September 24, 2015 | seedstock

1 Local high school launches community agriculture appreciation night [Greensburg Daily News]

Excerpt: With pork sandwiches, a special ceremony honoring former state champions and agriculture-related activities, North Decatur Jr./Sr. High School hopes to attract a big crowd to Friday night’s football game.                                    

2 Austin students ‘see the agricultural side of things’ [Post Bulletin]

Excerpt: Under Tuesday’s hot, morning sun, about 400 third-grade students ran around farm land trying to get as much as they could out of their ‘Day on the Farm’ rather than being stuck in a classroom.                  

3 U of I Makes Cuts to Dixon Springs Agricultural Center [WSILTV]

Excerpt: The University of Illinois has plans to reduce crop research at off-campus research facilities to save money.                 

4 Tomato garden tax break? Backers say it would pay off in better health [LA Times]

Excerpt: Los Angeles County officials want to give tax breaks to property owners who turn vacant lots into community gardens, a bid to reduce urban blight and give more people access to fresh produce.                                      

5 State officials: Organic farming increases in Virginia [Washington Post]

Excerpt: Virginia agriculture officials report that organic farming is increasing in the state.                                      

6 CSA programs are essential to farms [Chicago Tribune]

Excerpt:It was with recognition and frustration that I read Barbara Brotman’s column about her experience joining a Community Supported Agriculture program (“Boxes of fresh vegetables. What’s not to like? Well …,” News, Sept. 14). My husband and I have owned and operated a vegetable farm for the past six years, and, among other things, we offer a CSA program.                                     

7 LA County Gets Rolling on Turning Ugly Vacant Lots Into Useful Urban Farms [LA Curbed]

Excerpt: LA has been pushing for tax breaks for owners of vacant urban lots who lease out the neglected land to people who want to farm on it, and now the LA County Board of Supervisors (which would have to approve the tax breaks before they could be implemented) is doing their part to make it happen.                                

8 San Pablo: Permit requirements could shutter urban agriculture project [Marin Independent Journal]

Excerpt: A farm set up to educate students and other residents about urban agriculture is on shaky ground with the city, which is saying that the farm needs a series of land-use permits to continue to operate.                                      

9 Urban farmers around the world – in pictures [The Guardian]

Excerpt: We asked our community to share pictures and stories of farming projects in cities across the globe. Here are our favourites.                               

10 A New Model for Growing & Distributing Local Food? Growing Power Partners With Milwaukee Wholesaler [WUWM]

Excerpt: Glendale-based produce wholesaler, Maglio Companies, has teamed up with Growing Power for an experiment.

11 AGree Report Looks at Local Foods [Ag Wired]

Excerpt: The demand for local foods continues.  In an attempt to support the farmers, ranchers, retailers, hospitals and schools who are working to meet those demands, AGree has examined local food systems and released six recommendations.                                      

12 Penn State student-grown produce as a part of Local Food Night in Redifer Dining Commons [Collegian]

Excerpt: Penn State Student Farm Club served the first student-grown produce to ever be sold in dining commons at Local Food Night.                                    

13 Beyond the Cut: Hidden Harvest Rescues Food, Feeds Families [KCET]

Excerpt: Hidden Harvest has rescued over 16 million pounds of produce from Coachella Valley fields and packing houses, averaging over 1 million pounds a year since 2001. Recovering crop waste can be a key to solving hunger in the heart of California’s abundant agricultural industry.                                      

14 Bridge : Women farmers, rising in the field [Bridge Magazine]

Excerpt: Jill Johnson was ahead of the curve. As far back as 1980, this daughter of a drug store pharmacist felt an inkling of destiny as she drove to college through undulating green fields in Barry County south of Grand Rapids.

15 Aquaponic Startup Edenworks Hosts Rooftop Harvest Party in Williamsburg [Observer]

Excerpt: For more than a year, Edenworks has been building out the system he believes can provide fresher, better tasting food right on city rooftops.                                      

16 Floating Farms: An All-in-One Solution for Global Food Shortage Problems [Food World News]

Excerpt: Floating farms by Forward Thinking Architecture combine aquaculture, hydroponics, and photovoltaics into one to address future food supply issues.                                    

17 The Future of Vertical Farming [Eco Watch]

Excerpt: Breakthroughs in technology and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change have made vertical farming an increasingly attractive idea.                                     

18 How We’ll Grow Food In The Future [Popular Science]

Excerpt: Traditional agriculture has bought the farm.

19 Bridge : So a chicken walks into a bar: Michigan’s legal battle over urban farming [Bridge Magazine]

Excerpt: On a quiet street in Kentwood, the bleating sounds of goats and a crowing rooster are a familiar neighborhood refrain.