Quantifying Urban Agriculture:

A Case Study from Baltimore

Linda J. Young

Research and Development Division

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

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FCSM Research Conference

December 1-3, 2015
Urban Agriculture Team

• Kevin Barnes

• Carol Crawford

• Gina Geffrard

• Troy Joshua

• Chris Messer

• Barbara Rater

• Erin Anderson

• Mark Apodaca

• Wendy Barboza

• Dan Beckler

• Scott Cox

• Kara Daniel

• Ramonia Davis

• Nancy Dickey

• Franklin Duan

• David Hancock

• Mark Harris

• Hubert Hamer

• Michael Hyman

• Jay Johnson

• Rick Mueller

• Kathy Ott

• Brad Parks

• Zulma Riberas

• Heather Ridolfo

• Jackie Ross

• Cathryn Scherrer

• Krissy Young

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What Is Urban?

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First Test City: Baltimore

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What is a Farm?

• A farm is any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural 

products were produced and sold or normally would have been

sold during the year.

– Examples, some special cases:

• Christmas trees

• "government payment" farms

• "pasture only" farms (at least 100 acres)

• nurseries and greenhouses

• exotic livestock

• large garden

• Point Farm: a farm that does not produce or sell $1,000 or more 

of agricultural products, but has the potential for that much 

production.

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Farms vs. Urban Agriculture

http://www.fiveboroughfarm.org/urban-agriculture/

• Each farmer is 

surveyed

• Total area may 

qualify as a farm, 

but individual 

plots may not

• Farm definition 

may not fully 

capture extent or 

importance of 

urban ag activity

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Agriculture Included

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Agriculture Included

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Agriculture Excluded

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Urban Agriculture Defined

For the purposes of this project, Urban Agriculture includes:

• Minimum 36-square-foot area* of growing space

• Types of urban agriculture:

– Urban Gardens

– Private Gardens

– Rooftop Gardens

– Urban Farms

– Other (such as hydroponics, livestock, beekeeping, etc.)

*any garden space that contains individual grow containers smaller than a 36 sqft container will be included in the study as long as the 

aggregate size is greater than 36 sqft.

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First Test City: Baltimore

• 30,000 vacant properties

– 16,000 vacant buildings

– 14,000 vacant lots

• Permit Examples

– Big City Farms has 1.5 acres in Sandtown

– Real Food Farm has 1.5 acres in South City Park

• Online Presence

– www.baltimoresustainability.org

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Baltimore Permits

• Bees: Must have a permit with Office of Animal 

Control if have three or more hives; Must be 

registered with the Maryland Department of 

Agriculture

• Chickens: Must have a permit with Office of 

Animal Control; Must be registered with the 

MDA’s Agriculture, Domestic Poultry, and Exotic 

Bird Registration Division.

• Goats: Must have a permit with Office of Animal 

Control

• Rabbits: Must have a permit with Office of 

Animal Control

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MACE Identified Potential Areas of 

Agricultural Activity

Data sources: 

• Social media, e.g., facebook, twitter, etc.

• Information on permits from city and state governments

• Lists available from various sources

• High definition satellite imagery

Goals and products:

• Developed algorithms that combine the information from 

these diverse sources to identify areas likely to have 

agricultural activity

• Provided GIS boundary files with the identified areas as well as 

name of business, if accessible, address, latitude and 

longitude

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Satellite vs. Aerial Resolution

0.5-m Satellite 15-cm Aerial

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Potential Urban Agriculture in Baltimore

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Major Steps To Be Completed

Questionnaires developed

OMB Approval 

Addresses assigned to agricultural activities 

Record linkage to identify any duplicates

Draw sample of 266

Conduct field survey (identify areas as nonagricultural, agricultural but not a farm, farm)

• Summarize results for internal use

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Preliminary Results

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What Did MACE Miss?

On the NASS List Frame, consider those with an 

operation in Baltimore County and a City of 

Baltimore zip code.

– 51 Verified Farms

– 76 Potential Farms

MACE identified 505 potential areas of 

agricultural activity, of which

– 2 Verified Farms

– 10 Potential Farms

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What Was Missed?

2013 List from the City of Baltimore of urban 

agricultural sites

• 159 non-school garden sites

• 1 on the NASS list frame

• 89 on the MACE list

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The Sample

• 266 areas of potential agricultural activity 

randomly selected from 505 potential agricultural 

areas

• In community gardens, efforts were made to 

sample the plots within a garden. Twelve (12) 

plot interviews were conducted from 6 

community gardens.

• 188 of 266 sites (71%) completed interviews

• 73 of 266 sites (27%) operator could not be found

• 5 of 266 sites (2%) interview refusals

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Presence of Agricultural Activity

52% Ag

5%

Unknown

43% No Ag

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Types of Agricultural Operations

• 108 Unique Operations (From the 188 Completed 

Interviews)

– 34 Backyard or Home Gardens

– 29 School Gardens

– 20 Community Gardens

– 9 Demonstration Gardens

– 8 Urban Farms

– 5 Vacant Lot Gardens

– 4 Roof Top Gardens

– 1 Aquaponics

– 1 Commercial Enterprise

– 1 Hydroponics

– 7 Other Types

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Types of Products

• 108 Completed Surveys Reporting Agriculture

– 83 Grow or harvest vegetables, potatoes, or melons

– 51 Grow or harvest fruits, nuts, or berries

– 27 Grow or harvest greenhouse or nursery crops

– 5 Grow or harvest gains, hay, legumes, or field crops

– 37 Raise or keep farm animals

– 32 Produce farm animal products

– 2 Produce certified organic products

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Area Devoted to Agricultural Activity

39%, <200 Sq Ft

27%, 200 – 1000 Sq Ft

25%, 1K – 10K Sq Ft

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8%, 10K – 50K Sq Ft

2%, > 50K Sq Ft

Based on 88 Reporting Area
Total Number of Decision Makers

for an Operation

54%, 1 Person

23%, 2 People

12%, 3 People

5%, > 4 People

6%, 4 People

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Based on 110 Reports
Total Number of Female Decision Makers 

for an Operation

22%, 0 People

55%, 1 Person

13%, 2

People

5%, > 4 People

5%, 3 or 4 People

Based on 110 Reports 26
Total Number of Male Decision Makers 

for an Operation

45%, 0 People

41%, 1 Person

8%, 2 People

2%, > 4 People

4%, 3 or 4 People

Based on 110 Reports 27
Decisions Based on Baltimore

• Drop the minimum of 36 square feet 

requirement in the definition of urban ag

• Separate operations qualifying as a farm from 

those producing only for home use

• Treat a community garden as a single 

operation

• Refine questionnaire to allow respondents to 

report area and yield more accurately

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Next Steps

• Validate/refine algorithm with pilot studies in 

Seattle and Austin

• Refine questions quantifying area and yield 

from urban agriculture

• Begin preparing for national implementation

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Thank You!

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