MSU AgBioResearch scientist Matt Raven has been awarded nearly $500,000 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish an incubator farm in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The grant is one of four recently awarded to MSU to help small-scale agricultural producers build secure food systems.
“It’s important to look at how we can make local communities more food-secure,” said Raven, MSU professor of community sustainability. “In this project, we will mindfully and holistically look at food systems, soil health and ways to optimize hoop houses and other season-extension practices for vegetable production in northern latitudes.”
Most of the U.P. is considered a “food desert,” an urban or rural area lacking convenient access to fresh, healthy and affordable food. The region faces high costs of importing supplies and food, low-quality soils and a cool northern climate with a short growing season. Raven’s incubator farm aims to respond to these challenges by creating an educational hub focusing on local, nutrient-dense food and technologies relevant to its production.
The farm will be based at the MSU Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center in Chatham, a 1,262-acre research site with programmatic emphasis on livestock, plant and local food systems.
The research efforts of Raven, as well as his UPREC colleagues, aim to root a value-added food system in healthy soil, sustainable management practices and experiential learning.
“This programming will supply beginning and established farmers, avocational gardeners, youth and community members with important knowledge and skills in entrepreneurial, four-season food production,” Raven said.
The farm will be the foundation of education and MSU Extension outreach programming, employing lessons learned from the MSU Student Organic Farm, which uses year-round, small-scale diversified farming techniques to increase the availability of fresh, local vegetables and to teach entrepreneurial skills.
Research and education efforts at the farm will also stress sustainable practices that improve soil health because UP producers regularly contend with marginal, low-yielding soil.
“Utilizing conservation agricultural practices and emphasizing soil health can improve the environmental quality of the Upper Peninsula,” Raven said. “The anticipated result of this project is an increase in the availability of nutrient-dense food in the UP, with simultaneous improvements in soil health and in the overall economic sustainability of the region.”
Raven will collaborate with four other MSU faculty members:
- John Biernbaum, MSU professor of horticulture.
- Kimberly Cassida, MSU plant, soil and microbial science academic specialist.
- Laura Schmitt Olabisi, MSU assistant professor of community sustainability.
- Jason Rowntree, MSU assistant professor of beef cattle and forage utilization.
This research is funded in part by MSU AgBioResearch and the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems.