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1995 FARMING SYSTEMS SYMPOSIUM: November 6-8, 1995
Posters, panels, and papers are welcome on topics featuring
advances in farming systems research and extension, including
on-farm monitoring of soil and water quality, biodiversity,
profitability, or quality of life; relationships between farming
systems and communities; issues in collaborative, participatory
farming systems research; or linkages between farming systems and
food systems. While the focus is on farming systems and communities
in North America (Canada, the U.S., and Mexico), papers from other
areas of the world will be accepted. The conference will include
sessions designed by farmers especially for other producers. The
presentations will be at the November 6-8, 1995 North American
Symposium, "Linkages among Farming Systems and Communities" at
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. The conference is sponsored by
the Association for Farming Systems Research-Extension (AFSRE),
with co-sponsors, the North Central Regional Center for Rural
Development and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
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The Association for Farming Systems Research-Extension (AFSRE) is
an international society organized to promote the development and
dissemination of methods and results of participatory on-farm
systems research and extension. The objectives are the development
and adoption, through participation by farm-household members, of
improved and appropriate technologies and management strategies to
meet the socioeconomic and nutritional needs of farm families; to
foster the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources; and
to contribute toward meeting requirements for food, feed, and fiber.
AFSRE evolved from and supports a global symposium that has met
annually 13 times at Kansas State, Arkansas, Michigan State, and
most recently, at Montpelier, France in 1994. The four regional
symposia (Asia, Africa, Latin America and North America) were
developed in the last few years, with the last North
American Symposium held in Gainesville, Florida in 1993 and the
next North American Symposium to be held in Ames, Iowa in November
1995.
An objective of this 1995 North American Farming Systems
Research-Extension Symposium is to bring together persons from the
North American farm and natural resource sectors with persons who
have been working in the Third World in farming, agricultural
development, and natural resource management. Many participatory
methods of diagnosis, technology design, and evaluation from the
Third World are appropriate for North American agriculture. Many
methods used in North America are adaptable to other regions of
the world. The symposium is designed to be of interest and
benefit to farmers, as well as to extension and research workers
and administrators from private, public, and non-governmental
organizations involved in agricultural technology development and
natural resources management.
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Individuals or groups are invited to submit proposals for:
-Papers (which will be combined by the organizers into concurrent
sessions of 15 minute presentations);
-Participatory sessions (where a variety of presenters will address
a central theme or method, with audience interaction for a period
of about an hour);
-Posters (which will be presented at a central time and place, with
conference attendees circulating through the presentation for
informal discussion with the presenters). Farmers are especially
encouraged to bring posters;
-A Research Tools Fair, where research methodologies for on-farm
research, researching community-farm linkages, analyzing and
comparing research results, etc. will be presented in an informal,
hands on fashion;
-Case "stories": Farmers, community leaders, and researchers will
tell about their experiences in farming systems research and
extension, with an emphasis on linking farming systems with
community.
A tour of a sustainable farm and a rural community are planned, as
is an evening of traditional U.S. folk dancing taught by a caller,
with a live band.
Please submit an abstract of up to 250 words (500 words for the
participatory sessions) of what you would like to present.
Include your name, address, telephone number, fax, and e-mail (if
available), plus your institutional affiliation, if any. The same
information is needed for all co-presenters. (That information is
not included in the 250 words.) The deadline for submissions is
August 1. Submissions received earlier may receive early acceptance.
Send hard copy and electronic (ASCII or Wordperfect)
abstracts, completed papers, and panel proposals by August 1, 1995
to Cornelia Butler Flora, Director, NCRCRD, 317 East Hall, ISU, Ames
IA 50011; (515) 294-1329; fax -2303; e-mail: cflora@iastate.edu.
For registration and local arrangements, contact Charles
Persinger, Continuing Education, 102 Scheman Building, ISU, Ames IA
50014; (515) 294-5063; fax -6223; e-mail: x1cepers@exnet.iastate.edu.
Questions?? contact Sue Jarnagin, 107 East Hall, ISU, Ames IA
50011; (515) 292-6802; fax: -2303; e-mail: jarnagin@iastate.edu.