Project Overview
Annual Reports
Commodities
Practices
- Education and Training: technical assistance
- Farm Business Management: agritourism
- Sustainable Communities: community planning, ethnic differences/cultural and demographic change, infrastructure analysis, leadership development, local and regional food systems, new business opportunities, partnerships, public participation, public policy, urban/rural integration, sustainability measures, community development
Proposal abstract:
Elgin, Texas is at a crossroads – a pivotal point in its history. Community leaders and residents are eager to
maintain their agricultural roots. After all, around and underneath Elgin is some of the richest black farmland in
the world. Elgin is home to the first commercial organic feed mill in Texas and many hundreds of acres of farms
including organic farms producing fruits, vegetables, poultry, and other livestock. Yet the suburbs of Austin
encroach from the west and so Elgin must make some hard decisions. How will it grow and sustain its
community? Can it be the breadbasket for Austin where millions of dollars are spent annually on organic
produce? How can it balance its agricultural and commercial desires?
This project is a key step in achieving that balance. This project will result in concrete policy changes that will
provide the framework for Elgin to integrate sustainable agriculture and sustainable community development.
The groundwork has been laid – in the City's recently completed Comprehensive Plan, the citizenry and the
leadership have made it clear that they want to find this balance.
This project will identify specific policy options for adoption by the Elgin City Council that directly support
integration of sustainable agricultural and community development. Through examination of zoning, land use,
economic incentives, community education and outreach, the City Council will have an opportunity to enact
practical and reality-based policies that will increase the number of sustainable farms, agricultural value-added
businesses and processing and distribution centers. This project will also set Elgin on a trajectory to begin
keeping much of its money home by creating jobs and new businesses for residents to live AND work in Elgin.
The long-term benefits of this project include zoning changes that will encourage new ways to allow businesses
to choose Elgin by looking at zoning through the lens of new industries. For example, the downtown Sustainable
Fiber Mill, a small business making yarns from local sheep wool, had to get a variance to be sited in town
because it was considered “industrial”. The first mobile poultry slaughterhouse is being planned for location in
Elgin. If zoning and other policy requirements can be met, the plant will serve small farmers and families
throughout Central Texas significantly increasing access to sustainably raised poultry.
This is a pivotal moment – and its likely only a moment. The policy framework that will result from this project is
essential for the people and businesses of Elgin to achieve their goal of integrating their agricultural roots with
their commercial needs and desires.
Project objectives from proposal:
Gather information about agricultural activities in the Elgin area. Work with local farmers and help them connect with each other. Research policy options, policies and programs in place in other communities that support agriculture and sustainable community development. Document where agricultural activities are happening, where farms are located, what land is considered agricultural. Provide educational resources to the community both online and through films or print materials. Share information collected through these research efforts in an engaging and dynamic online fashion to encourage community interaction and connections between farmers, restaurants and individuals. Complete by July 2012