Revitalizing Our Small Farm Agriculture

By Jim Cushing

The sustainable agriculture movement + eating fresh fruits and vegetables, close to where they are grown + is gaining national momentum. Brentwood has 100's of small-sized individually-owned farmable properties that are currently underutilized.

Revitalizing Our Small Farm Agriculture

The sustainable agriculture movement + eating fresh fruits and vegetables, close to where they are grown + is gaining national momentum. Brentwood has 100's of small-sized individually-owned farmable properties that are currently underutilized.

Brentwood City Council candidate Jim Cushing has an innovative idea: Let's bring our small landowners and the agricultural community together to explore the creation of new economically sustainable ideas to market our unique agricultural resources. 1,000's of cities across the U.S., all living on the edge of Agriculture, are all facing the same "Brentwood Challenge" and we can give it a voice and a place to live.

• Brentwood is known for its Corn and Stone Fruit, but our small farms are withering.

• By creating a "consortium" of private land owners and national agricultural interests, we can work together to harvest the best ideas + without having to do it "alone" and with limited resources.

• Livermore organically incubated its own wine country with its local grape growers and wineries + which were minimal 15 years ago and now, count 28 wineries.

• Brentwood can partner with the agricultural community and UC Davis which is known for its research in sustainable food, farming and entrepreneurship to advance local Ag.