Henry A. Wallace Institute for
Alternative Agriculture
9200 Edmonston Road, #117
Greenbelt, MD 20770
(301) 441-8777
E-mail: hawiaa@access.digex.net
Table of Contents
Wallace Institute Report Refutes "Newest Ag Myth" 1
Sustainable Ag Programs Maintain Funding 2
Wallace Institute Board Approves New Programs, Members 2
Edward Jaenicke Joins Wallace Institute 3
Sustainable Ag Groups Offer Wetlands Protection Policies 3
Thompson Farm Report Includes New Info on Weeds, Economics 4
CRP Could be Effective, Within Budget, Says Campaign 4
EPA Phases Out Cyanazine 4
Position 4
Upcoming Events 5
WALLACE INSTITUTE REPORT REFUTES THE "NEWEST AGRICULTURAL MYTH"
A new report by the Wallace Institute challenges and refutes
the "newest agricultural myth" -- that chemically-based intensive
agriculture will meet all of our production and environmental
goals while feeding between 8-10 billion people in the next
century. Intensive Agriculture and Environmental Quality:
Examining the Newest Agricultural Myth, by Tracy Irwin Hewitt and
Katherine R. Smith, presents well-documented, scientific evidence
that challenges the assumptions and logic used by Dennis Avery,
among others, to support this myth. The report argues that:
-- The ecological impacts of chemically-based, intensive
agricultural systems are serious and costly.
-- The human health risks of pesticide-dependent, intensive
agricultural systems are decidedly non-trivial.
-- Chemically-based, land-intensive agricultural systems do
not guarantee high productivity. They may not even sustain high
yields.
-- Sustainable and/or alternative agricultural production
techniques often compete with and sometimes outshine their
conventional counterparts.
"We challenge the agricultural research and business
communities to investigate the full range of all possible
pathways towards the goals of producing adequate food supplies
for as many as 10 billion people in the next century," said the
authors. According to the report, "no one technological paradigm
or class of production systems is likely to prove optimal over
all locations and circumstances....A failure to pursue all the
alternatives, and the possible synergies among them, is
tantamount to irresponsibility."
Intensive Agriculture and Environmental Quality: Examining
the Newest Agricultural Myth is $4 from the Henry A. Wallace
Institute for Alternative Agriculture, 9200 Edmonston Road, #117,
Greenbelt, MD 20770; (301) 441-8777; hawiaa@access.digex.net
SUSTAINABLE AG PROGRAMS MAINTAIN FUNDING FOR NEW FISCAL YEAR
A House-Senate Conference on the 1996 Agriculture
Appropriations Act late last month approved level or slightly
reduced funding for most federal sustainable agriculture programs
for the 1996 Fiscal Year. The final approved appropriations
figures for key sustainable agriculture programs for FY96, which
began October 1, are:
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE): An
$8.1 million appropriation, only $12,000 less than the FY95
appropriation. Sustainable Agriculture Technology Development and
Transfer Program (SATDTP): A $3.4 million appropriation, a slight
reduction from the FY95 appropriation of $3.5 million.
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA): An
appropriation up to $1.3 million, the same appropriation as in
FY95. Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA): USDA will spend what
is needed to maintain the program. Water Quality Incentive
Program (WQIP): An $11 million appropriation, a decrease from
FY95's $15 million appropriation. Wetlands Reserve Program
(WRP): A $77 million appropriation, a decrease from FY95's $93.2
million appropriation. Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS): A conservation operations appropriation of $629.9
million, an increase from the FY95 appropriation of $586.9
million; overall appropriation is $859.4 million, an increase
from the FY95 appropriation of $836.7 million.
WALLACE INSTITUTE BOARD APPROVES NEW PROGRAMS, ELECTS NEW MEMBERS
The Wallace Institute's Board, at its mid-year meeting on
September 9 in Carrington, N.D., approved two new programs and
elected three new members who will start their terms in March,
1996. The board approved the Ward Sinclair Memorial Internship
Program, established to honor the late Ward Sinclair, an organic
farmer and Wallace Institute Board member. The purpose of the
program is to give people an opportunity to work directly in the
sustainable production and marketing of food, and with public
agencies having responsibilities concerning agriculture. One
intern will be chosen each year to work for a three-to-six month
period, from late spring to early winter. Interns will spend
roughly half their time working at the Flickerville Mountain Farm
and Groundhog Ranch in Dott, Pennsylvania, which Sinclair co-
owned with Cass Peterson, and the other half with or at a public
agency. Preference will be given to state agencies in
Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Wallace Institute will announce
the internship program later this fall with details about the
application process.
The board also approved the Henry A. Wallace Annual Lecture
on Science, Technology, and Public Policy, which will be launched
on March 14, 1996. The annual lecture, to be given by a
distinguished leader in agricultural science or policy, will
honor the late Henry A. Wallace, a former Vice President of the
United States and Secretary of Agriculture whose goal was to
establish a viable farm economy and, at the same time, conserve
the nation's natural resources. The lecture series will also
draw attention to the challenges of U.S. agriculture and reach a
broad audience with information about the importance of
agriculture to this country.
The three new members elected to the Wallace Institute Board
are:
Dr. Jill Shore Auburn, Associate Director, Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education Program, University of
California, Davis; Regional Training Coordinator, Western Region
USDA-SARE Program; and Chair, Information Directorate, World
Sustainable Agriculture Association.
Christine (Cass) A. Peterson, farmer and owner of the
Flickerville Mountain Farm and Groundhog Ranch in Dott,
Pennsylvania; member, Board of Directors, Pennsylvania
Association for Sustainable Agriculture; and member, Governor's
Agricultural Advisory Committee to the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Resources.
Thomas N. Urban, Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of
Business Administration, Harvard University, and Chairman of the
Board of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., where he was
Chairman, President, and CEO from 1984 until summer, 1995; former
member, President's Council -- National Academy of Sciences; and
former Mayor of the City of Des Moines, Iowa.
EDWARD JAENICKE JOINS WALLACE INSTITUTE AS POLICY ANALYST
Edward Jaenicke, former Research Assistant with the
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the
University of Maryland, has joined the Wallace Institute as a
Policy Analyst. He is finishing his Ph.D. in agricultural and
resource economics at the University of Maryland; his thesis
adjusts measures of farm productivity for changing levels of soil
quality brought on by different cropping systems. At the Wallace
Institute, Jaenicke is researching the economic impacts of
pesticide reduction policies and the conditions required to be
present if pesticide reduction policies are to have minimal
effect on consumers. Prior to studying at the University of
Maryland, he was an analyst at the Investor Responsibility
Research Center, and a research assistant at ICF Incorporated.
SUSTAINABLE AG GROUPS OFFER WETLANDS PROTECTION POLICIES
Wetlands policies that would help protect both agricultural
wetlands and the economic viability of farm operations are
outlined in "Sustaining Wetlands and Farms: Critique of Current
Proposal and Recommendations for a Reasonable Wetland Policy,"
prepared by the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and the Midwest
Sustainable Agriculture Working Group. The report reviews the
disadvantages of seven proposals to change wetlands laws, and
makes recommendations that include adopting strong no-net-loss
policies, developing a scientifically based definition of
wetlands, and including wetlands in farm conservation planning.
Copies of the report are free from Elizabeth Higgins, Sustainable
Agriculture Coalition, 110 Maryland Ave., NE, Box 76, Washington,
D.C. 20002; (202) 547-5754.
THOMPSON FARM REPORT INCLUDES NEW INFO ON WEEDS AND ECONOMICS
"Alternatives in Agriculture," the 1995 report published by
Thompson On-Farm Research and the Wallace Institute, includes new
information on fertility, alternative weed management, and
economics, and describes "successes and failures" that are meant
to be "helpful to both farmers and the research community."
Other chapters cover Inspiration, Documentation, and Education;
Cover Crops; Crops; Water Quality -- Soil Health; Livestock; and
Farming for Better Communities. All the farm's experiments are
described in table form at the end of each chapter. The
publication of the report and the 1995 research is made possible
by the financial support of Mrs. Jean Wallace Douglas through the
Wallace Institute. Copies of the report are $10 plus $2 postage
from Thompson On-Farm Research, 2035 190th St., Boone, IA 50036;
(515) 432-1560.
CRP COULD BE EFFECTIVE AND WITHIN BUDGET, SAYS CAMPAIGN REPORT
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the year 2000
could include as many as 31 million acres while staying well
within the total spending allowed under the existing 1996-2000
Congressional Budget Office baseline, based on recommendations
advanced by The Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture. The data
analysis of the recommendations was done by Dr. Charles Benbrook
for The Campaign. Those recommendations encourage more partial
field enrollments such as filter strips, contour grass strips,
and shelterbelts. "By relying on an open and competitive bid
process and encouraging partial field enrollments, the CRP can be
expanded substantially in the eastern United States and
nationwide to those parts of the landscape that play a critical
role in protecting surface water quality," The Campaign's summary
said. For information about the analysis, contact Kris Thorp at
The Campaign, (402) 846-5428.
EPA PHASES OUT PESTICIDE CYANAZINE
EPA has announced the phase-out over the next four years of
the pesticide cyanazine for use in the United States. Cyanazine
is an herbicide used on corn, cotton, and sorghum to control
broadleaf weeds and grasses. EPA has classified cyanazine as a
possible human carcinogen. DuPont Agricultural Products, the
sole manufacturer of cyanazine, will cancel all cyanazine
products effective December 31, 1999. EPA has instituted a
schedule for significant reductions in use and exposure to
cyanazine during the phase-out period prior to 1999. Growers
will have time during this phase-out period to adopt substitutes
for cyanazine.
POSITION
Board of Environmental Studies, UC Santa Cruz, invites
applications for a senior position (Associate or Full Professor)
in sustainable agriculture; successful candidate will also serve
half-time as Director of the Center for Agroecology and
Sustainable Food Systems; apply by November 9 with curriculum
vitae, letters from three references, letter describing
experience, and up to four publications or research reports;
apply to Chair, Agroecology Search Committee, Board of
Environmental Studies, University of California, 1156 High St.,
Santa Cruz, CA 95064; refer to provision #504.
UPCOMING EVENTS
November 1-3, "Composting and Recycling Organic Residuals"
will be held in Kissimmee, FL; contact BioCycle, 419 State
Avenue, Emmaus, PA 18049; 1-800-661-4905.
November 1-3, "BioFair 1995" will be held in San Jose, Costa
Rica; contact BioFair, P.O. Box 1114-1000, San Jose, Costa Rica;
(506) 221-0005.
November 2-3, "Weeds as Teachers" will be held in Great
Falls, MT; contact Stephanie Rittman, Alternative Energy
Resources Organization, 25 South Ewing, #214, Helena, MT 59601;
(406) 443-7272.
November 4, "Rope Making" and "Wood Joinery by Hand" will be
held at Tillers International, 5239 South 24th St., Kalamazoo, MI
49002; (616) 344-3233.
November 6-8, Annual International Research Conference on
Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emissions Reduction will be held
in San Diego, CA; contact Methyl Bromide Alternatives Outreach,
P.O. Box 5377, Fresno, CA 93755; (209) 244-4710.
November 9-11 (Pennsylvania), November 27-29, and November
30-December 2 (both in California), Controlled Microbial
Composting (CMC) Humus Management courses will be held; November
13-16 (Pennsylvania), December 4-7, and December 11-14 (both in
California), CMC Composting Courses will be held; contact George
Leidig, PA, (610) 825-2973; or Patti Herbert, CA, (408) 637-5517.
November 10, Fifth Annual Hawaii Conference of the World
Sustainable Agriculture Association will be held in Oahu, HI;
contact Ivan Kawamoto, MOA Hawaii, 3510 Nuuanu Pali Drive,
Honolulu, HI 96817; (808) 595-6344.
November 10-12, Tilth Producers annual conference will be
held on Whidbey Island, Fort Casey, WA; contact Pat Labine, (360)
866-6000 ext. 6195.
November 10-12, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
Sustainable Agriculture Conference will be held in Black
Mountain, N.C.; contact CFSA, (919) 968-1030, or Sarah Slover,
(919) 362-8632.
November 12-14, Community Supported Agriculture Conference,
Western Region, will be held in San Francisco; contact CSA
Conference, c/o CASFS, 1156 High St., Santa Cruz, CA 95064; (408)
459-3964.
November 12-14, "Research and Practice: Learning to Build
Sustainable Industries for Sustainable Societies" will be held in
Toronto, Canada; contact Kurt Fischer, Greening of Industry
Network, Center for Environmental Management, Tufts University,
177 College Ave., Medford, MA 02115; (617) 628-5000, ext. 5131.
November 13-14 (Bernards Township) and November 30-December 1
(Toms River) "Winter Vegetation Identification for Wetland
Delineation;" November 15-17, "Soil Bioengineering for
Streambank, Shoreline, and Slope Stabilization" (New Brunswick)
courses will be held in N.J.; contact Registration Desk, Office
of Continuing Professional Education, Cook College, PO Box 231,
New Brunswick, N.J. 08903; (908) 932-9271.
November 15 is the deadline for abstracts for the Third
National IPM Symposium/Workshop, to be held in Washington, D.C.,
February 27-March 2, 1996; contact Carol Kramer, USDA/ERS/NRED,
1301 New York Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20005; (202) 219-0453;
e-mail ckramer@econ.ag.gov
November 15-17, "Environmental Enhancement Through
Agriculture," organized by Tufts University, Center for
Agriculture, Food, and Environment; American Farmland Trust; and
Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, will be
held in Boston, MA; contact William Lockeretz, School of
Nutrition, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155; (617) 627-3233;
e-mail wlockeretz@infonet.tufts.edu
November 17-19, "The Soil and the Seed" will be held in
Santa Fe, N.M.; contact Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening
Association, P.O. Box 550, Kimberton, PA 19442; fax, (610) 983-
3196.
* * *