Home News & Events Alternative Agriculture News -- May '97

Headlines:
New Report Helps Readers With Pesticide Studies
Three New Sustainable Ag Web Sites
Resources
New Program Will Create Conservation Buffers
USDA Appoints Facilities Review Task Force
Agriculture Research Prize 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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The current issue is also available at the Wallace Institute website.

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 issue (Volume 11, No. 4) includes articles on a first study of managing vertebrates in cover crops, the links between pesticide use and pesticide residues, and production-side progress and demand-side constraints in sustainable agriculture in the Corn Belt. It also features abstracts from the conference on "Environmental Enhancement Through Agriculture," sponsored by the Wallace Institute, Tufts University, and American Farmland Trust in November, 1995, are also in the new issue of the Wallace Institute's quarterly peer-reviewed journal of research on alternative agriculture.

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

New Report Helps Readers With Pesticide Studies

A new report from the Wallace Institute helps readers understand and evaluate the economic predictions in studies about restricting the use of, or reducing the risks from, agricultural pesticides.

"The Myths and Realities of Pesticide Reduction: A Reader's Guide to Understanding the Full Economic Impacts," by Edward Jaenicke, investigates the common themes in a diverse body of current research on pesticide economics.

The full implementation of last year's Food Quality Protection Act is likely to generate a new round of economic studies that attempt to predict the impacts on consumers and agricultural producers of the loss or restriction of certain pesticides, according to the report. It is also likely to rekindle a debate which centers on two premises: that the health and/or environmental risks of using certain pesticides may outweigh their economic benefits, and that using pesticides is not the only way to control agricultural pests effectively.

There are four reasons why studies on the consequences of pesticide reduction confuse or inadvertently mislead readers, according to the new report:

• Current studies often do not examine the benefits of pesticide reduction. Nonregulatory studies almost always focus only on the costs of pesticide reduction.
• Farmers usually learn to cope with new regulations through innovative adjustments. Most studies quote experts who predict that crop yields will decline when broad restrictions are imposed on pesticide use, ignoring the fact that farmers and pest-control suppliers can innovate with pest-control approaches.
• Current studies do not always put predicted costs in perspective. Statistics on the costs of pesticide reduction can be used misleadingly, when they could actually advance the cause of pesticide reduction.
• Current studies generally ignore the full range of policy alternatives. Economic impact research has focused largely on direct pesticide restrictions such as bans or cancellations.

• How flexible are the pest-control policy mechanisms examined in the study?
• How far would the restriction shift policy from the status quo?
• How are the effects of pesticide reductions on yields calculated?
• How are researchers calculating the costs to consumers of farmers' efforts to reduce pesticide use?
• What role does international trade play in assessing the impact of pesticide reduction?
• Do researchers take into account where and how crops are grown as a result of pesticide reduction?
• How do researchers approach the issue of food quality?
• Do researchers ignore environmental-related benefits from reduced pesticide use?
• Do researchers ignore the production-related benefits of reduced pesticide use?

Three New Sustainable Ag Web Sites

Three new World Wide Web sites have been launched by the Wallace Institute, the Sustainable Agriculture Network, and the new Sustainable Farming Connection.

The Wallace Institute: The Wallace Institute's new Web homepage [http://www.hawiaa.org] features a description of the Institute and its agenda of leadership, policy research, and information; some of the site is still in progress. The site lists and will soon have information links to the Institute's programs: Policy Studies Program, Agriculture Policy Project, Ward Sinclair Memorial Internship, and Education Outreach.

Alternative Agriculture News is available at the site, which will also soon include information about and summaries of additional publications: American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, Policy Studies Program Reports, Occasional Papers, Annual Reports, and the Henry A. Wallace Annual Lecture. Visitors to the homepage can e-mail messages to the Wallace Institute directly through a link at the site.

Sustainable Agriculture Network: SAN's new Web homepage [http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/san/] features information about sustainable agriculture, including on-line books, a database of more than 1,000 research projects funded by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, the Sustainable Agriculture Directory of Expertise, information about SARE grants, sustainable agriculture materials, and links to other sustainable agriculture Web sites. Visitors can search SAN's publications and media resources.

Sustainable Farming Connection: Two former editors of The New Farm have launched the Sustainable Farming Connection [http://sunsite.unc.edu/farming-connection], an interactive Web site where farmers and others can find information about production, marketing, commentary, news, action alerts, archived materials, and links to other sites. Discussion groups provide a forum for farmers to ask questions, exchange tips, and share information. The Sustainable Farming Connection has been supported by the Wallace Genetic Foundation.

Resources

• "The Fruits of Their Labor: Nitrogen Management in Stone Fruit and Almond Production," a 30-minute video, is $10 from California Dept. of Food and Agriculture, Fertilizer Research/Education Program, 1220 N St., Room A-472, Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 653-5340.
• "Implementing Pheromone Technology in the Northeast," NRAES- 83, is $16; "Farming Alternatives: A Guide to Evaluating the Feasibility of New Farm-Based Enterprises," NRAES-32, is $8; both are available from Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service, Cooperative Extension, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853; (607) 255-7654.
• "Forages, Fifth Edition," a CD-ROM Companion, is $54.95 from Iowa State University Press, 2121 S. State Ave., Ames, IA 50014; 1-800-862-6657.
• "Alternatives to Methyl Bromide" is available from the EPA's Ozone Protection Hotline, 1-800-296-1996; or Bill Thomas, Methyl Bromide Program, EPA, (202) 233-9179.
• Conservation Options Hotline, operated by the Center for Rural Affairs, assists farmers wanting to enroll in the Conservation Reserve Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and Conservation Farm Option; call (402) 994-2021.
• "Dig It! Biointensive Sustainable Mini-Farming," a video, is $24.95 from John Jeavons, 5798 Ridgewood Road, Willits, CA 95490.
• Ecological Agriculture Projects now offers sustainable agriculture services and a World Wide Web site at http://www.eap.mcgill.ca; contact (514) 398-7771 or e-mail, info@eap.mcgill.ca

• Jose Amador, Texas A&M University
• Bruce Andrews, Director, Oregon Department of Agriculture
• Alan Bergman, North Dakota Farmers Union
• Al Clausi, retired Chief Research Officer, General Foods
• Bob Guernsey, farmer
• Ted Hullar, University of California at Davis
• Andrew Jordan, National Cotton Council
• Carol Ann Kaiser, Loveless Cattle Co.
• Max Lennon, Mars Hill College
• Joseph McDonald, Salish Kootenai College, MT
• Richard Ross, Iowa State University
• Jim Wilder, North Carolina Soybean Producers Association

• Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, University of Arizona, seeks volunteers to visit Ethiopia for eight weeks, starting June 1, to work in a Farmer-to-Farmer Program; contact Kathleen Thompson, Farmer-to-Farmer Program, 800 E. University Blvd., #110, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721; (520) 622- 5546; e-mail kathleet@ccit.arizona.edu
• World Wildlife Fund seeks a Director for Toxics Policy, and a Senior Program Officer for its Agricultural Pollution Prevention projects in the International Policy Program; send cover letter and resume to WWF, Human Resources Department, Toxics Policy -- Dept. 572 M, or Agricultural Pollution Prevention -- Dept. 573M, 1250 24th St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20037.
• Center for Rural Affairs seeks a Project Leader/Loan Officer for its Family Farm Opportunities Project, and a Project Leader for its Market Structure Project. For Family Farm Opportunities Project, send letter, resume, and references to Rose Jaspersen, Center for Rural Affairs, Box 406, Walthill, NE 68067. For Market Structure Project, send letter, resume, and references to Kim Staritzky at the Center.

• June 1 is the deadline for abstracts for the International Symposium on Sustainable Agricultural Technology, to be held August 20-23 in Beijing, China; contact Mr. Ma Zhongyu, Institute of Natural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 30 Bai Shi Qiao Rd., Beijing 100081, China; phone (86-10) 62174433 ext. 2291; e-mail MAZY@MAIL2.BUCT.EDU.CN
• June 1-3, "Resource Management in Challenged Environments" will be held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; contact National Agricultural Biotechnology Council, (306) 966-5539.
• June 3-5, "Wind Erosion: An International Symposium/Workshop" will be held in Manhattan, KS; contact USDA's Wind Erosion Research Unit, Throckmorton Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506; (913) 532-6495; e-mail sym@weru.ksu.edu
• June 5-6, "Resource Use in Organic Farming" will be held in Ancona, Italy; contact Dr. Juan Isart, Coordinator ENOF Concerted Action, University of Ancona, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, Italy; phone +39-(0)71-220-4929.
• June 5-8, the joint meetings of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society will be held in Madison, WI; contact Nancy, (608) 265-2908.
• June 6-8, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy's 1997 Conference and Members Meeting will be held in Shelburne, VT; contact ALBC, (919) 542-5704.
• June 8-10, "Flexible Incentives for the Adoption of Environmental Technologies in Agriculture," sponsored by USDA/ERS and co-sponsored by the Wallace Institute and others, will be held in Gainesville, FL; contact Carole Schmitz by fax at (352) 392-3646.
• June 8-12 and June 15-19, "Grasslands 2000," International Grassland Congress '97, will be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba (June 8-12) and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (June 15-19); sponsors include Government of Canada and Agricultural Institute of Canada; contact organizers at (403) 244-4487; e-mail amc@forage.org
• June 16-27 and July 14-25, Permaculture Design Courses will be held in Santa Barbara, CA (June 16-27) and Half Moon Bay (July 14-25); contact International Institute for Ecological Agriculture, 834 West California Way, Woodside, CA 94062; (415) 365-2993; e-mail DBLUME@igc.apc.org
• June 20-22, "The Other Economic Summit/Working Alternatives: A World That Works" will be held in Denver, CO; contact TOES, 6612 Piney Branch NW, Washington, DC 20012; e-mail TOESDC@IGC.APC.ORG
• June 20-28, Fundamentals of Permaculture course will be held in Summertown, TN; contact The Ecovillage Training Center, PO Box 90, Summertown, TN 38483-0090; (615) 964-4324; e-mail ecovillage@thefarm.org
• June 21-22, 1997 Pacific Northwest Bamboo Agro-Forestry Workshop will be held in Port Townsend, WA; contact Gib Cooper, (541) 247-0835; e-mail bambugib@harborside.com
• June 21-25, "Healing, Planting and Harvesting: Taking the Future Into Our Hands," the 1997 Rural Coalition Assembly, will be held in Montpelier, VT; contact the Coalition at (202) 544- 9611.
• June 24-26, National Agriculture Resource Management Planning conference will be held in New Orleans; contact Lyn Kirschner, Conservation Technology Information Center, (765) 494- 9555; e-mail kirschner@ctic.purdue.edu
• June 25-28, 3rd International Interdisciplinary Conference on the Environment will be held in Cambridge, MA; contact Demetri Kantarelis, Assumption College, (508) 767-7557, or Kevin Hickey, (508) 767-7296.

Home News & Events Alternative Agriculture News -- May '97