1991-1993 PROGRESS REPORT
FROM DR. CHARLES A. FRANCIS, DIRECTOR:
Agriculture has historically been the lifeblood of human civili-
zations. Populations have increased and moved across the earth,
communities then cities arose, and architecture and arts flour-
ished as efficiency of crop and animal production allowed storage
of food and liberation of some people from daily production. And
civilizations have died when irrigated lands became saline,
population pressure reduced sustenance, or other groups pushed in
seeking more land or other resources. Some cultures and
countries have survived for millennia, others for centuries.
Part of survival has been a balance with natural resources, food
production, and the environment.
Our high input U.S. agriculture is relatively new. Row crop
cultivation was introduced in the last century; extensive use of
irrigation, chemical fertilizers and pesticides only became
important in the last half of the current century. Agriculture
in the U.S. is highly efficient per unit of human labor, and
relatively efficient per unit of land. When efficiency is
measured against other criteria~capital, fossil fuel energy,
irrigation water, economic or social equity~the results are less
clear. Most important of all, the sustainability of our current
system cannot be measured or projected from such a short history.
Current societal concerns about soil loss, nitrate and pesticides
in ground and surface water, soil quality and health, finite
limits to fossil fuels, viability of rural communities, equity in
access to food, and quality of life are rapidly becoming
priorities in the research and education agenda of the
university. Awareness of unexpected and unintended outcomes from
conventional agricultural systems is leading us to seek
alternatives. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) uses
interdisciplinary centers to focus attention and resources on
emerging issues that are too complex to address in our
traditional administrative units. The Center for Sustainable
Agricultural Systems was established in December 1990 with this
goal:
"to bring together people and resources to promote an agriculture
that is efficient, profitable, socially acceptable, and
environmentally sustainable for the indefinite future."
The projects described in this report enhance the capability of
the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) to
design and evaluate sustainable production systems, and expand
the university's capacity to address future challenges through
innovative research, teaching, and extension activities. New
integrated research and demonstration initiatives, expanded
treatment of systems issues in classroom teaching, and Extension
focus on successful farm management for the future are components
of the Center's programs. Evaluation of systems will focus on
their capacity for improved productivity and resource use
efficiency, reduced negative impact on the environment, and
enhanced short- and long-term productivity and social viability
in the rural sector. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has
committed people and resources to this important goal.
RUNNING START ON THE FUTURE
Before the Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems was
formally approved as an administrative unit, IANR was supporting
activities in this area. The most significant was the "National
Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Conference" in
Lincoln. This three-day event in August 1990 brought together
350 key players in the sustainable agriculture arena from across
the U.S. to consider alternative strategies and practices for the
future. The proceedings from the conference, as well as
publications from other events focusing on agriculture and the
future and resource efficient farming, are available at cost.
Contact the Center for a publication list.
SUPPORT FOR CENTER PROGRAMS
UNL provides the base support for operating the Center, including
salary for the director, administrative coordinator, and secre-
tary (partial support), and an operating budget. Additional
program support has come from several sources within and outside
the Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources. During
1991-1993, these included:
- Agricultural Research Division, UNL
- League of Women Voters Education Fund
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation
- Northwest Area Foundation
- AG*SAT
- USDA~Cooperative State Research Service, Extension Service,
Economic Research Service, Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education (SARE) Program
FUTURE-ORIENTED RESEARCH
In contrast to trends over the last century toward larger farm
and ranch size and greater specialization, most proponents of
sustainable systems for the future envision an increased manage-
ment component and more efficient use of the land resource in
smaller family farm units. In part this is possible through
substitution of information and management for fossil fuel
intensive inputs. Other dimensions of the solutions include
greater biological and economic diversity of enterprises on the
farm or ranch, increased spatial and temporal diversity in
farming landscapes, and integration of crop and animal production
within the farm unit. A growing awareness of the importance of
watershed design and planning as related to efficient and
environmentally sound land use has been spurred by concerns about
soil and nutrient loss through erosion, decline in water quality
in some rural areas, and accumulation of animal manure due to
concentration of livestock and poultry numbers in small areas.
Research on diversified landscapes and production systems
supported by the Center has focused on the Integrated Farm
project at the Agricultural Research and Development Center
(ARDC) near Mead, Nebraska.
INTEGRATED FARM PROJECT
The Integrated Farm project brings together crop and livestock
production systems and specialists who can research the
complexities of biological interactions among the components of
these systems. A total farm (2000 acre) nutrient management plan
includes composting manure from the beef, dairy, and swine units
with residues from crop fields and using this resource to replace
up to half of the purchased fertilizers. Cattle graze most of
the cropped acres during winter months, and this is part of the
crop/animal integration plan. Joint planning by animal
scientists, horticulturists, foresters, economists, and
agronomists has led to several projects:
- strip cropping of corn/soybean/grain sorghum in 8-row
alternating strips
- relay cropping of soybeans into wheat
- contour strip intercropping with residue cover and narrow
alternating strips of two or more crops in rotations
- effects of windbreaks on cabbage and melon production
- grazing on corn stalks in conventional and ridge-till
- windbreak effects on cattle grazing grain sorghum residues
- design of buffer strips along riparian and wildlife areas
A major grant from the USDA Cooperative State Research Service
and additional funds from the IANR Agricultural Research Division
have been instrumental in moving this project ahead. For more
information on any of the above projects, contact the CSAS.
LEARNING FROM A SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE
The university environment provides multiple opportunities for
learning activities in a systems mode, although the majority of
current courses, seminars, and publications are confined to
specific disciplines. The Center has promoted a number of
interdisciplinary learning activities over the past three years:
- A seminar course is taught each spring on sustainable agri-
culture for graduates and undergraduates who become familiar with
the literature on sustainable development as well as the
interconnections among their prior experiences and discipline-
specific courses.
- The Nebraska Agroecosystem course for first-year students is
an orientation into the broad challenges of agriculture and envi-
ronment; it will be converted into a required course in 1994
taught by a faculty team from several departments.
- A new course, "Agroecology and Sustainable Development," is
being planned for presentation at the senior level and will be a
capstone course as well as cross listed in several departments.
- The product of two regional workshops, funded by a SARE pro-
ject, is a collection of curricula and teaching materials for use
nationally in sustainable agriculture education.
- An outgrowth of the above SARE project was the concept of a
North Central Region institute that would work with land grant
institutions to offer a major in sustainable agricultural systems
(see North Central Institute for Sustainable Systems below).
- Numerous special topic seminars with invited speakers have
been sponsored or co-sponsored by CSAS over the past three years.
Topics have included: Developing Farmer-Researcher Partnerships,
Holistic Approaches to Sustainable Systems, Designing the 1995
Farm Bill (series of four seminars for which proceedings is
available), Economics and Quality of Life Issues in Sustainable
Agriculture. Presenters have included: Drs. Fred Kirschenmann
(ND), Stuart Hill (Quebec), John Ikerd (MO), and several UNL
faculty/administrators, as well as Lt. Governor Maxine Moul,
Chuck Hassebrook with the Center for Rural Affairs, and other
Nebraskans involved in education, government, non-profit
organizations and production. Seminars scheduled for early 1994
include Drs. Clive Edwards (OH) and Matt Liebman (ME).
- The CSAS co-sponsored a rural policy symposium for land grant
faculty and administrators, "Implications of the New Research and
Extension Dimensions of the 1990 Farm Bill," at which nationally-
recognized experts addressed changing trends and the challenges
they posed for land grant institutions.
- A mini-collection of more than 100 books on sustainable agri-
culture and integrated development was purchased with CSAS funds
and put into C.Y. Thompson Library on East Campus; multiple
copies of 30 of these books were purchased for placement in off-
campus district research and extension centers.
- The CSAS assisted the University of Nebraska Press with
initiation and promotion of its book series, "Our Sustainable
Future."
OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
This book series from University of Nebraska Press was initiated
in 1993 to bring together scholarly information on future
systems, especially agricultural systems. The series provides an
interdisciplinary forum for discussion of issues bearing on the
development of sustainable communities and resource bases at both
the local and the global level. On our crowded planet, we need
visions that offer new directions, expanded contexts, and "win-
win" solutions. Many of today's challenges are found in the
interfaces between disciplines and require systemic,
multidisciplinary approaches. This series serves to focus our
collective sense of urgency in seeking creative solutions for
sustainable development.
Books published or scheduled include:
"Building Soils for Better Crops: Organic Matter Management", by
Fred Magdoff, 1993.
"Ogallala: Water for a Dry Land", by John Opie, 1993.
"Agricultural Research Alternatives", by William Lockeretz and
Mollie Anderson, 1993.
"Crop Improvement for Sustainable Agriculture", by Brett Callaway
and Charles Francis, 1993.
"Future Harvest: Pesticide Free Farming", by Jim Bender, 1994.
"A Conspiracy of Optimism: Sustained Yield, Multiple Use, and
Intensive Management of the National Forests, 1945-91", by Paul
Hirt, 1994.
We invite inquiries from potential authors about projects related
to the general theme of sustainable agriculture and development.
The acquisitions editor at University of Nebraska Press is Nancy
Rosen, and one of the series editors is Charles Francis. Order
information is available from University of Nebraska Press, P.O.
Box 880520, Lincoln, NE 68588-0520, 402-472-3584.
NORTH CENTRAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
Over the past year, discussions among faculty from the twelve-
state North Central Region, farmers, and specialists from the
non-profit sector have led to a concept of providing a major in
"sustainable agricultural systems" using resources from across
the region. It is proposed that after completing seminars and
basic courses in their home universities, students will spend one
intensive year in a central location learning about the integra-
tion of components into production systems, and the interactions
between farming systems, watersheds, and rural communities.
This will be a practical, hands-on, highly experiential learning
program, with faculty made up of farmers, systems specialists
from other organizations, and university people. In addition to
modules in communication skills, team building, and integrative
topics such as agroecology, students will spend an entire crop-
ping season on a farm or with an agribusiness learning about the
entire cycle and conducting an on-farm research project. They
will study the communities in which they live, learning about the
interactions between agriculture and community viability.
Completing a senior project will bring together their experiences
in the field with those of other students in the program.
This concept is still in the planning stage, but much of the
groundwork has been prepared.
Support for this project has come from the USDA SARE Program,
W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Northwest Area Foundation.
EXTENSION EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES
The incorporation of a sustainable agriculture and broad systems
perspective into the ongoing Extension education network in Ne-
braska is one of the Center's key objectives. Several specific
activities have contributed directly to this expansion of
opportunities in lifelong learning:
- A citizens' forum was planned and conducted with the League of
Women Voters on "Designing a Sustainable Future for Food and
Agriculture" (proceedings available from LWV).
- A bi-monthly newsletter originally developed and circulated to
IANR faculty, specialists, and Extension educators, was expanded
and is now sent to interested people in other states; it is also
available on several electronic networks.
- CSAS assisted the sustainable agriculture extension priority
initiative team with the production and distribution of a
brochure describing the activities in IANR departments and
district centers in the area of sustainable agriculture; copies
were distributed throughout IANR, and to all 125,000 landholders
in Nebraska through the USDA-ASCS.
- Teaching materials were developed for regional workshops on
integrated crop management held at UNL and UC-Davis for Extension
and SCS educators and specialists from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri,
Nebraska, and California; more than 600 educators have copies of
these materials.
- A sustainable agriculture resource notebook was assembled and
distributed to all specialists and educators in Nebraska; CSAS
periodically sends material to add to the notebooks.
- Workshops on successful farm management were conducted in
three Nebraska locations; topics included flexibility in use of
government programs (ASCS specialist), alternative crops and
enterprises panel (farmers), and importance of accurate
enterprise and system-wide record keeping.
- The annual alternative/sustainable agriculture tour included
visits to crop and crop/livestock farms, organic production and
processing enterprises, and key experiments at the research and
extension centers in the eastern Nebraska.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS OF THE CENTER
The challenges facing agriculture today are not the same as what
we will encounter a decade in the future. Our challenge is to
anticipate change and to provide objective information about a
range of alternatives for the future. To do this it is important
to consult with a wide range of faculty in the IANR as well as
people from client groups around Nebraska. The six Faculty
Associates of CSAS meet monthly to review progress on current
projects and suggest innovative directions for the future. The
15-member Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Committee meets
annually to provide input from communities and interest groups
across the state.
The most critical challenge we face is finding a way to look over
the horizon, to anticipate the needs of agriculture and society,
and provide an educational environment in which people can best
be prepared to deal with changes in the future. For this we need
education in the principles of sustainable agriculture and
communities far beyond the training in specific practices and
solutions that will meet today's problems. Our programs are
designed to meet that challenge in the research plots on station
and on farm, in the classrooms on campus and across the state,
and in Extension programs. We are fulfilling the part of the
vision statement of the University of Nebraska that says we will
be "agents of social change" in seeking strategies and practices
that will lead to a profitable, equitable, and environmentally
sound future. The Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems is
committed to programs in sustainable development~for farms,
watersheds, and communities.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE COMMENTS
The following are selected quotes from the members of the
Center's Advisory Committee:
"I see the primary objective of the Center as providing a model
by which the total agricultural system and community are taken
into account~that agriculture is not seen as something separate
or apart from or not affecting a land/community larger than
itself. My hope is that the Center will be a broadly accepted
resource for research rooted in the past but building on new
scientific data and on-farm research." (Judy Dye, Lyons, NE)
"The main contribution of the Center will be to give an unbiased
scientific appraisal of sustainable agriculture and provide ideas
or approaches that will be practical from an economic and
physical standpoint. It is important that in its research and
extension activities, the Center uses a complete total farm con-
cept for studying sustainable agriculture and the relationships
between that and human resources." (Sid Salzman, Ainsworth, NE)
"Setting up an integrated farm that brings together all of the
specialists to work as a team is one of the most important re-
search activities of the Center." (Linda Kleinschmit,
Hartington, NE)
"An important area for the Center to research is the effects of
USDA commodity price support programs on farms and ranches of
various sizes as well as communities, and relate this to sus-
tainable systems." (Tony Vrana, Seward, NE)
"The Center will best serve all of its constituents~producers,
business, government, consumers, educators and students~by
conceiving of its mission with an independence of thought that
permits the reaction of any one of these constituencies to be not
of primary importance." (Jim Bender, Weeping Water, NE)
NOTE: For a printed copy of this report which contains the same
text but has a layout and graphics more suitable for display,
send your name and address to Pam Murray at
CSAS001@UNLVM.UNL.EDU.