1/ The future of farming in Southern Arizona: Is it urban?

At the moment, in most places in Southern Arizona, you can’t drive a mile or two in any direction and not find a new housing development or road expansion project. #SouthernArizona #farming

2/ The population in Southern Arizona is increasing rapidly, causing housing developments to be put up at record speed.
It pains me to see how much of our native desert is being ripped up to cater to the needs of the growing population. But that is not the focus of this thread.

3/ What happens when the contractors run out of land on the interior of the cities?
I’ll tell you; they’ll expand outwards, taking over the farmlands scattered around the outskirts of town. While this may not be happening now, it is likely to happen in the next few years.

4/ Just because this won’t start happening doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t start acting now. One of the best options and most successful solutions to this problem would be to create urban farms.

5/ But why now?
Once we get to the point where rural farms are being taken over, then there will be no land available in the cities for urban farms.
We need to make the farms now so we have control of the land before it gets taken away. #urbanfarms #farming #SouthernArizona

6/ Urban farms have proven successful for many people.
It is not uncommon for people to grow their own food in their backyard or even on the balcony of their apartment, but it is more uncommon for people to grow enough food to sell. This is why a little more land is needed.

7/ @phoenixnewtimes has a great article about Greg Peterson, who has been running an urban farm for years. They dive into some interesting information about the potential for urban farming in Phoenix and what it takes to create an urban farm. https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/growing-up-urban-farms-have-the-potential-to-transform-phoenix-11462682

8/ Urban farming isn’t new. People have been farming in their backyards for decades, but now people are getting creative.
@foodtank describes how @squarerootsgrow and @GFSDelivers teamed up to bring local produce to cities across the country. https://foodtank.com/news/2019/04/eating-local-just-got-easier-for-some-north-american-cities/

9/ @GardensofTucson is a long-standing community gardening organization based in Tucson, AZ. They rent garden plots for personal use. This is proof that urban gardening can be successful in Southern AZ.

10/ This is no small feat that I am proposing, but with some dedication and enough people, we can save the local food supply before it gets too far gone. If you are interested in farming or even already have a farm, then you should consider urban farming.