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May-June CSAS Newsletter
May-June 1996 CSAS Newsletter
The Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems (CSAS) in the
Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) is an interdisciplinary
center formed in 1991 for the purpose of bringing together people
and resources to promote an agriculture that is efficient,
competitive, profitable, environmentally and socially sustainable
for the indefinite future. Electronic versions of the CSAS
bimonthly newsletter are sent to SANET, PENPages, and the
internal IANRNEWS 10-14 days before those on our mailing list
receive their hard copy. They are also available along with other
sustainable ag information on our new World Wide Web page:
http://ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/csas
Note: The electronic version is not sent to individual e-mail
addresses. To be added to the "hard copy" newsletter mailing list
(not sent to overseas addresses), or for questions or comments,
contact the newsletter editor, Pam Murray, Coordinator, Center
for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, PO Box 830949, University
of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0949, 402-472-2056, fax -4104,
e-mail: csas001@unlvm.unl.edu.
* * *
CONTENTS:
NEW CSAS WEB PAGE
FIELD DAY ON SPECIALTY CROPS
WINDBREAKS FOR CORN?
AGROFORESTRY FOR FARMS, RANCHES, AND COMMUNITIES
WINDBREAK EVALUATION SOFTWARE
INTEGRATED FARM UPDATE: COVER CROP RESEARCH
TEACHING SUSTAINABILITY AT A DISTANCE
CONFERENCE ON AG PRODUCTION AND NUTRITION
PRESIDENT'S TASK FORCE SAYS U.S. AG MUST BE SUSTAINABLE
EXCHANGE PROGRAM FOR ORGANIC FARMERS
RESOURCES
COMING EVENTS
* * *
NEW CSAS WEB PAGE
As anyone who has worked on a new World Wide Web home page
knows, the anticipated activation date keeps getting pushed back
until you wonder if it will ever be ready to announce. Well we
finally made it in May. Please visit our site at:
http://ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/csas
We have included many links to other sites, so take some time to
browse. There's lots of information available at your fingertips!
FIELD DAY ON SPECIALTY CROPS
A field day and tour on producing and marketing specialty
crops will be held on August 24 in conjunction with the Lincoln
Farmer's Market and local growers. The educational goals are to
demonstrate how producers can focus on specialty items for sale
both on farm and in local markets to maximize their return to
labor and limited land area, and to educate the general public
about how food is produced with environmentally sound practices.
The field day includes a tour of the farmer's market,
technical presentations and demonstrations by producers and
researchers. There will be farm-related children's activities
during the morning session in the Iron Horse Park adjacent to the
program. The afternoon includes visits to three producers near
Lincoln who are marketing specialty crop and animal products. In
the late afternoon there will be a buffet of locally produced
food and opportunity for discussion of future marketing
directions, held at the Lancaster County Extension Office, 444
Cherrycreek Road.
Marketing Specialty Crops is co-sponsored by the Nebraska
Sustainable Agriculture Society, Lincoln Farmer's Market,
Specialty Growers/OCIA-NE Chapter 3, Cooperative Extension
Service, and the CSAS. There is no cost for the program, tour,
and buffet. Participants will provide their own transportation
for the field tours. The program will begin at 10 am at the
Farmer's Market, Haymarket District in Lincoln, 8th & Q. For more
information contact Pam Murray in the CSAS office.
Editor's Note: There are web sites dedicated to direct
marketing, one of which is:
http://members.aol.com/marketfarm/farmers-market/
Windbreaks for Corn?
Establishing windbreaks, a practice that took root during
the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s, is making somewhat of a
comeback. One reason is that in addition to offering traditional
conservation benefits, trees can help boost yields of corn and
other crops.
Guy Ewald, who grows corn, soybeans, wheat, and alfalfa near
Waldorf, Minn., says windbreaks can take some of the risk out of
growing corn in his area, and can make a valuable contribution to
corn yields.
"I've noticed that corn rows near tree lines often grow
taller and tassel earlier than in the rest of the field," Ewald
adds. "This can increase yields, especially in early planted
fields. When we can, we select yield-contest acres near a grove
or hedge to take advantage of any beneficial effects there might
be." (The Ewalds, including Guy's brothers and father, have won
many corn and soybean yield contests.)
A well-managed windbreak provides a wide range of benefits,
according to Jim Brandle, a University of Nebraska forester.
Brandle, an internationally known promoter of windbreaks, says
they offer profit potential as well as resource conservation.
Brandle conducted an economic study analyzing how field
windbreaks affect corn, soybeans, and wheat. He used single-row
evergreen windbreaks on the north, east, and west sides of
fields, plus varying numbers of equally spaced windbreaks within
fields. Depending on the specific windbreak arrangement he used,
trees occupied 6.4 to 14.6 acres out of each quarter section.
A windbreak system using 8.7 acres per quarter section
produced the best economic returns in Brandle's study. Yield
increases were 15 percent for corn, 10 percent for soybeans, and
12 percent for winter wheat.
Brandle attributes the yield increases largely to
improvement of the microclimates surrounding growing crops. The
improvement comes from altering wind-flow patterns on the leeward
side of windbreaks. Trees reduce the wind speed for a distance
that's as much as 30 times the windbreak height, or up to 900
feet downwind from 30-foot trees.
According to Brandle, cutting the wind velocity lowers
evaporation rates and increases water-use efficiency and
photosynthesis in crops. It also reduces abrasion of plants
caused by windblown soil.
"During hot summer days, when the wind is from the south, an
east-west-oriented windbreak will benefit crops the most on the
north side of the trees," Brandle says. "But during early spring,
when prevailing winds are northerly, young corn seedlings south
of the same windbreak will benefit from warmer growing conditions
and the extra moisture from snowmelt that's soaked in."
What about competition from trees? In general, Brandle
says, trees that are up to 40 feet tall won't over-compete with
crops from sunlight and nutrients. "The degree to which trees
compete with adjacent crops depends more on the tree species," he
adds. "Shallow-rooted species normally compete more than deep-
rooted species do."
Other researchers also are looking into the benefits of
growing trees and field crops next to each other. Ohio State
University agronomists have planted 40-row strips of corn between
rows of walnut trees on sloping land. The scientists say interim
income from corn makes this a cost-effective way to establish
what will someday be high-value trees.
Research at the Forest Resource Center, Lanesboro, Minn.,
includes studies of how to use trees bordering fields, pastures,
and farmsteads. Native trees and shrubs growing in fencerows are
being managed as windbreaks, and woody growth is being evaluated
as wildlife habitat and as a source of fuel.
To study the effect of windbreaks on crop growth, Iowa State
University researchers planted hybrid cottonwoods on the Dennis
Morgan farm near Ogden, Iowa. The trees, now three years old, are
adjacent to a field in which strips of corn, soybeans, and oats
are rotated.
"One of our goals is to demonstrate the feasibility of
including trees in long-term rotations," says Carl Mize, an Iowa
State University forestry specialist. "We're measuring the impact
of shelterbelts on crop yields at various distances from the
trees. So far, corn yield increases have been small, but that may
change as the trees get taller. We have found that trees reduce
drifting of vapors from pesticides and fertilizers to off-target
areas."
Research shows that a variety of crops benefit from having
windbreaks nearby. In one experiment, German scientists found
that the sugar content of sugarbeets grown near a windbreak was
19.7 percent higher than it was in unsheltered beets. In other
experiments, they found that adjacent trees and shrubs improved
the germination and quality of green beans and tomatoes, and that
windbreaks reduced tip burn in lettuce and squash.
In recent University of Nebraska studies, windbreaks
increased yields of cantaloupes, snap beans, and asparagus.
Sheltered melons also matured a week to two weeks earlier than
melons in unsheltered fields.
Windbreaks can even be a part of biological-control
programs. "In addition to crops and soils, trees shelter natural
predators of crop pests," Brandle says. As examples of borer-
eating birds, he mentions flickers and downy woodpeckers. Species
that consume cutworms, grasshoppers, and beetles include
longspurs and horned larks. Populations of these and other birds
that prey on insects tend to be higher around windbreaks.
"Including windbreaks in a pest-control program can help
reduce pesticide use," Brandle says. "So in addition to helping
conserve soil and water, and in many cases increasing crop
yields, windbreaks can reduce production costs."
Source: This article by John J. Regan was reprinted with
permission from the Spring 1996 issue of The Furrow magazine,
published by Deere & Co.
Agroforestry For Farms, Ranches, and Communities
Agroforestry--the international integration of agriculture
and forestry practices to attain more productive, profitable, and
sustainable ecosystems.
This is how we describe agroforestry today. It's a holistic
concept that supports sustainable agriculture, sustainable
forestry, and sustainable communities. Agroforestry is
pragmatically marketed as "working trees for agriculture" and
"working trees for communities"--planting the right tree in the
right place for a specific purpose. Agroforestry puts trees and
shrubs to work in both rural areas and communities to meet
people's economic and social needs.
Agroforestry practices include alley cropping, windbreaks,
riparian buffers, streambank bioengineering, tree/pasture
systems, living terraces, living snowfences, tree/specialty crop
systems, and wildlife habitat. Benefits are: increased crop
production, alternative crops and diversified rural economies,
improved water quality, soil erosion/sediment control, filtering,
sequestering, and processing excess nutrients and chemicals,
reduced flooding, microclimate moderation, and diversified
habitats for wildlife and humans.
Source: "Inside Agroforestry," Winter/Spring 1996
Editor's Note: To be on the mailing list for "Inside
Agroforestry," contact the publisher, National Agroforestry
Center, East Campus-UNL, Lincoln, NE 68583-0822, 402-437-5178.
The NAC is a partnership of the USDA Forest Service and Natural
Resources Conservation Service.
Windbreak Evaluation Software
CSAS Faculty Associate Jim Brandle and John Kort from the
PFRA Shelterbelt Centre in Canada have released a new version of
their windbreak evaluation program, WBECON. It evaluates field
windbreak plantings for any rectangular shaped field with
dimensions greater than 500' by 500'. The user can select from a
number of tree species and designs for local growing conditions.
The program considers 27 common crops and allows additional crops
to be added. It considers all input costs such as establishment
and maintenance, crop production, land and interest. Results
include annual economic return, total return on investment, and
net present value based on the life of the windbreak investment.
To receive a free copy, send a disk to Jim Brandle, U. of
Nebraska, PO Box 830814, Lincoln, NE 68583-0814, or to John Kort,
Shelterbelt Centre, PFRA, Indian Head, Saskatchewan, Canada S0G
2K0. For more information contact Jim at 402-472-6626, e-mail:
fofw084@unlvm.unl.edu.
Integrated Farm Update: Cover Crop Research
Farmers use cover crops in Nebraska for erosion control,
weed suppression, forage for livestock, and nitrogen
contributions to subsequent crops. Field experiments in the
Integrated Farm at the UNL Agricultural Research and Development
Center from 1993 to 1995 explored the potentials of several
species for their productivity and contributions to the next
crops in rotation. Among the cover crops tested were spring
wheat, oats, spring barley, and annual ryegrass (non-winter
hardy), and winter wheat, triticale, and rye (winter hardy)
seeded into maturing soybeans at different times in the late
summer and early fall. Results suggest that some of these have
promise as components of an integrated production system.
In late summer 1993 four non-winter hardy grasses were over-
seeded at a rate of 100 pounds/acre into two soybean varieties on
three different dates from August 25 to September 13. There was
adequate rain for germination and establishment of the grasses
before and after soybean harvest. The highest forage production
was from oats and annual ryegrass, but these only reached 545
pounds/acre dry matter before all the grasses were winter killed.
Forage production would not justify this practice, although there
was undoubtedly some potential for erosion control through the
winter and spring.
In 1994 a similar trial was planted with three winter-hardy
grasses over-seeded at the same rate on two planting dates into
two soybean varieties. By the following spring (harvested on May
11), these forages produced from 1.0 to 2.2 tons of dry
matter/acre. This was a level of production that could provide
grazing, nutrient uptake and 'trapping,' and stabilizing
influence on the cropping system to justify planting the cover
crops. However, the growth of cover crops used moisture that was
needed by the 1995 crop; corn yields were reduced by 63% and
grain sorghum yields by 27% due to the hot, dry conditions that
season and the delayed summer cereal planting due to management
of the cover crops. This would not be a recommended practice.
The same cover crops were seeded into corn fields after
silage harvest on September 7, 1994. Forage growth was limited in
the fall but excellent in the next spring. Forage dry matter
yields were 2.8 to 3.2 tons/acre when evaluated on June 5, 1995.
Soybean yields were 29 to 32 bu/acre following the several cover
crops, whether the plots were irrigated or not, in the difficult
growing season of 1995. There is need for more research on cover
crops under a wide range of conditions. It is likely that they
will play an integral role in the integrated farming systems of
the future, once more is known about their performance and
interactions with subsequent crops.
Submitted by Gary Lesoing and Chuck Francis
Editor's Note: Managing Cover Crops Profitably, a
publication of the USDA Sustainable Agriculture and Education
Program, is available for $9.95 from Sustainable Ag Publications,
Hills Building, Room 12, U. of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405-
0082.
Teaching Sustainability at a Distance
What is unique about teaching sustainable systems? Why do we
need to approach this on a regional level? And how can distance
education techniques be used to contribute to creating efficient
and effective learning environments? These issues were explored
during a national satellite program on April 12, sponsored by the
newly created North Central Institute for Sustainable Systems
(NCISS).
Gina McAndrews and Ricardo Salvador, Iowa State University,
introduced the concept of the regional center and how it is being
organized. The NCISS faculty consists of academics, farmers,
agriculture industry and government agency specialists, and
people from non-profit groups in the agricultural sector. A minor
for undergraduates will consist of courses that originate in any
of the universities in the region, and there will be a practical,
experiential field activity for hands-on learning about systems.
Distance education techniques are useful for the NCISS
program because the faculty is dispersed. Chuck Francis (UNL)
described how video segments and live interviews can be used to
efficiently establish context for learning. They are also useful
because location specificity and values are imbedded in farm
decision making. Using distance education techniques, it is
possible to bring the field and the farmer to the classroom, and
to interact in real time with students in multiple locations as
well as with resource people where they are located.
Allan Schmidt (ISU) and Jim King (UNL) discussed the types
of technical advances that make distance learning an exciting
option for creating learning environments. With Dr. Salvador,
they demonstrated the potentials of several types of
communication. Teaching at a distance is different than working
in the conventional classroom. Much prior preparation is needed
to have appropriate materials and a pacing that is right for the
medium. Alternatives to real-time broadcast by satellite include
taped lectures and discussions, written learning and self-study
materials, and local discussion groups that can deal with topics
in greater depth than is possible at a distance. These can all be
combined with fax, phone, and e-mail communication to promote
regular interchange between instructor and students, as well as
among participants in a class.
The NCISS pilot program is supported in part by a challenge
grant from the USDA. A tape of the broadcast is available for $10
(includes s&h) from the CSAS office.
Check out the NCISS web page:
http://www.ag.iastate.edu/departments/agronomy/nciss/nciss1.html
Submitted by Chuck Francis and Jim King
Conference on Ag Production and Nutrition
Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy and
the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture are
organizing the International Conference of Agricultural
Production and Nutrition in Boston, MA, March 19-21, 1997. Papers
are invited on how the nutritional value and safety of food is
affected by the methods used to raise it. Abstracts (200-300
words) are due September 18. For more information and a list of
topics, contact William Lockeretz, School of Nutrition Science
and Policy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, 617-627-3222,
e-mail: wlockeretz@infonet.tufts.edu.
President's Task Force Says U.S. Ag Must Be Sustainable
"U.S. agriculture must be sustainable if the national goal
of sustainable development is to be achieved," and should be
supported with research that integrates "agricultural
productivity and profitability with environmental stewardship,"
according to the report of the Sustainable Agriculture Task Force
of the President's Council on Sustainable Development. Chartered
by the President's Council in 1994, the Task Force was charged
with "articulating the key social, economic, and environmental
challenges to be met in achieving a sustainable U.S.
agriculture."
In its report released last month (April), the Task Force
defines four goals for sustainable agriculture, and nine
recommendations on how to achieve those goals. The goals are:
- Management of agricultural activities to protect air, soil, and
water quality, and to conserve wildlife habitat and biodiversity,
thereby increasing agriculture's long-term productivity and
profitability, as well as enhancing human health and well-being.
- Achievement of viable farmers and farm communities.
- Production of a safe, high-quality, and affordable supply of
food and fiber in a manner that protects and conserves natural
resources.
- Creation of institutional incentives and funding arrangements
that focus public and private research, education, and technology
development on integrating agricultural productivity and
profitability with environmental stewardship.
The recommendations are:
- Harmonize the pollution prevention and natural resource
conservation policies of various federal, state, and local
agencies to minimize conflicts among the policies that could
undermine environmental protection.
- Increase the flexibility for participants in commodity programs
to respond to market signals and adopt environmentally sound
production practices and systems, thereby increasing
profitability and enhancing environmental quality.
- Expand agricultural markets to increase demand for agricultural
products, returns for farmers, investments in environmental
protection, and conservation of natural resources.
- Move the pricing of public natural resources and their use
toward market pricing.
- Keep prime farmlands in agricultural production by implementing
rational land-use policies such as easement, zoning, taxation,
financial incentives, transportation, and land development
policies that reduce the encroachment of urban sprawl on prime
farmlands.
- Help rural communities to capitalize on the economic benefits
of sustainable agriculture by giving priority in rural business
development and marketing programs to investments in enterprises
associated with the products of sustainable agriculture.
- Continue improvements in food safety and quality.
- Develop institutional incentives and funding arrangements to
promote research that shows how to integrate agricultural
productivity and profitability with environmental stewardship.
- Pursue international harmonization of intellectual property
rights in order to provide incentives for the development of new
agricultural technologies.
For a copy of the Sustainable Agriculture Task Force Report,
contact Adelia Bakiel at the USDA, 202-720-2456.
Source: "Alternative Agriculture News," May 1996, Henry A.
Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture.
Exchange Program for Organic Farmers
Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture (MESA) is
a non-profit organization dedicated to the global advancement of
sustainable farming practices. It sponsors a farmer-to-farmer
exchange program between the U.S. and participating countries,
giving young farmers interested in organic agriculture
opportunities for training in other parts of the world.
Participants can: be host farmers, be exchange farmers, join
MESA's advisory board, make tax-deductible donations, and/or help
spread the word about MESA. For more information contact Lauren
Augusta, MESA, 5337 College Ave, Suite 508, Oakland, CA 94618,
510-654-8858.
Resources
Colleges of Agriculture at the Land Grant Universities: Public
Service and Public Policy. New report by the Board on Agriculture
of the National Research Council (part of the National Academy of
Sciences) addresses the "adaptation of the land grant colleges to
the public's changing needs and priorities" and makes 20
recommendations on "public policy and institutional change that
could enhance the colleges' role in serving the national
interest." Prepublication copies are $35 plus $4
shipping/handling from National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution
Ave., NW, Lockbox #285, Washington, D.C. 20005; 1-800-624-6242;
final copies, available in August, will be $29.95 plus $4
shipping/handling. Orders can be placed at http://www.nas.edu
The Industrial Reorganization of U.S. Agriculture: An Overview
and Background Report. $5.50. Examines the industrial
reorganization of U.S. agriculture, and how that reorganization
affects elements of sustainability. Wallace Institute, 9200
Edmonston Road, #117, Greenbelt, MD 20770, 301-441-8777.
Farmers for the Future. $23.95. Dan Looker shares his interest in
helping young people find a realistic, practical way to get
started in farming. Iowa State U. Press, 2121 South State Ave.,
Ames, IA 50014-8300, 1-800-862-6657.
The Ecological Risks of Engineered Crops, 1996. $16.95. Jane
Rissler and Margaret Mellon review biotechnology research in
plants. Proposes framework for assessing ecological risks from
transgenic crops and recommends incorporating assessment into
regulatory system. MIT Press, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, 617-625-8569.
Risky Business: Biotechnology and Agriculture, 1996 (Video). $35.
An introduction to agricultural biotechnology examines its risks
and purported benefits. Interviews scientists, business-people
and activists who discuss concerns about biotechnology's impacts
on health, environment and sustainable agriculture. Moving Images
Video Project, 2408 East Valley Street, Seattle, WA 98112,
movingimages@igc.apc.org.
Coming Events
Contact CSAS office for more information:
July 7-10 -- Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual
Conference, Keystone Resort, CO
July 17-18 -- Soil Quality: A Guide for Conservation (hands-on
workshop using soil as indicator of improved management), Ames,
IA
July 23-26 -- American Society of Animal Science Annual Meeting,
Rapid City, SD
July 27 -- Ranching Seminar and Tour, Branch Creek Ranch,
Atkinson, NE
Aug. 24 -- Marketing Specialty Crops Field Day, Lincoln, NE
Sep. 7 -- Festival of Color (featuring native plants and
grasses), Ithaca, NE
Sep. 15-19 -- 7th National Bioenergy Conference, Nashville, TN
Oct. 7-11 -- International Conference on Ecological Engineering,
Beijing
Oct. 20-21 -- Groundwater Foundation annual water festival
workshop, Nebraska City, NE
Nov. 1-2 -- Profit from Diversity, Small Farm Trade Show &
Seminars, Columbia, MO
Nov. 3-8 -- American Society of Agronomy Annual Meeting,
Indianapolis, IN
Nov. 11-16 -- 14th International Symposium on Sustainable Farming
Systems, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Pam Murray, Coordinator
Center for Grassland Studies and
Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems
PO Box 830949
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68583-0949
phone: 402-472-9383
fax: 402-472-4104
e-mail: csas001@unlvm.unl.edu