A Feasibility Study for Urban Edge Agricultural Parks - SAGE

• 75% of respondents stated that they would be interested and willing to farm onthe urban edge, in a collective situation (this is how an AgPark is defined in thesurvey).• 67% of respondents were supportive of controlled public access and educationalgoals for the Park.• Some hybrid of a homeowner’s association was the preferred managementstructure expressed by the majority of respondents.• 30% of respondents would prefer to own their own land in an AgPark situation.• 18% would seek a long term (5+ years) lease in an AgPark.• 50% would seek a 1-3 year lease in an AgPark arrangement.• Respondents seek acreage from 1 to 100 acres, with the vast majority seeking5-20 acres.Housing is of utmost importance to respondents• Housing for the farmer was rated as Very Important by 90% of respondents.• Housing for workers was rated as Very Important by 67% of respondents.There is a perception among respondents that access to farmland is limited• 59% of respondents believe access to good, affordable farmland is limited.A lack of savings, lack of access to capital, and lack of a business plan appear to bebarriers for the farmer respondents to grow their businesses• 72% of respondents do not have sufficient savings for a down payment on landor to purchase necessary equipment or infrastructure.• 59% of respondents do not have a business plan in place.• Respondents expressed a nearly unanimous desire for on-site infrastructuresuch as post-harvest, warehouse and sales facilities, fencing, access to anirrigation well, roads, and renewable energy sources.• Amenities desired include natural features, landscaped edges and hedgerows.Although the need for education and technical assistance were not addressed in thesurvey, it is an issue that came up on numerous occasions as the survey was beingadministered. It appears, based this anecdotal information, that assistance in cropselection, production, and business planning and administration, would be beneficialto those surveyed.Second Wave Survey ResultsThe second wave of surveys tested producer interest for specific sites underanalysis for this report; however, due to the need to maintain landownerconfidentiality, the sites could only generally be described to the surveyrespondents. The second wave yielded only 12 responses; thus, the findings arenot quantified herein. The second wave approach suggested that further researchwith specific site identification and site attributes/costs would need to beDRAFT 1.6.05 20