Sustainable Agriculture
steve bonney (sbonney@holli.com)
Mon, 1 Jul 1996 21:16:35 -0500
Bart Hall nailed the crux of the argument about sustainable
agriculture: profitability. This is how we approach the subject in extending
the dialog to conventional agriculture. SA has been accused of being a cult,
and in some sense that has been true in the policy arena. We have tried to
save crop subsidies in the name of saving family farms, when in fact 95% of
farm subsidies have gone to 5% of farms according to the General Accounting
Office.
Indiana Sustainable Agriculture Association has concentrated on
networking with conventional farm organizations through topics that resonant
throughout the general agricultural community-- saving family farms through
profitability which can be achieved through a number of strategies. The
Indiana Whole Farm Planning Working Group, which we facilitate, is composed
of managers from NRCS, state departments of Natural Resources and
Environmental Management, farmers, and representatives of the Cooperative
Extension Service, Indiana Pork Producers, Indiana Corn Growers, and Indian
Farm Bureau.
This broad topic allows for discussions about farm profitability
achived through increased farm diversificatuion of crops and enterprises,
local and regional food systems, value-added processing, and lowering the
cost of production by reducing input costs.
At Purdue University, ISAA is included on the committee that
oversees the SARE ProfessionaL Development Program (CHAP 3) and on a
committee to develop options in specialty agriculture.
The buy in is very slow, and almost nonexistent, in animal science
and agronomy, but the dialog continues with administrators, some faculty,
and field extension staff. It is now okay to say sustainable agriculture,
because we have not made it an ideological argument. We discuss organic
agriculture as a management system. And we are close to beginning some
farming systems research at the university.
The jury is still out on the outcomes. Although I am a very
optimistic person, I cannot yet determine whether the structure of
agriculture will change voluntarily. There's nothing like a good crisis to
force change, and there is always one of those just around the next corner
in agriculture.
Steve Bonney, President
Indiana Sustainable Agriculture Association
100 Georgton Ct.
W. Lafayette IN 47906
(317) 463-9366, fax (317) 497-0164
email sbonney@holli.com