The number of farms in America has long been on a steady decline, shrinking by 9.9% from 2012 to 2022, according to the USDA Census of Agriculture. The decline around large cities has been even more pronounced, with an 18.7% drop in the counties that are home to the nation’s 30 largest cities.
However, some cities, including Baltimore, Portland, Chicago, and Detroit, have seen an increase in farming operations.
Over the last decade, 13 of the nation’s 30 largest cities added farming operations, based on county-level data. That growth could include large operations on the outskirts of a city but the data indicates much of the growth is from small urban farming operations.
While these cities have seen new farms emerge, recent cuts to federal funding threaten to stall this momentum.
The Trump administration has rescinded a $165,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant awarded to the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council in Kansas City, which was designed to promote urban farming in a low-income neighborhood. The nonprofit recently learned the grant was being rescinded as part of the president’s efforts to cut programs that support diversity, equity and inclusion, according to the Kansas City Star.
“It is heartbreaking for our communities and will set back healthy food options, agriculture, and fundamentally, our community long term,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas wrote on social media in response to the grant announcement.
Many urban farms rely on state and federal support, and the policy shift has raised concerns among farmers and advocates, who see urban agriculture as a means to increase food security and address climate change.
In places where urban farming is increasing, small operations make up most of the growth.
Wayne County, which is home to Detroit, had 309 farms in 2022, an increase of 22 farms from 2012. The county’s average farm size was 34 acres, a significant drop from the 2012 average of 55 acres. Today, more than half of Wayne County’s farms are less than nine acres.
Cook County, where Chicago is located, had 154 farms in 2022, an increase of 27. The county’s average farm size was 67 acres, much smaller than the statewide average of 370 acres.
Urban farms can increase access to healthy food in low-income communities, which are often labeled as food deserts. They have also been identified as a way to fight climate change by reducing the carbon emissions needed to transport food into cities.
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