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. The electronic version of this
bimonthly newsletter is sent to SANET and PENPages 10-14 days before those
on our mailing list receive their hard copy. The newsletters are also
available along with other sustainable ag information on our World Wide Web
page: http://ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/csas.
Note: The electronic version is not sent to individual e-mail addresses. To
be added to the "hard copy" newsletter mailing list beginning with the next
bimonthly issue (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:
A SNAPSHOT OF CSAS ACTIVITY IN RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VOLLMAR TO BE INTERIM CSAS DIRECTOR
HIGHLIGHTS OF UPCOMING NEW BOOK: UNDER THE BLADE
CSAS PUBLISHES TWO MORE "GREEN VOLUMES"
USDA TO CHANGE PROPOSED ORGANIC STANDARDS
$31MILLION AWARDED IN FUND FOR RURAL AMERICA GRANTS
SUSTAINABLE AG SEMINAR SERIES TO FOCUS ON ALTERNATIVE FARMING SYSTEMS AND
FOODSHEDS
CALL FOR 1999 NCR SARE PREPROPOSALS
NEWSLETTER MAILING LIST CLARIFICATION
RESOURCES
COMING EVENTS
DID YOU KNOW...
* * *
A SNAPSHOT OF CSAS ACTIVITY IN RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Director Charles Francis highlights CSAS contributions to three areas of
programs at the University of Nebraska:
Research: The Integrated Farm at the University's Agricultural Research and
Development Center has brought together scientists from Animal Science,
Agronomy, Horticulture, Agricultural Economics, and the School of Natural
Resource Sciences to look at cropping and grazing patterns, shelterbelt
effects on horticultural crops, residue utilization, and economics of
systems. On farms where livestock manure or compost is applied to crops,
there is rarely an accurate cost/benefit accounting for this source of soil
fertility and nutrients for field crops. Several studies are under way to
determine the economic value of applied compost for crop production. Gary
Lesoing's work has provided realistic estimates of the contribution of major
elements to field crops, and an economic charge system that reflects this
nutrient value. We estimate that compost from feedlot beef manure has a
nutrient value of about $7 per ton based on content of nitrogen and
phosphorus, and hauling charges have to be considered in the total economics
of application of this resource. Longer-term research will establish the
sustained economic value of additional organic matter and changes in soil
structure that contribute to crop yields.
Crop yield benefits or reductions as a result of stalk grazing have been
studied over several years. Terry Klopfenstein and Lesoing have determined
that there is no difference between grazed and ungrazed residue areas when
corn is grown on the same areas the next season. There was also no
measurable difference between ridge-till and flat planted corn in this
experiment, although there appeared to be less efficient use of stalks in
the ridge-till field. Cattle gains were similar. We are currently preparing
long-term data sets for comprehensive whole-farm analysis of results from
the past decade. These integrative economic evaluations will allow
simulation of different out-of-sample systems and combinations of
enterprises, and a search for efficiency of scale with different farm sizes
in eastern Nebraska. The Integrated Farm continues to illustrate the
importance of long-term CSAS involvement as well as outside grant support in
keeping systems research going for the needed number of years. Such research
is less likely to happen under the department structure and annual funding
cycles most common in our current research environment.
Education: We are approaching the array of core courses needed to establish
a minor in sustainable systems (or integrated production systems) in the
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. With agroforestry
(Dr. Brandle), grazing systems management (Dr. Klopfenstein), agroecology
(Dr. Francis), and a new course this fall in economic analysis of systems
(Dr. Helmers), we have enough for a minor in systems. This will be proposed
to the curriculum committee in mid-1999. The Center continues involvement in
a regional educational group, the North Central Institute for Sustainable
Systems; one upcoming activity is a three-state tour of alternative farms
and rural organizations in August that will visit Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska.
Training: The CSAS is in the middle of the fourth year of sustainable
agriculture training funded by the SARE Professional Development Program.
Over the past three years we have hosted almost 600 professionals in the
region at thirteen training and evaluation workshops, provided comprehensive
handbooks of materials and teaching methods, and practiced innovative
learning activities on farms and in the classroom. Summaries of the workshop
materials have been published each year through the CSAS, and over 1500
copies of these books in the "Extension and Education Materials in
Sustainable Agriculture" series have been sent to educators throughout the
U.S. We are waiting for a decision from the regional administrative council
on our proposal for years five and six of this training program.
VOLLMAR TO BE INTERIM CSAS DIRECTOR
In mid-June Charles Francis will begin a year-long sabbatic in Norway. Glen
Vollmar will be the interim CSAS director. Vollmar has had many roles at
UNL, including head of the Agricultural Economics Department, program
director of an international sorghum/millet research program, dean and
director of International Programs, and interim associate vice chancellor of
the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR). In addition to
serving as CSAS director, Vollmar will coordinate several special projects
for IANR. He can be reached through the CSAS office, or e-mail him at
iaip004@unlvm.
HIGHLIGHTS OF UPCOMING NEW BOOK: UNDER THE BLADE
This is the first in a series of articles highlighting information in a book
to be published later this year titled Under the Blade: The Conversion of
Agricultural Landscapes. The articles are written by Richard Olson, who
co-edited the book with Tom Lyson. Co-authors contributing chapters are from
universities around the country. For more information, contact Olson at the
CSAS office, or e-mail him at csas005@unlvm.unl.edu.
* * *
What are we losing?
Many factors influence the productivity of U.S. farmland, but none is as
pernicious and permanent as conversion to urban uses. Once paved, the
agricultural productivity of the land is gone forever.
The only national survey of changes in the amount of developed land is the
National Resources Inventory (NRI), a survey based on a grid of 800,000
sample points and conducted every five years, most recently in 1997. Until
this data becomes available, the most current view of farmland loss involves
the period from 1982 to 1992 (Table 1). During this decade, an average of
1.4 million acres of rural land was converted each year to housing, roads,
shopping malls, and other development. Texas and Florida developed the most
rural land — more than 1 million acres each — followed by North Carolina and
California. Meanwhile, the economic and population growth of the
mid-nineties, the results of local and regional studies of farmland
conversion, and anecdotal evidence derived from driving around the country
all suggest that the rate of farmland conversion after 1992 remains high.
Table 1. Land converted to development in the United States
(excluding Alaska) during the period 1982 to 1992 (USDA 1995).
U.S. population increased during this period by 23 million.
Land category Acres converted Acres converted per capita population increase
cropland 3,910,000 .17
pastureland 2,383,000 .10
forest land 5,367,000 .23
rangeland 2,029,000 .09
other rural 269,000 .01
water/federal 21,000 .001
TOTAL 13,979,000 .60
Sprawl
Population growth drives this conversion of rural land, an average of .6
acres for each of the 23 million people added to the U.S. population during
the decade. But farmland loss was accelerated by the adoption of diffuse,
sprawling development patterns. In 1982, there was 0.34 acres of built land
(e.g., housing, roads, factories) per U.S. resident. Had development per
capita remained constant, the population increase from 1982 to 1992 would
have resulted in conversion of 7.8 million acres rather than the 14 million
acres actually developed.
Individual states and cities showed even greater decreases in land use
efficiency. Pennsylvania had 0.25 acres built land per capita in 1982, but
added three acres of development for each new resident gained from 1982 to
1992. IL, KY, MA, MS, and OH all added built land during this decade at a
rate per new resident that was more than five times the per capita level in
1982. The Chicago area population grew by 4% from 1970 to 1990 while the
urbanized area increased by 46%. And during 1982 to 1992, five states (IA,
LA, ND, WV, WY) lost population, but still experienced a combined increase
of 580,000 acres of developed land.
Some of this sprawl is the result of a desire by many for an acreage in the
country, combined with improvements in transportation and telecommuting
technology that allow them to live where they wish. The recent subdivision
of 700 acres of ranchland in Gunnison County, CO into 19 ranchettes of about
35 acres each is one example of a nationwide trend. In Waukesha County, WI
(near Milwaukee), developers are reporting that new residents want lot sizes
of one-, three- or five acres; the suburban lifestyle with half-acre lots is
no longer in demand.
[For a stunning view of the extent of urban land use in the United States,
go to the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program homepage at
www.ngdc.noaa.gov/dmsp/dmsp.html, choose City Lights at Night from the menu,
then click on the U.S. box to see Nighttime Lights of the Continental USA.]
Regions at highest risk
Not all regions face equal development pressures, nor is all farmland
equally productive. Prime and irrigated farmland is clearly more valuable
for production than other classes of farmland. Another high value category
is unique farmland, defined as farmland used to grow vegetables, grapes and
horticultural crops including fruits, nuts and berries that have unique soil
and climatic requirements. The combination of soils, climate and irrigation
water found in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys of California support
more than 250 commodities, and the valleys account for 15% of U.S. vegetable
production and 38% of fruit production. Fresno County, CA is the most
productive farm county in the U.S. Lancaster County, PA has the most
productive non-irrigated agriculture. Other unique areas include South
Florida (winter vegetable production) and western Michigan, where the
lake-induced micro-climate supports orchards that account for most of the
U.S. tart cherry production. Using a framework of Major Land Resource Areas
(relatively homogeneous areas of soil, climate, water resources, land use
and types of farming), the American Farmland Trust identified the 20
most-threatened regions in the U.S.(see www.farmland.org).
The future
Driven by high rates of immigration and a rising birth rate, the U.S.
population could reach 500 million by the year 2050. Will 140 million more
acres of agricultural and forest land be converted to development as a
result of this increase? Any long-term predictions of population and per
capita land use for development have some uncertainty, but this is what
current trends suggest. What would this mean for food security?
For a rough evaluation of the adequacy of the U.S. land supply to meet
future needs for agricultural production, we can look at the 1994 export and
set-aside statistics. Total U.S. farm sales in that year were $180 billion,
of which exports equaled almost $46 billion. Correcting for agricultural
imports of $27 billion gives net exports equal to about 10.5% of total farm
sales. At the same time, 32 million acres of cropland were enrolled in the
Conservation Reserve Program, and 45 million acres of cropland were not
cultivated for other reasons. Thus, approximately 83% of U.S. crop-,
pasture-, and rangelands were devoted to production for domestic
consumption, while 17% contributed to export and soil conservation or was
uncultivated. Table 2 suggests that this 17% cushion could be depleted soon
unless increases in agricultural productivity can keep pace with population
growth and the loss of land to not only development, but also the ongoing
degradation from erosion, salinization, and depletion of irrigation water.
Table 2. Per capita land availability (acres) in the contiguous United
States, 1992 and projected for 2020 and 2050 based on estimated population
growth (500 million residents in 2050) and the conversion of land to
development. Shown in ( ) is the percent change from 1992.
Land Class 1992 2020 2050
Forest land 2.41 1.77 (-27) 1.11 (-54)
Rangeland 2.30 1.72 (-25) 1.13 (-51)
Cropland &
pasture 2.11 1.52 (-28) 0.94 (-55)
Inland & coastal
waters &
Great Lakes 0.37 0.28 (-24) 0.19 (-49)
Other rural 0.22 0.16 (-27) 0.11 (-50)
Developed 0.36 0.43 (+19) 0.49 (+36)
TOTAL AREA 7.76 5.88 (-24) 3.96 (-49)
CSAS PUBLISHES TWO MORE "GREEN VOLUMES"
The CSAS has published two more volumes in its series, Extension and
Education Materials for Sustainable Agriculture (affectionately referred to
by our staff as the green volumes since all of them have green covers).
Volume 7, "Linking People, Purpose, and Place: An Ecological Approach,
contains materials from the North Central SARE Professional Development
Program workshops held in summer 1997 and was edited by Heidi Carter,
Richard Olson and Charles Francis. It includes specific examples of some
management practices that can be used to incorporate beneficial ecological
functions into farming systems, and also identifies many other sources of
information. Report sections include linking ecology and agriculture, whole
farm planning, soil quality, agroforestry, grazing systems, weed and insect
management, farmer groups, farmland conversion, resources and information
sources.
Volume 8, "Procedures for Evaluating Alternative Farming Systems: A Case
Study for Eastern Nebraska," demonstrates a low-cost procedure for
conducting simple economic, energy, and environmental analyses of farming
systems, and for synthesizing the results into a qualitative assessment of
relative sustainability. The approach uses data from readily available
sources, and can be tailored to meet the particular questions of a specific
region or type of agriculture. Edited by Richard Olson, it is designed to
serve as both an educational and a research tool. Sections include baseline
and operational descriptions for five farm types, single-year economic
comparisons, long-term economic variability, energy analysis and comparison
of five farming systems, nutrient budgets and soil erosion, and relative
sustainability of five farming systems
Additional information about these and the other volumes in the series is
available at http://ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/csas/vol1-5.htm. To order, send a
check payable to the University of Nebraska for $10.00 US per volume (note
which volume you are ordering) to Center for Sustainable Agricultural
Systems, U. Nebraska, PO Box 830949, Lincoln, NE 68583-0949. Price includes
s&h in U.S. and ground rate to Canada; for air book rate to Canada, add $5;
for air rate to other countries, check with the CSAS office. For questions,
call the CSAS office, or e-mail csas003@unlvm.unl.edu.
USDA TO CHANGE PROPOSED ORGANIC STANDARDS
The comment period for the proposed rule on organic standards ended on April
30, 1998, and on May 8 Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman announced that
USDA will make fundamental revisions to its proposed national organic
standards as a result of the 200,000 comments it received on the initial
proposal.
The earlier draft, published on December 16, 1997, proposed standards for
growing, processing, labeling, importing, and certifying organically grown
food. The bulk of the extraordinary number of comments opposed including the
products of biotechnology, the use of irradiation in food processing, and
the application of biosolids (municipal sludge) in organic food production.
"Biotechnology, irradiation, and biosolids are safe and have important
roles to play in agriculture, but they neither fit current organic
practices nor meet current consumer expectations about organics, as the
comments made clear," said Glickman. "Therefore, these products and
practices will not be included in our revised proposal, and food produced
with these products and practices will not be allowed to bear the organic
label."
Before publishing the revised proposal, USDA will evaluate the comments
submitted in response to the December 1997 proposal. This record will guide
the drafting of the revised proposal, which USDA will issue for public
comment later this year.
Source: Press release on USDA Web site, May 8, 1998.
$31 MILLION AWARDED IN FUND FOR RURAL AMERICA GRANTS
In April USDA awarded $31 million to 115 proposals (out of 1100 submitted)
in the Standard Grant portion of the Fund for Rural America program. Titles
of the three grants to Nebraska are: International Tourism and Attraction
Development for Rural Communities; Effective Use of Carbon and Nutrients in
Manure Using Site-Specific Application; and Consumer Evaluation of Beef
Classified for Tenderness. More information in available at
http://www.reeusda.gov/fra/.
SUSTAINABLE AG SEMINAR SERIES TO FOCUS ON ALTERNATIVE FARMING SYSTEMS AND
FOODSHEDS
The CSAS and the Department of Agronomy are sponsoring a two-part seminar
series to be held on the UNL campus:
I. Alternative Farming Systems for the Midwest: Countering the Trend toward
Fewer, Larger Farms — Fall Semester 1998;
II. Re-forming the Foodshed: Localizing Agriculture and Community — Spring
Semester 1999.
We are soliciting recommendations for speakers/topics. Funding is available
to cover speaker travel expenses and a small honorarium. Abstracts of each
talk will be available on the Internet, and a volume of papers from each
series will be published. There will also be a listserv for discussion of
seminar topics. Contact: Richard Olson, 402-472-0917, csas005@unlvm.unl.edu.
Details will be in future newsletters. For information as it becomes
available, see http://ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/csas/majorsem.htm.
CALL FOR 1999 NCR SARE PREPROPOSALS
The North Central Region (NCR) Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education (SARE) program is calling for innovative researchers, educators,
institutions and organizations to apply for competitive grants in
sustainable agriculture. Approximately $1.3 million will be available in
September 1999 to fund one- or two-year projects addressing long-term
enhancement of food and fiber systems in the 12-state region: IL, IN, IA,
KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, and WI.
Details on priority areas for 1999 will be outlined in the Call for
Preproposals, but will contain topics such as diversifying farming systems,
sustainable livestock systems, networking, marketing sustainable products,
and environmentally sound management practices. The program encourages
preproposals that include holistic approaches, involvement of
interdisciplinary teams, meaningful participation of farmers and ranchers,
significant outreach, and an eye for measurable results.
Applications will be available July 15, 1998, from the NCR SARE office,
402-472-7081, sare001@unlvm.unl.edu, www.sare.org/ncrsare. Preproposals are
due on September 11, 1998.
NEWSLETTER MAILING LIST CLARIFICATION
We have been getting requests from IANR faculty (particularly extension
educators) regarding receipt (or lack thereof) of this newsletter. The
newsletter is automatically addressed to all IANR faculty and administrators
from a centralized employee database; we have no control over the accuracy
of this list, nor can we selectively alter the list. We also maintain a
mailing list in the CSAS office for those who are not on the above list;
this we do have control over and will correct/update upon request.
Because there is no charge for the newsletter, we do not send it to foreign
addresses. Interested individuals in other countries who have Internet
access are encouraged to read the newsletter and other CSAS information on
our Web page.
RESOURCES
pork - The Other Producers: A Better Way to Raise Hogs. $10. Video
illustrates changes happening in hog production and presents alternatives.
Center for Rural Affairs, PO Box 406, Walthill, NE 68067-0406, 402-846-5428,
http://www.cfra.org.
Montana FarmLink ToolBox. $10. Addresses tools for dealing with inflated
land prices, creative business arrangements for structuring farm links and
agricultural enterprises, community and third-party investor support for new
farmers, sources of credit, and programs that provide technical and
financial support to conservation-minded farmers and ranchers. Alternative
Energy Resources Organization, 25 South Ewing, Suite 214, Helena, MT 59601,
406-443,7272.
COMING EVENTS
Contact CSAS office for more information.
1998
July 1-3 — Small Farmers Free-Range Poutry Short Course, Creola, OH
July 5-9 — Soil and Water Conservation annual conference, Balancing Resource
Issues: Land, Water, People, San Diego, CA
Aug. 12-14 — Small Farmers Free-Range Poutry Short Course, Creola, OH
Sep. 3-5 — Small Farmers Free-Range Poutry Short Course, Creola, OH
Sep. 10-11 — The Performance of State Programs for Farmland Retention: A
National Research Conference, Columbus, OH
Oct. 4-7 — North American Conference On Enterprise Development Through
Agroforestry, Minneapolis, MN
Nov. 8-11 — New Crops & New Uses: Biodiversity & Agricultural
Sustainability, Phoenix, AZ
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/announce/symposium.html
Nov. 16-21 — 12th International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM) Scientific Conference and General Assembly, Buenos Aires, Argentina
http://ecoweb.dk/ifoam/conf/conf98/
Nov. 23-27 — First International Agronomy Congress - Agronomy, Environment,
and Food Security for 21st Century, New Delhi, India
Nov. 29 - Dec. 4 — AFSRE 15th Symposium - Rural Livelihoods, Empowerment and
the Environment: Going Beyond the Farm Boundary, Pretoria, South Africa
Dec. 10 — Conference - Farming Profitably in a Changing Environment, Urbana, IL
1999
Jan. 8-9 — Great Plains Regional Vegetable Conference, St. Jo, MO
Jan. 21-22 — Farm Marketing into the Next Millenium - joint conference of
the North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association and the Great Lakes
Vegetable Growers Convention, Grand Rapids, MI
DID YOU KNOW...
Toxic pesticides that are banned or otherwise forbidden in the U.S. were
shipped from U.S. ports at a rate of more than 14 tons per day in 1995 and
1996 -- a total of more than 21 million pounds -- according to a new report
by the Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education. The entire
report, "Exporting Risk: Pesticide Exports from U.S. Ports 1995-1996," is
available online: www.fasenet.org. On 5/29/98 Sen. Patrick Leahy said
chemical manufacturers should be barred from exporting pesticides that are
banned or not registered in the U.S., pointing out that residues from risky
pesticides could wind up on fruits and vegetables shipped to the U.S. market
-- creating a "circle of poison." Leahy plans to file a new bill on this
issue soon.
According to an article in a recent Soil and Water Conservation Society
magazine, food travels an average of 1,300 miles from the farm to your
table, and almost every state in the U.S. buys 85-90% of its food from
someplace else.
Americans spend 11.4% of their personal income on food, compared with 26% in
Italy and 53% in Japan.
Six multinational corporations account for more than 46% of the retail
purchases of food in the U.S. Similar economic concentration exists in the
input sector.
Seven out of ten biologists believe that "we are in the midst of a mass
extinction of living things, and that this loss of species will pose a major
threat to human existence in the next century," according to a nationwide
survey by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City that
interviewed 400 members of the American Institute of Biological Sciences.
Quote:
"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
- Charles H. Duell, Director of U.S. Patent Office, 1899.
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