SUSTAINABLE MONITORING GUIDE

Brian DeVore, LSP (devo0009@gold.tc.umn.edu)
Mon, 15 Jul 96 16:57:45 -0500

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BBx.: Z*'g Z0 NEW SUSTAINABLE MONITORING GUIDE AVAILABLE The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) has published a guide on monitoring the sustainability of a farm. Monitoring Sustainable Agriculture with Conventional Financial Data, by Dick Levins, is the first in a series based on the work of The Biological, Social and Financial Monitoring Team. For the last three years, LSP and its partners on the Monitoring Team have been experimenting with various ways farmers can make their own observations and draw conclusions about their own progression toward sustainability. Monitoring sustainability using conventional financial indicators can be difficult. Farmers normally think of using income and expense figures to measure progress toward the goal of earning profits, says Levins, a Monitoring Team member and a University of Minnesota agricultural economist. Like any producer, sustainable farmers are concerned about feeding their familie
s and paying bills. But they also want to protect the land, improve their quality of life and enhance the communities they live in. To be sustainable, farm progress must be monitored so it is comprehensive enough to measure goals toward a complete set of goals that include, but is not limited to, profitability, he says. In this 30-page publication, Levins presents four indicators to evaluate the sustainability of farming operations. Using farm records or tax reports, farmers can transfer numbers to worksheets provided in the book, and thus evaluate their farms sustainability. To order a copy of Monitoring Sustainable Agriculture with Conventional Financial Data, send $7 (that price includes postage; Minnesota residents add 6.5 percent sales tax) to: LSP, 2200 4th St., White Bear Lake, MN 55110. There is a 10 percent discount for LSP members and bulk orders of 20 or more copies. For more information about bulk orders, call LSP at (612) 653-0618. udefined as m
ovement toward a set of goals that include, but are not limited to, profitability, he says. operations76323%&#">54&'&'&#"326 $ 1-,b18]%&,&hA-  !A$ >
 

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