Progress report for FNC24-1401
Project Information
Mina Aria is a new and beginning farmer of Asian descent with 5 years of experience in sustainable agriculture. Mina is the Founder & Executive Director of Rad Bunnies, a nonprofit dedicated to providing education and training on raising rabbits in urban environments to build soil health and community sustainability in St. Louis, Missouri. Through Rad Bunnies, Mina runs a rabbitry of 25 rabbits and provides technical assistance to urban farmers and ranchers seeking to expand their operations to include rabbits. Rad Bunnies utilizes its rabbitry to provide educational and mental health healing opportunities for youth, seniors, and incarcerated people through on-site visits at schools, senior centers, jails, and prisons. Outside of her work with Rad Bunnies, Mina provides technical assistance to farmers and ranchers seeking to access USDA programs and resources. Through her work as a team member at the Rural Coalition, she is currently working with farmers based in Missouri across the United States as a technical service provider on the IRA 22007 USDA Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. In addition to her farming experience, she has over 10 years of experience in program and curriculum design and execution, community outreach and organizing, and policy development and campaigning. She has served in several Director of Organizing roles at nonprofits dedicated to social change. She is currently a Land Advocacy Fellow with the National Young Farmers Coalition where she is engaging in policy development and advocacy around the 2023 Farm Bill with a focus on increasing land access for new and beginning and young farmers.
Antajuan Adams is Lead Farmer of New Roots Urban Farm, a 0.14 acre urban farm located in North St. Louis City, Missouri. He raises poultry (chickens, ducks and geese) and grows seasonal crops such as: collard greens, mustard greens, kale, spinach, bok choy, radishes, beets, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, garlic, sage, parsley, cilantro, strawberries, and raspberries. He also grows native plants and flowers such as: echinacea, sunflowers, celosia, cosmos, and coneflowers. Antajuan practices NRCS-approved conservation practices to maintain optimal soil health and conserve water. Antajuan has 10+ years of experience in practicing and teaching sustainable agriculture. In addition to growing food, Antajuan provides education, training, and mentorship to new and beginning, veteran, youth, limited-resource, and socially disadvantaged producers within the St. Louis region. As Lead Farmer of New Roots Urban Farm, Antajuan directs all educational and training programs and growing and animal husbandry operations.
Food waste and organic waste across the food supply chain contributes to environmental impacts such as: climate change, soil degradation, air pollution, and climate change. According to the “Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics” released on December 2, 2023 as a joint effort on behalf of the USDA, EPA, and FDA, food waste is the single most common material found in landfills and is responsible for 58% of landfill methane emissions released to the atmosphere. Based on outreach and surveys we have conducted, new and beginning urban farmers and ranchers in the St. Louis region are seeking education and training on innovative and cost-effective practices to build soil health as many are growing on vacant lots and in need of soil amendments. We are seeking to provide education to new and beginning, small-scale urban farmers and ranchers on sustainable agriculture solutions that build soil health and climate resilience.
This project focuses on providing education and demonstrations to new and beginning urban farmers and ranchers on how to build sustainable farming and ranching operations by: 1.) diverting food waste and organic waste from landfills and converting it into animal food for rabbits; and 2.) utilizing rabbit manure to build urban soil health. Through this practice, urban farmers and ranchers can contribute to reducing methane gas emissions and building climate resilience through recovering nutrients to be reintroduced into the soil through rabbit manure. We seek to demonstrate how rabbits can add value to small-scale urban farming and ranching operations and soil health in urban environments as rabbits are natural composters and aid in the food waste and organic waste recycling process. This practice can benefit farmers and ranchers by reducing rabbit food expenses and providing an alternative to synthetic fertilizers while building soil health. This project will include 5 educational workshop and demonstration field days hosted at New Roots Urban Farm’s demonstration site for new and beginning farmers and ranchers to receive education on recycling food waste and organic waste through composting and conversion to animal feed; raising rabbits with proper care and housing; introducing rabbit manure into urban soil; and examining and measuring soil structure. We will utilizing teaching methods such as hands on demonstrations on: utilizing proper tools for working with food waste and organic waste; how to install housing and shelter for rabbits that is safe, appropriately spaced, and protected from inclement weather; how to clean rabbit housing; how to sort and safely feed rabbits food waste and ensure their food, water, and nutritional needs are met; how to properly care for the health of rabbits and prevent against disease and parasites; and how to set up rabbit manure collection system; and methods for reentering rabbit manure into soil. Educational workshops will include: Soil Health 101; building a community engagement plan to increase your operation’s intake of food waste and organic waste; and building a rabbit raising and care plan. Teaching methods will also include individual technical assistance and mentorship to farmers and ranchers seeking to implement these practices in their operations. All workshop and demonstration field days will be supplemented by physical handouts and resource guides. All workshop and demonstration field days will include a pre survey detailing their knowledge levels on the topic and a post survey where participants will provide feedback on: the relevance of the information presented, their interest and likelihood of adopting practices in their operations, and an option to request for follow up technical assistance. Farmers and ranchers receiving technical assistance on implementing practices will be asked to complete a pre- and post-survey around the engagement. We will use the following materials in this project: rakes, shovels, gloves, hand trowels, leaf blower, organic waste bags, wood and leaf mulcher, rabbit hutches, rabbit feeders, rabbit water bottles, rabbit manure collection troughs.
Objectives:
1. Evaluate the usefulness of rabbit manure in soil quality/health.
2. Evaluate increase in knowledge and intention of new and beginning and small-scale urban farmers and ranchers in raising rabbits to build urban soil health.
3. Install 24 hr food waste and organic waste drop off location, the first of its kind in North St. Louis City.
4. Share findings through consistent documentation and outreach and two conference presentations.
Cooperators
- - Producer
Research
New Roots Urban Farm established a 24/7 drop off location for food waste and organic waste in an effort to increase engagement of community members in diverting food waste from landfills. Community members were made aware of this project through door to door canvassing and promotion at neighborhood association meetings.
Efforts to engage community members in collecting food waste and organic waste has resulted in the collection of approximately 1200 pounds of food waste and organic waste.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Educational and outreach activities for this project included 2 on-farm demonstrations and field days, 2 presentations, 8 tours, and 16 individual consultations focused on training and transmitting knowledge on building healthy urban soil through raising rabbits and utilizing their manure as a soil amendment. Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural professionals also received education on strategies to collect food waste and organic waste from neighbors to be used as food for rabbits, thus reducing food waste in landfills. On-farm demonstrations and field days were advertised through newsletters and social media posts. On-farm demonstrations and field days were documented with pictures shared on social media. 3 fact sheets were created to supplement educational activities and were shared with attendees of on-farm demonstrations and field days and farmers receiving individual consultations.
Learning Outcomes
Urban farmers in St. Louis were introduced to accessible practices designed to increase on-farm sustainability as well as community sustainability. With the establishment of a 24/7 drop off location for food waste, New Roots Urban Farm has significantly increased its intake of food waste and organic waste. Much of this food waste was sourced from residents in the neighborhood the farm is located in, thus demonstrating increased community engagement in building climate resilience. The strategies used to engage neighbors were shared with farmers at the field days we hosted. We also learned that our rabbits' diets were well sustained by food waste appropriate for their consumption. This has allowed us to reduce our spending on rabbit pellets.