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

Headlines:
Congressional Conference on Research Title is Blocked
Iowa's Organic Acres Increase as Consumers Connect Locally
Minn. Research Farm Supports Needs of Farmers and ARS
California Honors 10 IPM Innovators
Positions
Cotton: Organic Gets a Break, Genetic Strain Breaks Down
New "Bird-Friendly" Coffee Wins Endorsements
Thompson Farm Publishes Annual Research Report
Resources
Upcoming Events

Back Issues

This newsletter is also available to subscribers to the sanet-mg discussion group. To subscribe, send a message to: almanac@ces.ncsu.edu. Leave the subject line blank and in the body of the message type only: subscribe sanet-mg

Subscription information for the hard-copy version is 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 12, No. 2) features:

• An examination of flooding in cranberry beds to minimize insecticide and fungicide inputs.
• The Illinois Soil Quality Initiative's farmer-centered approach to developing information.
• A review of alternative production systems' effects on the soil erodibility factor of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, suppression of VAM fungi and micronutrient uptake by low-level phosphorus fertilization in wheat rotations.
• Abstracts from the International Conference on Agricultural Production and Nutrition.

Subscriptions to AJAA are $44 for libraries; $24 for individuals; and $12 for students. Find more information about AJAA at he Wallace Institute website.

Congressional Conference on Research Title is Blocked

Though both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives had passed versions of the "Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1997," or research title, disputes last month over funding led several House members to block the measure from going to conference and becoming law. With Congress now in recess for the rest of the year, further action on the research title could occur next year when Congress returns.

The Senate bill would have reallocated $1.25 billion of mandatory funds, most of which became available from reforms in the administration of the Food Stamp Program. It proposed using most of the money for research, with $780 million funding a new competitive grants program called the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems, as well as allocating $300 million to extend the Fund for Rural America through 2002.

The House bill did not include those allocations. Significant resistance to spending this amount of money on research emerged at the end of the Congressional session, with opponents arguing that the money be spent on either nutrition programs, food stamp aid for legal immigrants, or crop insurance, as well as several Members of Congress on the Appropriations Committee objecting to the use of mandatory dollars on research. Congress recessed for the year before the objections and proposed changes could be resolved.

The Senate bill had contained several items favorable to sustainable agriculture, primarily an extension of the Fund for Rural America for three years. The Initiative had been modified to place a priority on research to improve the viability and competitiveness of small and moderate-sized farms, and on organic research. The House bill also included three new authorizations for more organic research, alternative livestock research for small farms, and research on new crops to encourage crop diversification.

When Congress returns in January, 1998, it is unclear what will happen to the research title, particularly because of funding questions. The Congressional Budget Office will recalculate the costs of the Food Stamp Program this month, probably eliminating the funds that would have been available for research. "Unfortunately, this may have been a lost opportunity because the money is likely to disappear," according to Kathleen Merrigan, the Wallace Institute's Senior Analyst. "The Initiative and the Fund for Rural America will probably not get funded."

Iowa's Organic Acres Increase as Consumers Connect Locally

Organic acres in Iowa are increasing because consumers are demanding more organic food and closer connections to local food systems, according to Pam Neenan, coordinator of Iowa's Organic Agriculture Program, whose speech on "Revitalizing the Local Economy" is excerpted in In Business (September/October, 1997).

Iowa's organic acres have increased from less than 10,000 in 1993 to more than 62,000 this year because people "want healthy food, and to many of us, that means food with the minimum of pesticide residues," she said. "People long to reconnect with that most basic of human activities -- growing food....Supporting local growers is what a local food system is all about."

The explosion of the community-supported agriculture movement has given consumers produce grown by a local farmer they know, and farmers "a dedicated community, freedom to grow, and best of all, the financial security of prepaid shares," according to Neenan. "Eating locally means that we become entwined with our neighbors, our community and with nature."

Minn. Research Farm Supports Needs of Farmers and ARS

The Swan Lake Farm in Morris, Minnesota, has become not only a center for research to help local farmers, but also a place where the USDA's Agricultural Research Service conducts field experiments, according to an article in Agricultural Research (November, 1997).

In the mid-1950s, a group of conservation- minded business people and farm managers, called the Barnes-Aastad Soil and Water Conservation Research Association, purchased the farm with the hope that it would become a place "where scientists could conduct field research to solve agricultural problems facing farmers." The Association then formed a partnership with the ARS's North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory, whose research at the farm has included studies on tillage and erosion, soil freezing, weed emergence in crops, and cross-pollinating of corn plants for better yields.

The ARS research on Conservation Reserve Program land, conducted at the farm, is used by the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service in working with farm managers to develop the best management practices to sustain agricultural production and protect the quality of soil and water resources. "The farms of yesteryear are changing so fast, it's hard to keep up without research," said John Dosdall, a farmer and member of the Association. "The scientists at the North Central Soil Conservation Laboratory continue to play an important part in helping farmers keep pace with change."

California Honors 10 IPM Innovators

The California Environmental Protection Agency's Department of Pesticide Regulation last month honored 10 groups as "IPM Innovators" for leading the way in adopting integrated pest management techniques that increase benefits and reduce risks, and in promoting these techniques by sharing their knowledge with others.

The award-winners "have created environmentally friendly strategies to manage pests in orchards and groves, vineyards, parks and urban neighborhoods, and in sensitive areas where nature, agriculture, and urban dwellers must coexist," according to the Department.

The award recipients are:

• Almond Board of California
• Avocado Pest Management Task Force
• Beckstoffer Vineyards
• Bio-Integral Resource Center
• California Table Grape Commission
• Central Coast Wine Grape Grower Natural Vineyard Team
• Farming, Agriculture, and Resource Management for Sustainability (FARMS)
• Friant Water User Authority
• Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District
• University of California Cooperative Extension in Merced County.

For details on each group's IPM program and staff contact, call Veda Federighi of the Department of Pesticide Regulation, (916) 445- 3974.

Positions

• The Wallace Institute is seeking an agroecologist/ecologist to lead its research and education program on agriculture and biodiversity; duties will include research leading to scientific and policy publications, educational outreach to professional and policy audiences, securing grant support to supplement base program funding, and contracting with external scientists for special projects; applicants should have a Ph.D. in ecological sciences; send resume, list of three references, and three publications or educational programs to Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, Policy Studies Program, 9200 Edmonston Road, #117, Greenbelt, MD 20770; e-mail hawiaa@access.digex.net; for more information, contact David Ervin, Director of Policy Studies Program, (301) 441-8777.
• Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Berea College seeks an agricultural educator who can help provide leadership in the development of a program in sustainable agriculture; Ph.D. preferred; send resume and three letters of recommendation by December 15 to Dr. Carolyn Orr, Chair, Department of Agriculture, Berea College, Berea, KY 40404; or contact Kathy Howard, e-mail KathyHoward@berea.edu.

Cotton: Organic Gets a Break, Genetic Strain Breaks Down

Cotton made news on two fronts last month, with The New York Times reporting a deal for the organic cotton industry with several clothing companies (November 6, 1997), and dozens of farmers reporting heavy losses of a genetically engineered strain of cotton (November 23, 1997).

Levi Strauss, Nike Inc., and the Gap have agreed to buy organic cotton, mix it with ordinary bales, and produce clothing that is a blend of both. Organic cotton farmers, who have struggled in the past, called the deal "fantastic."

But Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" cotton, which had been genetically engineered to resist spraying with Roundup weed killer, has failed to do so, and produced significant losses for farmers. At least 46 Mississippi farmers say they lost as much as 40 percent of their Roundup Ready cotton, and officials report complaints from seven other states. The USDA has warned farmers to avoid planting more of it.

New "Bird-Friendly" Coffee Wins Endorsements

The National Zoo's Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the National Audubon Society have endorsed a brand of "bird-friendly" coffee grown on tree-shaded plantations that provide habitat for birds that spend summers in the Washington, D.C. area and winters in the tropics.

The new coffee, the Eco Organic Coffee Company's Cafe Audubon, is certified under the Center's "bird-friendly" guidelines. Scientists at the Center say that traditional tree-shaded coffee plantations offer more habitat for tropical birds, which are declining as land is cleared for coffee farms that grow varieties in the full sun (see Alternative Agriculture News, October, 1996). Cafe Audubon is sold at Fresh Fields supermarkets, and will soon be sold at the Smithsonian Institution's stores.

Thompson Farm Publishes Annual Research Report

Alternatives in Agriculture, the 1997 annual research report of Thompson On-Farm Research in Boone, Iowa, has been published by Dick and Sharon Thompson, and Rex and Lisa Thompson. It updates all previous reports and describes all of the sustainable and alternative agriculture experiments conducted on the farm.

Chapters detail the farm's:

• Inspiration, Documentation and Education
• Soil Fertility
• Cover Crops
• Alternative Weed Management Systems
• Crops
• Water Quality
• Soil Health
• Economics
• Livestock
• Farming Systems and the Viability of Rural Communities.
  
  

All of the experiments are summarized in table form at the end of each chapter. The publication of the report and the 1997 research are made possible by the financial support of Mrs. Jean Wallace Douglas through the Wallace Institute. Copies of the report are $10 each from Thompson On- Farm Research, 2035 190th Street, Boone, IA 50036-7423; (515) 432-1560.

Resources

• Information on the USDA's National Organic Program and National Organic Standards is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop
• "Future Horizons: Recent Literature in Sustainable Agriculture" is Volume 6 in a series, "Extension and Education Materials for Sustainable Agriculture; each volume is $10 from Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 225 Keim Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583; (402) 472- 2056; e-mail csas003@unlvm.unl.edu.
• "Nutrient Management: Crop Production and Water Quality" (NRAES-101), $8; "Nutrient Management Workbook" (NRAES-102), $2.50; and "Estimating a Mass Nutrient Balance" (NRAES-103), $1.50, are available from Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, N.Y. 14853; (607) 255-7654; e-mail NRAES@CORNELL.EDU; please add $3.50 shipping.
• "Hoop Structures for Grow-Finish Swine" (AED-41) is $4 from University of Minnesota, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Dept., 219 BAE Bldg., 1390 Eckles Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, attn: Terry; (612) 625-7024.

Upcoming Events

For additional listings, see the Sustainable Agriculture Network's Calendar of Events.

• January 21, 1998, (rescheduled from January 14), Southern Region SARE PDP/Chapter 3 Annual Workshop will be held in Memphis, TN; contact Roseanne Minarovic or Roger Crickenberger, (919) 515-3252; e-mail rcricken@amaroq.ces.ncsu.edu.
• January 21-24, 1998, "It's Happening on the Hill," the 1998 annual meeting of the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants, will be held in Washington, D.C.; contact NAICC, 1055 Petersburg Cove, Collierville, TN 38017; (901) 861-0511.
• January 27-28, 1998, "Working with Wetlands and Wildlife" will be held in Sacramento, CA; contact Wildlife Habitat Council, 1010 Wayne Ave., #920, Silver Spring, MD 20910; (301) 588-8994.
• January 28-February 1, 1998, 3rd Annual Herb Business Winter Getaway Conference will be held in San Antonio, TX; contact the Herb Growing and Marketing Network, P.O.Box 245, Silver Spring, PA 17575; (717) 393-3295; e-mail HERBWORLD@aol.com.
• January 31, 1998, Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey's 7th Annual Winter Conference will be held at Rutgers University, New Brunswick; contact NOFA-NJ, 33 Titus Mill Road, Pennington, N.J. 08534; (609) 737-6848; e-mail nofanj@aol.com.
• January 31, 1998, "Renewing People, Profit and the Environment for Agriculture: Rural Community-Friendly Strategies," the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society's 6th Annual Western Conference, will be held in North Platte, NE; contact Jane Sooby, (308) 254-3918.
• February 2-4, 1998, Northeast Agriculture Direct Marketing Conference and Trade Show will be held in Sturbridge, MA; call (413) 527-6572.
• February 6-7, 1998, PASA's "Farming for the Future Conference 1998" will be held in State College, PA; contact Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, P.O. Box 419, 114 West Main St., Millheim, PA 16854; (814) 349-9856.
• February 21, 1998, "Farming and Communities," the 16th annual Winter Conference of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, will be held in Randolph, VT; contact NOFA-VT, Winter Conference, P.O. Box 697, Richmond, VT 05477; (802) 434-4122.
• February 14-22, 1998, a delegation will go to Cuba to study sustainable agriculture; contact Jennifer Cario, Reality Tours Program, Global Exchange, 2017 Mission St., #303, San Francisco, CA 94110; (415) 255-7296, ext. 233.
• March 5-7, 1998, "Building on a Decade of Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education: Sharing Experiences to Improve Our Agriculture," sponsored by the USDA SARE program, will be held in Austin, TX; contact SARE, 0322 Symons Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742; (301) 405-5270; e-mail vberton@wam.umd.edu

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