The Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems (CSAS) in the
Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) is an interdisciplinary
center formed in 1991 for the purpose of bringing together people
and resources to promote an agriculture that is efficient,
competitive, profitable, environmentally and socially sustainable
for the indefinite future. Electronic versions of the CSAS
bimonthly newsletter are sent to SANET, PENPages, and the
internal IANRNEWS 10-14 days before those on our mailing list
receive their hard copy. They are also available along with other
sustainable ag information via the gopher path:
IANRVM.UNL.EDU
IANR Information
Sustainable Agriculture
Note: The electronic version is not sent to individual e-mail
addresses. To be added to the "hard copy" newsletter mailing list
(not sent to overseas addresses), or for questions or comments,
contact the newsletter editor, Pam Murray, Coordinator, Center
for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, PO Box 830949, University
of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0949, 402-472-2056, fax -4104,
e-mail: csas001@unlvm.unl.edu.
* * *
CONTENTS:
USING STUDY CIRCLES FOR SUSTAINABLE AG TRAINING
1996 FARM BILL HIGHLIGHTS
YOUNGBERG PRESENTS KEYNOTE AT NSAS CONFERENCE
ROLE OF WEED SCIENCE IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
UNL DEVELOPS SOYBEAN DRIP OIL
NEW E-MAIL GROUP ON ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF
AGRICULTURE
LINDBERGH GRANT APPLICATIONS DUE JUNE 11
THOMPSONS RECEIVE FARM LEADERS AWARD
LESSONS FROM THE YAQUI VALLEY, MEXICO
WHERE HAVE ALL THE PESTICIDES GONE
RESOURCES
DID YOU KNOW...
COMING EVENTS
* * *
USING STUDY CIRCLES FOR SUSTAINABLE AG TRAINING
A dozen people are comfortably seated around a meeting room,
one speaking, several leaning forward anxious to jump into the
conversation, one skimming an article as if searching for a
rebuttal, and others listening attentively. This scene is a study
circle in action.
Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, coordinator for the Sustainable
Agriculture Professional Development Program with the University
of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service, read about study
circles several years ago. She and other members of the state
planning team thought it would be a good model for interaction.
Their goals for using the technique are to provide training for
Extension educators and other agricultural specialists and to
invigorate sustainable agriculture groups.
In December 1995, consultant Dr. Duane Dale conducted a two-
day training session for farmers and representatives from federal
and state agencies and nonprofit organizations. These
facilitators left with initial plans for starting study circles
in their own communities.
"Right now we have seven study circles," remarked Cavanaugh-
Grant. "Each one decides on the schedule and what topics will be
covered. Some groups view the study circle as a mechanism to talk
and share ideas, and others use it as a platform for action."
This flexibility is one of the strengths of the study circle
method. Since every group's situation is unique, organizers adapt
the basic format to the needs and goals of their community. For
Shannon Allen of the Christian County Soil and Water Conservation
District in central Illinois, the purpose of their first meeting
was to start a dialog between farmers and town dwellers on the
definition of sustainable agriculture. For the next meeting,
participants want to explore how agriculture affects the
surrounding community. "In the future, we may narrow our focus.
It all depends on who attends," considered Allen. "It is a good
way to communicate without intimidation or trying to prove a
point."
In northern Illinois, the sustainable agriculture organization
served as a base for the Advocates of Practical Farming. Mike
Richolson, with the DeKalb County Natural Resources Conservation
Service, and Joel Rissman, who operates an organic farm in the
area, are co-facilitators. The study circle has met three times
and discussed using cover crops after wheat, composting and
fertilizer value from municipal lawn waste, and sustainable
practices in conventional systems. "We have tried to widen the
audience to include farm managers and conventional farmers,"
Richolson commented. "Several farmers will be using practices
reviewed in the sessions."
Louis Reuschel, a member of the Western Illinois Sustainable
Agriculture Society, worked with Extension to recruit people for
two study circles. Topics have ranged from the present and future
structure of agriculture to global positioning and zoning. One
group invited area legislators to examine the impact of politics
on agriculture. "Facilitators are the secret to successful study
circles," explained Reuschel. "They must focus the group on the
subject and at the same time be effective at letting individuals
express themselves. Some people are shy, while others are
outspoken. It is a challenge to the facilitator to balance it
all."
Cavanaugh-Grant and members of several study circles will be
presenting their approach and experiences at this year's North
Central Sustainable Ag Training Program workshops, Shared
Leadership, Shared Responsibility, in June and July.
Submitted by Heidi Carter
1996 FARM BILL HIGHLIGHTS
Below are a few highlights of the 1996 Federal Agricultural
Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 that may be of interest to our
readers:
- Decouples the seven-year declining federal payments from
production; since farmers are no longer required to plant the
same crops year after year to receive assistance, this will allow
greater crop rotation and less dependence on synthetic
fertilizers and pesticides.
- Continues Conservation Reserve Program at a maximum of 36.4
million acres. Land can be taken out of the CRP early if it has
been enrolled for at least five years and has an erodibility
index of 15 or less (wetlands, filter strips, waterways,
windbreaks and highly erodible land are excluded from early
withdrawal).
- Continues Wetlands Reserve Program, allowing for an additional
975,000 acres on top of the 325 already enrolled, with 1/3 of
funds for permanent easements, 1/3 for long-term easements, and
1/3 for cost-share assistance. Seventy-five thousand acres of
land in less than permanent easements must be enrolled in the
program before any additional permanent easements are accepted.
- New Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides
cost-share and technical assistance to help producers meet
environmental challenges; funded at $200 million/yr. with the
exception of FY96, when funding will amount to $130 million;
prohibits assistance to "large confined livestock operations,"
with herd size definition to be determined by the Secretary of
Agriculture who through the rule-making process will establish
eligibility for financial assistance on livestock operations.
- New Conservation Farm Option and Farms for the Future offer
producers voluntary, incentive-based conservation partnerships.
- Struck (largely through the efforts of Nebraska Congressional
members) was a provision that would have prohibited producers
from receiving contract payments on acres on which alfalfa and
other forages are produced.
- Additional $300 million over three years for rural development
and research through existing USDA programs.
- Community Food Security Act provides $1 million in 1996 and
$2.5 million/yr. through 2002 for food security initiatives.
YOUNGBERG PRESENTS KEYNOTE AT NSAS CONFERENCE
Known as a national authority on sustainable agriculture, Dr.
Garth Youngberg presented the keynote address and a workshop at
the annual conference of the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture
Society February 24. His focus was on rural communities and the
future of agriculture. Youngberg concluded that without viable
communities, there will be great difficulty sustaining the rural
population in this country.
A metaphor on team bowling was used to illustrate the recent
changes in society. Dr. Youngberg cited a recent study that
showed a 40% decline in league bowling and a 10% increase in
individual bowling activity over the past decade. He described
the parallel in decline in community-related activities, as
people become more busy in their lives and seem to have less
energy to dedicate to the organizations that make communities
run. These include schools, churches, civic groups, and
agriculture-related organizations. Youngberg called for greater
attention to the types of activities that bring people together
to build strength in a community, and that sustain that place for
the future.
A number of factors were cited as important to the current
decline in rural population. There is an aging farm operator
population, yet it is difficult for young people to obtain access
to land and capital needed to start farming. The average age of
Nebraska farmers is about 53, with the median age about 58. We
need to examine these trends and seek viable alternatives to
provide routes into farming for young people. The question of
encouragement also came into the discussion. Many farm families
are discouraged right now, due to uncertain federal programs,
inconsistent prices, and risk involved around the investment in
farming. We need to solve this as a society if we are to preserve
our family farm based agriculture.
Youngberg called for greater attention to the building of
social capital--the investment that we make in our institutions
and that sustain communities of any size. Without this investment
of time and interest, these towns will continue to fade from the
scene. And without this rural infrastructure that makes rural
America a desirable place to live, there will be continued
consolidation of farmland into ever larger units and an
accelerating decline of communities. Dr. Youngberg is Executive
Director of the Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture,
and Editor of the Journal of Alternative Agriculture.
Submitted by Chuck Francis
ROLE OF WEED SCIENCE IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
It was an uncharacteristic symposium for the Weed Science
Society of America. Six of the nine presenters were farmers
speaking about their sustainable farming practices. In a science
society where the norm is reductionist and systems science papers
presented by public and private sector scientists, the farmer
perspective was a breath of fresh air. Farmers from the Northeast
to the Pacific Northwest shared their approaches to integrated
cropping systems management and emphasized the importance of weed
management. All speakers emphasized the importance of multiple
control tactics in their weed management systems, a contrast to
those management systems that rely principally on herbicidal
control. These integrated controls always began with diverse crop
rotations, and included a variety of mechanical, cover crop, and
time of planting weed control strategies. All speakers emphasized
the importance of managing populations in a way that gave the
crop a competitive advantage over the weeds. For example, Jim
Bender, who farms near Weeping Water, Nebraska, discussed the
importance of planting into soils that were ideal for crop
emergence but not for weed emergence.
The symposium was organized by the Sustainable Agriculture
Committee, a recently formed committee in the Weed Science
Society. Dr. Don Wyse, Executive Director of the Minnesota
Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, was the catalyst behind
the symposium.
In addition to the Sustainable Agriculture symposium, an
additional symposium was held to discuss a range of IPM system
and herbicide use and reliance measurement and evaluation
methodologies. The USDA has announced an ambitious IPM adoption
plan linked to reducing pesticide use and adoption of sustainable
agricultural systems. Discussions taking place at both symposia
emphasized the importance of multiple weed control tactics to the
success of integrated weed management systems. The abstracts from
both symposia are available in the WSSA proceedings, Volume 36.
Submitted by Dave Mortensen
UNL DEVELOPS SOYBEAN DRIP OIL
The UNL Industrial Agricultural Products Center (IAPC) has
developed a soybean drip oil for use in irrigation pumps. The
result of a four-year research project funded with soybean check-
off dollars, the oil is expected to be available commercially to
Nebraska farmers this spring. Dr. Milford Hanna, IAPC director,
says the soybean oil has shown excellent lubricous properties. It
offers several advantages over petroleum-based products: it is
biodegradable, non-toxic, safe to handle and store, and made from
an on-farm renewable resource. For more information, contact the
IAPC, 402-472-1634.
NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS UPDATE
The proposed regulations for the National Organic Production
Program are expected to be published in the May U.S. Federal
Register. After a 60-90 day comment period, USDA will develop the
final regulations.
To be put on the mailing list to receive a copy of the
proposed that includes the organic standards when published, send
your address or fax number to: Grace Gershuny, National Organic
Program, USDA/AMS/TMD/NOP, Rm 2510 South Bldg, PO Box 96456,
Washington, DC 20090, v: 202-720-8331, f: 202-205-7808, e:
Grace_J_Gershuny@usda.gov. You can also check out the following
Web page for current information:
http://www.usda.gov/ams/tmdnop.htm
NEW E-MAIL GROUP ON ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF
AGRICULTURE
'Ag-Impact' is an automated, unmoderated e-mail discussion
group administered by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade
Policy (IATP) in Minneapolis and hosted by Dr. Lois Levitan at
Cornell University. IATP will also host a library list, 'Ag-
Impact-lib,' which will be a repository for bibliographic
listings and documents pertaining to environmental assessment
tools and methodologies. Only subscribers may post to the list,
and all postings to the library list will be reviewed by IATP
staff previous to posting. To post a document, send it via e-mail
to <Ag-Impact-lib@mtn.org>. This list will be accessible via
IATP's watershed home page at http://www.mtn.org/water.
To subscribe to Ag-Impact or Ag-Impact-lib:
1. send e-mail to listproc@mtn.org
2. leave subject line blank
3. in the body of the message type:
subscribe Ag-Impact your name
[and/or]
subscribe Ag-Impact-lib your name
(to subscribe to both, use separate lines of same message).
Contact: Emily Green, egreen@iatp.org.
LINDBERGH GRANT APPLICATIONS DUE JUNE 11
Each year the Lindbergh Foundation awards 9-10 grants in
amounts up to $10,580 (the cost of the "Spirit of St. Louis" in
1927) for projects that promote a better balance between the
advance of technology and preservation of the human/natural
environment. Categories of interest to newsletter readers are
Agriculture and Conservation of Natural Resources. While
applicants may or may not be affiliated with institutions or
organizations, grants are awarded to individuals. Contact the
CSAS office for an application packet. More information is also
available on the World Wide Web: http://www.mtn.org/lindfdtn
"The accumulation of knowledge, the discoveries of science, the
products of technology, our ideas, our art, our social
structures, all the achievements of mankind have value only to
the extent that they preserve and improve the quality of life."
Charles A. Lindbergh
THOMPSONS RECEIVE FARM LEADERS AWARD
Dick and Sharon Thompson were named "Iowa Farm Leaders of the
Year" by the Des Moines Register in February. The Thompsons farm
300 acres in central Iowa, and for the past thirty years have
researched, learned, taught and practiced alternative agriculture
techniques. It is significant that these leaders in sustainable
agriculture have been granted this distinction, awarded annually
by the newspaper's editorial board, because it legitimizes the
importance of alternative agriculture in the mainstream of an
agricultural state. Past winners of the award include a Farm
Bureau president and leaders of farm commodity groups. The
Thompsons are recognized not only for their contributions to our
knowledge about various alternative agriculture techniques, but
for being tactful but effective promoters of their ideas to a
broad audience of visitors to their farm and others who have
attended their seminars around the world. The Thompsons are co-
founders of the Practical Farmers of Iowa, and have done on-farm
research independently and in association with the Rodale
Institute since abandoning traditional farming techniques in the
late 60s. They have been speakers at several sustainable
agriculture events in Nebraska, most recently at the February 1
workshop organized by Paul Swanson, extension educator in
Hastings.
LESSONS FROM THE YAQUI VALLEY, MEXICO
What happens when a new pest such as the white fly wipes out
all potential for soybean production in a major agricultural
area? In addition, how do farmers adjust when the water
available for irrigation is only 50% of what has been there for a
number of years? These are exactly the types of decisions that
farmers are facing this spring as they make planting decisions in
the Yaqui and Mayo Valleys in northwest Mexico. During a trip in
March, I was able to observe these challenges first hand and talk
with farmers about how they are coping with uncertainty.
The Yaqui Valley is unique in its potential for irrigated
wheat as a winter crop, followed by corn in the summer. Both
under irrigation, wheat yields between 80 and 130 bushels and
corn yields of 100 to 120 bushels per year are not uncommon; this
means two crops from each field each year. The rotation that has
appeared favorable in the past few years is wheat-corn-wheat-
soybean, but now there is no chance of soybean planting unless
the white fly problem is solved. Another challenge is the lack of
water, and the need to consider other crops to replace corn.
The solutions that farmers are trying include switching from
corn to sorghum, and from corn to safflower for the summer crop.
Since it takes time to design trials and take research data on
these new crops and rotations, many farmers are taking on the
task of collecting their own data and experiences. They are also
looking at skip-row irrigation and less frequent irrigations on
both the wheat and corn crops; preliminary results suggest that
they could cut from six back to four irrigations on wheat without
losing yield. There is little alternative for corn irrigation,
thus the interest in grain sorghum as a viable option. These are
examples of how farmers are working together with researchers to
design large plot comparisons on their farms, and to get answers
quickly for the immediate challenges in their irrigated valley in
Sonora.
Submitted by Chuck Francis
WHERE HAVE ALL THE PESTICIDES GONE
Peter, Paul and Mary probably don't know, but Donella Meadows
tells us in Where Do All the Pesticides Go?:
"Every year we apply 1.3 million tons of pesticides
to agricultural fields. Sixty-five percent is
applied by airplane, and less than half the
chemical hits the target field. The rest
disintegrates in the air or falls somewhere else.
Of the pesticide that reaches the field, less than
one percent makes contact with a harmful insect or
weed. American farmers pay $1.4 billion each year
for pesticides, and more than 99% do not hit home."
RESOURCES
Exploring the Role of Diversity in Sustainable Agriculture. $24
(Society members first copy $20). Edited by Richard Olson and
Charles Francis (CSAS Director) of UNL and Stephen Kaffka.
Thirteen authors discuss how knowledge of diversity could be
applied to the development of more viable and profitable ag
systems. American Society of Agronomy, Book Order Dept., 677 S.
Segoe Rd, Madison, WI 53711-1086, or fax order to 608-273-2021
(add $2 for "bill me" orders).
Proceedings: 1996 North American Farmers' Direct Marketing
Conference. $10. Topics at this Feb. conference focused on
business management, farmers' markets, roadside stands and PYO,
niche markets, consumers, and agri-tourism. DMC-Proceedings, CCE
Tompkins Co., 615 Willow Ave., Ithaca, NY 14850.
Proceedings: Environmental Enhancement through Agriculture
Conference. $20 (payable to Trustees of Tufts College).
Collection of 36 papers from Nov. 1995 conference offers numerous
examples of ag systems that benefit the environment in diverse
ways: increasing wildlife habitat and biodiversity; protecting
water quality in streams and estuaries; producing substitutes for
nonrenewable energy sources; offering aesthetically appealing
landscapes; and bringing urban residents into closer contact with
food production and the land. Center for Agriculture, Food and
Environment, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155.
Biologically Based Technologies for Pest Control. $14. Report by
Office of Technology Assessment (S/N 052-003-01449-1). New
Orders, Superintendent of Documents, PO Box 371954, Pittsburgh,
PA 15250-7954, 202-512-1800.
Profitable Dairy Options. Free. 8-page brochure focuses on
rotational grazing, innovative marketing strategies, and nutrient
management techniques for sustainable dairy production.
Sustainable Agriculture Network, Room 304, National Agricultural
Library, Beltsville, MD 20705-2351, 301-504-6426, e-mail:
san@nalusda.gov.
Sustainable Agriculture Directory of Expertise (3rd edition).
$18.95. Sustainable Agriculture Publications, Hills Bldg, Room
12, U. of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, 802-656-0471.