grain-based products and cultivating business-to-business relationships in the New York grain supply chain.