11 Apr Urban Farm Fracas

Local urban farmers and their advocates are walking on eggshells this week as the bad news about HausBar Farms has spread. It seems a temporary composting-related odor problem at one of Austin's newest urban farms, led to a neighbor complaining to the City which has led to increased scrutiny of local farm regulation, the at-least-for-now closure of Hausbar Farms, and unfortunate racial tension.

HausBar farm was started by one of my local heroes Dorsey Barger (you probably knew her as the co-owner of East Side Cafe) and her partner Susan Hausman. Read this lovely Farmer's Diary from Edible Austin about them. They purchased two former crack houses that, I was told, had been for sale for 3 years, and turned the property into a beautiful farm and source of local, sustainably grown food in what has been a food desert. They thought they were taking all the necessary steps to comply with various state and local guidelines. But the guidelines are a bit murky.

If you want the scoop, the Statesman and Chronicle have been covering it.

Here is the trail in the Statesman.

The most level-headed bit I can share with you it this from Anna Toon's article in today's Austin Chronicle "Communication Breakdown. Does the closure of HausBar Farms spell trouble for the urban farming movement?"

The urban farm ordinance needs to be rewritten and clarified. Currently, the Process and Code Coordination Working Group of the Sustainable Food Policy Board is working on language to lessen the restrictions on urban farms, especially concerning livestock, farm size, employees, and dwellings. Once the planning commission approves the amendments to the urban farm ordinance, it will go to City Council for approval. "We are currently working to propose a new, clear, streamlined urban farm code that protects farmers and their ability to make a living without getting bogged down in technicalities," explains Heather Frambach, research analyst and urban agriculture planner for the City of Aus­tin's Sustainable Urban Agriculture & Com­munity Gardens Program. "I am hopeful because this is precisely what our program was created to do: act as a strong liaison between communities, people who grow food, and the city.   Full article here

So what started as a complaint about a temporary bad odor (which I would want addressed too if it were my neighbor) seems to have been the crack in the door for a small but vocal group to open up more broad complaints about the farms representing gentrification, losses of single family home land, and complaints that all the urban farmers are white. Damn.

 I'm in the camp that protecting and expanding local food supply is something we want MORE of, not less. Yes, rules need to be followed but some rules may need to be changed. I would have thought that transforming crack houses into a beautiful urban farm would be seen as an upgrade and I would think a valuable asset in the midst of what has been a food desert. The Triangle farmer's market is within 10 blocks from where I live but I'd rather have a cool farm by my house, however, we are not as fortunate to have the great soil in my neighborhood.

To make matters worse, tales of greatly inflated numbers of chickens being processed were spoken as truth to various publications and lots of negativity was espoused without ever setting foot on the property or seeking dialog with Dorsey and Susan. That is until this week. I understand that yesterday Larry Butler of Boggy Creek Farm invited Daniel Llanes to actually visit Hausbar farm.

One thing I want to learn more about is  Black Soldier Fly composting, so one of my next calls will be to Patrick VanHaren, founder of Microbial Earth, because I know has been experimenting with various approaches to this technique over the last few years. From what I understand, food waste is quickly turned into a high-protein feed for chickens. 

More on this as it develops. I'm hoping that some thoughtful research, meaningful dialog and useable guidelines will be the product of this current mess.

Note: Above photo of Dorsey Barger is from Growing Cities: A Film about Urban Farming in America