Re: 10th Annual Southern Plains Conference
For More Information: Contact Lydia Villanueva, The Promised Land Network
806-364-4445; fax: 806-364-4005; email: pln1@wtrt.net
Preparations are underway for the 10th Annual Southern Plains
Conference, to be held Saturday, January 23rd in Amarillo, Texas at the
Radisson Inn. The theme of the conference is, "Agriculture &
EnvironmentalismDo We Have Common Values?" The gathering is presented by
The Promised Land Network (PLN), an ecumenical organization dedicated to
sustaining agriculture and rural communities in the Southern Great Plains
through sound land stewardship and Judeo-Christian ethical principles.
Two keynote speakers will assist participants in identifying
important areas of connection between agriculture and environmentalism.
Dr. John Carroll from the Department of Environmental Conservation,
University of New Hampshire, will give an opening presentation entitled,
"One Hundred Years of U.S. Environmentalism: A Historical Overview." At
the close of the conference, Mark Schultz from the Campaign for Family
Farms and the Environment, will speak on the topic, "Finding Common
Ground: Rebuilding Agriculture's Partnership with Environmentalism."
Between the opening and closing presentations, a facilitated
discussion will take place in break-out groups that will represent eight
distinct voices of environmentalism: wise use, wilderness, regenerative
agriculture, grassroots or direct action, urban or workplace, mainstream
organizational, deep ecology and Hispanic farmworkers. Participants will
be directed to identify values, motivations and images that undergird
their particular approaches to environmentalism, and to reflect how these
aims shape a certain type of agriculture. After lunch, reports from each
"voice" will be given to the full assembly, which will illuminate
important differences, but will also demonstrate areas for "common
ground" between agriculture and environmentalism.
Participants will represent a variety of experiential backgrounds:
ag commodity producers and groups, citizen's action groups, educators,
faith-based rural advocacy organizations and concerned area residents
from across the Southern Plains. Among the diverse groups represented at
the conference will be: Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Nature
Conservancy, the Humane Society, National Catholic Rural Life Conference,
Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Aububon Society,
Holistic Resource Management of Texas, Sierra Club, and Oklahoma Family
Farm Alliance.
Registration for the event is $20 per person ($15 for advanced
registration). Activities begin Friday evening, January 22nd with a
reception and concert. Registration opens Saturday, January 23rd at 8am,
with the conference scheduled from 9am until 4pm. For brochures and
additional information, contact The Promised Land Network office at
806-364-4445.
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