re: Comparisons and other community ag pubs

Sara Prout (sap7@cornell.edu)
Wed, 26 Apr 1995 11:25:53 -0400

The Northwest Area Foundation recently sponsored a systematic,
socioeconomic comparison of sustainable and conventional farming practices
and the results are now published in "PLANTING FOR THE FUTURE: DEVELOPING
AN AGRICULTURE THAT SUSTAINS LAND AND COMMUNITY"

Beyond yield comparisons, this book analyses how a shift to more
sustainable agricultural pracitices could simultaneously foster
environmental protection, farm-based economic opportunity and vital rural
communities.

I have not yet seen a copy, but it sounds great and is available from Iowa
State University Press, 1-800-862-6657.

On this same note, the Farming Alternatives Program at Cornell University
is currently involved in Coummunity Agricultural Development research and
extension work. We have already produced two bulletins in a long series on
this topic:

1) COMMUNITY AGRICULTURAL DEVLOPMENT: PROFILES OF 32 INITIATIVES IN NEW
YORK STATE. Describes the nature and range of orgnizations incolved in
local community ag development in NYS.

2) FARMERS' MARKETS AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Entrepeneurship, Small
Business Incubation and Job Creation in the Rural Northeast. A must for
farmers' markets sponsors, extension staff and economic develpo,emt
officals, this bulletin reports on a study of how farmers' markets
contribute to local economic development.

******** To order please call (607) 255-9252 or (607)255-2080 ************

To be published soon, we have:

3) A "How to" Primer for Ag Development in Your Community, and
4) Farm Neighbor Relations

For further information and a publication list from the Farming
Alternatives Program, please write to:

Sara Prout
Farming Alternatives Program
Dept. of Rural Sociology
423 Warren Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853