-----Original Message-----
From: owner-sanet-mg@cals.ncsu.edu
[mailto:owner-sanet-mg@cals.ncsu.edu]On Behalf Of Douglas Hinds
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2000 11:23 AM
To: Bluestem Associates
Cc: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: Re: Sustainability 'circles,' etc.
BH wrote:
BH> ...This thing is a *lot* more complicated than planting cover crops
BH> or avoiding chemicals.
Indeed it is, but the cost (as far as missed opportunities toward advancing
the cause of sustainability) of sorting everything out, BEFORE taking action
or educating growers, is high.
Improving use of cover crops and intelligently reducing chemical use (and
other inputs) offer farmers real opportunities to enhance their financial
standing AND relieve some stress on the environment NOW. (The value of NOW
is very high) Those who wait until April 15th to calculate their profit
surely need to improve their enterprise analysis skills, however, they are
precisely the ones who stand to gain much from short term, and piece-meal,
changes toward sustainability in their operations.
Perhaps, once they have gained more breathing room, they may take a closer
look at the whole picture, and make more improvements, along the lines
suggested by those participating in this thread.
To me, the financial precariousness of many conventional farms represents a
great opportunity to advance the cause of sustainability. Not by beating
the "enemy" dead, as some organic proponents seem to advocate, but by
recognizing these strapped farmers as ideological customers (although they
are also true customers because they are potential consumers of any
profit-increasing sustainable innovations). Obviously, the ways to treat
customers differ radically from the ways to treat adversaries.
Sincerely,
David Stanley
Stanley Gardens IPM
44 Paige Hill Rd
Brimfield MA 01010
(413)245-9701
sgipm@mail.ccsinet.net
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