I’m loving news out of Detroit that area farmer John Hantz wants Detroit to let him turn 70 acres of vacant and blighted land into a large vegetable farm with a cider mill and riding trails.
Stories at UPI.com and the Detroit News say this would be the largest urban farm in the world.
What I really like about this proposal is that it kills a few birds with one stone. In addition to beautifying and creating a useful purpose for crime-magnates, an urban farm would feed a population increasingly demanding locally-grown produce.
Hantz wants the land for free to get the ball rolling. His plan is to eventually return the land to the city as a public revenue producing venture.
So…what’s the downside? And what does the Motor City have to lose?
Follow the link to the Detroit Free Press, which held a live chat with a senior VP at Hantz Farms about the plan.
Virtual Farmgirl 