Sparkling diamond grows in inner city

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Chris Corkery lifts a curtain to reveal lush plants growing in a 5,000-square-foot controlled-environment system located within a building along North 31st Street in Milwaukee. Corkery owns Hundred Acre, a farm that grows crops in a unique project.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Beautiful basil tries to hide rows of growing salad greens that stretch out under grow lights.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Lettuce grows in December at Hundred Acre in Milwaukee. The farm produces more than 50,000 pounds of fresh greens annually for customers in Milwaukee.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

A well-kept building stands along North 31st Street in Milwaukee. It's the site of a flourishing inner-city farm, Hundred Acre.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

A building stretches out along Milwaukee's North 31st Street. Thousands of people pass each day. But few realize a beautiful productive farm, Hundred Acre, is inside growing fresh food for the neighborhood.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

A distinctive logo graces a sign for Hundred Acre, an inner-city farm in Milwaukee.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

An attractive poster is a teaching aid for students who study and work at Hundred Acre.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Plants grow on shelves five rows high at Hundred Acre. The farm uses a system of vertical hydroponics to grow greens with no pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified organisms.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Seeds sprout and plants grow in a propagation room, a nursery at Hundred Acre. The farm uses computers to control water, air and light to speed plant growth.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Plants grow on shelves at Hundred Acre in Milwaukee. The farm produces consistent premium greens that are harvested weekly year-round to provide a made-to-order supply for customers in Milwaukee. The farm produces a safe, secure and traceable product for local customers.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Seeds sprout in a propagation room. Hundred Acre is based on an idea called 'radical transparency' that invites people to participate in farming while developing a more-sustainable supply chain. The aim is to bring back personal agency, and re-establish the relationship between planet and plate.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

A bag of fresh salad greens is grown in December at Hundred Acre. The farm is a solution to food insecurity in the heart of Milwaukee; it also provides jobs for neighbors and training for students.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

A bowl December-grown mixed salad greens await a grateful customer. The farm is the first in a system of inner city farms in Milwaukee. Visit hundred-acre.org for more information.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Chris Corkery stands in front of railroad cars. His farm, Hundred Acre, is located along an urban rail corridor in downtown Milwaukee.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Warm light glows through a window outside the 5,000-square-foot area where fresh salad greens and basil are harvested weekly year-round at Milwaukee's Hundred Acre. Visit linktr.ee/hundredacre_mke for more information.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Jason Maloney and Red

Jason Maloney For Agri-View

MILWAUKEE – The world is full of problems. Some folks rattle off lists of those problems while telling us there is no hope and the future is bleak. But others look at problems in a different way. They see them as challenges to be met and overcome. They even look at some problems as hidden opportunities. And once in a great while one of those people who sees opportunities has an idea that is like a fine diamond – from any angle it sparkles with light and promise.

Jason Maloney is an “elderly” farm boy from Marinette County, Wisconsin. He’s a retired educator, a retired soldier and a lifelong Wisconsin resident. He lives on the shore of Lake Superior with his wife, Cindy Dillenschneider, and Red, a sturdy loyal Australian Shepherd.