Final report for FNC24-1401
Project Information
Mina Aria is a 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 individuals through on-site visits at schools, senior centers, 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 provides technical assistance to farmers and ranchers in accessing USDA programs and services. 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 served as a Land Advocacy Fellow with the National Young Farmers Coalition from 2022-2024 where she engaged in policy development and advocacy around the latest Farm Bill.
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 utilizes 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: 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. New and beginning urban farmers and ranchers in the St. Louis region consistently seek 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. Through this project, we provided education to new and beginning, small-scale urban farmers and ranchers on raising rabbits as a means to building urban soil health through the delivery of on-farm field days, farm tours, and one-on-one's. Field days included demonstrations on: rabbit care & disease prevention, rabbit housing design & maintenance, manure catchment systems, manure application to soil, food waste handling, and soil health 101. Alongside these education activities, we installed a 24/7 food waste drop off location to collect food waste that could either be rescued and distributed to food insecure community members or used to supplement our rabbits' diet. We conducted outreach to neighborhood residents, businesses, and community-based organizations to participate in food waste diversion activities. We collected more than 2,000 pounds of food waste over the course of the project period with approximately 20% of this food waste going to our rabbits, reducing the amount we spent on commercial rabbit pellets. At New Roots Urban Farm, we utilized rabbit manure as our sole soil amendment and observed improved soil structure and moisture retention in our soil. Through the use of pre- and post-event surveys, we assessed the following amongst participants: 1.) an increase in understanding of soil health fundamentals; 2.) an increase in understanding of the benefits of rabbit manure for soil health; and 3.) greater confidence in integrating livestock into urban farming operations.
This project focused 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 sought 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 included 8 educational demonstrations and 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 observing and evaluating soil structure and moisture retention. We provided 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; how to set up rabbit manure collection system; and methods for applying rabbit manure to soil. Teaching methods also included individual technical assistance and mentorship to farmers and ranchers seeking to implement these practices in their operations. All demonstrations included a pre-event survey collecting information from participants on their knowledge levels on the topic and a post-event survey where participants provided feedback on: the relevance of the information presented, improved understanding on the topics presented, their interest and likelihood of adopting practices in their operations, and an option to request follow-up technical assistance. We used 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 community food and organic waste drop-off site at the farm to engage neighborhood residents in diverting food waste from landfills and putting those materials back to use locally. Community members were made aware of the project through door-to-door canvassing, neighborhood association meetings, and other community outreach. Neighbors could bring food scraps directly to the farm during our regular open hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 12–6 p.m. To make the program accessible outside of those hours, we placed a large collection bin outside the farm for after-hours drop-off. Clear signage identified the collection location and explained what materials were accepted and what should be kept out. We checked the bin during regular working hours and moved collected materials into the appropriate farm waste recovery system. Collected food and organic waste was composted or, when appropriate and safe, used as supplemental feed for the rabbits. This allowed us to experiment with ways of keeping organic materials within the farm system rather than sending them to the landfill.
Rabbit manure produced on the farm was collected and used as a soil amendment in our growing areas. During bed preparation, we mixed manure into the upper layer of soil. We also used manure as a top dressing around established plants, allowing it to break down and work into the soil over time.
Our community food waste collection efforts resulted in more than 2,000 pounds of food and organic waste being diverted from the landfill and brought to the farm for reuse. One of the biggest lessons from operating the drop-off was the importance of making participation simple. Having a large collection bin available outside the farm allowed neighbors to participate even when staff were not present. Clear signage was also important so that people could quickly see where to leave their scraps and what we could and could not accept. By checking the bin during our regular farm work, we were able to monitor and maintain the collection area without needing to create a separate schedule just for the drop-off. For another urban farm interested in starting a similar program, we would recommend choosing an easy-to-find and accessible location, clearly labeling the collection container, posting a simple list of accepted and non-accepted materials, and deciding ahead of time how often someone will check and empty the container. It is also important to have a plan for how collected materials will be used or processed before beginning community collection. Our experience showed that the system does not have to be complicated to be useful; it needs to be convenient for community members and manageable within the farm's existing operations.
We also found rabbit manure to be a useful resource for building our soil. One of the biggest improvements we noticed was in the texture and structure of beds where we regularly applied manure. The soil became looser and easier to work and did not become as hard and compacted. We also noticed that the soil held moisture longer after watering and rainfall, which was especially helpful during hot and dry periods. Using rabbit manure gave us a way to return nutrients and organic matter produced on the farm directly to our growing areas. Rather than treating the manure as waste, we were able to make it part of our regular soil-building practices and reduce some of our reliance on outside soil amendments. Our evaluation of rabbit manure was based primarily on what we observed while working the soil and growing crops rather than a controlled comparison of amended and unamended plots. Based on those observations, we found rabbit manure to be a practical soil amendment, particularly for improving soil structure and helping the soil hold moisture.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation summary:
Educational and outreach activities for this project included 8 on-farm demonstrations and field days, 4 presentations, 32 tours, and 27 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. 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. We presented our project findings at the SARE Farmers Forum/Great Plains Growers Conference in January 2025.
Learning Outcomes
Urban farmers in St. Louis were introduced to practical and accessible strategies for increasing both on-farm and community sustainability. Through our field days and other educational activities, we were able to demonstrate how food waste recovery, composting, rabbit production, and soil management can work together rather than being treated as separate parts of a farm operation. We also shared what we learned about engaging neighborhood residents in food waste recovery so that other urban farmers could consider similar approaches in their own communities. One of our biggest lessons was that community-level food waste recovery can be relatively simple and still have a meaningful impact. Establishing a 24/7 food and organic waste drop-off significantly increased the amount of material coming into the farm. Much of the food waste was contributed by residents of the surrounding neighborhood, showing us that neighbors were willing to participate when they were given an easy and accessible way to do so. Clear signage, an easily identifiable collection area, and the ability to drop off materials outside of regular farm hours were important parts of making the system work. The project also helped us better understand how recovered food can fit into our rabbit production. Food waste that was appropriate and safe for rabbit consumption provided a useful supplement to their regular diet. As we incorporated more recovered food and other appropriate plant materials, we were able to reduce the amount we spent on commercial rabbit pellets. This showed us that food waste recovery can provide an economic benefit to a small farm in addition to reducing the amount of organic material entering the landfill. We also saw how the different parts of the project could support one another. Food and plant materials that might otherwise be thrown away could be composted or, when appropriate, used as supplemental rabbit feed. The rabbits then produced manure that could be returned to our growing beds, where we observed improvements in soil structure and moisture retention. Rather than treating food waste, animal production, and soil management as separate issues, the project helped us think more intentionally about how resources can move through the farm and be used more than once.
Overall, the project helped us see how community-level food waste recovery, rabbits, composting, and soil management can work together on a small urban farm. Materials that might otherwise be thrown away can instead move through the farm system and ultimately contribute to building healthier soil. The project showed us that sustainability on an urban farm can be practical and community-based—keeping food waste out of landfills, returning nutrients to the soil, growing healthy food, reducing some farm expenses, and giving neighbors a way to take part in the process. For us, one of the most important lessons was that building a more sustainable farm does not necessarily require complicated or expensive systems. It can start by finding better ways to use the resources already available on the farm and within the surrounding community.