Planting has begun on an urban farm that is on the site of a former industrial building in Milwaukee.
Small urban farms are being started on vacant lots in several cities. Cream City Farms will cover an acre and a half in Milwaukee’s economically stressed 30th Street Industrial Corridor in an African-American neighborhood.
Farm owner David Johnson said part of the $400,000 start-up expense is for new soil brought in from the city’s suburbs.
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“I call it kind of an organ transplant, in that we were able to get 2 feet of topsoil from a farm in Oak Creek that is getting converted to a subdivision.”
Another major expense is for a large underground cistern that will collect and filter rainwater to be used at the farm.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Milwaukee Sewer District and City of Milwaukee have put up funds for the project.
Johnson said he hopes to run the site at a profit.
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