As times change and the world naturally progresses, so does the agriculture industry. Local residents are filling social media with agriculture from their own back yards! A practice commonly referred to as “urban ag”. Lately, there has been much debate on which type of ag is better for the environment. Urban Ag or Rural Ag? All forms of agriculture are the best forms. Where we choose to make our contribution, simply does not matter. There are many benefits of having ag in both rural and urban communities.
Urban agriculture is small-scale farming found in urban areas. This can range anywhere from a small produce garden with 2-5 plants, to greenhouses and chicken coops. If you are growing a product, it’s ag! If you are growing produce in an urban area, it’s urban ag! Urban Ag and buying local has proven to have many benefits for individuals and communities. These benefits include but are not limited to; fresh produce, organic or free-range produce, and keeping money circulating at the local level. With COVID-19 in our rearview mirror, keeping money local has been a major push, and Urban Ag is a good source to do that.
Rural agriculture is farming typically found in areas with less population. The term “rural”, means away from urbanization. So, anything between large-scale farming to a small ma-and-pop farm is considered “rural ag”. Like Urban Ag, the benefits of Rural Ag are many. These include, keeping food circulating through chain stores, high focuses on soil health, and making sure farms last for generations. These qualities are equally as important as those revolving around Urban Ag.
The biggest difference that I have seen over the years is society’s association with mass production. Rural agriculture can lean towards selling commodities to processing plants, while urban agriculture tends to lean more towards buying and selling locally, staying away from chain stores and processing plants. Just because we associate Rural Ag with mass production and Urban with local production, doesn’t mean that either of these are bad. They are just different. At the end of the day, agriculture is agriculture. We are all in this together. So let’s continue to promote agriculture, wherever one may choose!