Home News & Events Alternative Agriculture News Back Issues Feb. 97

Headlines:
Study Finds Little Commitment to Organic Research
Worldwide Fertilizer Use on the Decline
Resources
Fund for Rural America Launched, Grants to be Awarded
Move Toward IPM is Led by Farmers, Businesses
Von Humboldt Award Seeks Nominations
Positions
Upcoming Events

©1997, Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, 9200 Edmonston Road, #117, Greenbelt, MD 20770. Phone: (301) 441-8777. E-mail: hawiaa@access.digex.net.

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In addition to this monthly newsletter, the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture publishes the American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal of research on alternative agriculture. It is a scientific forum for disseminating technical, economic, and social research findings about the character and requirements of alternative agriculture systems. The current double issue (Volume 11, Numbers 2 and 3) features the 13 papers presented by U.S. scientists at a U.S.- Middle East Conference and Workshop on "Dryland Farming Systems and Technologies for a More Sustainable Agriculture," held in October, 1993, in Moscow, Idaho.

That landmark conference was conducted under the auspices of the Multilateral Working Group on Economic Development of the Middle East Peace Process, and was attended by approximately 50 scientists from the United States, Russia, Egypt, Israel, Tunisia, Turkey, Jordan, Oman, and the emerging Palestine State. Topics of the papers include farming systems and conservation needs in the Northwest Wheat Region; water conservation practices for sustainable dryland farming systems in the Pacific Northwest; agricultural wind erosion and air quality impacts; advances in the production of cool season food legumes; diversification for new management systems opportunities in the Pacific Northwest; and crop traits for water stress tolerance.

Subscriptions to AJAA are $44 for libraries; $24 for individuals; and $12 for students.

Study Finds Little Institutional Commitment to Organic Research

The organic products industry has grown significantly during the past six years "with almost no institutional support and often outright hostility from the research community," according to a summary of the National Organic Research Policy Analysis project conducted by the Organic Farming Research Foundation. The two-year study reviewed the "organic content" of the USDA's agricultural research programs, and assessed the quality of existing organic research. The study's report, entitled "Searching for the 'O' Word," concludes that "systematic research on organic farming is still taboo in many institutions.

"Sixteen years after the Task Force [Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming/USDA] report, despite a stated national goal to dramatically reduce pesticide use, despite more than a decade of debate about the meaning and content of 'sustainable agriculture,' there has been no deliberate implementation of the 1980 Report's recommendations for organic farming research. There is no analysis of the role that organic farming can play in meeting national agricultural and environmental needs, and there is no explicit policy commitment to even explore these questions. For these reasons, research projects pertinent to organic farming are relatively few and far between. Some do exist, and they represent some interesting possibilities, but they are not the result of any coherent policy, nor are most of them purposefully related to organic farmers' needs."

To assess the organic content of the USDA's research programs, the Foundation used the Internet to search the Current Research Information System (CRIS), a database containing short abstracts for 30,000 research projects which received federal funding through the USDA. The search was narrowed to 75 key words to identify projects as "organic research;" 300 projects were identified as "pertinent to organic farming systems." Of those projects, the study found only 15 "high-grade, truly pertinent, organic systems research projects," or 5% of the total selected. It also found 42 "organic-potential" projects which appear to be "examining the underlying processes that make natural farming systems work;" they represent 13% of all organic- pertinent projects.

The Foundation's report makes several recommendations, among them:

• The USDA should issue a basic policy statement recognizing that organic farming can play a significant role in meeting the nation's agricultural, environmental, and economic development needs. Each relevant agency should have designated staff responsible for the collection and dissemination of information on organic farming that is appropriate to its Mission.
• Implementation of programs under the Fund for Rural America should support and utilize organic farming research and education; organic farmers should be represented on the review and implementation panels for these programs.
• All USDA research programs should assess the potential role and contribution of organic farming within their Missions and Goals. Resources should be allocated to strategically increase the investment in organic farming research, education, and development.
• The USDA should undertake a national initiative for organic farming research, including evaluation of current efforts, emphasis on on-farm systems analysis, and establishment of a network of dedicated organic experiment stations, guided by local organic farmers.

The final report of the National Organic Research Policy Analysis project will be available after February 1 from the Organic Farming Research Foundation, P.O. Box 440, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. E-mail, research@ofrf.org. A $15 donation is requested.

Worldwide Fertilizer Use on the Decline, According to New Report

Worldwide use of fertilizer has been declining since 1989, according to The State of the World 1997, published last month by the Worldwatch Institute. Starting in the 1950s, "once fertilizer use began to increase and yields started to rise in response, the growth in fertilizer use became one of the most predictable of all global economic indicators," Lester Brown writes in the chapter, "Facing the Prospect of Food Scarcity."

"Between 1950 and 1989, fertilizer use went from 14 million tons to 146 million tons, a tenfold increase. After 1989, usage began to decline. In many countries, farmers discovered that the amount of fertilizer they were applying was exceeding the physiological capacity of existing crop varieties to absorb and use nutrients. In the United States, Western Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Japan, usage had reached the level where additional fertilizer had little effect on yields. Fertilizer use by U.S. farmers was actually roughly one tenth less in the mid-nineties than it was in the early eighties."

Describing the need to ensure food security for the next generation, Brown writes, "The world now faces an unprecedented challenge. The old formula that was so remarkably successful in expanding the world's food supply is no longer working very well, and there is no new one to take its place." Another chapter, "Preserving Global Cropland," describes how "yield increases no longer fully compensate for the steady elimination of grainland," and highlights several soil and land conservation programs in the United States and other countries.

The State of the World 1997 is $13.95 from Worldwatch Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20036; (202) 452-1999. E-mail wwpub@worldwatch.org.

Resources

• "Growing Together: Community Gardening and Food Security" is free from Sustainable Food Center, 434 Bastrop Hwy., Austin, TX 78741; 1-800-882-5592.
• "Beyond the Last Fencerow: The Future of the Food and Farm System in Southeast Pennsylvania" is free from Kathy Koehler, Regional Infrastructure for Sustaining Agriculture, (610) 683- 1400.
• "Composting Grass Seed Straw" is $1.50 from Publication Orders, Extension and Experiment Station Communications, OSU, 422 Kerr Administration Bldg, Corvallis, OR 97331.
• Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Fertilizer Research and Education Program Conference are free from the Program, (916) 653-5340. E-mail ccady@smtp1.cdfa.ca.gov.
• "Educational and Training Opportunities in Sustainable Agriculture" is available from Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, National Agricultural Library, Room 304, 10301 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705-2351; (301) 504-6559. E-mail afsic@nal.usda.gov.
• "Educational and Training Opportunities in Sustainable Agriculture" is available from Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, National Agricultural Library, Room 304, 10301 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705-2351; (301) 504-6559. E-mail afsic@nal.usda.gov.
• "Municipal Density and Farmland Protection: An Exploratory Study of Central Valley Patterns" is $12 from Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616; (916) 752- 2320.
• "Paying the Piper: Subsidies, Politics, and the Environment" is $5 plus $4 postage from Worldwatch Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20036; (202) 452-1999.
• "The Cornerstones Model: Values-Based Planning and Management" is available from the Heifer Project International, P.O. Box 808, Little Rock, AR 72203; 1-800-422-0474.
• "Grazing on Public Lands" is $20 from Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, 4420 West Lincoln Way, Ames, IA 50014-3347; (515) 292-2125 or 1-800-375-CAST.

• Massachusetts Audubon Society's Drumlin Farm has sustainable agriculture internships available between May 1 and October 31; send cover letter and resume by March 1 to Stacy Miller, Drumlin Farm, South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773; (617) 259-9807, ext. 7700.
• USDA-ARS, Plant Science Institute, Weed Science Laboratory, seeks applicants for a Postdoctoral Research Associate; apply to Dr. John Teasdale, USDA-ARS, Bldg. 264 Room 103, Beltsville, MD 20705; (301) 504-5504; e-mail teasdale@asrr.arsuda.gov.
• Robert W. Straus Eco-System Farm, MD, seeks applicants for an 18-month farm apprenticeship starting in April; deadline is March 15; contact Shane LaBrake, The Accokeek Foundation, 3400 Bryan Point Road, Accokeek, MD 20607; (301) 293-2113.

• February 28-March 1, "Farm Direct Marketing Conference" will be held in Yakima, WA; contact Pacific Northwest Farm Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 4612, Pasco, WA 99302; (509) 547- 5538.
• February 28 (Washington, D.C.), March 6 (Austin, TX), March 8 (Loveland, CO), March 10 (Portland, OR), March 15 (Hartford, CT), March 18 (East Troy, WI), and March 21 (Los Angeles, CA), the Community Food Security Coalition will host training workshops on community food security, and the Community Food Projects program; contact Andy Fisher, CFS Coalition, (310) 822- 5410; e-mail asfisher@aol.com.
• March 1, "Sustainable Farming into the Next Century" will be held in Columbia, S.C.; contact South Carolina Christian Action Council/S.C. Sustainable Agriculture Network at (803) 786-7115.
• March 3-5, "Composting/Recycling...What It Takes to Expand Programs" will be held in San Diego; contact BioCycle magazine, 419 State Ave., Emmaus, PA 18049; 1-800-661-4905.
• March 3-5, "Eco-Ag East," an Acres USA conference on the technology of eco-agriculture, will be held in Lancaster, PA; contact Acres USA, P.O. Box 8800, Metairie, LA 70011; 1-800-355- 5313.
• March 4-5, "Strengthening the Experiential Learning Process in Sustainable Agriculture" will be held in Minneapolis, MN, sponsored by the University of Minnesota; contact Juanita Reed- Boniface, (612) 753-4636.
• March 5-8, Natural Products Expo West and Fresh Ideas Organic Table Top Exhibit will be held in Anaheim, CA; contact New Hope Communications, 1301 Spruce St., Boulder, CO 80302; (303) 939-8440.
• March 7-8, "From the Soil to the Sale: Building Farms and Communities," the 8th Annual Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference, will be held in Sinsinawa, WI; contact the Conference line, (715) 772-6819.
• March 7-9 (Willits, CA), and March 21-23 (Chambersberg, PA), Biointensive Sustainable Mini-Farming Workshops will be held; contact Ecology Action, 5798 Ridgewood Road, Willits, CA 95490; (707) 459-0150.
• March 7-9, Western Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Annual Conference will be held in Loveland, CO; contact John Fawcett-Long, Western SAWG Coordinator, (206) 935-8738.
• March 8-9, Educational Conference of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York will be held in Dryden, N.Y.; contact NOFA-NY, P.O. Box 21, South Butler, N.Y. 13154; (315) 365-2299.
• March 12-13, Farming for the Future Leadership Workshop will be held in Painted Post, N.Y.; contact Judy Green, Farming Alternatives Program, Dept. of Rural Sociology, B17 Warren Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 14853-7801; (607) 255-9832; e- mail jg16@cornell.edu.
• March 12-14, "Cover Crops, Soil Quality, and Ecosystems" will be held in Sacramento, CA; contact Soil and Water Conservation Society, 1-800-THE-SOIL; e-mail swcs@netins.net.
• March 13-14, "Innovations in Food and Agriculture" will be held in Washington, D.C.; contact Public Voice for Food & Health Policy, 1101 14th St., NW, #710, Washington, D.C. 20005; (202) 371-1840.
• March 13-15, "New Connections in the Northeast Food System" will be held in Hartford, CT; contact Hartford Food System, 509 Wethersfield Ave., Hartford, CT 06114; (860) 296-9325.
• March 19-21, International Conference on Agricultural Production and Nutrition will be held in Boston, MA; contact William Lockeretz, School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155; e-mail wlockeretz@infonet.tufts.edu.
• March 22, the 4th Annual "Providing Education Through Agriculture for Students" conference will be held in Natick, MA; contact Stacia Caplanson, Northeast Organic Farming Association, (413) 245-7402; or Stacy Miller, Massachusetts Audubon Society, (617) 259-9506.

Home News & Events Alternative Agriculture News Back Issues Feb. 97