Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture

Subject:

Livestock and Urban Agriculture

Farming fish in cities Ð an undervalued activity?

"Urban planners rarely consider aquaculture when planning uses of urban water. They also usually lack information about the relative importance and benefits associated with urban aquaculture.The researchers suggest: 1. Using urban wastewater for aquaculture can only continue if city planners separate industrial effluents from domestic sewage. 2. Urban development policies must consider and include the cultivation of fish and plants in cities." Posted August 17, 2007

All Cooped Up in a Manhattan Co-op

"We now had enough fresh eggs to open a stall at the Greenmarket. After a lot of persuasion, because Isabella would have preferred to preserve every egg in the refrigerator for all time, we cracked one open to eat. I'll admit I was hesitant. It felt vaguely cannibalistic. The yolk was a brilliant neon orange. Scrambled eggs were suddenly a delicacy."

Posted May 17, 2007

Honeybees Thrive in New York City

"David Graves has hundreds of thousands of honeybees in seven hives in Brooklyn, the Bronxs and Manhattan. Each of his hives can produce 50 pounds of honey a year, which he sells for $5 per half-pound at the city's greenmarkets. 'They do really well here,' says David Graves, 'There are so many parks and gardens and rooftop flowerpots. Even if it's dry, they can get the water they need from the East River.' " Posted December 29, 2006

Chickens Becoming Popular Urban Pets In US

"A recent show by the Seattle Tilth Association featured the latest in chic coop designs. Among the most elaborate was a seven-part cedar structure including a fully-insulated main tower with sand-blasted glass windows decorated with etchings of chicks and hens. The coop has four windows, complete with screen and storm windows, a thatched roof and a swinging drawbridge." Posted May 27, 2006

Paris buzzing as busy bees enjoy city life

Stung by declining honey production, France is promoting urban apiculture. "One of the solutions, UNAF president Henri Clément said, is to encourage city dwellers to learn about bees and to raise their own. They've asked city governments and businesses across France to set up beehives in public spaces. 'We want to sound the alarm, to let people know bees are in danger,' Mr. Clément said. 'Rural France is disappearing, but in the city, people are curious about bees and want to re-establish their ties to the country, so we think the future of bees is also in the cities.'" Posted May 8, 2006

Livestock Keeping in Urban Areas - Kenya

" The study showed that in order of importance, the livestock keepers, rated livestock for the following reasons: as an asset, food, subsistence, income and even gifts/social status. The products consumed were meat, milk and eggs. Animal manure was used on the farms and a small amount sold. Animals also provided draught power for tillage and transport. " Posted February 16, 2006

A Primer on Backyard Meat Rabbit Raising Practices

"Rudolph's Rabbit Ranch is the name given to my hobby of raising meat rabbits for my family's personal consumption. A backyard meat rabbit operation can be a great idea for someone interested in having healthful, drug-free meat. In addition to providing a family with a quality of meat unparalleled by that found at the grocery store, such a project can involve all family members. Even children can help in chores from breeding to the dinner table." Posted January 10, 2006

Growing up with Chickens, Geese, Turkeys and Rabbits

"Geese can be quite aggressive, especially if they have goslings. However, one day we found our dog Sandy, (Shepherd/Collie cross) lying in the pen with about a dozen goslings crawling all over her and Alice (the sweet) was not upset about it!" Posted October 15, 2005

"Bantam Menace": On-line Film About Chickens in the City

"A student documentary about a young man who owned pet hens illegally in Vancouver." Posted September 9, 2005

Bees Keep City Blooming

Founding City Farmer director, Kerry Banks, writes about beekeeping in Vancouver in 1978. "The bees, of course, make it a good place to grow things. "I don't know of a single area in the city where you can't find bees," says Bill, and he points to the lushness of vegetable gardens and fruit trees throughout the city as evidence. Since bees will normally forage only a mile or so from home, it is reasonable to assume that there are more than a few backyards in Vancouver that are not all that they appear to be." Updated August 17, 2005

Chasing a Fish-Farming Dream

"Fish farming is not new in and around New York City. Until a few years ago, residents in Morris Park, the Bronx, bought tilapia from a small fish farm in the basement of a commercial building, and a small tilapia farm is tended by inmates in the Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, N.J. Dr. Schreibman has grander dreams. 'I envision fish farms all over the city,' he said. 'The city is losing out. We have to wake up and see this could be an economic boon. It could create jobs.' " Posted November 11, 2004

Aquaculture in our City

"Introducing urban aquaculture to the neighborhood could convert it from a center of blight and depression into a thriving, sustainable community. This can be accomplished by doing the following: * Convert abandoned warehouses into aquaculture facilities * Grow hardy, popular fish like tilapia using sustainable techniques * Provide jobs to local community members at facilities * Use some of the fish to feed the local homeless and hungry" Posted November 11, 2004

New York Aquaculture Industry: Status, Constraints And Opportunities: White Paper

80 page PDF. "The type of aquaculture that currently has the most major potential economic impact is indoor food fish aquaculture in a controlled environment, similar to how the broiler industry has evolved. Today the finfish of greatest promise appears to be tilapia, which are currently being successfully raised and marketed in upstate NY. Tilapia accounts for more than 50% of the economic output for finfish production in New York State." Posted November 11, 2004

The Eglu: A Chicken House for City Farmers.

"Fresh, great tasting food and a healthier lifestyle. Keeping chickens that lay delicious eggs is easy and fun. The Eglu is the world's most stylish and innovative chicken house and is the perfect way to keep chickens as pets. If you live in the middle of a city, in the suburbs or in the countryside, you can start living the good life." Posted April 14 2004

Livestock Keeping in Urban Areas

"Studies have revealed that more than 20 000 households in Bamako keep livestock in town, and thousands more people supply them with inputs or marketing services; over one-third of households surveyed in Harare keep livestock, mainly chickens but also rabbits, pigeons, ducks and turkeys. In Dar-es-Salaam urban farming is the second largest employer after petty trade and labour, and 74 percent of urban farmers keep livestock; and even in densely populated Cairo, 5 percent of households keep animals, especially chickens and pigeons. " Posted November 20, 2003

Pigs in Streets of Dili, East Timor

"Asked how many pigs were wandering around Dili, Mr. Da Silva said he wasn't sure. 'They are hard to avoid at times, choosing to cross roads when they please, bringing traffic to a halt. Initially I thought they didn't have owners, but they do. And people know exactly which ones belong to them,' he added, without explaining just how." Posted April 17, 2002

Restrictive Covenants on Animals in Urban Agriculture

"It began of course with conflicts between those who in past times kept animals for food and extra income. In my grandmother's day, women looked after chickens or other small animals in order to earn a small steady income they had exclusive control over. I am speaking of Massachusetts in the 1900s. Later, to end this practice, various legalities were brought to bear." Posted December 28, 2001

Sheep Fattened for Sacrifice Shoves Owner to his Death

"He had been fattening the sheep for the past six weeks and planned to kill it for Eid- al-Adha, the Muslim feast of sacrifice, in early March. Many Egyptian city-dwellers keep livestock on rooftops or balconies or in basements, especially in the run-up to Eid al-Adha." Posted February 4, 2001

Roofwater Fish Farm Ideal For Learning

"Scientist Vivienne Hallman on periurban acres at Figtree Pocket, 10 kilometres from the Brisbane, CBD Australia, is proving that urban fringe farmers can grow native fish successfully on natural foods. Most of the water can come from a home rooftop. Much of the fish food can be home-grown earthworms and insect larvae." Posted February 12, 2000

New York City Rooftop Beekeepers Defy Law to Get That Sweet Central Park Bouquet

"The city's urban bee mavens inhabit their own entomological universe... There are puns about the, well, plight of the bumblebee and requests to 'lend me your comb'; and, yes, there are questions about whether to bee or not to bee." Posted July 21, 1999

Suburban Livestock Rearing by Smallholders in the Backyards of Xochimilco, Mexico

"The sale of pigs in Xochimilco has, as its prime objectives, the production of meat and bi-products for self-consumption, as well as to provide resources to increase family income." Posted September 10, 1998

Raising Quail for Food in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Important ruling! Fredericton City Council approves the raising of quail for food. Jean Louis Deveau describes how he provides a meal a month for his family raising these birds. Posted February 25, 1999

New York - Bees Bring Taste of Honey to Inner City

"Now he has seven hives in Manhattan and Brooklyn and one on the roof of a school in the Bronx. Blind taste tests conducted here and in Massachusetts have borne out customers' claims that the city honey is better than the country variety." Posted September 30, 1998

Chickens In Soup

Some people believe that an egg-producing hen is of greater value than a barking dog or a noisy lawnmower, but City Hall doesn't agree.

Urban "Animal" Agriculture Comes to Chicago
For 52 years, Heifer Project International has brought livestock to rural communities throughout the world to combat hunger and poverty and help restore the environment. Now they are bringing dairy goats and honeybees to the inner city.

Chancen und Risiken der Kleinbäuerlichen Urbanen Tierhaltung
GTZ in Germany has prepared a comprehensive report on animal urban agriculture. The complete report is published here in German.

Rabbit Raising in Cities

"A survey of rabbit production is done every 4 years in Hungary. About 98% of Hungary's rabbit production is done in small scale enterprises. Over 31% of rabbit breeders have 6 to 10 does. Only 17.2% have over 20 does." Posted June 24, 1998

Sowing Seeds of Change: Down On The Farm In Philadelphia

Urban fish farming is part of a vision of the future for the City of Philadelphia published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "The operation could produce upward of 20 million pounds of fish a year, Penn researchers say. Add a processing plant to fillet, freeze, package and ship frozen fish, and you're talking 1,000 to 2,000 new jobs."

rec.gardens.edible | rec.gardens | sci.agriculture | sci.agriculture.beekeeping | sci.agriculture.fruit | sci.agriculture.poultry | alt.sustainable.agriculture | alt.agriculture | alt.agriculture.fruit | alt.agriculture.misc

Usenet is an excellent place to ask your food production questions. There is no alt.agriculture.urban yet amongst the 10,000 plus news groups, however there are a number of groups where you can discuss related subjects.

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