The Business of Urban Agriculture

UM-Dearborn and Crain’s Detroit Business present a discussion

April 7, 2010
Dearborn, Michigan

Panelists:

Patty Cantrell
Senior Policy Specialist, Entrepreneurial Agriculture, Michigan Land Use Institute. Patty Cantrell is a senior policy specialist at the Michigan Land Use Institute, where she has led development of northwest Michigan’s nationally recognized Taste the Local Difference program. The program includes local food marketing, farm-to-school facilitation, and farm business development.

Cantrell currently works regionally and nationally to promote local food and farming as a New Economy strategy. Patty is a member of the Michigan Food Policy Council and a 2008-2009 national Food and Society Policy Fellow.

Dan Carmody
President, Eastern Market Corporation
Dan Carmody is president of the Eastern Market Corporation, which mobilizes leadership and resources to strengthen the identity of the Eastern Market as a food-related district by enhancing the operations of the existing public market and by developing business opportunities for specialty food retailers, food wholesale operations, restaurants, food distributors and food processors.

Al Fields
Group Executive of Planning, City of Detroit
Appointed by Mayor Dave Bing this year, Al Fields is a group executive of planning for the City of Detroit, where he will consolidate and monitor planning operations, oversee citywide planning initiatives and develop a plan and coordinate public and private efforts to re-image Detroit through smart growth alignment. He also coordinates efforts between the city and the Next Detroit Neighborhood Initiative and works with the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.

Prior to his appointment, Fields was manager of economic development for DTE Energy, one of the largest diversified energy companies in the nation.

Carlton Flakes
Liaison, Urban Farming, Inc., Wayne County Department of Children and Family Services
Carlton Flakes serves as a liaison to the nonprofit Detroit-based Urban Farming, Inc. as part of his work in the Community Corrections division of the Wayne County Department of Children and Family Services.

In 2009, about 50 adult felony offenders participated in the Urban Farming program at six gardens in the city of Detroit where they performed more than 1,000 hours of community service and, with the help of volunteers, produced seven tons of tomatoes, corn, green peppers, etc. The fresh produce was distributed at no cost to the community.

John Hantz
CEO, Hantz Farms
John Hantz is CEO of Hantz Group, Inc., a full-service financial holding company based in Southfield, Mich. Last year, Hantz announced plans for a newly-developed urban farm within the City of Detroit that will utilize vacant land and abandoned property to create Hantz Farms, the world’s largest urban farm. The first phase of the project will use more than 70 acres of vacant and abandoned lands on Detroit’s lower east side to begin growing natural, local, fresh and safe fruits and vegetables to help meet Michigan’s increasing demand for locally grown produce. In addition to food and trees, Hantz Farms will harvest wind energy and utilize geothermal heat and biomass fuel from recycling compost.

See the program here.