Table of Contents
Congress Increases SARE Funding 1
Shoppers Seek Organic Food, Survey Finds 2
Wallace Institute Board Elects New Members 2
Cut Herbicides with Mechanical Cultivation 3
Positions 3
Sustainable Orchard Wins IPM Award 3
1994 Thompson Farm Research Report Available 4
Kathleen Merrigan Joins Wallace Institute 4
Resources 4
Events 5
CONGRESS INCREASES SARE, EXTENSION FUNDING FOR NEW FISCAL YEAR
Congress last month approved funding increases for key
sustainable agriculture programs, including the Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and the
Sustainable Agriculture Technology Development and Transfer
Program (SATDTP). The House-Senate Conference on the 1995
Agriculture Appropriation Act also approved an appropriations
increase for the Wetlands Reserve Program, but decreased funding
for the Water Quality Incentive Program. The final
appropriations figures for key sustainable agriculture programs
in Fiscal Year 1995, which began October 1, are:
SARE: $8.1 million. The Clinton Administration had
requested $8.8 million for the program, whose appropriation last
year was $7.4 million; the House had approved $7.4 million for
SARE; the Senate had approved $8.8 million.
SATDTP: $3.5 million. The Clinton Administration had
requested $5 million for the program, whose appropriation last
year was $3 million; the House had approved $3 million for
SATDTP; the Senate had approved $4 million.
Wetlands Reserve Program: $93.2 million. The Clinton
Administration had requested $240.9 million for the program,
whose appropriation last year was $66.7 million; the House and
the Senate had both approved $93.2 million for the program.
Water Quality Incentive Program: $15 million. The Clinton
Administration had requested $15 million for the program, whose
funding last year was $18.5 million; the House and the Senate had
both approved $15 million for the program.
"While the sustainable agriculture movement's priority
programs didn't see the money they'll need to run at full
effectiveness, we made modest gains in a bill that cut deep into
many other programs," said Ferd Hoefner, Washington
Representative for the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. "This
still isn't the major redirection of USDA spending we need, but
in the context of the tightest federal agriculture budget ever,
even small increases send an important signal."
CONCERNED ABOUT PESTICIDES, SHOPPERS SEEK ORGANIC FOODS, SURVEY
FINDS
In response to concern about the use of pesticides and
agricultural chemicals, and the performance of the federal
government in protecting consumers from those chemicals, shoppers
are actively seeking out organically grown produce, according to
a recent survey of food shoppers' attitudes about organic
produce. The survey of 1,000 food shoppers, commissioned by
Rodale Press, Inc., found that nearly one out of every three has
changed his or her eating habits (30%) or sought out organically
grown produce (32%) in the past year due to reports about
pesticide and chemical use. The majority (72%) of shoppers who
changed their eating habits for this reason specifically sought
out organically grown fruits and vegetables, according to the
survey. Of all the shoppers polled, 64% had eaten organic fruits
and vegetables; of those, 59% said the most important reason for
buying organic produce was long-term health benefits, and 21%
cited the nutritional value of the produce. Of shoppers who have
never eaten organic produce, 77% said they would buy it if it
cost the same as non-organic fruits and vegetables. The majority
(68%) of shoppers surveyed think the federal government is doing
a fair or poor job of protecting consumers from potentially
harmful chemicals and pesticides in fruits and vegetables. For
more information about the survey, contact Robert Martin, Rodale
Press, Inc., 33 E. Minor St., Emmaus, PA 18098; (610) 967-7588.
WALLACE INSTITUTE BOARD ELECTS FOUR NEW MEMBERS
The Wallace Institute's Board, at its mid-year meeting on
September 10 in Madison, WI, elected four new members who will
start their terms in March, 1995. On the Friday evening
preceding the meeting, the board attended a reception at the
University of Wisconsin hosted by the College of Agricultural and
Life Sciences, and Cooperative Extension. Following the Saturday
meeting, board members toured several research projects at the
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, WI, including
an integrated cropping systems trial which compares the
production, profitability, and environmental impact of six
different cropping systems that range from high to low in levels
of purchased inputs and crop diversity. The new board members
are:
Dr. Frederick Kirschenmann, farmer and manager of
Kirschenmann Family Farms, Windsor and Medina, N.D.; former Chair
of the North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education (SARE) program's Administrative Council; and current
member of the Wallace Institute's President's Council.
Dr. Frederick R. Magdoff, Professor in the Department of
Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont; Chair, Soil
Science Society of America's Soil Test and Plant Analysis
Committee; and Coordinator of the Northeast Region SARE program.
Dr. Mazo Price, Dean and Director/Professor, School of
Agriculture and Home Economics, 1890 Research and Extension
Programs, and Professor, Department of Agriculture, University of
Arkansas at Pine Bluff; and former project leader, Farming System
Research Project, World Bank, Rwanda.
James H. Stephenson, Advisor to the Governor of
Pennsylvania; chair, Inter-Agency Council on Food and Nutrition;
and former Executive Director, Pennsylvania Coalition on Food and
Nutrition.
PROGRAM HELPS REDUCE HERBICIDE NEED WITH MECHANICAL CULTIVATION
An integrated program of extension and research, funded by
the SARE program, is providing farmers in New York state with the
information on mechanical cultivation necessary to reduce
reliance on herbicides for weed control. Weed control on
approximately one million acres of field corn and several hundred
thousand acres of other row crops grown in the state is
accomplished almost entirely through the use of herbicides. Any
substantial shift from herbicides to mechanical cultivation will
reduce the amount of pesticides released into the environment by
many millions of pounds per year. Participants in this program
are holding winter cultivation clinics, helping to establish a
farmer-to-farmer information network, and sponsoring summer field
tours of on-farm trial and demonstration plots. On-farm trials
examine and demonstrate the use of cultivation at various stages
of crop development in conjunction with herbicide bands of
various widths. For more information, contact Jane Mt. Pleasant,
Project Coordinator, Cornell University, Soil and Cropping
Systems Managements, Department of Soil, Crop, and Atmospheric
Sciences, 146 Emerson, Ithaca, N.Y. 14853; (607) 255-1755.
POSITIONS
Cornell Cooperative Extension seeks four extension
associates/pro-tech program specialists to work throughout New
York state; send letter of intent, resume, and transcripts by
October 21 to Box 26 Kennedy Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca,
N.Y. 14853.
SUSTAINABLE ORCHARD SYSTEM WINS IPM AWARD IN CALIFORNIA
A program helping California's Central Valley almond and
walnut growers learn how to farm with fewer pesticides has won a
state "IPM Innovator" award for its integrated pest management
techniques. The California Environmental Protection Agency's
Department of Pesticide Regulation honored the Biologically
Integrated Orchard Systems program, which works with growers to
participate in farm plans, cover crop management, innovative
equipment use, beneficial insect releases, and earthworm
management. The Davis-based University of California Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education Program, whose Director, Bill
Liebhardt, is a member of the Wallace Institute's Board, has
provided technical information to the project. Earlier this
year, USDA Undersecretary of Agriculture Richard Rominger praised
program participants in Merced County and said, "these are the
kinds of projects we'd like to see taking place all across the
country."
1994 THOMPSON FARM RESEARCH REPORT NOW AVAILABLE
"Thompson On-Farm Research, with Wallace Institute, 1994
Report," just published, describes in detail the sustainable
farming research being done at the Thompson Farm in Boone, IA.
The research, which is funded by the Wallace Institute, includes
"successes and failures" in several areas: fertility, cover
crops, weed control, crops, water quality-soil health, economics,
and livestock. Included in the 1994 report are the results of
that research, summaries and recommendations, graphs and tables,
and a chapter on farming for better communities. The research
report is $10 from Thompson On-Farm Research, 2035 190th Street,
Boone, IA 50036-7423; (515) 432-1560.
KATHLEEN MERRIGAN JOINS WALLACE INSTITUTE STAFF AS SENIOR ANALYST
Kathleen Merrigan, a former Senior Legislative Staff Member
of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry, has joined the Wallace Institute as Senior Policy
Analyst. She will play a dual role, assuming responsibility for
coordinating legislative and regulatory affairs for the Institute
as well as undertaking important analytical efforts beginning
with an intensive critique of sustainability definitions. Ms.
Merrigan's work on the Senate Agriculture Committee from 1987 to
1992 included responsibility for science and technology policy
development and overseeing agricultural appropriations for
Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy. She recently completed courses
and comprehensive exams for her Ph.D from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and is now working on her dissertation on
defining sustainability in agriculture.
RESOURCES
"Everything You Always Wanted to Know (But Really Weren't
Sure Who To Ask) About Using Row Cleaners, Zone Tillage, No-Till
Coulters," Special No-Till Management Report No. 6, is $6.95 from
Lessiter Publications, P.O. Box 624, Brookfield, WI 53008; (414)
782-4480.
"Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms" (SRB 94-05)
and "Sustainable Agriculture in Print: Current Books" (SRB 94-06)
are available from Alternative Farming Systems Information
Center, National Agricultural Library, Room 304, 10301 Baltimore
Blvd., Beltsville, MD 20705-2351; (301) 504-6559; e-mail,
afsic@nalusda.gov
"Drip Irrigation and Nitrogen Fertigation Management of
Vegetable Crops," a video, is $20 from Debbie Scott or Casey
Walsh Cady, Fertilizer Research and Education Program, California
Department of Food and Agriculture, 1220 N Street, Sacramento, CA
95814; (916) 653-5340 or (916) 654-0574.
Video and brochure on composting dead poultry are $12 per
set from Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District, Poplar
Street Office Bldg., Rt. 1, Box 488, Benton, TN 37307; (615) 338-
4010.
UPCOMING EVENTS
November 1-3, "Biological Control of Insects" will be held
in Lincoln, NE; contact Nancy Fields, Conference Coordinator,
Division of Continuing Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
271 NCCE, Lincoln, NE 68583-9100; (402) 472-2844; e-mail,
nfields@unl.edu
November 4-12, "Deep Permaculture Design" will be held in
Oakridge, N.C., sponsored by the Environmental Resource Center
for Sustainable Living; contact Charlie Headington, 515 N.
Mendenhall, Greensboro, N.C. 27401; (910) 273-7292.
November 11-13, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute's fall
organic-biodynamic gardening workshop will be held in East Troy,
WI; contact MFAI, W2493 County Road ES, East Troy, WI 53120;
(414) 642-3303.
November 12, farm tour of Ruckytucks Farm, Saratoga, N.Y.,
will be sponsored by Northeast Organic Farming Association of New
York; contact Steve Gilman, (518) 583-4613.
November 16-19, "Creating Community Sustainability Across
America 1994" will be held in Silver Spring, MD; contact
Community Sustainability Resource Institute, P.O. Box 11343,
Takoma Park, MD 20913; (301) 588-7227; e-mail, csri@igc.apc.org
November 16-18, "Watersheds '94: Respect, Rethink, Restore"
will be held in Ashland, OR; contact Hannah Kerner, Conference
Director, Watershed Management Council Conference, University of
California, 163 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720; (510) 642-2360;
e-mail, kerner@nature.berkeley.edu
November 18-20, "Building Sustainable Communities Through
Agriculture," the 9th annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference
sponsored by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, will be
held at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, S.C.; contact Marjorie
Bender, CFSA, (919) 968-1030.
December 1-2, "Liquid Manure Application Systems" will be
held in Rochester, N.Y.; contact Northeast Regional Agricultural
Engineering Service, Cooperative Extension, 152 Riley-Robb Hall,
Ithaca, N.Y. 14853-5701; (607) 255-7654; e-mail,
NRAES@cornell.edu
December 6-7, "Soil Health: The Basis of Current and Future
Production" will be held in Decatur, IL; contact Deborah
Cavanaugh-Grant, Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Network, P.O.
Box 410, Greenview, IL 62642; (217) 968-5512.
December 14, the 3rd annual conference of the Fertilizer
Research and Education Program of the California Department of
Food and Agriculture will be held at the University of
California, Kearney Agricultural Center, Parlier, CA; contact
Jacques Franco, Program Coordinator, Department of Food and
Agriculture, 1220 N St., P.O. Box 942871, Sacramento, CA 94271;
(916) 653-5340.