Wythe and Melissa are delighted to chat with not one but two experts on urban agriculture from two different parts of the United States Department of Agriculture: Nina Bhattacharyya, Urban Agriculture Specialist at the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (UAIP), and Blake Glover, State Conservationist at the New York State Office of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Nina and Blake clarify how the USDA supports urban growers around the country, with a focus on the People’s Garden program, founded in 2009 and renewed in 2022, which includes sites in W ..read more

Melissa and Wythe catch up with their friend Jonas Günther, co-founder of the Brooklyn-based food startup, We Are the New Farmers (WATNF). The New Farmers don’t grow lettuce and tomatoes, however: they grow a fresh superfood called Spirulina—a fast-growing microalgae (clump of tiny water-living plants) that looks like a beautiful dark green foam, has no taste, and can be used to add nutrients to almost any dish.  Jonas walks us through the history of his company, starting at NYU, where he first met Wythe and Melissa, and moving into the fraught world of ag tech startups and packaged goods ..read more

For the first time in Fields history, Wythe and Melissa interview four urban growers at once! We speak to the principles of H3irloom Food Group—Linda and Floyd Taliaferro, and David and Tonya Thomas—about their simultaneously innovative and tradition-inspired approach to cooking and growing, as well as their educational initiatives using agriculture. Longtime collaborators with local farmers, the H3irloom Food Group is currently developing their own 68-acre farm, Gabriel Fields, just outside of Baltimore (in Baltimore County). Through growing and cooking, they’re connecting their culinary work ..read more

We want to personally invite you to "Foraging Like a Local," an HRN event Melissa will be participating in on Wednesday, April 12th at 6:00 PM in Brooklyn.  The evening will highlight exciting ways to see, taste and experience the natural world whether among the concrete or the trees. The event will be hosted by Dana Cowin, host of Speaking Broadly and long-time former editor in chief of Food & Wine magazine. Melissa and Dana will be joined by Tama Matsuoka Wong; Forager, Meadow Doctor, Lawyer, Author, and Owner of Meadows + More. Together they will discuss the beauty and bounty of ov ..read more

When and why were large farm animals banned from NYC? What’s happening on the one working farm exempt from this ban? Did you know that thousands of pigs used to freely roam around New York City? Pre-COVID, Melissa and Wythe chatted with environmental historian Catherine McNeur and long-time animal farmer Heidi Woolever (formerly of Queens County Farm Museum) in order to learn why we don’t see pigs in the streets any more. We then followed up with Heidi in March, 2022. Queens County is the oldest farm in the city, and the only one currently home to pigs (and cows, goats, and alpacas…). And Cath ..read more

Following up on our various dives into mission-driven commercial vertical farming, greenhouse-growing at the Texas State Fair, indoor growing as a tool of food sovereignty in Brooklyn, and food-focused architecture, the Fields hosts discuss both the history and recent innovations in greenhouses in cities, especially NYC. How can domestic homes incorporate greenhouses to grow food? What have cities done so far to create more viable opportunities to grow food in greenhouses? Melissa reflects on her work experiences and future plans; Wythe draws on his research into indoor agriculture; and Allie ..read more

What does “progress” in developing new kinds of environmentally friendly meats look like? What are the hidden costs of cell-based and plant-based meats? Following up on their interviews with Garrett Broad (Fordham University) and Meera Zassenhaus (New Harvest) regarding cellular agriculture, Melissa and Wythe talk with Allie about some new developments in this growing sector, and what they may mean for urban growers. The Fields team, intrigued by an article in The Counter (“Lab-grown meat is supposed to be inevitable. The science tells a different story” by Joe Fassler), debates the likely tra ..read more

What is the role of an urban ag director? And in the City of Atlanta, also known as the City in a Forest, how is urban agriculture impacting the City? In this episode, Jeffrey Landau interview’s Atlanta’s newest Urban Ag Director, J. Olu Baiyewu. Listen as Jeffrey and J. Olu stroll through the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA), during a thunderstorm, discussing the latest achievements and challenges urban farmers face in Atlanta, the divide between producers and consumers, the growing network of urban ag directors and policymakers, and what young and aspiring urban farmers can do to pursu ..read more

How does grain cultivation relate to urban agriculture? How can growing food in cities function as art? As education? Why do so many people love flatbread? Amy Franceschini, founder of Futurefarmers, joins the Fields team to discuss these and other aspects of her work. We also talk about seed banking, using agriculture to bring new social life to post-industrial waterfronts, and urbanization and the movement of knowledge about heritage grains. (Oh, and, yes—the King of Norway does get involved.) Check out all of Futurefarmers’ brilliant ag-plus-art projects! And follow Fields for more surprisi ..read more

How does one commercial urban farm—Heru Urban Farming in St. Louis, Missouri—grow food for a community? Why did its founder and CEO, Tyrean Lewis, start down this path?  We interview Tyrean about his familial connection to the land and to giving back to his community, how he pursued urban agriculture full-time during a pandemic, and what he is hopeful for today. We talk about grants, accelerators, and—of course—the many delicious crops growing at Heru. We also talk about food-system disparities and the role that urban agriculture can play in addressing them. Listen to the interview, follo ..read more