CLEVELAND, Ohio — In Cleveland, with 20,000 vacant lots and 1,000 houses torn down per year, the city managers are spending exorbitant amounts to maintain properties. In one neighborhood, however, something is growing again: food and farms.

At the Kinsman Farm, 26 acres where houses burned years ago, a small band of farmers trained by Ohio State University extension are growing vegetables and selling them at six farmers’ markets. During a webinar earlier this month, members of extension outlined a few of its successful urban farms.

Participants can "find out if they want to be a farmer," said Jacqueline Kowalski, extension educator. They are able to lease a quarter-acre from year to year, for $250.

"This project removes barriers for new and beginning farmers. They network together to develop a sustainable urban farm," she said.

Urban farmers are offered fencing, equipment for rental and access to a water hydrant. Water rights are often at a premium in Ohio.

Kowalski said the project is not without difficulty. The previous residents left behind many hints of their prior existence: boats, cars, refrigerators and foundations of homes, all of which have to be removed. When starting an urban farm on recovered land, she said to always do a soil test. If there is lead contamination, the land cannot be used to grow food.

One of the longest-standing programs in Ohio, Kinsman Farm is a model for urban agriculture. Elements of the lease agreement with farmers are as follows:

•They must complete a garden training program.

•They must develop a business plan.

•They agree to a land use protocol, including no camping on the property.

•They agree to give 50 hours of community service to the farm per year, which may include mowing, clearing, and remediation.

When marketing the produce, "produce perks," or ways to capture more sales, are in accepting EBT and incentive programs, WIC coupons, senior coupons and debit cards, Kowalski said. Other tips include checking zoning laws early in the process, using good signage and marketing.

Another model for an urban farm is the Greater Cincinnati Food Hub, which is Ohio’s first union worker-owned cooperative farm, said Brad Bergefurd, horticultural specialist and OSU extension educator.

"The workers own and have a stake in the co-op. It’s not just a food hub model; it’s a co-op model. The result is that the workers are more self-motivated, more productive and more creative," he said.

The location was an established produce farm, Dale Farm, whose former owner has worked to manage and train the workers.

He will retire as soon as a new manager is found, Bergefurd said.

"It was good soil that we could turn over and begin production right away," he explained. "Having a highly skilled farm manager is the biggest hurdle for new urban farms."

The farm uses high tunnels, which were built by the farm’s workers, and plastic mulches to extend the growing season.

The produce is marketed directly to the city. For more information on OSU urban ag, email gardner.1148@osu.edu

An incubator farm in the heart of Indianapolis will open next spring to hatch new agribusinesses and develop urban farmers. With a $50,000 AgSEED grant from Purdue University, extension educators hope to develop a vacant lot into a lush, green vegetable farm run by independent farmers. With a population of nearly 849,000 residents, the city is ripe with potential customers.

A new class on ag business skills is available to applicants who want to develop their own urban agribusiness. It was filled to capacity within two weeks.

"People have been growing food in their backyard in Marion County for a long time. This is not the first time, but it is the start of a bigger project," said Emily Toner, Purdue extension educator for Marion County urban agriculture.

She hopes to offer the business skills class again each year. "There is increased interest and development of urban farms with more community involvement. Urban agriculture takes local food a step further. It’s hyper-local food because you can walk by a field growing food."

About an acre on the city’s northwest side will be divided into city lot-sized plots and rented to new farmers who want to launch their own agribusiness. While there are many motives and purposes for urban ag, Toner said the main purpose of the incubator farm will be to support new urban farmers.

"Each (renter) would be an independent business on the land ... In the application process, they will submit a business plan. Renters will receive support, shared resources and educational opportunities," she added.

The current site is a vacant lot being negotiated with the city, with the aid of Renew Indianapolis, a group that attempts to redeem abandoned city lots. Indianapolis, like many cities, has thousands of vacant lots with no purpose, which require upkeep and expense, Toner said.

Renew Indianapolis has 300 vacant lots in its inventory and will demolish 150-plus properties in the next year, said Katy Brett, executive director of the organization. "While there are many variables with these numbers, I think it’s safe to use these as a snapshot for the current potential for urban agriculture," she said.

More than 20 urban farms and 130-plus community and urban gardens are already in place in Marion County, Toner said. "Purdue extension decided to do more to support Marion County in developing farms larger than your backyard garden."