Model – A Call to Farms – SPIN-Farming
Posted in Models by fedwards on October 15th, 2007
A Call to Farms
By Roxanne Christensen
Co-author, SPIN-Farming
Submitted for post to SustainableCities.net for World Food Day, October 16, 2007
In a world that is finally facing up to the challenges of climate change and finite resources, a growing corps of unlikely activists are, quite literally, taking matters into their own hands by taking up SPIN. SPIN stands for S-mall P-lot IN-tensive, and it is giving rise to a new class of citizen-farmers who are showing that agriculture can be incorporated into our built environments instead of being segregated in living museums outside of it.
What makes SPIN different from other vegetable farming methods, and uniquely suited to the citizen-farmer, is that it makes it possible to generate significant income from sub-acre – less than an acre – land masses. With SPIN, commercial farmers do not need much land to start their commercial operations. More importantly, they don’t need to own any land at all; they can affordably rent or even barter their land base from neighbors, friends and relatives. .
SPIN also greatly reduces the need for capital. Minimal infrastructure, reliance on hand labor to accomplish most farming tasks, utilization of existing water sources to meet irrigation needs, and situating close to markets all keep investment and overhead costs low. SPIN therefore removes the 2 big barriers to entry for new farmers – they don’t need a lot of land or money.
Who are these new citizen-farmers who are putting a new spin on growing food? Some have been educated in other professions, or have had other careers. Some have home or community gardening experience, while others have never had dirt under their fingernails. Some come from traditional farm families, but most do not.
They are refugees from unsatisfying jobs. Or they are seeking to balance their mentally-demanding computer-oriented work with some purposeful exercise. Some pursue farming full-time, others part-time They span age groups, circumstances and geography, but what unites them all is an ability to view and practice farming in a new way.
These new citizen-farmers are principled, but also pragmatic doers capable of consistent effort. They desire independence and have a pioneering spirit. They recognize that cities are impulsive, boisterous, spontaneous, and competitive, while agriculture is plodding, tranquil, deliberate and deferential. And they are capable of envisioning a world where for one to be right, the other does not have to be wrong.
Whether they establish their farmsteads in the middle of urban jungles or sprawling suburbia, they are all uniting behind SPIN to advance engaged, rather than escapist, agriculture. They use minimal off-farm inputs, and those that they do use are obtained locally. Their SPIN farms are not the huge monochromatic blocks of golden wheat and tasseled corn that have come to define modern agriculture. Instead, a more intricate pattern weaves together this sub-acre farmland. Individual plots of lettuce, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, herbs and spinach are framed by rows of sunflowers or fig trees. Planting this carefully chosen diversity of species makes a pretty picture, and it also benefits the environment by eliminating the need for artificial pesticides and fertilizers while returning the land to the natural cycle.
By re-casting farming as a small business, citizen-farmers are making food production visible and palpable and galvanizing their communities around an activity that delivers both economic and environmental benefits. Residents feel an unspoken bond when they see such an activity in their midst. This citizen-driven agriculture is returning farmers to the cities and towns that they had earlier forsaken, where they are practicing intelligent, dedicated, craft and soil-based farming and bringing the well-documented redemptive power to their communities in a commercially viable manner.
For those who desire to think things through again, re-identify with the source of things, make certain re-appropriations, SPIN is their “call-to-farms.†SPIN-Farming has its own unique processes and techniques, and they are very different from conventional farming methods, or from home gardening. Here are a few components of the system that distinguish it from other farming or intensive growing methods:
Commercial orientation and sub-acre land base – SPIN transfers commercial farming techniques to sub-acre (less than an acre) land masses. Farmers do not need to own much, or any land, to start their operations, and they can be single or multi-sited.
Direct marketing – SPIN bases crop selection on what local markets want. Being close to markets allows for constant product feedback and ensures a loyal and dependable customer base.
Commercial refrigeration capacity – SPIN calls for commercial refrigeration capacity because cooling crops immediately after they are harvested retains their quality which supports premium pricing.
Minimal mechanization and infrastructure – The most important and costly equipment is a rototiller. All other SPIN implements and infrastructure can be sourced at local garden supply or hardware stores.
“Home-based†work crew – Supplemental labor requirements are minimal and can be readily obtained within the network of family, friends, or within the local community.
Utilization of existing water sources – SPIN relies on local water service for all of its irrigation needs.
Low capital intensive – Minimal infrastructure and minimal overhead keeps start-up and operating expenses manageable. The bottom line is little or no debt. .
Standard size beds – SPIN utilizes beds measuring 2 feet wide by 25 feet long.
Organic-based – SPIN relies on all-organic farming practices. There are minimal off-farm inputs and very little waste.
Structured work flow practices – SPIN outlines a deliberate and disciplined day-by-day work routine so that the wide variety of farm tasks can be easily managed without any one task becoming overwhelming.
Crop Diversity – A SPIN product line contains a much wider diversity of crops, with a typical SPIN farm producing over 100 different varieties and 50 different types of crops per season.
High-value crops – SPIN devotes most of its land base to the production of high value crops, defined as one that generates at least $100 per harvest/per bed.
Intensive relay cropping – SPIN is based on intensive relay cropping. Relay cropping is, quite simply, the sequential growing of crops. With the SPIN system, 3-4 crops are grown per bed/per season.
Production intensity – SPIN provides a rule for dividing multiple farm plots, or parts of the single site location, into different areas of production intensity.
Land allocation – SPIN provides guidelines for land allocation that balances production between high-value and low-value crops to produce a steady revenue stream..
Farm layout – SPIN provides guidelines for segmenting the land base into a series of beds, separated by access alleys which are small strips about 2 feet wide, just wide enough for a rototiller. An acre accommodates approximately 400 standard size beds, including the necessary access alleys.
Revenue targeting formula – By growing high-value crops worth $100 per harvest/per bed, and by practicing intensive relay cropping which produces at least 3 crops per bed/per season, SPIN targets $300 in gross sales per bed per season. With 480 beds per acre, the maximum revenue potential is 400 beds x $300 per bed per season = $120,000 gross sales per acre. When farming is approached in terms of beds instead of acres, the result is a very precise idea of how much growing space can be utilized, and how that space can be managed to generate predictable and steady income.
Season extension is optional – SPIN does not rely on season extension to expand production; however season extension can be utilized to push SPIN yields and income significantly higher.
The intricacies of the SPIN system go far beyond what is outlined above, but this gives an idea of how SPIN can produce significant revenue from sub-acre land bases. Though the land base and overhead of a sub-acre farm is a fraction of that of a large multi-acre farm, their bottom lines are similar. A sub-acre farm can produce the same, or even greater, income than a large-scale operation with a lot less stress and overhead, and with a lot more certainty of success from year to year. This is how SPIN is enabling citizen-farmers whose collective actions are re-defining farming for the 21st century – sub-acre, close to markets, environmentally friendly, low-capital intensive, citizen-driven. And it is helping to spark a farming revival that provides common ground, quite literally, beneath everyone’s feet.
To see how citizen-farmers are using SPIN to take food production into their own hands, visit www.spinfarming.com. Contact the author at rchristensen @infocommercegroup.com
END
© copyright Roxanne Christensen 2007