Farms Growing in Detroit
With many of Detroit’s homes and factories shuttered and deteriorating, acres and acres of the city are slowly returning to a more natural state. According to this article in the LA Times, a large farm company is buying up parcels in the city to run a large-scale farming operation. The company will farm up to 5,000 acres within city limits, and will start small next season with a 30 acre plot.
The article points out that this plan could work because land is very cheap and there is a demand for local food. I would add that there is a large pool of potential farm workers — the mayor believes that as many as half the city’s workers are unemployed or underemployed.
Detroit could become a testing ground to see how well a large-scale city can be farmed. Many other cities want food grown within their city limits, but don’t have enough land, or the land is too expensive to farm. Detroit doesn’t have these barriers.
Photo by: jessicareeder.
