.i.. .i..Article 112 of triangle.gardens: Newsgroups: triangle.gardens Path: samba!concert!sas!mozart.unx.sas.com!sasdmh From: sasdmh@hiker.unx.sas.com (David Hall) Subject: 2,4-D and Dogs Originator: sasdmh@hiker.unx.sas.com Sender: news@unx.sas.com (Noter of Newsworthy Events) Message-ID: Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 13:37:12 GMT Nntp-Posting-Host: hiker.unx.sas.com Organization: SAS Institute Inc. Lines: 32 I got this off the CANINE-L listserve. Thought it might be of interest to those of you with dogs. Can anyone verify this report? (Makes me glad I went "organic" years ago!) >Subject: Cancer-causing weed killer (repost from obed) >To: Multiple recipients of list CANINE-L >Status: OR >From: xx660@medina.CWRU.EDU > Cancer-causing weed killer. > Researchers from the National Cancer Institute have found a link > between a widely used lawn chemical and a form of cancer in dogs. > The researchers compared the home environments of 500 dogs with > malignant lymphoma with those of healthy canines. Dogs with > cancer were more likely to have played in yards where the > grass had been treated with the herbicide 2,4-D. > Previous studies have shown increases in non-Hodgkin's > lymphoma among farmers who use this weed killer. >-- > Transmitted by Medina Kennel Club Special Interest Group on > Medina County Freenet System. xx660@medina.freenet.edu > SysOp, Linda DeFoor. Co-SysOp Chris Schnitz, Claudette Confer, Bob Combs. > At the prompt type Go Dog. Thank you for visiting our Sig. Article 776 of alt.sustainable.agriculture: Xref: samba alt.sustainable.agriculture:776 rec.gardens:16888 misc.rural:5306 Path: samba!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!newsrelay.iastate.edu!iscsvax.uni.edu!klier From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture,rec.gardens,misc.rural Subject: Re: 2,4-D and Dogs Message-ID: <1993May10.143442.13071@iscsvax.uni.edu> Date: 10 May 93 14:34:42 -0600 References: <1993May8.015356.22345@samba.oit.unc.edu> Organization: University of Northern Iowa Lines: 15 In article <1993May8.015356.22345@samba.oit.unc.edu>, london@sunSITE.unc.edu (Larry London) writes: > In article sasdmh@hiker.unx.sas.com > I got this off the CANINE-L listserve. Thought it might be of interest > to those of you with dogs. Can anyone verify this report? (Makes me > glad I went "organic" years ago!) >> Previous studies have shown increases in non-Hodgkin's >> lymphoma among farmers who use this weed killer [2,4-D]. Can't comment on the dog studies, but I do know that there have been a number of studies confirming high use of commercial 2-4-D preparations and higher rates of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in farmers. The only study I recall on farmers' families who were not handling concentrated 2,4-D showed no really strong link to any cancers. Kay Klier Biology Dept UNI Article 779 of alt.sustainable.agriculture: Path: samba!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!swrinde!sdd.hp.com!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!ames!sgi!cdp!rclapp From: Richard Clapp Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Date: 10 May 93 07:45 PDT Subject: Re: 2,4-D and Dogs Message-ID: <1738700007@igc.apc.org> References: <1993May8.015356.22345@samba.oit.> Sender: Notesfile to Usenet Gateway Nf-ID: #R:1993May8.015356.22345@samba.oit.:-513707476:cdp:1738700007:000:3485 Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!rclapp May 10 07:45:00 1993 Lines: 82 Following is the bibliographic information and the abstract of the study in questions: Hayes HM, Tarone RE, Cantor KP, Jessen CR, McCurnin DM, and Richard RC. "Case-control study of canine malignant lymphoma: positive association with dog owner's use of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid herbicides." Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), 83(17): 1226-1231. September 4, 1991. Three of the authors are from NCI; the others are from colleges of veterinary medicine (Minnesota, Colorado, Purdue). "A hospital-based case-control study of companion dogs examined the risk of developing canine malignant lymphoma associated with the use of chemicals in and about the home. Information from a self-administered owner questionnaire and/or a telephone interview of about 491 cases, 466 nontumor controls, and 479 tumor controls indicated that owners in households with dogs that developed malignant lymphoma applied 2,4-D herbicides to their lawn and/or employed commercial lawn care companies to treat their yard significantly more frequently than control owners (odds ratio = 1.3). In addition, the risk of canine malignant lymphoma rose to a twofold excess with four or more yearly owner applications of 2,4-D. The findings in this study are consistent with occupational studies in humans, which have reported modest associations between agriculture exposure to 2,4-D and increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the histology and epidemiology of which are similar to those of canine malignant lymphoma. The present study suggests that human health implications of 2,4-D exposure in the home environment should receive further investigation." ------------------------------------- Incidentally, 2,4-D is known to be contaminated with several dioxins. Dioxin is not only a carcinogen, but has serious effects on the immune system, and on reproduction and development. There is an extensive literature on the subject, not only on lymphoma but on other cancers as well. In dogs, a study of military dogs in Vietnam showed an excess of testicular cancer, presumably due to exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange (contaminated with dioxin). We have on file hundreds of articles on effects on humans of various pesticides. A recent study of particular interest is the following: Davis JR, Brownson RC, Garcia R, Bentz BJ and Turner A. "Family pesticide use and childhood brain cancer." Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 24: 87-92, 1993. "The relationship between family pesticide use and childhood brain cancer was examined in a case control-study. Telephone interviews were conducted from June 1989 through March 1990 with the natural mothers of 45 childhood brain cancer cases, 85 friend controls, and 108 cancer controls. In comparisons to friend controls, significant positive associations were observed for use of pesticides to control nuisance pests in the home, no-pest strips in the home, pesticide to control termites, Kwell shampoo, flea collars on pests, diazinon in the garden or orchard, and herbicides to control weeds in the yard. In general, positive associations in comparisons to one control group were supported by elevated odds ratios in comparisons to the other control group. Several potentially important associations were identified in this study." Mary Firestone JSI Center for Environmental Health Studies 210 Lincoln Street Boston, MA 02111 E-mail: rclapp@igc.org Phone: (617) 482-9485 FAX: (617) 482-0617 Article 780 of alt.sustainable.agriculture: Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: samba!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mnemosyne.cs.du.edu!nyx!behlert From: behlert@nyx.cs.du.edu (Brian Ehlert) Subject: Re: 2,4-D and Dogs Message-ID: <1993May11.121310.2912@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> X-Disclaimer: Nyx is a public access Unix system run by the University of Denver for the Denver community. The University has neither control over nor responsibility for the opinions of users. Sender: usenet@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu (netnews admin account) Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept. References: <1993May8.015356.22345@samba.oit.> <1738700007@igc.apc.org> Date: Tue, 11 May 93 12:13:10 GMT Lines: 16 one note: In any of these studies about 2,4-D and dogs the ownsers with the higher rates of lymphoma let their dogs run on the wet grass. The key word is WET. Either soon after treatment or early in the morning soon after treatment. 2,4-D is a very effective plant growth regulator when used properly and that is the key. The public tends to assume a lot of things about pesticides, both good and bad. But the average american homeowner mind set is that if a little is good, more is better. It is a lack of education on EVERYONES part. - Bri From GALE-SINEX@ae.agecon.wisc.edu Fri Nov 18 22:48:36 EST 1994 Article: 4528 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!oit-mail2news-gateway From: GALE-SINEX@ae.agecon.wisc.edu (Michele Gale-Sinex/CIAS) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Call for particip/rural datafication Date: 19 Nov 1994 00:55:44 -0000 Organization: sustag-public mailing list Lines: 222 Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <1D738E032E8@ae.agecon.wisc.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: bigblue.oit.unc.edu Howdy, SANETters-- What follows is (edited) information for the upcoming annual conference on Rural Datafication sponsored by CICNet. If you have questions, contact me or Rhana Jacot at CICNet (rjacot@CICNet). I can also forward you the unedited version of this information. One of the Center's farmer/research collaborators and I attended and presented last year on the Center's pilot project to e-network a group of farmers here in Wisconsin; we found it useful for issues of rural access, bandwidth, content, Net information/service usefulness, and much more, as well as for networking and strategizing with others who are active in rural e-networking and datafication. Peace-- Michele Gale-Sinex Center for Integrated Ag Systems UW-Madison ************************************************************** Please distribute the following call for participation as widely as possible, especially to those who aren't on the Net. Thank you! ********** CALL FOR PARTICIPATION ********** THIRD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RURAL DATAFICATION: Routing the Information Highway Down Main Street May 22-24, 1995 Indianapolis, IN ******************************************** The Information Highway becomes every day less and less the dream of science fiction writers and more and more just "business as usual" in our homes and offices. But for many of us, all this talk of video on demand, interactive multimedia, and other gee-whiz applications of information technology, now mentioned almost daily in newspapers and on the evening news, remains just that--talk. Even electronic mail is too high-tech for communities that lack inexpensive, high-quality telephone service. As the nation prepares to enter its third major "highway" construction boom this century, we need to ask ourselves and our leaders: What can we do to avoid making a bust town out of every rural community and inner-city neighborhood too poor to earn a stop on the national Information Highway? And since with new highways come traffic jams, smog, and billboards, we also need to ask: How can we keep our communities pleasant places to live, once the Information Highway comes to town? CONFERENCE INFORMATION ---------------------- Building on the success of the previous Rural Datafication conferences in Chicago (May 1993) and Minneapolis (May 1994), the Third Annual Conference on Rural Datafication: "Routing the Information Highway Down Main Street" will focus on four aspects of the push to "datafy" America, as they might be considered by an ordinary citizen: -- How do I get on this Information Highway? -- Where can I go once I'm on it? -- Where will I be able to go in the next two years? -- Once I'm on it, will I want to stay? With the support of the National Science Foundation and in partnership with the state networks of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, and the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, CICNet invites you to participate in this important conference. Between now and January 15, 1995, we are soliciting proposals for presentations, posters, discussions, panels, demonstrations, workshops, and birds-of-a-feather sessions that address the following topics: Session #1: How do I get on this Information Highway? Very few communities have access to the high-bandwidth, inexpensive connectivity that the research and higher education communities have enjoyed for years. What connectivity options--Information Highway "on-ramps"--exist for rural communities and inner-city neighborhoods? Of particular interest would be real-life stories of how communities have provided network access to their members, including how they got started, how they generated interest among potential users, how they funded the network, what problems they encountered and how they solved them, and what changes the communities have experienced as a result of having access to a network. Possible networking technologies and implementations include Free-Nets, public library access, cable TV, BBSs, and others, in addition to TCP/IP networking. Session #2: Where can I go once I'm on it? How are individuals, businesses, state and local governments, communities, and others really using networked information now? Possible topics could include, but are by no means limited to, examples of businesses that couldn't exist or function without network access, or that use networks as an adjunct to standard services; providing or using government and election information online; how access to networks is reforming K-12 education, enhancing the lives of shut-ins, or revitalizing inner cities or downtowns; and any other topics that describe how real people are really using networks and networked information right now. Session #3: Where will I be able to go in the next two years? Technologies and services available now may be unrecognizable next year, and replaced by something completely different the year after that. How will the Information Highway change over the next two years? Include planned projects, early results of pilot projects, warnings of potential problems, and even pie-in-the-sky projections of what people may encounter on the road ahead. Session #4: Once I'm on it, will I want to stay? Now, during the planning and early implementation stages, is the time to discuss ways of keeping the national Information Highway clean and safe. Of particular interest are frank, realistic appraisals of and suggestions for dealing with the "downside" of universal access to the Information Highway--electronic junk mail, issues of privacy and security, censorship vs. protecting children from undesirable information or contacts, issues of copyright and intellectual property, and others. SUBMISSION INFORMATION ---------------------- Deadline: January 15, 1995 Submission address: Rural Datafication '95 Proposals CICNet, Inc. 2901 Hubbard Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2467 Fax: 313-998-6105 Electronic mail: ruraldata-submit@cic.net (ASCII, uuencoded enclosure, or MIME attachments only; no BinHex!) PROPOSAL SUBMISSION FORM ------------------------ Please supply ALL information requested to help us evaluate your proposal. 1. Title: 2. Primary Presenter (contact person): Name: Title: Affiliation: Address: Phone: E-mail: 3. Other Presenters (up to two): Name: Title: Affiliation: Address: Phone: E-mail: Name: Title: Affiliation: Address: Phone: E-mail: 4. Suggested Moderator (for panel or debate): Name: Title: Affiliation: Address: Phone: E-mail: 5. Proposal Category: A. Focus __ How do I get on this Information Highway? __ Where can I go once I'm on it? __ Where will I be able to go in the next two years? __ Once I'm on it, will I want to stay? B. Format __ Single Presentation/Report __ Panel __ Debate __ Discussion __ Poster __ Demonstration __ Other: C. Audience __ General __ Specific Group: 6. Abstract (25-50 words, to appear in final program): 7. What outcomes might be expected as a result of your proposed presentation? 8. Have you made this presentation previously? Do you plan to present it elsewhere in 1995? 9. Audio-visual Requirements: 10. Summary (100-300 words; include your main points and conclusions, or indicate the issues to be debated or discussed, with likely outcomes): ---- Upon acceptance of this proposal by the Rural Datafication Conference Program Advisory Board, I agree to have my presentation professionally recorded and included in the Conference Proceedings. ******************** For more information about the Rural Datafication Project, send your e-mail address, surface mail address, and phone and fax numbers to ruraldata-info-request@cic.net. From ghegyes@nalusda.gov Thu Feb 3 14:49:28 1994 Date: Thu, 3 Feb 1994 09:57:16 -0500 (EST) From: Gabriel Hegyes To: SANET-mg Subject: SA Program Associate/AERO Please respond to the address below. ------------------ Gabriel A. Hegyes Sustainable Agriculture Network ghegyes@nalusda.gov FROM ALTERNATIVE ENERGY RESOURCES ORG. Alternative Energy Resources Organization 25 South Ewing, Suite 214 Helena, MT 59601 Phone: (406) 443-7272 Fax: (406) 442-9120 Sustainable Agriculture Program Associate The Altemative Energy Resources Organization (AERO) is seeking a qualified person for a full-time, permanent position (3 years of secure funding) as Sustainable Agriculture Program Associate. Salary range is $17,000 to $18,500, plus generous benefits. AERO is an activist, grassroots non-profit organization working with people to promote sustainable agriculture; renewable energy and conservation; and more livable communities. The AERO staff is small, operates as a team, and works directly with AERO members on a variety of activities. Sustainable Agriculture Options Network Program. The Program Associate will work primarily with the Sustainable Agriculture Options Network program. AERO's project is part of the Kellogg Foundation's national Integrated Farming Systems program. The purpose of AERO's project is to support and encourage sustainable fanning systems in the Northern Rockies through a network of local farm improvement clubs. The farm improvement clubs: (1) enable local groups of farmers and ranchers to meet their own needs for information about sustainable agriculture; (2) build supportive networks of producers, agricultural service and research personnel; (3) make practical information about sustainable aoculhire available to fanners and ranchers, scientists and their institutions and policy makers; and (4) build a support community for farmers interested in implementing sustainable practices. Major job Responsibilities * Provide technical and organizational assistance to 22 farm improvement clubs throughout Montana. * Administer small grants to farm improvement clubs. * Cultivate potential clubs and respond to Wormation requests from clubs and individual farmers and ranchers. * Work collaboratively with the Sustainable Options Network program steering committee. * Serve as a clearinghouse for club information, activities and resources. * Generate media about the program. * Organize farm tours and public eventb-. * Desseminate club-generated information to the general agricultural, rural and academic communities. * Write grant proposals. * Recruit new AERO members. * Work collaboratively with other Montana agricultural organizations and public agencies. * Participate in major AERO organizational activities and events. Job Requirements and Qualifications *Technical knowledge and practical experience in sustainable agriculture. * Commitment to the philosophy and goals of sustainable agriculture. * experience working with a grassroots non-profit (2 years minimum) * Credibility with farmers and ranchers in one-on-one interactions. * Excellent writing and editing skills. * Reliable car and willingness to travel extensively in Montana. * Project management experience. * Word processing skills (Macintosh preferred). * Experience In grant writing and grassroot fundraising (preferred). * Media and outreach experience: ability to write news releases, articles and be interviewed. * Ability to work in project teams, with AERO staff and members. Application Procedure To apply please send a resume, writing sample, 3 professional references, and your response to the questions below to: Nancy Matheson, Sustainable Agriculture Program Manager Alternative Energy Resources Organization 25 South Ewing, Suite 214 Helena, MT 59601 Questions: 1. Describe your knowledge of and experience in sustainable agriculture. 2. Describe your experience working in grassroots, activist non-profit organizations. 3. Why are you interested in this Sustainable Agriculture Program Associate position? Application Deadline Is March 11, 1994 From ncarroll@wolf.ces.ncsu.edu Thu Jul 28 12:39:40 1994 Date: Thu, 28 Jul 1994 08:49:57 -0400 (EDT) From: Nancy Carroll To: sanet Subject: "Taking Stock: The North American Livestock Census" The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) announces the publication of "Taking Stock: The North American Livestock Census." "Taking Stock" uses a national inventory of breeds to describe the status of livestock genetic diversity in the United States. The book considers the impact of current agricultural trends on these genetic resources, describes the significance of livestock for sustainable agriculture and makes the case for livestock conservation. "Taking Stock" reports on asses, cattle, goats, horses, sheep and swine, with information on all breeds within each species, graphs to illustrate genetic status and breed association addresses. Appendices describe the past extinctions of American breeds and present data on feral livestock populations. (Poultry will be the subject of a 1994-1995 census.) The report identifies 77 breeds as conservation priorities, about 30 of which are unique to North America. They include American Mammoth Jackstock, Milking Devon cattle, Fainting goats, Spanish Mustangs, Navajo-Churro sheep and Ossabaw Island swine. Also of great importance are those globally endangered international breeds for which the North American population is a significant portion, such as Cotswold sheep, Red Poll cattle and Tamworth swine. These domestic breeds have become rare due to agricultural industrialization and the decline of the diversified farm. Yet because these breeds are divergent from modern industrial types, they are well suited to today's sustainable, organic and low-input farms and represent significant genetic diversity for the future. "Taking Stock: The North American Livestock Census" is available from the ALBC for $14.95, plus $2 postage to North America or $6 airmail to other countries. To order, send a check or money order, payable in U.S. funds, to: ALBC, P.O. Box 477, Pittsboro, NC 27312 USA. Call (919) 542-5704 or fax (919) 542-2460 to charge your order to Mastercard or Visa. For more information, contact Don Bixby or Carolyn Christman at the ALBC. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy is a nonprofit membership organization conserving genetic diversity by protecting endangered livestock and poultry breeds from extinction. In addition to investigations of breed status and characteristics, ALBC operates a semen bank for rare breeds, provides technical support to breeders and associations and supports an extensive education program to expand public advocacy for livestock use and conservation. The ALBC is the only livestock genetic conservation organization in the United States. From Environment.Arkansas! Mon Nov 21 22:26:56 EST 1994 Article: 4560 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!news.cac.psu.edu!news.pop.psu.edu!hudson.lm.com!godot.cc.duq.edu!news.duke.edu!duke.cs.duke.edu!wolves!psybbs!Environment.Arkansas From: Environment.Arkansas! (Environment Arkansas!) Date: 18 Nov 94 20:17:00 -0500 Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Ag Biobase Renewables Message-ID: X-Mail-Agent: GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 Organization: [Fido] Environment Arkansas! Little Rock (501) 562-7969 Lines: 75 BIOBASED PRODUCTS EXPO '94 TO SPOTLIGHT NEW, RENEWABLE RESOURCE, GREEN PRODUCTS FROM AGRICULTURE' KANSAS CITY, MO., Nov. 17 -/E-Wire/-- The growing range of new, renewable resource-based "green products from agriculture" for industrial and consumer uses will be the focal point of an upcoming national exposition co-sponsored by three federal government agencies and a private sector trade organization. The "Biobased Products EXPO '94 -- Expanding Industrial Uses and Markets for Agricultural and Forestry Materials" will be held Dec. 5-7, 1994, at the Kansas City Convention Center -- Bartle Hall, and the Kansas City Marriott Downtown Hotel in Kansas City, Mo. The EXPO is the leading trade show and technical conference devoted to showcasing new, environmentally preferable, renewable resource, industrial products from agriculture. A diverse range of new products, research and processing technologies will be featured, including: bioplastics, coatings and biodegradable polymer products made from corn, wheat and potato starch; biodegradable lubricants made from oilseed crops; wall systems, composite lumber and construction materials made from agriculture fibers; biobased industrial cleaning solvents, paints, stains and biochemicals from citrus and oilseed crops; biofuels, including ethanol and biodeisel fuel made from corn, soybeans and other biomass crops; biomass crops for electrical power generation; treeless paper from fiber crops like kenaf; cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and more. These emerging products typically are banking on their environmental advantages, as well as performance characteristics, for market success. Many are cleaner performing, producing less harmful emissions. Others are biodegradable, cleaner to process, and utilize by-products and agricultural wastes. Some replace critical materials, or products like prime lumber, that have become more expensive and in short supply. And they are primarily made from renewable resources, which is important to the long-term sustainability of the world's environment. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD); along with the New Uses Council, a private sector agriculture and renewable resource industry organization, have teamed up to sponsor the EXPO. The Small Business Administration (SBA) and several private companies are also providing active support. EXPO '94 will build on the success of the first Biobased Products EXPO held in 1992 in St. Louis that drew 100 exhibitors and more than 400 participants. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Richard Rominger is among the national agricultural leaders scheduled to address the EXPO. Also scheduled for the program are senior officials from the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, USDA's Forest Service, members of Congress, state agencies, environmental organization representatives, and prominent industry and research officials from the European Community and Japan. The EXPO serves three main purposes, according to John Campen, chair of the EXPO '94 and director of market development and utilization for the National Corn Growers Association. It's a business networking event designed to build partnerships between industry product developers and marketers, research institutions, entrepreneurs, investors, agricultural groups, environmental groups and companies, and government technology transfer and development programs. The EXPO is also a marketing and trade promotion event for companies to showcase new renewable resource products, and it serves as a technical symposium to provide information about market sectors, and research and development strategies. For information about attending the Biobased Products EXPO '94, contact: Barbara Detwiler, Science Applications International Corporation at 703-734-4081, fax 703-356-4056. -0- 11/17/94 /NOTE TO EDITORS: Members of the news media are invited to attend the Biobased Products EXPO, and should pre-register by contacting the numbers above. The standard registration fee of $295, covering materials, several meals and admission to presentations, will be waived for working members of the media. Media credentialing will be handled at the event. For more information, contact Bruce Abbe, vice president of public affairs for Communicating for Agriculture and member of the EXPO program committee, at 612-854-9005/ /CONTACT: Bruce Abbe of Communicating for Agriculture, 612-854-9005/ * QMPro 1.53 * Cry "ECHO!" and let slip the dogs of mail! From btorres@io.comThu Jul 13 18:52:57 1995 Date: Thu, 13 Jul 1995 14:03:52 -0400 From: Bob Torres Reply to: agenvir-l@io.com To: agenvir-l@io.com Subject: Andean Agriculture, etc. Hello everybody! I just returned from a trip to Peru; I hope that the mailing list went well during my absence. It doesn't look like there was much traffic, so perhaps this can start a thread. At any rate, I noticed that the list got spammed with some kind of "russian love letter" stuff -- sorry about that, but it was really beyond my control. And some people love to abuse the net. I try to keep the list as "clean" as possible. I was working with a program funded by the McKnight foundation to study the sociology, biology, and ecology of Andean root and tuber crops. We worked in a community near Cusco, Peru, high in the Andes. I was amazed at several things during this trip, but to me the most amazing things are the biodiversity of the Andean crops and the altitude at which they grow. To begin with, most of the crops we studied grow at 3500+ m - quite high. These would include oca and olluco, two crops which are completely unknown (outside of academic circles) in the North. These, along with many varieties of potato, present the staple diet of the campesinos of the high Andes (at least in Peru). I also saw potato being grown as high as 4200m which seems incredible, but I tend to believe the altimeters. Additionally, many of these crops were grown literally on the sides of mountains, on slopes that were very steep. The variety was incredible; there are at least 5 or 6 common varieties of oca and olluco with many, many more that are less commonly used. With regard to potato, I saw 20 different varieties growing in one woman's plot. Almost always, these varieties are grown together, and frequently some of the native grass is left in with the plots. They are able to grow all of this without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Although some of the richer farmers that we talked to were able to afford chemicals, I never met anyone who used them. They simply used the manure from the corral to fertilize. There is also an incredible respect for the fragility of the land; typical fallow periods range from 4 - 7 years after growing potato, oca, and olluco in succession. Despite the nutritive values of the typical crops, there is concern that these crops are being produced less and less in substitution for cash crops like onion, barley, carrot, and other vegetables. I could see this happening in the community where I worked; electricity had just been installed and people had to produce something to pay for it, so more and more onion has to be produced and sold at the market. Farming methods were also interesting. Many people still use the chaqui toalla (spelling?) to plant potato and other crops - as you may or may not know, this is an ancient tool which dates back to the Incas. It is like a spade with a handle and a foot hold. Much of the technology for field preparation has remained the same over the last several hundred years. Additionally, there were some interesting cropping patterns that I saw - for instance, growing lupine around fava beans to prevent the cattle from eating the fava - and also, some claim, for anti-nemotodal properities. Well, I've written enough and I could easily write more. If you have any questions, please ask. It was an amazing month for me and an incredible learning experience. Cheers, Bob Agenvir-l list admin. From caff@igc.apc.org Sun Feb 27 21:26:52 1994 Date: Sun, 27 Feb 1994 12:13:14 -0800 From: Thomas Nelson To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Job Announcement **Job Announcement** Project Organizer -- Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems -- CAFF Foundation A new project has been developed for Merced County almond growers who wish to reduce their use of pesticides and/or synthetic fertilizers. This project, known as "Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems" or BIOS, is coordinated and sponsored financially by the Community Alliance with Family Farmers Foundation (CAFF Foundation). This project gives farmers the opportunity to learn how to manage their orchards using cover crops, beneficial insects, and other biological practices. Farmers and their pest control advisors are working with an experienced management team to monitor soil and plant nutrients, and pest and beneficial insect populations. The project will be expanded to Stanislaus County for almond growers and to Yolo and Solano Counties for walnut growers. BIOS is looking for a project organizer. The project organizer will work closely with other BIOS staff to organize monthly management team meetings, grower field days and problem-solving meetings. Additional responsibilities will include serving as staff liasion to management team members, recruiting farmers, and overall program development. For more information, call Thomas Nelson at (916) 756-8518. To apply, please send a letter of introduction and a resume to: CAFF Foundation, P.O. Box 363, Davis, CA 95617, attn: Thomas Nelson, BIOS Coordinator. From ccof@igc.apc.org Tue Apr 26 11:07:50 1994 Date: 24 Apr 94 09:37 PDT From: Brian Baker To: sustag-public@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Re: Seeking on-farm apprenticeship (fwd A list of organic farms in California that offer apprenticeships is available for a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope mailed to Apprentice List California Certified Organic Farmers 303 Potrero St. #51 Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Good Luck-- Brian Baker CCOF Article 505 of sci.agriculture: Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!news.intercon.com!news1.digex.net!access3!wdunn From: Bill Dunn Newsgroups: sci.agriculture Subject: Cooperative Extension Service Date: 23 Mar 1994 16:41:12 -0500 Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA Lines: 29 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: access3.digex.net Summary: brief history and purpose An earlier poster thought the CES was a "government" program. He's partly right. For more information contact your local Extension Service office. The 1990 Fact Book of Agriculture (USDA Miscellaneous Publication Number 1063) describes the CES: "Established in 1914, the Cooperative Extension System was designed as a partnership of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the land-grant universities, which were authorized by the Federal Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Legislation in various States has enabled local governments or organized groups in the Nation's counties to become a third party in this educational endeavor. "Today, this educational system includes professionals in each of America's 1862 land-grant colleges and universities (in the 50 States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Marianas, American Samoa, Micronesia, and the District of Columbia) and in Tuskegee University and sixteen 1890 land-grant colleges or universities." (pp. 119,120) The USDA Extension Service is the Federal "partner." The 1994 agriculture appropriation bill has $435 million for this activity -- up from $429 million in FY93. The Clinton administration wanted to cut the budget to $426 million. By way of comparison, the Food and Drug Administration budget for FY1994 is $870 million. (from Congressional Quarterly, 2 Oct 93, p 2632) -- William G. Dunn 76104.72@compuserve.com, wdunn@access.digex.net From bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!hearst.acc.Virginia.EDU!caen!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!sgiblab!sgigate.sgi.com!odin!twilight!fido.asd.sgi.com!sgi!cdp!wit Mon Jul 11 12:13:26 EDT 1994 Article: 3027 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!hearst.acc.Virginia.EDU!caen!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!sgiblab!sgigate.sgi.com!odin!twilight!fido.asd.sgi.com!sgi!cdp!wit From: "World Information Transfer, Inc." Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Date: 11 Jul 94 01:06 PDT Subject: CCall to Support Farmers' Rights Message-ID: <1738700044@cdp> Sender: Notesfile to Usenet Gateway Lines: 370 Rural Advancement Foundation International 101 Hillsboro St., Rm. 5, P.O. Box 655, Pittsboro, North Carolina USA 27312 Tel: 919 542-1396 Fax: 919 542-2460 e-mail: rafiusa@igc.apc.org TO: Biodiversity/Biotechnology Activists and Family Farm Advocates FROM: Hope Shand, RAFI RE: We are Seeking Interested Groups to Join Us in Amicus Curiae Brief in support of Winterboers and Farmers Rights If you agree with our position--please join the cause. It will not cost you anything, and you don't need to do any additional work. DATE: 7 July 1994 RAFI is an international research and advocacy organization, and not usually in the business of fighting legal battles. Our role in this effort was made possible with the valuable help of June Reed, a farmer in Pennsylvania who stepped forward to assist RAFI in the drafting of the brief, the pro bono assistance of William C. Lane, an attorney in McLean, Virginia who is a member of the Supreme Court bar, and Luis Acosta, an attorney with William H. Bode & Associates who is representing the Winterboer family. In a few weeks the US Supreme Court will hear the case of Asgrow Seed Co. v. Denny Winterboer and Becky Winterboer, Supreme Court Case No. 92-2038. We will submit an amicus brief in support of the Winterboer farm family affirming the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Asgrow Seed Co. v. Denny Winterboer and Becky Winterboer, 982 F. 2d 486 (1992). We believe the Court's interpretation of the "farmer's exemption" is of central importance in the ongoing struggle over who will control the food supply of the nation and the world. The Asgrow vs. Winterboer case involves the right of farmers to save and sell limited quantities of proprietary seed, a traditional legal right under the Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970. In recent years, Asgrow (a subsidiary of Upjohn Pharmaceutical), Pioneer and other seed companies have brought lawsuits against dozens of farmers for what they believe is illegal "brownbagging" of proprietary seed. Our amicus brief will argue in support of the Winterboers. Briefly, here's why we believe this is important, and the major issues we will put forward in the brief: The intent of Congress in establishing the PVPA was to uphold and preserve the farmer's right (farmer's exemption) to save and sell limited quantities of proprietary seed. This was part of the bargain made by Congress in granting intellectual property rights for plant breeders. We will argue that Congress established the Plant Variety Protection Act precisely because it provides breeders with limited monopoly rights over the production, marketing and sale of their varieties (limited in contrast to the utility patent system which does not contain a farmer or researcher exemption). PVPA contains two important limitations: 1) It expressly maintains the availability of genetic resources for crop improvement by allowing breeders to freely use each others protected varieties for further breeding experiments, and 2) it permits farmers to re-use seed from their harvests, without having to pay royalties or ask permission, as long as they are not in the business of re-selling proprietary seed. Plant varieties are distinct from many kinds of industrial inventions because no plant breeder starts from scratch in developing a new variety. Modern plant breeders are building on the accumulated success and innovation of generations of farmers and breeders. Historically, US farmers have played a major role in contributing to the introduction and further development of exotic germplasm. In 1897, for example, the US Department of Agriculture freely distributed 22 million packets of seeds to US farmers. The goal of this federal program was to utilize the ingenuity and skills of the nation's farmers in geographically diverse regions of the nation to introduce, experiment and cultivate thousands of novel plant varieties throughout the land. It was the farmers' success in selecting and breeding these crops that helped to build the agricultural base of the United States. By 1924, the seed industry had persuaded Congress to end free distribution of seeds, and in 1930 industry lobbying culminated in the Plant Patent Act. In 1970, after years of seed industry lobbying, the Congress passed the Plant Variety Protection Act. It is a well known fact that companies that are receiving proprietary protection for new plant varieties today are using public germplasm in their breeding programs. Given the historic role of generations of farmers and public sector breeders in contributing to the development of improved germplasm, it is imperative that a balance be maintained between the rights of corporate plant breeders and farmers. The bottom line is that there was clear intent on the part of Congress to allow for the farmer's exemption. This was a protection not only for farmers, but for society, in that it expressly limits the right of plant breeders to gain monopoly control over new plant varieties. Whether or not the Winterboer's "abused" the farmer's right to sell proprietary seed, they were legally permitted to do so under the PVPA. If the law needs to be amended, it is the role of Congress, as custodians of the public interest, to do so. If your organization is interested in signing on to the brief, please contact Hope Shand or Kathy Zaumseil at the RAFI office in Pittsboro. telephone (919) 542-1396. We will send you the complete text of the brief (about 10 pages), for your review. (It would be easiest if we can do this on e-mail.) At this late date, we can't entertain any major changes in the text. In other words, this is a rather un-democratic process--but we're working on a very tight deadline. We will also need a two or three sentence description of your organization, that will be included on the brief. We apologize for the very late notice--please let us know if you can sign on! P.S. As most of you know, we are also fighting a similar battle in Congress. The seed industry is pushing hard to pass bills that will restrict the farmer's right. We oppose these bills, but we believe that Congress is where the issue should be decided--not in the courts. Amendments to the PVPA have already passed the Senate, but are still pending in the House. It's not too late to contract your rep. in Congress about this issue. We can provide additional information to anyone who needs it. BRIEF OF THE RURAL ADVANCEMENT FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS STATEMENT OF INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE The Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA ("RAFI") is a private, non-profit organization that is dedicated to the preservation of family farms, the conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity, and the socially responsible use of new technologies. RAFI is concerned with the loss of genetic diversity in agriculture, and with the impact of plant intellectual property rights on U.S. agriculture and world food security. RAFI has received the consent of the parties in this case to present its views. SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT The Federal Circuit's decision in Asgrow Seed Co. v. Winterboer, 989 F.2d 478 (1993), reaffirming that the Farmers' Exemption to the Plant Variety Protection Act allows farmers to save and sell seed to their neighbors as long as the primary occupation of both parties is farming, is consistent with Congressional intent in passing the PVPA, with the limited nature of the property right established by the PVPA, and with the public policy that seed companies' monopolization of rights to germplasm should not be absolute. The decision should be affirmed. [Note -- Some of the arguments in the present "Summary of Argument" need to be incorporated into the main argument] ARGUMENT 1. The Federal Circuit's Interpretation of the Farmers' Exemption to the PVPA is Consistent With Congressional Intent The Federal Circuit's interpretation of the Farmers' Exemption, which recognizes the right of farmers to save and sell seed to farming neighbors, is consistent with the legislative balance struck by Congress in passing the PVPA. Prior to the 1970 passage of the Act, seed companies did not enjoy any property right in novel, sexually-reproduced plants. When Congress included the Farmer's Exemption in the PVPA, it did so to safeguard a right that had belonged to the farmer since the beginning of agriculture, namely, the right to save seed produced by the farmer and to dispense with such saved seed as he or she saw fit, as long as the farmer did not enter into the seed business. Inclusion of the Farmer's Exemption was part of the legislative compromise that enabled the PVPA to pass Congress. Indeed, the United States Department of Agriculture, represented by Undersecretary of Agriculture Phil Campbell, insisted that farmers be allowed under the PVPA to save their own seed and sell some of this seed to neighbors. Without this provision, the USDA would not have supported passage of the Act. [cite] Apart from the USDA's conditions on support of the PVPA, the Act also met significant outright opposition. Andrew Klein, a patent lawyer and chairman of the committee of the American Bar Association that was formed to investigate the bill, told Congress that a majority on his committee opposed passage of the PVPA. Members of the committee feared that the Act would delay the release of new varieties, would restrict access to germplasm and the free exchange of genetic material, and would result in higher seed prices. [cite] There was clear intent of the part of Congress to allow farmers to save seed and to sell such seed to their neighbors. The farmer's exemption expressly limited the right of plant breeders to gain total monopoly control over new plant varieties, and thereby protected not only farmers, but society as a whole. [cite] When amendments to the PVPA were proposed in 1980 to cover six previously excluded species, opposition was widespread and heated. [elaborate and cite] The 1980 amendments eventually were enacted, but the widespread opposition exhibited in the debates is one reason why some seed companies have begun seeking to extend their property rights through the courts rather than the legislature, as Asgrow has sought to do in this case. [cite] 2. The Limitation on Seed Companies' Monopolization of Genetic Resources Embodied in the Farmers' Exemption is Consistent With Public Policy There are very important differences between utility inventions, which are the subject matter of patent law, and sexually reproducing plants, the subject matter of the PVPA. Unlike the objects of patent protection, sexually reproducing plants are capable of self-reproduction. Just as there are important differences between physical inventions and new breeds of plant varieties, there are important differences in the property rights associated with ownership of patents and PVPA certificates. The purchase of a patented product brings the right to use the product but not to reproduce it. But the purchase of a variety of seed certified under the PVPA brings the right to grow the seed for nonreproductive uses as well as reproductive uses under the Farmers' Exemption. The Farmers' Exemption thus allows farmers to save seed they have produced, and to sell such saved seed to other farmers. While ownership of all forms of property embodies the right to exclude others from using property, the right of ownership of plants typically does not extend to controlling the others' use of the fruits of plants, once possession of the fruit is transferred. For example, ownership of an apple tree does not give the owner the right to determine how all apples the owner sells to others will be used, such as whether the seeds can be used to grow trees. Generally accepted social norms provide that plant species and varieties should not be subject to private ownership but are part of a common heritage, and that "products of nature" are not patentable. The Farmers' Exemption, by providing that farmers may save seed and sell such saved seed to neighbors as seed, reflects this social norm. Historically, the American farmer played a major role in contributing to the introduction and further development of exotic germplasm. In 1897, the U.S. Department of Agriculture freely distributed 22 million packets of seeds to U.S. farmers. The goal of this federal initiative was to utilize the ingenuity of the nation's farmers in geographically diverse regions to introduce, experiment and cultivate thousands of novel plant varieties throughout the land. The farmers' success in selecting and breeding these crops helped build the agricultural base of the United States. By 1924, the seed industry had persuaded Congress to end free distribution of seeds, and in 1930 industry lobbying culminated in the Plant Patent Act, 7 U.S.C. $ _____, et seq. The surge of genetic diversity which flourished with seed collecting and distribution programs and by immigration withered as farmers gradually stopped saving their own seed and began purchasing marketed varieties. Not only did this diminish farmers' self-reliance, but a portion of the germplasm itself, with all of its adaptation to different American environments, pests, diseases and cultures became extinct, never again to be seen or used by a farmer or professional plant breeder. In the context of commercial developments and the concentration of seed production into the hands of a small number of seed companies, advances in science and plant breeding techniques helped cast a new light and a new value on genes. "Genetic erosion," the loss of genetic diversity through extinction, is an unintended consequence of modern plant breeding. To the extent that a breeder produces a successful variety, it can displace genetic material needed for future breeding programs. The loss of genetic diversity means the loss of valuable genes. This transformation of a once abundant resource into a rare one raises the issue of how to guarantee access to the shrinking resource of genetic material, as well as the issue of who has the right to exercise control over this resource. Even with the Farmers' Exemption, the PVPA has resulted in tremendous consolidation within the seed industry with a resultant loss of options regarding not only genetic diversity but also farmers' choice. A 1985 study on the PVPA concluded that since the 1970 passage of the Act, the PVPA has contributed to the large number of mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. seed industry. [footnote cite] Transnational pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies bought up hundreds of regional and family-owned seed companies. During the 1970s and 1980s, more than 500 family-owned seed firms were bought out by transnational corporations worldwide. The global seed market is largely controlled by no more than 10 to 20 firms, with the top 10 companies controlling 20 percent of the market and the top 15 controlling 25 percent. The rise of the large corporate sector in controlling research and development for the future of agriculture has been accompanied by a precipitous decline the public sector's role in this field. As a result many old varieties have disappeared forever, displaced in the seed catalogues by a limited selection of new varieties sold as a package with herbicides and fertilizers. Adoption of the severe limitation on the Farmers' Exemption sought by Asgrow would exacerbate these disturbing trends. Not only has the PVPA resulted in a loss of genetic diversity, but it has also resulted in a loss of farmers' choice, and this loss would be exacerbated if Asgrow's narrowing of the Farmers' Exemption is adopted. Because food production is an economic field vital to human survival, this loss of choice not only affects farmers but society as a whole. The PVPA has resulted in farmers having fewer choices of seed to select from, and having to pay significantly higher prices for those seeds that are available. Asgrow's proffered narrowing of the Farmers' Exemption would enable the seed industry to dictate to farmers how they dispose of their harvest. The range of choices available to the American farmer made American agriculture great, and enabled America to feed not only herself but the World. The American farmer had at his/her disposal the richest selection of seeds, many tailored to deal successfully with that farmer's neighborhood: its soil, its pests, its diseases. A strict interpretation of the farmers' exemption would further deprive farmers of choices, which in turn would further compromise the farmer's ability to do his/her job. Should farmers lose the right to save, swap or sell proprietary seed with farmer neighbors, they will have no choice but to return year after year to the seed companies for seed. Farmers essentially would become mere renters of germplasm, which would create, in effect, a new form of sharecropping. Concomitantly, adoption of Asgrow's narrow interpretation of the Farmers' Exemption would also foster greater concentration in the ownership and control of germplasm by transnational seed and agrochemical corporations. Not only would this entail an increase in the cost of seed to farmers,1 but it would also entail surrender of control of a critical aspect of peoples' lives to multinational corporations. The Farmers' Exemption, as envisioned by Congress, acts as a partial brake on this concentration of power over germplasm resources by multinational seed companies. When the responsibility for maintaining stores of crop germplasm is placed in the hands of seed companies, the responsibility for maintaining the quality and viability of seed is also placed in their hands. This responsibility at times has proven too much for seed companies to handle. For example, in a recent widely- publicized scandal, an American seed company sold the Ukrainian Government 195,000 bags of seed corn. This, with a normal germination rate, was expected to yield a harvest of approximately one million tons of food corn. Instead, according to the government, Ukraine has realized a harvest of only ten thousand tons, one percent of the expected amount. This 99% crop failure was caused by failure of the seeds to germinate.2 Government policies that reduce the options of farmers to respond to the vagaries in growing conditions, disease and germination -- of which Asgrow's proffered limitation on the Farmers' Exemption is an example -- will make agriculture more and more susceptible to these types of disasters. This Court's interpretation of the Farmer's Exemption is of central importance in the ongoing struggle over who will control the food supply of the nation and the world. Until recently, control over the food supply has been disbursed among a multitude of farmers, but now seed developers seek to subjugate the rights of farmers in favor of large corporate interests. Congress included the Farmer's Exemption in the PVPA to balance the interests of farmers and developers of seed. This Court should uphold the intent of Congress and affirm the right of farmers embodied in the Farmer's Exemption to save, sell, and swap seed. CONCLUSION For these reasons, the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA as amicus curiae urges this Court to affirm the decision of the Federal Circuit in this case. Respectfully submitted, William C. Lane Masselli & Lane, P.C. 8260 Greensboro Drive Suite 260 McLean, Virginia 22012 (703) 556-9550 Counsel for Amicus Curiae RAFIUSA@IGC.APC.ORG From MSD5@psuvm.psu.edu Sat Oct 22 21:35:50 EDT 1994 Article: 1944 of sci.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!inxs.ncren.net!taco.cc.ncsu.edu!gatech!psuvax1!psuvm!msd5 Organization: Penn State University Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 08:30:05 EDT From: Michael Dann Message-ID: <94293.083005MSD5@psuvm.psu.edu> Newsgroups: sci.agriculture Subject: new sustainable ag newsletter Lines: 28 We have recently published our first newsletter, Common Ground for Sustaining Agriculture. The newsletter features the Penn State Field Center for the Study of Vegetable Production Systems where we've been evaluating alternative strategies for vegetable crop production since 1990. Our current project is sponsored by USDA-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the Pennsylvania Environmental Technology Fund, and the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State. Representing the Departments of Horticulture, Entomology, Plant Pathology, and Ag Economics and Rural Sociology, the investigators are assessing management strategies that use different soil organic matter inputs, nutrient sources, and pest control methods. The production systems range from potentially certifiable organic to conventional. We are also testing individual cultural practices including novel methods of pest control. To subscribe, send your post office mailing address (sorry, some of the info doesn't fit well electronically) to me at msd5@psuvm.psu.edu I'll be happy to send you a copy. Thanks. Michael S. Dann Research and Outreach Coordinator From Thomas_Bjorkman@cornell.edu Sun Oct 30 23:37:16 EST 1994 Article: 4188 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!inxs.ncren.net!taco.cc.ncsu.edu!lll-winken.llnl.gov!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!news.kei.com!travelers.mail.cornell.edu!newsstand.cit.cornell.edu!NewsWatcher!user From: Thomas_Bjorkman@cornell.edu (Thomas Bjorkman) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Delaney, EPA version (long) Followup-To: alt.sustainable.agriculture Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 08:20:25 -0500 Organization: Cornell University Lines: 127 Sender: tnb1@cornell.edu (Verified) Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: 132.236.4.201 Last week the PANUPS news relase gave some information about the proposed new enforcement of the Delaney clause that regulates carcinogens in food. (Settlement of California vs Browner). What follows is the EPA press release on the subject. It gives more details of what will happen when, and the specific Acts and Sections. PANUPS wears it politics on its sleeve, the EPA's position is a little more ambiguous. Carol Browner is a strong advocate for environmental protection, yet the EPA lost the lawsuit that seeks stricter enforcement. EPA REACHES PROPOSED AGREEMENT ON LAWSUIT CONCERNING PESTICIDES AND THE DELANEY CLAUSE EPA has reached a proposed agreement with plaintiffs in a lawsuit concerning pesticides and the Delaney clause. The agreement establishes a schedule for the Agency that will set policy that could lead to cancellation of the uses of 36 pesticides and will lead to further review of at least 49 others. The state of California, the Natural Resources Defense Council and others sued EPA in l989 over the Agency's application of the Delaney clause of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. In certain circumstances this law prohibits residues of pesticides that "induce cancer" from being present in processed food. "I am pleased that EPA has reached this proposed agreement, which continues the Clinton Administration's commitment to reduce pesticide use and ensure a safe food supply. The agreement, however, addresses only one complex part of the nation's system for safe pesticide management," said EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner. "The Administration believes the entire food safety program requires overhaul, and we have already begun implementing far-reaching administrative reforms and developed a package to reform current law. All of our actions and decisions are based on quality science designed to better protect the health of the American public. "Among our initiatives, for example, are new pesticide safety testing procedures designed to be more protective of children, who may be more susceptible to pesticide risks. We are working with farmers to streamline the process for moving safer pesticides onto the market more quickly. And we are working to reduce the total use of pesticides nationally. "Our actions and initiatives address not just cancer risks, but numerous other health risks, such as reproductive disorders. And our proposal affects not just processed foods, but all foods. This agreement assures that America will continue to enjoy the cheapest, most abundant and safest food supply in the world." The major terms of the agreement are: -- EPA would agree to rule on a l992 petition of the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) within 60 days from the court approval of the settlement agreement. NFPA petitioned EPA among other things to discontinue its policy that links processed food tolerances with raw food tolerances. Under the Agency's "coordination policy," if a processed food tolerance is needed but is prohibited under the Delaney clause, the corresponding raw food tolerance is not permitted. For example, prohibition of a tolerance on processed tomato puree would also prohibit a tolerance on raw tomatoes, because EPA cannot ensure that raw tomatoes bearing pesticide residues will not enter processing channels and result in residues over tolerance in downstream processed tomatoes. The proposed agreement does not dictate the decisions EPA will make on this or other issues raised in the NFPA petition, but does set a deadline for making these decisions. -- EPA would agree to decide within six months of the court's approval of the agreement, whether any of approximately 60 processed food tolerances (409s) (earlier identified by EPA as potentially violating the Delaney clause) violate the Delaney clause. Final decisions on revocations would be required within l8 months thereafter. -- EPA would agree to decide within 24 months of the court's approval of the agreement, which of the approximately 80 raw food tolerances that are associated with existing or needed processed food tolerances that may violate the Delaney clause are subject to revocation under EPA's coordination policy, as defined in EPA's response to the NFPA petition. Final decisions on any proposed raw food tolerance (408) revocations must be issued within five years of the agreement. -- EPA would agree to review within five years any carcinogenicity and processing studies already submitted to the Agency but not yet reviewed to determine if additional processed and raw food tolerances are subject to the Delaney clause and must be revoked. If processing data are lacking, EPA must take steps within one year to obtain such data. The Delaney clause in section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) provides that no processed food tolerance may be approved for any chemical found to induce cancer in man or animals. Pesticides require processed food tolerances only where pesticide residues in the processed food either exceed the residues in the raw food or are added directly to the processed food. In l988 EPA adopted a policy interpreting the Delaney clause as subject to an exception for carcinogenic pesticides which pose only a negligible risk. EPA's action under the Delaney clause and its negligible risk policy was challenged in two similar but separate suits. In the Les vs. Reilly suit, in July, l992, the plaintiffs successfully obtained a "zero risk" interpretation of the Delaney clause when the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected EPA's negligible risk approach to the Delaney clause. In California vs. Browner, the subject of the proposed agreement released today, the parties sought a court order requiring EPA to revoke raw food tolerances (section 408) associated with processed food tolerances (section 409) which are barred by the Delaney clause. The proposed agreement between EPA and the California vs. Browner plaintiffs has been given to the intervenors in the case (American Crop Protection Association and the National Food Processors Association and various grower organizations) for comment and will be submitted to the Court on Dec. 2 for approval. Obtain copies of the agreement by calling the EPA Communication Branch in the Office of Pesticide Programs, 703-305-5017). -- Thomas Bjorkman Dept. of Horticultural Sciences Cornell University q .i ..q Bionet.plantsFrom markh@ORA.COM Wed Sep 1 10:17:09 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 23:53:45 PDT From: Mark Harrington To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Neem Tree ECHO (Educ concerns for hunger org) has the seeds and some info on propagation and use available. Apparently the twigs are excel lent toothbrushes as well. they are slightly alkaline and neutralize the acidic plaque. They have an interesting intern newsletter. ECHO, 17430 Durrance Rd., North Ft. Myers FL 33917-2200 voice 813 543 3246 Cheers... -- Mark Harrington email: markh@ora.com phone: (H) 707-526-0867 (W) 707-576-2434 From Eng-Leong.Foo@mtc.ki.seSun Nov 6 03:00:27 1994 Date: Sun, 6 Nov 1994 07:47:57 +0200 From: Eng-Leong Foo mtc To: Multiple recipients of list ET-ANN Subject: Info Update: ECOTECH'94 / ECOTECH Network (Pls distribute) Info Update: ECOTECH'94 / ECOTECH Network Proceedings from ECOTECH'94: --------------------------- The intention is to publish 2 proceedings - (a) containing selected papers from the various activities of ECOTECH'94 (computer conference, IUFRO computer workshop and the Beijing Conf.) and ECOCITY Network, and (b) containing other all papers. There is a good possibility of making "a" a United Nations University (Tokyo) publication, this is now being investigated by Prof. Li Wenhua from Beijing while I am seeking help for funding, editing and publishing the second proceedings. Friends in Nepal can print 200 copies of a 100 page proceedings for USD 700 (suggested price), so I am working for a collaboration with them. The quality of the paper is adequate (poor with pictures) but this quality would be poor when compared to UNU's standard publications. We hope that the proceedings will be available in 1995. Future Announcements: -------------------- All announcements will be made via the ET-ANN mailing list, to receive these announcements, pls join ET-ANN; to join, address your e-mail to: listserv@searn.sunet.se with the message: SUB ET-ANN your name (e.g. SUB ET-ANN FU Dianliang) (ET-ANN is a read-only list distributing a few postings per month only. So have no fear of message overload. To signoff from this list, send listserv the message: SIGNOFF ET-ANN). New Mailing Lists for ECOTECH Network: ------------------------------------- A new set of mailing lists will be created for the ECOTECH Network. They will also be announced via ET-ANN as soon as they become available. ET-PLAN mailing list: --------------------- This mailing list will be used to define and to discuss how the ECOTECH Network could be developed into a Network to enable a global participation and involvement to advocate research, education and use of ecotechnologies for multipurpose objectives in sustainable development. ET-PLAN will enable you to contribute and participate in this development process as well as to be part of the "electronic" component of the ECOTECH Network. To join this ET-PLAN mailing list - address your email to: listserv@searn.sunet.se with the message: SUB ET-PLAN your name (Note: it was earlier announced that ET-PARTI would be used for the planning of ECOTECH Network. Pls note the change now (from ET-PARTI to ET-PLAN) so that ET-PARTI could remain for public info exchange on ecotechnologies and general discussions. To new subscribers of ET-PLAN: You can retrieve earlier messages by sending this message to the listserv@searn.sunet.se : GET ET-PLAN LOG9411 From: (Mr) Eng-Leong Foo (ECOTECH Network Manager) CHALLENGES, REALITIES AND PERCEPTIONS: CHANGING PARADIGMS FOR THE U.S. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SYSTEM Kristen Allen December 1993 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A survey of leaders and experts in fields of relevance to the food and agriculture system highlighted six emerging trends and forces, and responses to them, that will be of major importance in determining the shape of that system in the coming decades. The six factors are as follows: Agricultural production will increasingly be influenced by public concern about environmental quality; Biotechnology will become integral to agricultural production as a means of reducing chemical input use; Vertical coordination will be increasingly common in the food and agriculture system; Agriculture will face more costly water because more clean water will be bid away by other uses; The urban and suburban portions of the population will have increasing political clout; and Policies and regulations designed to address serious threats to environmental quality will increasingly change the nature of the agricultural production system. In combination, these factors, among others, will present actors in the food and agriculture system with new challenges and opportunities over the next two decades. They are, for example, at the root of the challenge, the beginnings of which are apparent even now, to the idea that natural resource "owners" have unlimited rights of control over those resources. In the coming years this idea will likely be challenged even more, as urban and suburban residents demand larger shares of clean water and as public concern about environmental damage changes consumption, and possibly investment, patterns and gives rise to stricter controls on resource using activities. Another trend, the need add distinguishable value to agricultural commodities, offers both challenges and opportunities. The changing demographics and economic position of the consumer base are key forces driving the challenge; but we can also see potential opportunities in greater coordination of activities throughout the food and agriculture system and in the increasing application of biotechnologies in food and agricultural production. Such opportunities are not, however, without some costs and possi ble dislocations. The most immediate challenge for the food and agriculture community is to acknowledge these emerging trends and understand the forces driving them, then to begin to explore how best they might be encountered. CHALLENGES, REALITIES, AND PERCEPTIONS: CHANGING PARADIGMS FOR THE U.S. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SYSTEM Kristen Allen Environmental quality, biotechnology, the increasing political clout of the urban/suburban population, competing demands for water, and the need to coordinate food system activities are, according to the opinions of a group of experts and leaders from within the food and agriculture system, key among the emerging forces, trends and responses that will shape that system, and the challenges that it must face, as we enter the twenty-first century. With a little generalization and simplification, we can characterize the U.S. food and agriculture system in recent decades in terms of challenges. In the 1970s, the challenge facing the system was to expand output and productivity to meet new sources of demand, especially that from other countries. In the 1980s, the challenge was to meet the competition from other countries (and to pay for the heady days of the preceding decade). In the 1990s and 2000s, the food and agriculture system may also be characterized by the challenges it faces. One of the major challenges will be to deal with the attack on the notion that natural resource "owners" in the food and agriculture system have an unquestionable right of control over those resources. A second major challenge will be to find ways in which to add distinguishable value to agricultural commodities. We can see the genesis of these new challenges in the emerging forces mentioned previously. A Survey of Opinions As an extension of a strategic planning exercise, we asked ninety experts and leaders to give us their opinions on which emerging trends and forces will likely have the greatest influence on the U.S. food and agriculture system over the next two decades. "Emerging" was defined to mean anything new to the system, but for which no well-developed trend can yet be discerned. (See Box 1 for a brief description of the study). These experts were selected to represent arange of views and perspectives on issues of relevance to food, agriculture, environmental quality, resource use and rural communities. The diversity of opinion was evidenced by the answers to and comments on the survey questions. Yet the general thrust of their responses was that the six em erging forces discussed in this report will contribute largely to the new challenges and opportunities facing the U.S. food and agriculture system over the next two decades. BOX 1:THE STUDY METHODS: A GROUP PROCESS AND MODIFIED DELPHI TECHNIQUE The study used two levels of expert panels to identify the important emerging forces that will likely affect the U.S. food and agriculture system. The first panel was a workshop group, comprised mainly of agricultural, environmental and resource economists and soil scientists who were attending professional meetings in August 1992. The workshop was held in conjunction with the annual meetings of the American Agricultural Economics Association, the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, t he Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association and the Soil and Water Conservation Society, in Baltimore, Maryland. They responded to the question: "What will be the emerging forces, factors, and trends that will shape U.S. agriculture in the next twenty years?" The ideas generated by this panel were used as the basis for the propositions contained in a questionnaire that was sent to the second expert panel. This second panel included most of the workshop participants plus sixty-one ot her individuals, invited to participate on the basis of their recognized expertise in and leadership on issues of relevance to the food and agriculture system and their breadth of view of the system in general. end Box 1 BOX 2: THREE WAYS TO LOOK AT SIGNIFICANCE Survey participants were asked to complete a questionnaire containing a total of fifty-eight propositions. For each proposition, participants were asked to assign an impact score-- ie. how large an effect the factor described by the proposition would ha ve on the food and agriculture system, whenever it occurred--, and to place it in a time-frame--ie. how soon the factor would become important for the food and agriculture system. The participants were also asked to identify the five propositions that t hey deemed would be most important, among all these emerging factors, for the U.S. food and agriculture system over the next two decades and to rank those five propositions, relative to each other. A high impact ranking may or may not go together with a high importance ranking. For example, the impact on the U.S. food and agriculture system of complete failure of all crops in Europe would be very large, but as the probability of such an event occurring is small, it might not be ranked as very important. Timing may also influence perceived importance. Factors deemed to be more imminent may be viewed as more important than others that are expected to have a greater impact on the system but in the more distant future. While the three aspects (impact, timing and overall importance) are related, each tells a slightly different story. Taking all three aspects together helps us to build a more multifaceted picture of how these emerging trends, forces and responses might shape the food and agriculture system. end Box 2. SIX EMERGING CHARACTERISTICS IN THE EVER-CHANGING PARADIGM... In the opinion of the survey group, four trends or forces and two responses to trends will feature prominently in characterizing the U.S. food and agriculture system of the early twenty-first century. These six emerging characteristics can be summarized as follows: Agricultural production will increasingly be influenced by public concern about environmental quality; Biotechnology will become integral to agricultural production as a means for reducing chemical input use; Vertical coordination will be increasingly common in the food and agriculture system; Agriculture will face more costly water because more clean water will be bid away by other uses; The urban and suburban portions of the population will have increasing political clout; and Policies and regulations designed to address serious threats to environmental quality will increasingly change the nature of the agricultural production system. All of these trends were ranked by the survey participants as being in the top ten in terms of overall importance and expected impact (see Box 2 for a discussion of the measures used) and were expected to begin to have an effect on the U.S. food and agri culture system within the next five to ten years (or sooner in some instances). These six forces will not, of course, be the only factors important in shaping the food and agriculture system. Many of the forces that are important now will continue to shape the system. World trade in agricultural products, federal deficits, macroeconomic policies, technological developments and changing consumer preferences are among those continuing forces. ...AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE U.S. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SYSTEM Within these six emerging characteristics we can see the seeds of the challenges referred to earlier: One is that, increasingly, the notions of ownership, property, and use rights will be called into question. Players within the food and agriculture sys tem, whether they are farmers, executives of agribusiness firms, food retailers, legislators, land holders, or restauranteurs will witness challenges to some of their control over their activities. Another is that there will be a strong drive to add valu e to and make distinguishable, agricultural commodities. Producers, processors and marketers will increasingly see opportunities in the form of niche markets, where products that are distinguishable from the basic commodities--for example, brand name mea ts and produce, "small farmer" dairy products, low cholesterol eggs--can be sold at premium prices. The Rise of Affluent, Politically Correct, Urban/Suburban Income Earners One of the driving forces over the next twenty years will certainly be demographics. Since the 1920s the U.S. population has been more urban and suburban than rural. With the stabilization of population distribution over the past two or three decades, the urban/suburban segmant is beginning to realize its strength and will gain political clout. Their interests--as consumers, voters, homeowners, taxpayers, urban workers, and rural leisure seekers--will be increasingly attended by businesses and policy makers. Their concerns about environmental quality will influence the food and agriculture system in various ways. They will press for political and legislative decisions aimed at allaying their fears about real and perceived contamination of food and water from agricultural chemicals. They will seek state and local ordinances to protect their families, themselves, their property, and their playgrounds from some of the externalities of agricultural production--waste products, by- products, noise and visual pollution. In the marketplace, we can already see sellers of food and other agricultural goods catering to their increasingly specific demands, borne of high incomes, health consciousness, and political correctness. Another challenge for the food and agriculture system that arises from this demographic shift is that much of the general population will have little understanding of where food comes from and the complexities of the food production system. This lack of understanding may result in unrealistic demands, such as for food with certain quality, safety, nutritional and convenience attributes, produced, processed and packaged in an environmentally benign manner, and offerred for sale at low prices. Urban and suburban income earners may also tend to romanticize farming and farm lifestyles. Some will seek rural living experiences, either as permanent or vacation options. At the same time, as urban and suburban voters, they may have diminishing symp athy for direct subsidies to agricultural production--seeking instead to shift those subsidies to the income, health, education and other needs of the larger population--, and for the indirect subsidies that agriculture has enjoyed, especially those for land and water. To compound the challenge further, especially in areas close to urban centers, urban income earners seeking rural experiences, may compete directly with farmers for land, but also vehemently oppose any efforts to subdivide current or forme r farmland for housing developments. Competing demands for productive resources will not be limited to agricultural land on urban fringes. Already in the western United States we see considerable competition for water, and in other areas competition for clean, uncontaminated water. Pressure to reduce or remove subsidies for agricultural water, combined with effective competing demands for that water may simply price much agricultural water, especially that used to irrigate low-valued crops, out of reach of many agricultural producers. Rising Concern About Environmental Quality The changing demographic structure is among the factors contributing to the emerging force ranked as most important by the survey group: that agricultural production will increasingly be influenced by public concern about environmental quality. Food and agricultural producers and processors have already egun to feel the effects of this concern. Producers are facing tighter environmental regulations, including restrictions on some practices and uses of specific inputs. These constraints may signal the need for further changes in management decisions and techniques in the future. And the specter of potential liability may bring more parties into the decision making process. Concern about environmental quality is not, however, limited to individuals outside the agricultural system. Many of the changes in farming and processing practices may be self initiated. Farmers, concerned about the effects of some practices on their own, their families, and their farms' health may voluntarily change their practices. Food processors may see advantages in changing practices in terms of insurance premiums and worker health. Investors may increasingly incorporate concerns about environ mental impacts into their investment decisions. Such shifts may signal changes in attitudes, away from a focus solely on individual returns and more toward an acceptance of responsibility for communities and future generations, but they may also signal changes in the way benefits and costs are assessed. Individuals and groups making changes in their practices may have decided that the long run benefits outweigh the short run costs. One of the resulting challenges for the food and agriculture system will be to continue to produce, process and market its products within a potentially ever-expanding web of market-expressed consumer concerns, environmentally-aimed federal policies and regulations, and locally-imposed zoning ordinances. At the same time, the costs of some inputs may increase--water, land and chemicals for example--and options for disposing of waste products may diminish or become considerably more expensive. High cost producers and processors may be squeezed out. The cost of food and other agricultural products may more closely reflect all the costs of producing, processing and marketing them. And the competitive position of U.S. agricultural products in world markets may change, at least in the short term, if food and agriculture systems in other countries do not undergo similar readjustments. Responding to the Challenges Among the six emerging characteristics listed above, two are more responses to, or means for dealing with, forces rather than forces in and of themselves. The emergence of commercially viable, publicly acceptable biotechnologies may provide one means by which producers and processors can make adjustments in their activities necessitated by consumer demands, public pressures, policies and regulations. Another means of responding to some of these pressures is vertical coordination. Such coordination can range from relatively informal agreements or formal contracts among individuals and firms to a high degree of integration and concentrated asset ownership. And, as discussed below, there may be a synergy in these responses. Biotechnology represents one possible means for addressing both environmental quality concerns and the drive to add value to basically similar commodities. The basic idea of bio-engineering is not new. Plant and animal breeders and geneticists have practiced selection and supression of certain traits for may years. But recent advances in genetic engineering have opened new frontiers that will potentially allow producers to select specific genotypes, not just phenotypes. Within the next twenty years, genetic engineering techniques may enhance resistence to diseases and pests in plants and animals, reducing the need for externally applied or administered d rugs or pesticides. With greater understanding of genetic make-up, and the technical ability to alter it, we may see greater precision possible in agricultural production that may, ultimately, reduce the amount of other production inputs required for any given product. Genetic engineering may open other doors also. In the not too distant future, specific desired traits--such as leaness in meat, firmness in vine- ripened tomatoes, drought tolerance in plants--may be engineered directly rather than selected, somewhat imp recisely, over several generations. As consumers demand greater specificity in their purchases, producers, processors and marketers are already responding, but in order to do so they must know much more about their products and the practices and processes used to produce them. Only by knowing the origins of the ingredients in their products can sellers be sure that they can back up the claims on their packages. And in this increasingly litigious society, knowing the veracity of one's claims will be important. A greater degree of coordin ation than currently exists may offer sellers a form of insurance. Coordination of activities within the food and agriculture system is not a new concept. Prices are a coordinating mechanism. Contracts between producers and certain buyers or sellers are common. Even the federal price support program is a type of contract bewteen farmers and the goverment. Some segments of the system have a greater degree of coordination than others; a large portion of U.S. broiler chicken production, for example, is highly integrated now. Over the next two decades, vertical coordin ation, to varying degrees, will likely become increasingly common within the food and agriculture system as a means for spreading and sharing risk, ensuring supplies of inputs and markets for outputs and, in general, for coping with the myriad of changes that will be occurring. That biotechnology and increasing vertical coordination represent potential responses to some of the challenges facing the food and agriculture system should not overshadow the fact that both continue to attract considerable concern, in the agricultural community and among the general public. Greater reliance on genetically engineered organisms and increasing vertical coordination would, almost certainly, offer gains for some individuals and organizations and losses for others. Neither the gains nor the losses can be ignored. THE GRADUAL FORMATION OF NEW PERCEPTIONS A society's self perception changes only slowly. Today's new trends will be, or will influence, tomorrow's characteristics, but today's self image is often based on yesterday's characteristics. We can see many examples of this lag in perceptions in the U.S. food and agriculture system. Popular culture often romanticizes farming, as an unhurried, independent, almost self-sufficient way of life. Yet those individuals closest to it realize full well that Old MacDonald is now just as likely to have a com puter, a fax machine and a direct line to a stock broker on that farm as a duck, a horse and a sheep. Farming is as much a business as is a die casting shop or a corner service station and as such it depends heavily on being integrated with the rest of the economy. While much of the population still equates farming, agriculture and rural areas, in reality agricultural activities are not confined to farm boundaries, and rural areas increasingly depend on activities other than farming for their vitality. Agricultural policies are still viewed, and referred to, by many people as farm policies, yet the most recent "farm bill" covered such issues as food stamps, trade, conservation, forestry, research, marketing and improvement of the agricultural economy, as well as the commodity programs. Thus will our perception of the food and agriculture system in the years to come be based on today's realities. But the challenges of tomorrow will arise from the trends and forces we just now see emerging. This report synthesizes ideas and opinions from leading agriculturalists, predominantly, but not exclusively, in the United States, that were gathered during 1992 - 1993. It seeks to stimulate interest in and thinking about the food and agriculture syst em of tomorrow. It does not attempt to present projections, official or unofficial, for the U.S. food and agriculture system. Nor is it intended to give a forecast of future agricultural sector performance or predict specific events. Rather, it seeks t o provide a context, by identifying general trends and forces, within which future performance will occur. These general trends may spawn any number of individual events in different locations or for different parts of the system. Perhaps the broadest i nterpretation of the results is that, over the next twenty years, there will be several major forces that will give a general shape to the food and agriculture system and many other forces that will influence the system differently over time, and across regions and segments. Many of the ideas and issues presented herein will not be new to practitioners in the food and agriculture system. Many of them, and their implications for the food and agriculture system, have been much discussed and analyzed, and some are controversia l or contentious. This report attempts to present these emerging factors objectively. For better or worse, they will shape and influence the U.S. food and agriculture system over the next twenty years. What is needed now is further investigation, particularly of the combined, synergistic effects of the forces and trends. They signal challenges to production, processing, marketing, teaching, research, extension, and policy and regulation setting in and for the food and agricultural system. Understanding the genesis of these challenges is a first step toward encountering them successfully. ABOUT THE PROJECT, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, AND FURTHER INFORMATION Kristen Allen is a Research Fellow in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. The work on this project was done while she was an Associate at the Rural Development Institute, University of Wisconsin--River Fal ls. The work was supported with funding from a cooperative agreement between the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Wisconsin--River Falls, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Rural Developm ent Institute. All funders are most gratefully acknowledged. While the contents of this brochure are based on a workshop and survey and the input of all participants is also gratefully acknowledged, the way in which the responses were interpreted is the responsibility of the author. Special thanks also go to Kitty Reichelderfer- Smith, David Rejeski, and James Stewart, for their faith in the project, to Courtney Harold, for many hours of computer work, and to David Trechter, for many constructive comments. Further information on the project may be obtained from Kristen Allen at 612-625-7019. This report and others associated with the project are accessible via computer from U.S. EPA Gophernet/Gopherserver (futures.wic.epa.gov) or by contacting D. Rejeski, 202-260-6523. APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE PROPOSITIONS, LISTED IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE (numbers refer to question number) 27a. Agricultural production will increasingly be influenced by environmental quality concerns. 9b. Biotechnology will be integral to agricultural production by enhancing production efficiency. 29a.Biotechnology will be integral to agricultural production by enabling reduction in use of some chemicals. 1c. Farms will be more vertically coordinated. 21b. Water for agriculture will be more costly because it will increasingly be bid away for non-agricultural uses. 25. Diet/health links will change food demand, decreasing demand for staples, especially meat. 21a. Water for agriculture will be more costly beause of water shortages. 8. Urban/suburban consumers will have more political clout. 28c. Agricultural production will be influenced by environmental quality policies & regulations. 1b. Farms will be significantlyly more specialized. 27b. Agricultural production will increasingly be influenced by concern about special entities. 33. Public will demand assurance of some level of food quality & "safety." 21c. Water for agriculture will cost more because of successful challenges to agricultural water subsidies. 31. Policiess & regulations on agricultural practices will raise agricultural production costs & decrease supply. 15. Agricultural/economic policies will be more harmonized among nations. 28b. Agricultural production will be influenced by farmer interest in alternative farming methods. 28a. Agricultural production will be influenced by the rise of "green" consumers. 35. Public support for special treatment for agriculture will be difficult to sustain. 34. Agriculture will be viewed as just another sector of the economy. 1a. Farms will be significantly larger. 36. Farm programs will shift away from price intervention toward income maintenance. 27c. Agricultural production will increasingly be influenced by concern about loss of biological diversity. 9. Strength of traditional agricultural lobby groups will decline. 20. Colleges of agricultural & publicly funded research & extension will lack funding & support. 2. Farming will be seen as one of many stages in food/fiber industry. 5. Professional farm managers & managment techniques will be common. 39. Formation of trading blocs will stimulate protectionist action among continents. 24b. Agriculture will be a source of energy products. 10. Congressional agricultural committees will lose control over agricultural & related policies. 40. Property rights issues will increasingly affect agriculture. 7a. Education & information sharing systems will be common in agriculture. 41a. The aging U.S. population will affect agricultural production. 41b. The aging U.S. population will influence agricultural product consumption. 22a. Supply of agricultural land & products will be constrained by environmental degradation. 19a. Input supply & food marketing firms will be more concentrated. 23. Climate change & environmental degradation will constrain agricultural production. 13. New, public & private entities will assume some U.S. Department of Agriculture functions. 24a. Need to reduce energy inputs will influence agricultural production & processing. 19b. Input supply & food marketing firms will have a larger share of processing & trade. 7b. Education & information sharing systems will be common in rural areas. 18. Decisions on health, food safety, & environmental quality will be negotiated among multiple stake holders. 11. U.S. Department of Agriculture will decline in size & scope. 12. U.S. Department of Agriculture's emphasis will shift away from marketing & risk reduction, & more toward rural issues. 17. Scientific community will lose public credibility on health/environmental/ food safety issues. 6a. High performance computers will be common in the food & agricultural system. 4. "Corporate" control of agricultural resources will be common. 22c. Supply of agricultural land & products will be constrained as land prices are bid up. 16a. Multinational corporations will play a greater role in economic coordination & policies. 26. Food demand changes--more variety will be sought. 3. Number of "small," owner-operated farms will decline. 37. Information technologies will be increasingly important in agriculture. 30. Consumer skepticism toward genetically engineered foods will decline. 22b. Supply of agricultural land, & products, will be constrained by competition from urban & suburban spread. 16b. International organizationss will play a greater role in economic coordination & policies. 14. A "Competitive Council on Agriculture" will be established. 6b. High performance computers will be common in rural areas. 32. A national environmental strategy will require coordination across agencies. 38. New fertilizer technologies, using human & animal wastes, will be developed. From f2f@igc.apc.org Sat Mar 19 22:25:45 1994 Date: Sat, 19 Mar 1994 10:25:36 -0800 From: Farmer to Farmer Subject: Re: literature about sust.agriculture ( Hi. We produce a newsletter on sustainable ag methods for farmers. If interested (we're not online yet), write to: CAFF, P.O Box 73674, Davis, CA 95617 and ask for a sample copy of Farmer to Farmer. It is of course in English. Lori/Assistant Editor From ghegyes@nalusda.gov Wed Mar 2 14:56:39 1994 Date: Wed, 2 Mar 1994 11:10:21 -0500 (EST) From: Gabriel Hegyes To: SANET-mg Subject: NEWS: Foes of the earth (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 13:29:13 PST From: Alan McGowen To: res-econ@unixg.ubc.ca Cc: alanm@hpindbu.cup.hp.com Subject: Foes of the earth (fwd) Reposted from nwfor. Alan McGowen ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _The Greenpeace Guide to Anti-environmental Organizations_ by Carl Deal. Berkeley: Odonian Press, 1993--95 pages, notes, index. ISBN 1-878825-05-4, LC JA75.8.G77, US$ 5.00. --Reviewed by Dale Wharton, February 1994 [Test Deleted] ...50 organizations deflect and usually defeat efforts at conservation. The book lists addresses, officers, backers. (Transnational corporations--TNCs--provide financial support.) The 50 recognize our concern. So they prudently camouflage their work. Misleading tactics unite the diverse organizations. Example: they claim that conserving resources and preserving ecosystems hurt the economy. They favour the false theme that rich big-city treehuggers threaten smalltown employment. The 50 usually profess that they, too, care about Nature. "So don't be fooled by a green facade," warns Carl Deal. He arranges the 50 organizations into six types. 1 PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRMS. PR is Type One. Its rank befits PR's virtual conquest of the press. Corporate diplomacy now permeates popular media, with press releases comprising about 40% of the "news." In manipulating events, greenwashing aims to coopt or neutralize activists. The fees enrich PR firms, some of them TNCs themselves. Take Burson-Marsteller. Its 56 branches spread through 28 countries. (B-M's Canadian chair, Allan Gotlieb, is also a deputy chair of David Rockefeller's Trilateral Commission and former ambassador to the USA.) B-M does damage control and "issues management" for the likes of the BC Forest Alliance (a "grassroots" disguise of B-M), MacMillan Bloedel, Exxon, Union Carbide, General Motors, Hydro-Quebec, Procter & Gamble, the Business Council for Sustainable Development, etc. Other relationists to watch out for: Hill & Knowlton of New York, Shandwick of London, and E. Bruce Harrison Co. of Washington DC. That last one has specialized in "environmental communication" for 20 years. Its clients include the Chemical Manufacturers Assn., Monsanto (asbestos), Waste Management, and Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Assn. 2 CORPORATE FRONT GROUPS. These outfits have two tasks. First, divert and lull consumers. Pretend that we can go on destroying the environment at this rate without severe consequences. Second, persuade lawmakers to roll back unprofitable regulations. The National Wetlands Coalition, for instance, drafted a law to restrict the definition of wetlands (streams, ponds, lakes, swamps, marshes, coastal regions). The law would compensate US property owners (usually corporations) for any costs or financial loss from applying environmental regulations. Two other examples are The Evergreen Foundation and BC Forest Alliance (see PR firms). Their true message is that conservancy is unreasonable and extreme, stems from bad science, and ignores the full social and economic outcomes. (They neglect the loss of forestry jobs owing to mechanization, overcutting, and export of minimally processed logs.) 3 THINK TANKS. The Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute deny the evidence of environmental crises. (President Reagan's Secretary of the Interior, James Watt, applauded the Heritage Foundation's suggestion to open federal wilderness to strip mining.) This type has two newcomers. The Science and Environmental Policy Project branched off a Moonie think tank (see type 6 for more about Moon). Citizens for the Environment view strict deregulation as the solution. 4 LEGAL FOUNDATIONS. Mountain States Legal Foundation (founding president, James Watt), Pacific Legal Foundation (first--in 1973), National Legal Center for the Public Interest (umbrella for scattered locals). All use the US courts to fight government regulations and citizen lawsuits intended to protect the environment. The foundations have been effective. In 1992 they won a major Supreme Court decision (Lucas v South Carolina Coastal Commission). It held that government regulation of a developer's private property amounted to a government seizure. Thus it was unconstitutional. 5 ENDOWMENTS AND CHARITIES. Private philanthropies may collaborate with TNCs. They can pipe in untraced corporate money and underwrite attacks on the conservation community. In 1991 alone, four of the largest of these charities disbursed more than $150 million for the purpose. These four were the Lilly Endowment (pharmaceuticals), the John Olin Foundation (munitions), and two outposts of the Mellon steel empire: the Carthage Foundation and the Sarah Scaife Foundation. 6 WISE USE AND SHARE GROUPS. The Wise Use movement links contrived "grassroots" locals in the western USA. Founder Ron Arnold aspires "...to exploit the environment for private gain, absolutely." He got seed money in 1988 from the American Freedom Coalition, an affiliate of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. (The Moon church also supported Latin American deathsquads in the 1980s.) Wise Use's financial backing now comes from timber, mining, ranching, chemical, and recreation companies and their trade associations. Wise Use may get rough. It "... can do things the industry can't. It can stress the sanctity of the family, the virtue of the close-knit community. And it can turn the public against your enemies." One goal of Wise Use: convert "all decaying and oxygen-using forest growth in the National Forests into young stands of oxygen-producing carbon-dioxide-absorbing trees to...prevent the greenhouse effect...." Canada's Share movement mirrors the Wise Use movement. ### __ This review draws on investigative reports by John Dillon, Rutland VT; Johan Carlisle, San Francisco; and Joyce Nelson, Toronto. -- _ Dale Wharton dale@dale.cam.org M O N T R E A L Te souviens-tu? From jimat586@pentagon.io.com Wed Nov 9 00:09:36 EST 1994 Article: 47536 of rec.gardens Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!illuminati.io.com!nobody From: jimat586@pentagon.io.com (Erin Hynes) Newsgroups: rec.gardens Subject: details on book of shortcuts Date: 8 Nov 1994 15:36:56 -0600 Organization: Illuminati Online Lines: 61 Distribution: usa Message-ID: <39or1o$ja3@pentagon.io.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: pentagon.io.com I posted a message a couple of weeks ago, asking for gardening shortcuts to include in a book called Great Garden Shortcuts that Rodale will publish. Since then I've gotten more detail from Rodale, which I'm passing along to give you a better idea of what I'm looking for. THE IDEA: The book gives techniques that eliminate chores or get you through them faster, as well as techniques for speeding up processes (tomatoes ripen faster, soil warms faster, compost cooks faster, grass greens up faster, bugs die faster, etc.). The shortcuts should be things you don't find in every book, or be a twist on a common practice. For example, most people know you can use black plastic to warm the soil early, but maybe you know a faster way to spread it out of pick it up. EXAMPLES: A similar book included using a dibble bar (a long hollow metal tube) for faster seed planting--stick one end of the bar in the ground, drop the seed into the other end, lift the bar and step on the hole to close it. Another suggestion was to use a lawn mower, rather than hedge trimmers or pruning shears, to trim certain groundcovers in the last winter. TOPICS: Half a dozen writers are working on this book, so we've each been assigned topics. But if you have an idea that doesn't fit one of these topics, send it to me anyway--I can include some on other subjects. I've scribbled in some possibilities after the main headings, but these are just to jog your brain--don't limit your thinking to these. And thing about fruits, herbs, and flowers, as well as vegetables. WATERING HARVESTING (faster ways to pick; faster ways to can, freeze, and dry produce; ways to speed up ripening, both on and off the plant) LAWNS (ways to reduce mowing and trimming; faster mowing, trimming, seeding, sodding, sod-busting) DISEASES (crop rotation; faster ways to spray organic controls) PESTS (insects, slugs, companion planting, crop rotation, fencing, pest-control recipes) FERTILIZING (faster ways to apply compost or manure; faster ways to plant or turn under green manures; short-term green manures) SEASON EXTENSION (soil warming, cold frames, overwintering) HIGH-YIELD GARDENING (intensive gardening methods to give you more for less work) FRUITS (anything that makes any of them easier to plant and grow) FAME: If your idea is included in the book, you get credit for it. DEADLINES: I have to submit a list of shortcuts I'll cover by Dec. 1, so please let me hear from you by Nov. 23 or so. Include your phone number so I can call for more details, if need be. BY THE WAY: Has anyone gotten tomatoes to ripen faster on the vine by slicing through the soil with a spade to prune the roots? MY ADDRESSES: erinh@coop.com jimat586@io.com Thanks for your help! Erin Hynes Austin, Texas Article 2368 of alt.sustainable.agriculture: Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!oit-mail2news-gateway From: steved@ncatfyv.uark.edu (Steve Diver) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Re: architect seeks info on ecological fishfarming Date: 22 Feb 1994 21:41:43 -0500 Organization: sustag-public mailing list Lines: 47 Sender: daemon@samba.oit.unc.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: samba.oit.unc.edu Content-Type: text Thomas-- The New Alchemy Institute ceased functions in 1991 due primarily to financial problems. Just recently, New Alchemy publications have become available through a group of former New Alchemists who still live in the area. The Green Center can provide a list of for-sale publications. Talk about a history of appropriate technology and alternative agriculture, New Alchemy's publications still provide a decent introduction to aquaculture systems, composting greenhouses, bioshelters, cover crops for the Northeast, etc. Contact: The Green Center 237 Hatchville Rd. East Falmouth, MA 02536 (508) 564-6301 Re: ecological fishfarming. Some of the most advanced models of water purification and sustainable food production are the 1) solar aquatic ponds (pioneered in part by John Todd, formerly of New Alchemy) that use plants like water hyacinth to purify waste water and 2) recirculating hydroponic systems in which vegetable beds are fertigated with effluent from tilapia aquaculture. > > Hi, are you involved with ecological fishfarming ? I'd be > interested in ecological fishfarming and waterpurification. > Please don't hold back your most precious information. > As a postgraduate student I'm doing a architectural project > on fishfarming. > Do you know the phone or fax number of the NEW ALCHEMY INSTITUTE > East Falmouth, Massachusetts 02536 USA ???? > Do they have an e-mail address ??? > > Thank you for your help!!! > > You can contact me at the UoW FAX: 071-911 5190 PHONE: 071-911 5000 ext 3332 > > Thomas Reinke, Arch. Dip. I > > /pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/general AERO-SAON BIOS CES-history EBUG.org ECHO EPA.US-food-ag.changing.paradigms Farmer-to-Farmer.newsletter GP-Guide.Anti-Env.Orgs Green.Center.New-Alchemists IPMnet.News Jackson.Leopold.sust-ag-leaders O.C.I.A OMNIS.wholesale.market.report Ocean.Arks.International Real.Goods.m-o SAN.showcase Zendik.Farm aft-fertile-crescent ag-software alan.chadwick.lecture.3 alan.chadwick.lecture1 alan.chadwick.lecture2 aquaculture.info aquaculture.listserver artichoke-prod articles.journals aspergillus.fumigatus cfsa.sustag.conference chadwick.feedback cover-crop.inf covercrop.info crops.organic csa.software curricula econet.log ethnobiology grain.crops.new handtool.lst hemp.comm.uses human-powered-seeders human.powered.seeders hydroponic-lit hyperacc.10-93 internships.org-farms kudzu micronutrients mofga neem new-alchemy-institute.update nitrogenfix.listserver oilseed.radish organfarm.jobop perennial.forage.legumes.info plant.domain planter-seeder.info practical.formulas prescription.agriculture seed.presprouting seedlings seedproducer.swiss seeds.new seedsaving shitake.growing soilconservation soilprep sustag.edu.op sustainable.communities tools-equipment usda.office.for.small.ag verticillum.wilt From deutscha@BCC.ORST.EDU Mon Mar 21 15:32:45 1994 Date: Mon, 21 Mar 94 09:01:18 PST From: Allan Deutsch To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: IPMnet NEWS Welcomes Articles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 21 March 94 IPMnet Bulletin ------------------------------------------------------------- You're doubtlessly aware of the recently inaugurated IPMnet, and that IPMnet NEWS (newsletter) forms an integral element of IPMnet. The purpose of this note is to advise readers that the IPMnet NEWS is highly receptive to running a variety of articles relating to IPM--with full author credit. Research summaries, actual application procedures and results, technical studies, impediments, successes, failures, and opinions are all welcome. Contact: please see following signature block. One other item: IPMnet is very pleased to now offer an electronic version of the periodical, RESISTANT PEST MANAGEMENT, edited by Dr. Mark Whalon and colleagues at Michigan State University. This informative newsletter addresses the topic of increasing pest resistance to well-known methods of management and control. ## #------------------------------------------------------------# | E-mail: | | ......................................................... | | IPMnet NEWS (A.E. Deutsch, editor) | | c/o Integrated Plant Protection Center | | Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-2915, USA | | ......................................................... | | Fax: 01-503-737-3080 Direct voice line: 01-503-737-6275 | | #------------------------------------------------------------# From sustag@BETA.TRICITY.WSU.EDU Wed Mar 30 09:19:34 1994 Date: Tue, 29 Mar 1994 20:24:07 -0800 From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)" To: Multiple recipients of list SUSTAG-L Subject: Wes Jackson and Aldo Leopold (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 30 Mar 94 13:43:24 CST From: Frank Kutka To: SUSTAG@beta.tricity.wsu.edu Subject: Wes Jackson and Aldo Leopold My true heroes in sustainable/sensible ways of living on this land are Wes Jackson and Aldo Leopold. I have just found my materials concerning Wes, who started the Land Institute in Salina, KS. Here are quotes out of a paper he wrote with Jon Piper: "Our subject here is 'the problem of agriculture', not the 'problems in agriculture'. We proceed with the assumption that problems in agriculture are primarily derivatives of the problem of agriculture." (Wes sees the raising of annuals with high energy inputs and soil losses as part of the problem of agriculture, if I remember correctly) "Those who settled the North American continent brought with them visions of a European-style agriculture in which their familiar crops and livestock could thrive and satisfy markets in the homeland. Tragically, as the New World ecosystems were dismantled, stabilizing processes were decoupled, and species were extirpated before their roles in the ecosystem could be understood sufficiently. In short, as Wendell Berry has said, 'We have never known what we were doing because we have never known what we were undoing.' The few relicts of pre-Columbian vegetation that remain must serve as our best standards by which any agriculture touted as sustainable is to be judged." "There are problems, of course. Nature is ill-defined and natural ecosystems are dynamic. But the patterns and processes discernible in natural ecosystems still remain the most appropriate standard available to sustainable agriculture." Wes and the others at the Land Institute are currently beginning a region wide test of a perennial grains community (several cool and warm season grasses, illinois bundleflower, maximillian sunflower, et al.) which they hope will provide a sustainable and economical source of food. This community is based on the prairie dominants, rather than the ephemeral weed communities of rivers, which our current agriculture is mostly dependent on. Aldo Leopold wrote an essay called "The Land Ethic" back in the thirties some time. (This shows how out of date all of our sustainable discussions are: it is time to finally catch up!) He extended the ethics of the Hebrew Laws (love your community) and the Golden Rule (love your neighbor and enemy) to include finally the land community as a whole (love the land of which you are a part). Many times over he lambasted the uselessness of the county water and soil boards which wrote easy rules that all could comply with, but which did little to improve the situation. He predicted that the SCS and others would accomplish little because the land grant schools were so busy making trouble in the name of progress, and because you could skin your land and still be considered in good standing in the community. Since no one has trumpeted these two as THE leaders in sustainable agriculture I thought I had better. Both looked at the whole picture and came up with useful and instructive ideas. And both could see the silliness that has given us the current economic and agronomic thinking (such as "our current system damages the environment and uses irreplaceable energy sources, but it is the only way to keep the growing world population fed" How long can that go on?) Leopold's children are still living and some work still goes on at the old homestead, in fact the sustainable ag center at Iowa State is named the Leopold Center. Wes Jackson is happily still with us and his group is working hard to create a new and better agriculture outside the current set of mental limitations. Here are some references for both. Jackson, Wes. 1985. New Roots for Agriculture. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln Nebraska. Jackson, Wes, and Jon Piper. 1989. The necessary marriage between ecology and agriculture. Ecology 70(6): 1591-1593. Leopold, Aldo. 1951? A Sand County Almanac, with essays from Round River. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison Wisconsin. Frank J. Kutka, part-time Junior Scientist and farmer (218) 720-4262 fkutka@sage.nrri.umn.edu University of Minnesota Natural Resources Research Institue 5013 Miller Trunk Highway Duluth MN 55811 USA From sustag@BETA.TRICITY.WSU.EDU Wed Mar 30 10:10:18 1994 Date: Wed, 30 Mar 1994 06:01:29 -0800 From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)" To: Multiple recipients of list SUSTAG-L Subject: Re: Wes Jackson and Aldo Leopold (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 30 Mar 1994 05:32:21 -0800 From: Charles Benbrook To: SUSTAG@beta.tricity.wsu.edu Subject: Re: Wes Jackson and Aldo Leopold (fwd) Fear not Frank, both Wes and Aldo have been fully discovered, not just by the sus. ag. community, but by many others. The definitive treatment of Leopold is Curt Meine's superb biography, done as a PhD thesis for the Univ. of Wisconisn, Land Res. Program. Curt is working now south of you, for the Crane Inst., or some such group. His book was pub. by Univ. Wisconsin press; I wrote a piece in the J. of Soil and Water Cons. on Leopold and sus. ag, which Curt helped me with. Paul Johnson, the current head of the SCS, is a devoted and deeply knowledgeful student of Leopold, and Wes I might add. There is the Leopold Center for Sus Ag res. at Iowa continuing to do fine work...and the list goes on. Wes's work on the ecology and the prairies has faced a more uphill struggle, since the very precepts of his work is so inimical with the dominant paradigm of modern agriculture. But still, Wes gets around, and his center is carrying out solid work, which more and more people are coming to believe in, as alternative models. There are many folks working close to the land that have made wonderful contributions to the science, art, and culture of sus. ag. Many wonder why has such progress, pointing so clearly to better ways to farm, been kept in such a small corner of American agriculture? Given the irrefutable evidence of the benefit of rotating corn and soybeans -- average 15% increase in corn yields, no need for soil insecti- cides except in rare instances, better weed control, etc -- why is 60% of corn and nearly as much soybeans still grown continuously? The same acreage could be planted, the same production, etc, etc by everyone rotating, but still the majority do not. Why? The answer is part of the answer to the question re why has the work of Leopold, Jackson, Bezdicek, Thompson, and many others had such modest impact on the majority of agriculture. In the years ahead, the sus. ag. community will need to match political and institutional innovation and leadership with its contributions down on the farm. Those benefiting from the status quo have made it clear they will not accept change without a fight. Change is scary. Someone we have to develop policies that make it less so. chuck benbrook From ealarson@iastate.edu Thu Jan 5 21:40:54 EST 1995 Article: 4975 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!oit-mail2news-gateway From: ealarson@iastate.edu (Anne Larson) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Leopold Center cosponsors workshops Date: 5 Jan 1995 21:31:47 -0000 Organization: sustag-public mailing list Lines: 90 Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <199501051857.AA22070@mailhub.iastate.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: bigblue.oit.unc.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Winter, 1995 Regional agricultural workshops Leopold Center cosponsored conferences Educational programs for Iowa farmers, ag businesses, and students Contact the person listed below for details about program and registration. Jan. 6 Integrated Crop Management Conference Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids Contact: Jim Fawcett, ISU Extension, (319) 377-9839 Jan. 6 Bi-State Ag Day Bldg. 1, Black Hawk College, Moline, Ill. Contact: Virgill Schmitt, ISU Extension, (319) 652-4923 Jan. 17 =46orestry Shortcourse-Alternative Opportunities for Farmers Scheman Building, Iowa State University, Ames Contact: Eldon Weber, ISU, (515) 294-0893 Jan. 24-25 Management Intensive Grazing Symposium University Park Holiday Inn, Des Moines Contact: Dan Morrical, ISU Extension, (515) 294-2240 Jan. 25 Manure Management Conference Carrollton Inn, Carroll Contact: Chad Kherli, Carroll County SWCD, (712) 792-5447 Jan. 27 New Technologies in Crop Production Dickinson Co. Community Building, Spirit Lake Contact: Paul Kassel, ISU Extension, (712) 262-2264 =46eb. 9 Pasture Management Seminar Southwestern Community College, Creston Contact: Sue Freemyer, Southwestern Community College 1-800- 247-4023, or Russ BreDahl, ISU Extension, (515) 782-8426 ------------------------------------------------------------- "Manure Happens=8ATake Credit" (Manure Management Workshops) Check with the contact for the location you wish to attend. Program and fee may vary slightly with location. =46eb. 22 Veteran's Hall, Holstein Contact: Kris Kohl, ISU Extension, (712) 732-5056 =46eb. 23 Marshalltown Contact: Saquib Mukhtar, ISU Extension, (515) 342-3316 =46eb. 24 Boondocks Restaurant, Williams Contact: David Rausch, ISU Extension, (515) 584-2261 March 6 Community Center, Fontanelle Contact: Shawn Shouse, ISU Extension, (712) 623-2592 March 8 County Fairgrounds, Fairfield Contact: Grant Wells, ISU Extension, (515 ) 673-5841 March 9 Westfield Inn, Iowa City Contact: Greg Brenneman, ISU Extension, (319) 337-2145 ---------- Anne Larson, Comm. Specialist Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture ealarson@iastate.edu (515) 294-0626 MAY 91 Wood Ashes As A Fertilizer/Lime Material With the increase in use of wood stoves for home heating, questions have arisen concerning the feasibility of applying wood ashes to supply plant nutrients. The nutrient content of wood ashes is variable, but in general they contain approximately 1% phosphorus, 5% potassium, and small amounts of boron and other elements. In addition to supplying nutrients, wood ashes have neutralizing properties similar to limestone. Although the actual neutralizing value will vary depending on hardwood used, in general they have about one-half to three-fourths the neutralizing value of limestone (i.e., 20 lbs. of wood ashes = 10-15 lbs. of lime). Wood ashes may be applied to the home garden to supply the above needed plant nutrients and reduce soil acidity. Application should be made ONLY if the soil pH (acidity factor) is less than 7.0, based on a soil test. Suggested rates are 10-20 lbs. of wood ashes per 1,000 sq. ft. per year. A 10 qt. pail, filled to within 2" of the top, will contain about 5 lbs. of wood ashes so 2 to 4 pails may be used per 1,000 sq. ft. Higher rates should be avoided because of potential plant toxicity problems. The soil should be tested after two years to check for changes in pH, phosphorus and potassium levels to determine if further wood ash applications should be made. Wood ashes should not be applied in contact with germinating seeds or plant roots because of possible salt burn from the potash in the ash. To be on the safe side, wood ashes should be incorporated into the soil before planting using a rototiller or plow. One word about coal ashes - do not use them as they have no neutralizing power or significant nutrient-supplying properties. Additional Notes - The reason for the 20 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. per year maximum for wood ash application is that wood ashes may contain 1-3 or more lbs. of boron per ton so a 50 lb. per 1,000 sq. ft. application (i.e., approximately 1 ton per acre or 1-3 lbs of boron per acre) is too high for a general recommendation. Toxicity problems may develop for some crops. Wood ashes may also be applied to lawns if the chunks of charcoal are removed. Maximum rate is 15 lbs. per 1,000 square feet. If the turf is actively growing, the wood ashes should be watered in. . . . Steve Donohue From Tony.Pereira%ow@salata.com Wed Nov 16 22:19:39 EST 1994 Article: 4469 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!rutgers!dziuxsolim.rutgers.edu!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!ix.netcom.com!netcomsv!salata!ow!tony.pereira From: Tony.Pereira%ow@salata.com (Tony Pereira) Date: 14 Nov 94 08:20:00 Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Composting on a large sc Message-ID: <196_9411141201@salata.com> X-FTN-To: Ken Hadwiger Organization: Fidonet: ONE WORLD Los Angeles 310-372-0987 Lines: 32 To: cfkeh@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (Ken Hadwiger) On 11-06-94 Ken Hadwiger wrote to All... KH> From: cfkeh@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (Ken Hadwiger) KH> Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture KH> Date: 7 Nov 1994 00:05:46 -0600 KH> KH> KH> Somewhere I read that the U.S. gov't was funding some experimental KH> large KH> scale composting experiments. I think they were encouraging small KH> towns to KH> study turning leaves, grass, and other not-for-land-fill biodegrades KH> into KH> compost. I would appreciate it if someone could help my memory KH> reconstruct KH> that info. I'll summarize and post email responses if warranted. KEH KH> KH> --- KH> * Origin: Usenet:Educational Computing Network, Illinois USA KH> (1:102/125.99) Hi Ken ! There's a Master Composter program going on. The city trains you, and gives the title to you to spread the good deeds, and the compost, around. Give a call to your local Extension agent. Regards Tony. ___ * OFFLINE 1.54 * If can see Mount Hood, it's going to rain any minute. Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 11:37:07 -0600 (CST) From: Bart Hall_Beyer Organic Crop Improvement Association [organic certifying organization] : call 513-592-4983 for the address of the chapter nearest you. From lhom@OCF.Berkeley.EDU Sat Dec 3 18:16:44 EST 1994 Article: 6264 of alt.save.the.earth Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!lhom From: lhom@OCF.Berkeley.EDU (Louis Hom) Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking,misc.consumers,alt.save.the.earth,alt.co-ops Subject: Pesticides in Organic Farming (repost) Date: 3 Dec 1994 15:33:15 GMT Organization: U.C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility Lines: 128 Distribution: usa Message-ID: <3bq33r$epp@agate.berkeley.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: earthquake-ether.berkeley.edu Xref: bigblue.oit.unc.edu rec.food.cooking:105870 misc.consumers:79812 alt.save.the.earth:6264 alt.co-ops:1531 Organic produce has become increasingly popular in recent years, as consumers have grown more health conscious and environmentally aware. Many stores and supermarkets now have large sections devoted to organic fruits and vegetables. WHAT MAKES PRODUCE "ORGANIC"? Contrary to what most people believe, "organic" does *not* automatically mean "pesticide-free" or "chemical-free". In fact, under the laws of most states, organic farmers are allowed to use a wide variety of chemical sprays and powders on their crops. So what *does* organic mean? It means that these pesticides, if used, must be derived from natural sources, not synthetically manufactured. Also, these pesticides must be applied using equipment that has not been used to apply any synthetic materials for the past three years, and the land being planted cannot have been treated with synthetic materials for that period either. Most organic farmers (and even some conventional farmers, too) employ mechanical and cultural tools to help control pests. These include insect traps, careful crop selection (there are a growing number of disease-resistant varieties), and biological controls (such as predator insects and beneficial microorganisms). ORGANIC PRODUCE AND PERSONAL HEALTH When you test synthetic chemicals for their ability to cause cancer, you find that about half of them are carcinogenic. Until recently, nobody bothered to look at natural chemicals (such as organic pesticides), because it was assumed that they posed little risk. But when the studies were done, the results were somewhat shocking: you find that about half of the natural chemicals studied are carcinogenic as well. This is a case where everyone (consumers, farmers, researchers) made the same, dangerous mistake. We assumed that "natural" chemicals were automatically better and safer than synthetic materials, and we were wrong. It's important that we be more prudent in our acceptance of "natural" as being innocuous and harmless. ORGANIC PESTICIDES VERSUS SYNTHETIC PESTICIDES Clearly, the less we impact our environment, the better off we all are. Organic farming practices have greatly advanced the use of non-chemical means to control pests, as mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, these non-chemical methods do not always provide enough protection, and it's necessary to use chemical pesticides. How do organic pesticides compare with conventional pesticides? A recent study compared the effectiveness of a rotenone-pyrethrin mixture versus a synthetic pesticide, imidan. Rotenone and pyrethrin are two common organic pesticides; imidan is considered a "soft" synthetic pesticide (i.e., designed to have a brief lifetime after application, and other traits that minimize unwanted effects). It was found that up to 7 applications of the rotenone- pyrethrin mixture were required to obtain the level of protection provided by 2 applications of imidan. It seems unlikely that 7 applications of rotenone and pyrethrin are really better for the environment than 2 applications of imidan, especially when rotenone is extremely toxic to fish and other aquatic life. It should be noted, however, that we don't know for certain which system is more harmful. This is because we do not look at organic pesticides the same way that we look at conventional pesticides. We don't know how long these organic pesticides persist in the environment, or the full extent of their effects. When you look at lists of pesticides allowed in organic agriculture, you find warnings such as, "Use with caution. The toxicological effects of [organic pesticide X] are largely unknown," or "Its persistence in the soil is unknown." Again, researchers haven't bothered to study the effects of organic pesticides because it is assumed that "natural" chemicals are automatically safe. WHY HAVEN'T WE HEARD THIS BEFORE? For obvious reasons, organic farmers have done little, if anything, to dispel the myth that "organic = chemical/pesticide-free". They would only stand to lose business by making such a disclosure. Pesticide manufacturers have little concern in the matter. To them, "synthetic pesticides sold" and "organic pesticides sold" are both "pesticides sold". As for conventional farmers, they are not really in a position to be critical. It would not be in their interest to draw attention to chemical and pesticide use. WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN? The purpose in writing this article is not to discourage you from buying organic produce. It is only meant to let you know what you are or aren't getting when you make such a purchase. Unless you know your grower personally, there is no guarantee that your produce has been grown without pesticides or other chemicals. It's a point to consider, given the substantially higher cost of organic foods. There are many choices and decisions that we, as consumers, are asked to make. Hopefully, this has provided some new information that you will find helpful. * * * * * * * Hard copies of this article in formatted leaflet form are available (on recycled paper, of course). Send your snail mail address to lhom@ocf.berkeley.edu The data describing the carcinogenicity of natural and synthetic compounds are referenced in Gold, L.S., et al. (1992) _Science_ Vol. 258, pp. 261-265. Many thanks go to the Organic Crop Improvement Association for their cooperation in this study. The OCIA has chapters in AZ, AR, CA, CO, FL, IL, IN, IA, KS, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NM, NC, ND, OH, PA, SD, UT, and WI. Thanks are also extended to the California Certified Organic Farmers, the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, and Oregon Tilth Certified Organic. (The appropriate information has not yet been obtained from the Natural Organic Farmers Association (NOFA), but it is almost certain that all facts stated here apply to their products as well.) The following state Departments of Agriculture have also been very helpful: AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, HI, IA, LA, MD, MI, MS, MO, ND, OK, SC, TN, VA, and WA. States with no laws governing organic products include Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, and Tennessee. -- ______________________________________________________________________________ Lou Hom "On that day did they all mingle blood with wine and lhom@ocf.berkeley.edu drink it and when they had drunk themselves to mighty drunkenness, they parted." -- from _All Men Are Brothers_ From cglassy@aol.com Tue Mar 8 13:26:01 1994 Date: Tue, 08 Mar 94 12:10:00 EST From: cglassy@aol.com To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Meeting Notice Hello Fellow Sanetters - 3/8/94 As you may know, OMNIS - the Organic Market News & Information Service was founded in 1985 by the Committee for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA). Our Wholesale Market Report publishes current wholesale prices for organic fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs every two weeks. It also reports comparison prices for conventional (non-organic) produce with indications or over-supply and under-supply. Since its inception, the OMNIS Wholesale Market Report has provided the only systematic reporting of organic produce prices in the United States. For the last year the report has been the subject of a USDA funded national study to identify what information its readers want the publication to provide, whether there are more convenient and efficient methods of distributing the publication, and new sources of accurate and reliable market information. OMNIS will be hosting a Focus Group meeting on the future of the Wholesale Market Report at the Anaheim Natural Foods Expo this Saturday, March 12. The Focus Group will afford the opportunity for probing dialogue on these critical issues. If you are interested in participating in the Focus Group, please call Zabrae Valentine, Project Manager for more information ( 916 ) 446-1860. OMNIS Wholesale Market Report 2464 El Camino Real # 480 Santa Clara, CA. 95051-3097 Ph ( 408 ) 247-6778 ext 3 Fax ( 408 ) 247-5823 email cglassy@aol.com Sat 20 Feb 93 9:10 By: ALLAN BALLIETT Re: New Alchemy/Ocean Arks Here's documentation from the founder himself, John Todd, that New Alchemy is dead, but the spirit goes on living and WORKING towards a sustainable future! ================================================== January 1 993 Dear Friends of New Alchemy As you know, last summer the New Alchemy Institute officially closed its doors. You may also know, however, that neither the vision nor the work that began there have been lost. With the founding of Ocean Arks International in 1983. there began a new phase in the research and implementation of the ideas that first took form at New Alchemy. Like New Alchemy, Ocean Arks was founded by John Todd and Nancy Jack Todd and is a nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to the creation and dissemination of the thinking and the technologies fundamental to a sustainable future. Drawing on what we learned of the ecology of aquatic ecosystems at New Alchemy, we since have created a family of living technologies that now are restoring waters polluted by human and industrial wastes to drinking water standards. Working through The Center for the Restoration of waters at Ocean Arks, we have created one of the most advanced ecologically engineered waste treatment systems in the world which, after a few years of extensive verification, is now legally permitted in two states. We have begun to restore a highly polluted pond in Massachusetts w ith our new floating Living Machine, Lake Restorer 1, opening a channel for its use on water bodies the world over. Our Providence, RI and Marion, Me research facilities have been making ground-breaking discoveries in purifying industrial and toxic wastes. We have demonstrated, on a laboratory scale, that Living Machines can break down such highly toxic wastes as those found in Chattanooga Creek, for which we have attracted the attention of Vice President-elect Al Gore. We have also received continuing support from Congressman Gerry Studds and Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Joe Kennedy and Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island, to name a few, giving us a strong vote of encouragement with the political leaders in Washington. Our education program is reaching professionals and students with courses in ecological design skills, aquaculture, food production, waste treatment and environmental repair. Recently, we were granted the Discover Award for Technological Innovation and the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Award by President Bush. We have managed not only to survive but to move ahead with these developments during a period when the environment was a low priority in the eyes of government and most industry. But we have done so at the cost of incurring considerable debt believing that the ideas were too important to let die. Now, with the renewed promise of the incoming administration and because of your support for New Alchemy over the years, we are again turning to you to ask you to remain a part of keeping its mission alive. If you were willing, each of you could help us in some way. It would be wonderful if you would consider any of the following suggestions: 1. Contribute towards a debt reduction fund or to our general support. 2. Help us to create an endowment, which would secure a future for our work. 3. Help us find customers/clients in industry and in various communities who need help cleaning up pollution and repairing environments. Living Machines can upgrade drinking water reservoirs, restore polluted water bodies and purify wastewaters. 4. Help spread the word. Subscribe to our publication, "Annals of Earth" an updated equivalent of the old "Journals of the New Alchemists " . 1992 was a tough year for us. Salaries weren't always paid, yet our morale remained high. We are a committed and talented organization - dedicated to the Earth and to the training of its stewards. We are ready with the skills and technologies to make things happen. It is our hope that there will be a new environmental agenda over the next decade and we want to play a key role in it. Please help us. Sincerely, John Todd, president P.S. Your contribution is tax deductible. We now accept MC/VISA and American Express. ================================================== Annals of Earth The exchange of ideas feeds the roots of new thought. To this end the Center for the Restoration of Waters publishes "Annals of Earth" to disseminate the ideas and practice of ecological sustainability throughout the world. It seeks, through written communication, to foster the emergence of a new global culture. Published 3 times yearly, "Annals" has an international roster of scholarly, philosophical and ecological writers who deal with planetary issues from a wide range of perspectives. While "Annals" covers and chronicles the Center's activities, it also publishes articles that range in subject from the philosophy of ecology, basic biology, hands on environmental projects, to the Gaia Hypothesis. Distributed world-wide, "Annals" is an intellectual forum for the presentation of leading edge environmental thought. A Publication Of Ocean Arks International and the Lindisfarne Association Volume X, Number 2, 1992 $? Contribution $15 Student/unwaged member $30 Individual member $35 Canadian member $ 40 Foreign member $ 50 Family member $100 Supporting member $1000 Patron member Membership includes subscription to "Annals", course announcements and contributes to the work of OAI. Please make checks payable to Ocean Arks International. We now accept MC/VISA & American Express. To renew by phone, please call 508-510-6801. A Publication of Ocean Arks International and The Lindisfarne Association OCEAN ARKS INTERNATIONAL * Origin: The Twilight Clone (1:109/70.914) From paninfopubs@igc.apc.org Wed Jan 4 14:13:06 EST 1995 Article: 4961 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!oit-mail2news-gateway From: paninfopubs@igc.apc.org (PANNA InfoPubs) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: PANUPS: Organic Farming in Japan Date: 4 Jan 1995 08:42:34 -0000 Organization: sustag-public mailing list Lines: 103 Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: bigblue.oit.unc.edu >From: PANNA InfoPubs ===================================== P A N U P S *** Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service ===================================== Farmer-Consumer Alliance Succeeds in Japan January 3, 1995 A small but increasing number of Japanese growers are relying on organic methods instead of chemical inputs and have succeeded in obtaining yields that are 60% to 90% of those of their chemical-using neighbors. Following a "natural" crop calendar in harmony with the seasons, organic farmers claim that their losses are usually only 15% to 20% and that their produce tastes much better than that grown with chemical inputs. Though the produce often has insect holes, a significant number of Japanese consumers prefer organically produced foods, and are willing to pay a higher price for it. Roughly 150,000 to 200,000 households in metropolitan Tokyo -- half a million to one million people -- regularly eat "organic" produce grown without, or with "reduced use" of chemical pesticides. Some schools and restaurants also have switched to organic food, and at least one sake brewery claims to use only organically grown rice in its premium brand. The total number or organic food consumers throughout Japan may be as high as three to five million -- about 3% to 5% of the population. Under the country's "tekei" systems, consumers have actually entered into "co-partnership" with organic farmers, offering financial support, making commitments to buy all produce and even volunteering to help weed crops. In Japan, organic food is distributed in three primary ways: 1. "Tekei" system of close farmer/consumer cooperation. Spearheaded by the 4,000 member Nippon Yuki Nogyo Kenkyukai (Japan Organic Agriculture Association -- JOAA), this partnership, which started in 1971, requires that farmers use no synthetic chemicals and that consumers buy whatever the farmers produce. Consumers also periodically help with weeding and other farm tasks, and contribute toward the purchase of capital items such as delivery vans and cold storage facilities. 2. "Post delivery" system. Many consumers rely on distributors who bring produce to their houses or to a predesignated "post," usually serving three to 20 households. Some systems have evolved into multi-billion yen operations which receive produce from 1,000 to 3,000 or more contract farmers located throughout the country and distribute to 10,000 to 35,000 households weekly. The largest such group, Seikatsu Club, founded by a Japanese woman 20 years ago to get safe milk directly from farmers, now claims to have more than 214,000 members. 3. Organic food retail outlets. Approximately 150 retail outlets selling organic foods have appeared in recent years in the Tokyo megalopolis, catering to consumers who do not belong to established groups. In the past, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and agricultural research institutes paid little attention to organic farming, considering increased food production and food self-sufficiency as top priorities. "The ministry considered organic farming to be a passing phase only and did not support any research in this area," complained the JOAA secretary-general. Now that organic farming is on the increase, however, the ministry has issued guidelines describing farming practices necessary for a grower to label produce "organic." Designed primarily to protect consumers from false advertising, the guidelines have drawn complaints from the JOAA and consumer groups, who say permitting use of such labels as "reduced pesticides" only confuses the buying public. The word "organic," say the groups, should be reserved exclusively for crops on which no chemicals have been used. Source: Ceres 148, July-August 1994 Contact: JOAA c/o Tomoyoshi Kiuchi, Hongo Corporation No. 1001, 2-40-13 Hongo, 9-Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113, Japan; phone (81-3) 3818-3078; fax (81-3) 5684-3417. =========================================================== | PANNA | for standard information | | Phone:(415) 541-9140 | about PANNA send a short | | Fax:(415) 541-9253 | email message to | | email: panna@econet.apc.org | panna-info@econet.apc.org | | gopher: gopher.econet.apc.org| | | ___ | | To subscribe to PANUPS send email to MAJORDOMO@igc.apc.org| | with the following text on one line: subscribe panups | | To unsubscibe send the following: unsubscribe panups | =========================================================== From sustag@BETA.TRICITY.WSU.EDUMon Nov 7 09:38:46 1994 Date: Mon, 7 Nov 1994 05:50:03 -0800 From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)" To: Multiple recipients of list SUSTAG-L Subject: PIGVISION; call for interest (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 7 Nov 1994 16:50:23 +1000 From: Raymond Rohner To: SUSTAG@beta.tricity.wsu.edu Subject: PIGVISION; call for interest PIGVISION is a collaborative project involving artists and scientists. Supported by Sunday Hill Research Station, its main focus is the interface between art and agriculture/animal husbandry. Ever since the early history of human civilisation, art and agriculture have been closely associated with each other. The relationship is very wide-ranging. At one extreme it is, for example, concerned with ritual performances during harvest celebrations and at the other extreme we find van Gogh's paintings of rural scenes. An increasing number of contemporary artists take the land and/or the growth of plants as their subject-matter. These would include: David Nash, Sjoerd Buisman, Wolfgang Laib, Richard Long, Hamish Fulton and Andy Goldsworthy. Part of PIGVISION's project is to develop a WWW site. This site will not only provide project related information and links to other sites, but will eventually become a creative meeting place for people with similar interest. PIGVISION's WWW project is structured according to Sunday Hill's site plan. You move through a virtual space with features partly borrowed from the real site and partly adapted to the needs of the project. There is a lot to do and we need your help. For our WWW library we are particularly interested in: * artists dealing creatively with agriculture * agricultural/animal scientists interested in creativity, intuition, imagination, etc. * farming people interested in art We would also like to update our gateway to other WWW sites. These can be sites dealing generally with art or agriculture only. Please let us know about your projects, essays, lectures, WWW service etc. The URL address is: http://toolshed.artschool.utas.edu.au/PigVision/pigvision.html The email address is: rrohner@postoffice.utas.edu.au ---------- Regards Raymond Rohner /pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/general Retrieve the INDEX file for a description of contents From kkroll@asrr.arsusda.gov Tue Jun 14 22:26:41 1994 Date: 14 Jun 94 11:56:00 EDT From: KIM KROLL To: sanet-mg Subject: Rodale Field Days Rodale Institute Research Center 12th Annual *** FIELD DAY *** July 21, 1994 Discover regenerative agriculture at the Rodale Institute Research Center near Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Join us for our 12th annual Field Day and take part in a great selection of workshops led by Rodale research scientists. Learn about farm management, soil health, farm-scale use of compost, perennial crops, reduced tillage, the use of cover crops in farming systems, and RIRC's Farming Systems Trial, the oldest experimental trial in the country to compare conventional and regenerative cropping systems side-by-side. You can also take a two-hour wagon tour of the Research Center and learn about the Farming Systems Trial, our Compost Utilization Trial, Low-Input Reduced Tillage trial, and the Whole Farm Management trial. And when you're not participating in a workshop or tour, you can see farm equipment demonstrations. (Pennsylvania Dutch-style organic food will be available for lunch as an additional expense.) For registration information, call 610-683-1427/1428. From bobcurtiss@aol.com Fri Feb 11 09:53:59 1994 Date: Thu, 10 Feb 94 12:16:29 -0500 From: bobcurtiss@aol.com Reply to: maxlife@gibbs.oit.unc.edu To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Real Goods Contact info for Real Goods Catalog: Real Goods 966 Mazzoni Street Ukiah, CA 95482-3471 voice 800 762-7325 fax 707 468 0301 From sustag@BETA.TRICITY.WSU.EDUFri Dec 23 12:04:30 1994 Date: Fri, 23 Dec 1994 05:48:43 -0800 From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)" To: Multiple recipients of list SUSTAG-L Subject: Re: PANUPS: Online Resource Pointer #15 (fwd) [Here is part of PANNA pointer #15. TH] ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 22 Dec 1994 12:03:31 -0800 (PST) From: PANNA InfoPubs To: Recipients of conference Subject: Re: PANUPS: Online Resource Pointer #15 >From: PANNA InfoPubs ===================================== P A N U P S *** Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service ===================================== Online Resource Pointer #15 December 22, 1994 For copies of the following resources, please contact the appropriate publishers or organizations directly. *Seed, Soil, and Science: Networking for Sustainable Maize Farming in Central America and the Caribbean, 1994.* Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT). Describes the Regional Maize Program conducted by a CIMMYT- sponsored network of maize researchers from nine countries to develop maize varieties and crop management techniques for subsistence farmers who work the steep slopes and tropical lowlands in Central America and the Caribbean. 16 pp. Roger Urbina, Programa Regional de Maiz, PRM, Bello Horizonte D-II- 22, Apdo. Postal 6135, Managua, Nicaragua; phone (505-2) 490583; fax (505-2) 49058. *IPMnet.* Cornell University's Consortium for International Crop Protection (CICP) in joint with the National Biological Impact Assessment Program (NBIAP) is offering "IPMnet", a 24- hour free online source of international Integrated Pest Management information which includes IPM special reports, the "IPMnet News" and "Resistant Pest Management" newsletters, technical information resources, an IPM forum, and IPM databases. To connect with IPMnet via Internet, use a communication program or link and: (1) select or key in , (2) then, at the prompt, key in , (3) and follow the on-screen prompts. For those without access to telnet, contact CICP for a hard copy of the IPMnet registration form and place your name and address on list for future receipt of a hard copy of the IPMnet NEWS (if or when funds can be found to support printing and mailing costs). CICP, Cornell University, NYAES, Geneva, NY 14456-0462; voice (315) 787-2252; fax (315) 787-2276; email: cicp@cornell.edu. We encourage those interested in having resources listed in the Online Resource Pointer to send review copies of publications, videos or other sources to our office (address listed below) or to contact Publications and Information Coordinator Ellen Hickey or Information Program Associate Gina Schilling for further information. =========================================================== | PANNA | for standard information | | Phone:(415) 541-9140 | about PANNA send a short | | Fax:(415) 541-9253 | email message to | | email: panna@econet.apc.org | panna-info@econet.apc.org | | gopher: gopher.econet.apc.org| | | ___ | | To subscribe to PANUPS send email to MAJORDOMO@igc.apc.org| | with the following text on one line: subscribe panups | | To unsubscibe send the following: unsubscribe panups | =========================================================== From san@nal.usda.govThu Feb 22 13:03:38 1996 Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 08:46:31 -0500 (EST) From: "Andy Clark, SAN Coordinator" To: sdn05564@sdn.dk Cc: ecol-agric@mailbase.ac.uk Subject: Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE NETWORK (SAN) Information on sustainable agricultural issues and practices is available from a wide variety of sources, including research and educational institutions, private nonprofits, farmer organizations, publishers, consultants, lenders, and suppliers. Finding the available information, as well as identifying the gaps in the knowledge base, is an increasing challenge. The Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) was formed to help meet this challenge. SAN is a cooperative effort of universities, government, business and non-profit organizations dedicated to information exchange. It was developed by a committee from diverse organizations, with support from the USDA's national Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program (see list at end). The committee's vision is that of a decentralized system that encourages and supports interaction among a diversity of information providers and users, rather than a centralized system with a one-way flow of information. To support this vision, the committee eagerly solicits comments, criticisms, and active participation from colleagues as the system takes shape. Current activities include: SHOWCASE OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS SAN sponsors The Showcase of Sustainable Agriculture Information and Education Materials. Begun by John Ikerd, at the University of Missouri, it is a compilation of publications, videos, and other materials, as a way to identify both the exemplary and the missing in sustainable agriculture knowledge. Materials that synthesize information in forms readily usable to farmers are a particular focus of the Showcase. The results are available as a printed document (see PUBLISHING) and as a computerized database (see INFORMATION ON DISKETTE). Those interested in contributing materials to the Showcase should contact Andy Clark (see address under "For More Information.") DIRECTORY A directory listing detailed characteristics of individuals and organizations who are willing to share their expertise in sustainable agriculture was compiled by the staff of ATTRA under the direction of Jim Lukens, ATTRA program manager. A compilation of over 700 entries, it represents the broad range of types of people and organizations knowledgeable about sustainable agriculture. The first edition was released in May, 1993, in electronic (see INFORMATION ON DISKETTE) and printed (see PUBLISHING) forms. To be listed in future updates of the Directory, contact ATTRA at 1-800-346-9140. PUBLISHING Preparing information in a form that is useful to farmers is a high priority of SAN. The first handbook, Managing Cover Crops Profitably, is available for $9.95 from Sustainable Agriculture Publications, Hills Building, Room 12, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405-0082. Other SAN publications include The Sustainable Agriculture Directory of Expertise ($14.95) and The Showcase of Sustainable Agriculture Information and Education Materials ($4.95) A guide to tillage tools is due in 1996. THESAURUS A common language is important for finding information from a variety of sources. Begun by Steve Mitchell of the Bio-Agricultural Library at the University of California, Riverside, to be continued by Andy Clark, the project will help organize the sustainable agricultural knowledge available and refine a word list that will be useful to people looking for information, authors assigning key words to their documents, as well as to those creating indexes. ELECTRONIC INFORMATION EXCHANGE Electronic exchange of information is an increasingly important activity for SAN. Kevin Gamble, extension computing specialist at North Carolina State University, is leading the effort to develop guidelines for the preparation of documents to be shared over computer networks. An electronic conference, sanet-mg, has been formed on the Internet for the sharing of ideas and information regarding sustainable agriculture. To subscribe, send the statement, subscribe sanet-mg, in the body of an Internet message to: almanac@ces.ncsu.edu. The Almanac software, previously developed at Oregon State University, automatically distributes any message sent to sanet-mg list. There are also databases and a calendar of events accessible through the Internet. Consult the separate brief "Getting Started Electronically with SAN," available by email or telephone request to Andy Clark (see address under "For More Information.") INFORMATION ON DISKETTE A microcomputer database of summaries of projects funded by SARE/ACE demonstrates the power of state-of-the-art, off-the-shelf text "infobase" management, using FolioViews software. The publications mentioned already are also available. The program runs on MS-DOS-compatible machines only, for the time being. For a free copy, send a blank, formatted, high-density diskette to Phil Rasmussen, Head, Ag. Systems Technology, Utah State University, UMC-2300, Logan, UT 84322-2300. (Internet: soilcomp@cc.usu.edu). They are also available for downloading to your computer through their gopher site, extsparc.agsci.usu.edu, PORT=70. EXPERIENTIAL INFORMATION The committee has recommended that more and better information from `experience', such as case studies and other forms of careful observation, be made available through the network, adding to information that is formally tested. We are exploring appropriate ways to describe and share this information so that its validity and range of applicability will be more easily evaluated by potential users. HOW TO PARTICIPATE You can "join" SAN simply by participating in one or more of its activities: contribute information to the Showcase, join the electronic discussion group, volunteer yourself or another expert for listing in the Directory, use the Cover Crops Handbook or the Folio Infobase and let us know what you think of them! FOR MORE INFORMATION As a decentralized network, the points of contact are many; feel free to contact the individuals mentioned above for specific aspects of SAN. To provide overall coordination and a central point of contact, SAN has established an office hosted by the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC) of the National Agricultural Library: Andy Clark, SAN Coordinator c/o AFSIC, Room 304 National Agricultural Library Agriculture Research Service 10301 Baltimore Boulevard Beltsville, MD 20705-2351 Internet: san@nalusda.gov Telephone: 301/504-6425 FAX: 301/504-6409 SUPPORT SAN is supported by the USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. The project team includes: Andy Clark, SAN Coordinator (san@nalusda.gov) Jill Auburn, University of California (jsauburn@ucdavis.edu) Jane Gates, AFSIC, National Agricultural Library (jgates@nalusda.gov) Kevin Gamble, North Carolina State University (kgamble@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu) Beth Holtzman, Northeast SARE Program, University of Vermont (bholtzma@moose.uvm.edu) Kristen Kelleher, Western SARE Program, University of Calif. (kkelleher@ucdavis.edu) Charles Panton, North Carolina A & T (forbesb@athena.ncat.edu) Ed Rajotte, Pennsylvania State University (egrajotte@a1.psupen.psu.edu) Gwen Roland, Southern SARE Program, University of Georgia (sareace@gaes.griffin.peachnet.edu Tory Shade, University Extension, Wayne County, Missouri (wayneco@ext.missouri.edu) From ghegyes@nalusda.gov Wed Mar 9 13:11:37 1994 Date: Wed, 9 Mar 1994 09:01:04 -0500 (EST) From: Gabriel Hegyes To: SANET-mg Subject: ANNOUNCE: SAN Showcase Update Request SHOWCASE OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS The Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) sponsors a "Showcase of Educational Materials." Begun by John Ikerd, at the University of Missouri, it is a compilation of publications, videos, and other materials, as a way to identify both the exemplary and the missing in sustainable agriculture knowledge. Materials that synthesize information in forms readily usable to farmers are a particular focus of the Showcase. The results can be read as a printed document; over Internet through Almanac, Gopher and WAIS; and available as a computerized database that can be downloaded from the Gopher site at Utah State University. Those interested in contributing materials to the Showcase, or updating their current entry should fill out the form below. ___________________________________________________________________ Submittal Form for Showcase of Sustainable Agriculture Information and Education Materials Please fill out a separate form for each publication or material. Please send one copy of each new item for the Showcase to: ---- """"""""""" Gabriel A. Hegyes SAN Coordinator c/o Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, Rm. 304 National Agricultural Library 10301 Baltimore Blvd Beltsville, MD 20705-2351 301-504-6425 301-504-6409 FAX ghegyes@nalusda.gov INTERNET ************************************************* Author(s): Title: Publisher/Source: Date Published: Cost: $ per publication or set of materials Type (Check one): Newsletter/Periodical Conference Proceedings Book or Manual Research Report Fact Sheet or Info. Brief Decision Aid/Computer Software Brochure or Pamphlet Videotape Audio Tape Slide Set Other (Describe) Available in Quantities? Yes No Can be freely copied or Yes No duplicated? Contact to order or to request more information: Name: Phone: Abstract: Submitted by: Name: Affiliation: Address: City: State: Zip: Phone: FAX: Electronic mail: (Complete Internet address) From sustag@BETA.TRICITY.WSU.EDUFri Nov 25 00:27:52 1994 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 1994 14:24:44 -0800 From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)" To: Multiple recipients of list SUSTAG-L Subject: SOMNET - A Global network of soil organic matter models and long term experiments (fwd) [I have invited SOMNET, centered at Rothamsted Experiment Station to use sustag-l, at least to get started. Soil organic matter is a basic component of sustainable agriculture. Anyway we will see how things go. Let me know if this seems appropriate or not. TH, moderator] ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 24 Nov 1994 11:19:05 +0000 From: JOSMITH To: Non Receipt Notification Requested Subject: SOMNET - A Global network of soil organic matter models and long term experiments SOMNET: A GLOBAL NETWORK OF SOIL ORGANIC MATTER MODELS AND LONG-TERM EXPERIMENT DATASETS SOMNET is a global network of soil organic matter models and long-term experiments and will be established during 1995. Soil organic matter (SOM) represents a major pool of carbon within the biosphere, acting as both a source and sink. When organic material decomposes, CO2 is released, but a fraction may become stable, withdrawing it from the active carbon cycle. Changes in climate are likely to influence the rates of accumulation and decomposition of SOM through changes in temperature, moisture and the rate of return of plant residues to the soil. Other changes, especially in land use and management, may have even greater effects. The ability to predict the effects of climate, atmospheric composition and land use change on SOM dynamics is essential in formulating environmental, agricultural and social/economic policies. Mathematical models of SOM dynamics are needed to predict the effects of environmental change, to test specific scenarios and to develop strategies to manage the effects of environmental change. Most models have been developed using data from a single land use type. The ability of models developed for use in one system (e.g. arable agriculture) to simulate SOM changes in another (e.g. grassland) is a major limitation when simulating the impact of land use change. There is a pressing need to systematically evaluate the suitability of SOM models in predicting the effects of environmental change. SOMNET will establish a network of researchers investigating the impacts of environmental change on SOM with particular relevance to the validation of mathematical models that can be used to evaluate management and policy options. Questionnaires will be sent to holders of datasets to establish nature of sites, type of measurements, quality control measures and the availability of data. Similarly, questionnaires will be sent to developers of models to establish type of models, nature of model inputs and outputs, quality control measures and the availability of the model. The collated information will be published as a directory and electronic database to provide information about the source and nature of experimental datasets and SOM models. A NATO Advanced Research Workshop will initate a comparison of model performance to evaluate representative SOM models using representative long-term experimental data sets. Holders of representative experimental datasets and developers of representative models will be invited to participate in the workshop to be held May 22-26, 1995, at Rothamsted, UK. This will establish robustness of simulations over a wide range of environments and expose deficiencies in understanding and/or available experimental data. Questionnaires will be sent out before the end of 1994. If you would like to participate in SOMNET, please contact... Pete Smith, Soil Science Department, IACR Rothamsted, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 2JQ UK. Telephone: (+44) 582 763133 Fax: (+44) 582 760981 Email: PESMITH@BBSRC.AC.UK To be considered for invitation to the NATO Workshop to be held May 22-26, 1995 on "Evaluation of Soil Organic Matter Models using Long Term Experimental Datasets", questionnaires must be returned by 1 February, 1995. For information about experimental datasets or models to be included in a directory to be compiled at the end of 1995, questionnaires must be returned by 1 September 1995. For information about experimental datasets or models to be included in SOMNET, questionnaires can be returned at any time. From f_griffith@titan.sfasu.edu Mon Oct 24 00:16:31 EDT 1994 Article: 2814 of misc.survivalism Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!swrinde!news.uh.edu!titan.sfasu.edu!titan.sfasu.edu!f_griffith Newsgroups: misc.survivalism Subject: saving seeds Message-ID: <1994Oct18.132348@titan.sfasu.edu> From: f_griffith@titan.sfasu.edu Date: 18 Oct 94 13:23:48 CST Organization: Stephen F. Austin State University Nntp-Posting-Host: titan.sfasu.edu Lines: 76 Reprinted by permission from Coping with Turbulent Times newslet- ter, c/o III, Box 4630 SFA Sta., Nacogdoches, TX 75962. $5/four issues, $1 & SASE for sample. SAVING SEEDS: THE GARDENER'S GUIDE TO GROWING & SAVING VEGETABLE & FLOWER SEEDS (revision of '78 Growing & Saving Veg. seeds), Marc Rogers, '90, 185 pages 6x9 (wide margins), $10 + $2.75 p&h in '92, Garden Way, 105 Schoolhouse Road, Pownal VT 05261. 800- 827-8673. Free catalog of 250 + titles: gardening, animals, cooking, crafts, building. With petunia seed over $10,000 and tomato over $2,500 per pound, Marc Rogers concluded that seeds aren't cheap. Seed saving can cut costs, and reduce dependence on seed companies. And, by careful selection "you can produce plants best suited to your climate and your growing conditions." This book gives directions for saving seeds of 48 vegetables and 61 flowing ornamentals. "Watch your plants throughout the growing season.... It is the whole plant, rather than an isolated fruit, that you should consider...." Save seed from early-bearing plants, to encourage that trait. Mark your seed producing plants with a ribbon, or stake, so they're not accidentally harvested. Seeds picked before they're mature won't have enough stored nourishment for a good start, or even to last the winter. (Seeds "carry on their basic life processes even while dormant, but at a very low rate.") Fruits, such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, should be allowed to get "a bit overripe, before seed is collected." Harvest melons for seed and eating at the same time. Tomato and cucumber seeds separate from the pulp easier after fermenting in a little water. Stir a few times daily to discourage mold. The good seeds will sink to the bottom. After 4-5 days rinse them and spread to dry, "Most seeds, in most climates will dry adequately for home storage if spread on paper towels or newspapers in an airy place for a week." Turn seeds and replace paper several times if necessary. Larger seeds take longer. If conditions are damp and you use artificial heat, don't go over 100(better 90) F. Fungi are almost inactivated at 50 F, and bacteria at under about 18% moisture, therefore, "keep your stored seeds dry and cool. ... Long-term storage in the refrigerator or freezer is your best bet ..." Silica gel (at drug, camera, craft, or hardware stores) may be used as a desiccant. Most "is treated to turn color when it has absorbed its maximum of moisture." It may be repeatedly oven-dried for reuse. "It's hard to go wrong growing peas or beans for seed", thus they are perfect for beginning seed savers to start with, says Marc. Scientific as well as common names are given for all plants. Address and catalog price given for 50 seed companies, large and small. The U of MN's Source List of Plants is mentioned as listing "over 20,000 varieties...commercially available in N America." For info about the Seed Savers Exchange, Marc says to send a SASE to RR3 Box 239, Decorah, IA 52101. Their 418 page Garden Seed Inventory ($17 1/2 ppd) describes 5,000+ non-hybrid veg. varieties from 240 catalogs. County extension agents may know of local/regional seed exchanges. Review by Julie Summers, who's also in DWELLING PORTABLY (sample $1, POB 190-sr, Philomath, OR 97370); SURVIVALIST SIG (sample $1 1/2, POB 20188-js, Cleveland, OH 44120); & COLTSFOOT (wild edible plants, sample $2, RR1 Box 313A-js, Shipman, VA 22971). From: danwinter@igc.apc.org (Dan Winter) Newsgroups: rec.gardens Subject: Soil Remineralization Forum Message-ID: <1453300624@cdp> Date: 28 Apr 94 01:05:00 GMT Sender: Notesfile to Usenet Gateway Lines: 152 From: Dan Winter /* SOIL REMINERALIZATION & SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE */ /* written 4pm 4/26/94 by David Yarrow in en.agriculture */ For Immediate Release Forum Soil Remineralization and Sustainable Agriculture SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND, APRIL 14, 1994 -- An invitation has been issued to join a one-day forum to explore the potential of soil remineralization for sustainable agriculture. The Forum will be held on May 24, 1994 (with a dinner the evening of May 23 at the USDA, Agricultural Research Service Center, Beltsville, Maryland. Natural stone and aggregate materials and fines produced from crushed stone, sand and gravel contain a broad spectrum of minerals and trace elements that can be applied to soils. Potential benefits are increased yields and long term soil fertility that is sustainable and ecologically sound. There is also a potential for pest control, co-utilization with sewage sludge or wastewater technologies, bioremediation of soils and other areas of sustainable development. The effect on nutritional content of remineralized crops is an important factor in the examination of the value of remineralization. The main emphasis of the one-day Forum will be on sustainable agriculture. These issues should greatly interest all those concerned with environmental and economic sustainability, especially for agriculture and forestry, creating long term soil fertility and enhancing the nutritional content of food. The Forum will take a look at the results of remineralization around the world, as well as prior and current research. The diverse audience will also explore its future potential, and the possibility of forming partnerships involving government, industry, farmers, and universities which will contribute to future exploration of remineralization and sustainability. The effects on soils and plants will be examined along with effects on human nutrition. Perspectives on soil remineralization will come from those that have advocated remineralization; the aggregate and stone industries, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. Speakers will come from the fields of agriculture, geology, forestry, nutrition, and the environment. Presenters will include: * Mr. Greg Watson, Northeast Director, Nature Conservancy * Dr. Robert Bruck, State University, North Carolina * Dr. William Fyfe, Pres., International Union of Geological Sciences * Dr. Bernadette Marriott, National Research Council The Forum is being hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture/ Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Bureau of Mines, National Stone Association, and National Aggregates Association. For registration, contact Engineering Division of National Aggregates Association, 900 Spring Street, Silver Spring, MD 20910; 301-587-1400, Fax: 301-585-4219. The Forum will be held in the main auditorium, Building 003, on the west side of US Route 1 just north of the Capital Beltway (I-95) on Circle Drive at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. The dinner the evening before (and lodging if needed) will be held at the nearby Holiday Inn, College Park, also located on the west side of US Route 1 at 10000 Baltimore Blvd. Phone 301-345-6700 for reservations. Conference sponsors are: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Dr. Ron Korcak Bldg. 004, Room 119, BARC-West, Beltsville, MD 20705 U. S. Bureau of Mines Dr. Aldo Barsotti 810 7th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20241 National Aggregates Association Mr. Richard Meininger 900 Spring Street, Silver Spring, MD 20910 National Stone Association Mr. Larry Quinlivan, Mr. Charles A. Pryor, Jr. 1415 Elliot Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007 Workshop Agenda Forum on Soil Remineralization Monday, May 23, 1994 Building 003, USDA/ARS Noon to 5:00 p.m. - Poster Set-Up 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Registration, Holiday Inn, 10000 Baltimore Blvd. 7:00 p.m. Buffet Dinner at Holiday Inn Guest Speaker - Mr Greg Watson, The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA Tuesday, May 24, 1994 Auditorium, Bldg 003, USDA/ARS, Beltsville, Maryland 8:00 - 10:00 a.m. Session I Soil Remineralization - An Overview Moderator - Dr. Ron Korcak 8:00 Welcome 8:10 - 8:20 Goals of the Workshop Dr. Ron Korcak Fruit Lab., USDA/ARS, Beltsville, MD 8:20 - 8:50 Soil Remineralization Around the World Ms. Joanna Campe Editor, Remineralize the Earth, Northampton, MA 8:50 - 9:05 The Aggregates Industry Mr. Rick Meininger Vice Pres. of Research, National Aggregates Asso., Silver Spring, MD 9:05 - 9:20 Industry/Association Interactions Mr. Robert Able Chair, Remineralization Task Force, NAA, Collins, NY 10:00 - 10:30 Break 10:30 - Noon Session II Remineralization in Agriculture & Forestry Moderator: Mr. Rick Meininger 10:30 - 10:45 Soil/Plant Interactions Dr. Ron Korcak USDA/ARS Fruit Lab, Beltsville, MD 10:45 - 11:10 Use of Mega Industrial Byproducts in Remineralization Dr. William Fyfe Dept. of Geology, Univ. Western Ontario, London, Ontario 11:10 - 11:35 Soil Remineralization and Forestry Dr. Robert Bruck Office of Outreach & Extension, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 11:35 - Noon Sustainability: A Geologists Perspective Dr. Ward Chesworth Land Resource Sci. Dept., Univ. of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario Noon Lunch 1:15 - 3:00 p.m. Session III Diversity and Remineralization Moderator: Mr. Larry Quinlivan 1:15 - 1:40 Effects of Rock Dust on Soil Microbiology & Plant Nutrition Dr. David Miller Biology Department, Oberlin College, Ohio 1:40 - 2:05 Microbial Realm in Relation to Rock Powder Blends Mr. Bruce Tainio Tainio Techniques & Technologies, Cheney, Washington 2:05 - 2:30 Potential Benefit of Soil Remineralization: Selenium in Human Nutrition as a Model Dr. Orville Levander Vitamin & Mineral Nutrition Lab, Beltsville, MD 2:30 - 2:55 Geophagy and Human Nutrition Dr. Bernadette Marriott National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Break & Posters Session IV Posters - Case Histories 4:00 - 5:00 Session V Conference Synopsis Moderator: Dr. Aldo Barsotti 4:00 - 4:20 Synopsis & Needs - An Industry Perspective Mr.Jim Schmitt Granite Rock Co., Watsonville, CA 4:20 - 4:40 Research Needs Dr. W. D. Kemper National Program Staff, USDA/ARS, Beltsville, MD 4:40 - 5:00 General Questions and Answers 5:15 - 6:15 Planning Task Group and Speakers + - - - - - - - - C O M M E N T A R Y- - - - - - - - - - - + The impetus which gave rise to this Forum was a 30-page proposal I prepared in June 1992 for Mr. Robert Able of Gernatt Gravel Co., largest gravel producer in NYS. Mr. Able presented the proposal to the National Aggregates Assoc., which enthusiastically adopted it. Then the USDA, Bureau of Mines, National Stone Assoc. got excited and signed on to the concept. So, two years later will see the first national level conference on the use of finely ground rock powders as an amendment to regenerate worn out farm and forest soils. For the first time a gathering of PhD's, bureaucrats, industry reps, and eco-activists will review the existing information on this essential bioremediation process and consider the next steps for its broad scale application to the environment. Unfortunately I won't be there. In August 1992 I was electrocuted by 6000 volts and fell 15 feet to break my back. Totally broke, confined to bed and wheelchair, consigned to a medical trash can, and in daily pain, I can't attend to see what will bec ome of my initiative. + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + -- for a green and peaceful planet, David Yarrow, turtle from Salt Lake 1227 Dorset St., So. Burlington, VT 05403; 802-865-1218 "be earthwise, not clockwise" From mike@ncsipm1.cropsci.ncsu.edu Date: Wed, 31 Aug 94 9:42:36 EDT From: Mike Linker To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: SSAWG NEWSLETTER SOUTHERN SUSTAINABLE FARMING Newsletter of the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Summer, 1994, issue. For more information contact: Keith Richards, editor, hn3551@handsnet.org (email), 501-521-7922, 1533 S. Duncan, Fayetteville AR 72701 Rural/Ag/Sustainable 8/18/94--Handsnet Forum--HN1348 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN SAWG by Keith Richards On the weekend of May 17-19, 1991 at the Highlander Center in New Market, Tennessee, 25 people representing 17 organizations founded the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SAWG). Their intent was to give Southerners a say in how they wanted to solve agricultural and rural problems in the South, and give farmers the lead role in the process of making Southern agriculture more sustainable. Many groups, especially in the Midwest, had worked together on the 1990 Farm Bill to shape it according to their needs and vision of sustainability. But the South had been under-represented. Keith Jones of Texas, remembers, "A lot of discussion was occurring on sustainable agriculture and being driven by the Midwest because they were more organized. The views of the South weren't being heard. We wanted to have Southerners articulate the South's needs and look for solutions ourselves instead of looking to others." Groups in the South were already working on pieces to the puzzle of sustainability, like rural community revitalization, saving family farms, minority farmer assistance, environmental quality, safe food, farmer-controlled marketing and credit reform. The time was ripe to begin a dialogue between all of the efforts. "It was encouraging and exciting to see groups come together from the whole region", recalls Jackie Langston of North Carolina, "especially since the South had not been in the forefront of sustainable agriculture up to that time". "A real spirit of camaraderie developed when we realized there were lots of folks all across the region who were working on the same issues", says Keith Jones. "We saw we had the critical mass to make a real change on some of these issues." Most important of all, the creation of a working group on sustainable agriculture brought farmers to the table. Benny Bunting of North Carolina says, "I looked at the creation of Southern SAWG as an opportunity for farmers to participate in the dialogue controlling our livelihood. I was pleased that my views as a full time farmer and advocate paralleled with others interested in food safety, water quality, air quality, and environmental issues." "I'd felt kind of isolated in Oklahoma", recalls Teresa Maurer. "I felt a sense of excitement that there would be region-wide activity on getting farmers to participate, especially in policy setting and research initiatives." John Matthews of Arkansas adds, "Sustainable agriculture was in danger of being co-opted by the same people who controlled conventional agriculture land grants, government and agribusiness. You can't go to the same store for solutions that you bought your problems from." The creation of the Southern SAWG was an attempt to change the paradigm, to turn to the great diversity of farmers and their allies for solutions. Original Mission & Goals At the Tennessee meeting a steering committee was formed of Larry Williams (AR), Helen Vinton (LA), Betty Bailey (NC), Kathy Aman (KY) and Keith Jones (TX) to further define the goals, objectives and a mission statement for approval by the full membership. Their original mission statement read: The Southern SAWG is a regional network involved in sustainable agriculture and rural development which: 1. Empowers farmers to develop policy and implement programs resulting in economic and environmental sustainability of our communities, and 2. Increases the capacity of each member group by sharing resources and collaborating on program development. By the end of 1991 an ambitious list of long-term goals were defined: 1. To involve traditional farmers in the sustainable agriculture movement, in the policy-making process, and in setting research and program priorities of public institutions. 2. To expose grassroots farm leaders to a wide variety of options for rural policy, including experience from other countries. 3. To expand our cooperative relationship with the Midwest SAWG in order to monitor both federal policy and new programs in other states, and to participate in a national dialogue on sustainable agriculture provisions of the 1995 farm bill. 4. To enable citizen oversight of land grant university, extension, and economic development agency priorities; and work to ensure farmer and nonprofit representation on boards and committees. 5. To develop a basis for cooperative programming between rural organizations in the region; maximize effectiveness by sharing staff and research resources; and increase the capacity of these organizations to create new public policies. 6. To cooperate in creating and expanding regional marketing opportunities for farm products produced using sustainable methods. 7. To develop and share practical methods for increasing reliance on renewable on-farm resources while increasing rural employment opportunities in the Southern region. Since the working group model was originally designed to be fluid, structure was kept to a minimum. Through the first three years, the group usually focused on work to be done, creating ad hoc or simple structures to accommodate each issue. The steering committee evolved to include one member from each state, elected by the Southern SAWG organizations in that state. Other committees formed around specific projects taken on, including fund-raising, SARE, policy, marketing, land grant accountability, communications, annual conference, and newsletter. In late 1991, Michael Sligh was hired as a half-time coordinator for the group. The Southern SAWG now includes 47 organizations in 13 states broadly representative of the range and diversity of farmers and citizen interests in the region. Annual conferences, with educational workshops and working sessions, have been held for the past three years in Louisiana, North Carolina and Texas. Committee meetings have been held in six other Southern states. A communications system is constantly being expanded to link all member organizations and key individuals through E-mail, faxing, postal mail and phone. Accomplishments So Far The members of the Southern SAWG have made significant accomplishments in their brief three years of working together. 1. The Southern SAWG has helped place more farmers and supporters of sustainable agriculture on the Administrative Council and committees of the Southern SARE/ACE Program. 2. The Community Farm Alliance (on behalf of the SSAWG) was chosen to lead a federally funded strategic planning project to determine funding priorities for the Southern SARE Program. See the article on State of the South. 3. Through the Farmer First Project, the SSAWG funded interviews and local organizing to increase farmer involvement in sustainable agriculture in several Southern states. 4. Marketing surveys were conducted to assess the marketing opportunities and obstacles for organic products in the South. A marketing conference and subsequent marketing workshops have been held to provide training in cooperative marketing, direct marketing, and the concept of community supported agriculture. Also a marketing resource directory has been compiled for the South. 5. The Southern SAWG began identifying farmers who had successes in farming more sustainably, and created forums for them to tell their stories through conference workshops and in print. 6. Local and state farmer focus group meetings have been held to assess research needs and develop initiatives for stimulating sustainable practices. This process has helped create a new commitment by several land grant universities in the South to sustainable agriculture research and farmer involvement in determining research and education priorities. 7. The Southern SAWG helped initiate and increase participation in the National Dialogue on Sustainable Agriculture leading to the 1995 Farm Bill. See the accompanying story, Grassroots Campaign Builds Towards 1995 Farm Bill. No matter how much is accomplished there is always more to do. More legislation needs to be passed. More research and education needs to be redirected. More markets need to be identified and explored. More knowledge needs to be transferred from farmers to farmers. More groups and interested individuals need to be involved. If you want to work for sustainable agriculture, join one of the Southern SAWG organizations in your area: Acadiana Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (LA) Agricultural Resources Center (NC) Agricultural Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) Agro-Organico (PR) Alabama Organic Fruit and Vegetable Growers American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (NC) Arkansas Land and Farm Development Corporation Arkansas-Oklahoma Sustainable Agriculture Network Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Community Farm Alliance (KY) Farm Plan Advocates (NC & SC) Florida Certified Organic Meats Florida Organic Growers Association GAIA Agriculture Consulting (AR) Georgia Organic Growers Association Help Our Polluted Environment (LA) Indian Springs Farmers Cooperative (MS) Janus Farms Institute (NC) Kentucky Organic Farmers Association Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture Land Loss Prevention Project (NC) Louisiana Citizens Recycling Environmental Advisory Council Louisiana Environmental Action Network Louisiana Inter-Church Farm Crisis Coalition Mid-South Organic Cotton Growers Association Mississippi Action for Community Education Mississippi Association of Cooperatives National Contract Poultry Growers Association North Carolina Coalition of Farm and Rural Families North Carolina Council of Churches Seeds of Hope Program North Carolina Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Organic FarmersU Associations Caucus Ozark Organic Growers Association (AR, MO & OK) Ozark Small Farm Viability Project (AR, MO & OK) Rodale Institute Mid-South Farmers Network Rural Advancement Foundation International USA South Carolina Christian Action Farm and Environmental Coalition Southern ECHO (MS) Southern Mutual Help Association (LA) Sunbelt Organic Growers (FL) Tennessee Land Stewardship Association Tennessee Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Texas Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Training and Development Resources (NC) Virginia Association for Biological Farming Virginia Sustainable Agriculture Working Group United Methodist Hinton Rural Life Center (NC) For more information, contact your state Southern SAWG steering committee member. 8 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL VALUE-ADDED MARKETING Adapted from a presentation by Woody Plaut at the SSAWG Farmers First Conference in Raleigh, NC, January 1993. 1. Know your motivation: * Make sure your venture is a reflection of your life. * Establish and write down your philosophy and rationale for what you are doing, because ultimately the hard decisions are answered at that level. 2. Research and sourcing: * Thoroughly research costs and regulations that apply to your enterprise before you invest. * Source everything from ingredients, to tape, to shipping labels and packaging. * Research state and local health department rules and follow them. Remember, the inspectors are trying to help you run a better business. * FDA guidelines for food processing and labeling are in title code books 20 and 21. 3. Learn the market and define your niche: * Attend trade shows. * Talk with people in the industry. * Read the trade magazines. * Network with your state agricultural marketing division. 4. Start small: * When its your money you watch it closer. * In the beginning, learn all aspects of your business rather than hiring services out of house. 5. Keep flexible: * Never stop studying the market,it always changes. * Don't be afraid to redefine yourself with the changing market demands. However, don't compromise your philosophy or you'll find yourself rudderless on the turbulent sea of the business world. 6. Pricing: * Figure true unit costs. * Keep records on the real costs of doing business, including your time. * Investigate the price of similar products. Can you sell your product at a competitive price? 7. New product development: * Keep testing new products, labels, packaging, et cetera and always take notes. * Keep track of new products introduced by the competition. * Keep an active updated file system of information about areas of interest, materials and sources. * Do regular variety testing. 8. Marketing: * Sampling sells. Feeding people sells your product. * Participate in your state agricultural marketing program, especially when you can get feedback from the public. ATTRA HAS THE ANSWERS ATTRA (Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas) has the answers to your questions on sustainable agriculture. Their staff of 24 (including 15 with technical expertise) collects and disseminates information to help farmers, extension agents, agricultural support groups, researchers and educators. ATTRA has over 45 Information Packages (IPs) already assembled on many subjects, such as Farm-Scale Composting, Sustainable Fertility Management, Cover Crops and Green Manures, Sustainable Poultry Production, Organic Vegetable Production, Crawfish Aquaculture, and Marketing Natural or Organic Meat, Poultry and Eggs. These IPs contain five to 20 pages of a topic review written by one of the technical specialists, supplemented by reprints from journals, books and newsletters. If you have a specific question not covered by an IP, a specialist will be assigned to personally pull together resources to help you find an answer. Just be aware that this is not an instant service. Because of high demand, the process may take three to four weeks. Four-page summaries introducing the basics of sustainable agriculture methods and philosophies are available in quantity for conferences, field days or group meetings. Resource lists of sustainable agriculture organizations, publications, apprenticeships, university programs, videos, slides and tapes are also available. Best of all, this service is free to users, since ATTRA is funded by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Call 800-346-9140. FOLIOVIEWS DISKETTES Six sustainable agriculture publications are now available on FolioViews computer diskettes, including: 1. SARE/ACE Research Reports (including all four regions) 2. Sustainable Agriculture Directory of Expertise 3. Showcase of Sustainable Agriculture Information and Education Materials 4. Agronomy Handbook (containing both conventional and sustainable information) 5. Cover Crops Handbook 6. Proceedings from the Participatory On-Farm Research and Education for Sustainability conference sponsored by the University of Illinois. Each program is indexed for search capability. No special software is needed outside of a PC-type computer with a 3.5-inch floppy drive. For each diskette program, send two high-density 3.5-inch diskettes or $10 to: Dr. Phil Rasmussen, Agricultural Systems Technology, Utah State University, UMC-2300, Logan, UT 84322-2300. Phone 801-797-2230 for further information. EXTENSION AGENTS TO BE TRAINED IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE by Jim Lukens A program to help Extension agents become more knowledgeable about and responsive to the needs of sustainable agriculture is being launched this summer. Funded under Chapter Three of the USDAUs Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program, this effort needs farmer and Southern SAWG member involvement to be successful. Each land grant university will receive $10,000 to develop a strategic plan for Extension training in sustainable agriculture. Many land grants will be reaching out to sustainable agriculture farmers and organizations for help in developing and promoting this plan. This is your opportunity to work with the land grants in your state. About $500,000 will go towards funding regional training projects across the South and funding a region-wide sustainable agriculture coordinator. Projects to train Extension, SCS and/or ASCS personnel about sustainable agriculture in 1994 will be selected by the SARE/ACE Administrative Council in June. It is important that farmers, with their wealth of knowledge, are involved as participants in these projects. A region-wide sustainable agriculture coordinator will also be chosen in June by the SARE/ACE Administrative Council to develop and coordinate the whole Southern training program. Farmers and sustainable agriculture supporters should be ready to help this coordinator suggest priorities to guide future training projects. Extension directors in the Southern states have pledged to help make this program work. Those of us who care about making agriculture more sustainable need to help them keep that promise. For more information about the sustainable agriculture Extension training program, contact: your state Extension Service; your state Southern SAWG Steering Committee member; or Paula Ford, Program Manager, Southern Region SARE/ACE Program, 1109 Experiment Street, Griffin, GA 30223-1797, phone 404-412-4788 or fax 404-412-4789. GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN BUILDS TOWARDS 1995 FARM BILL by Julie Burns, Keith Richards & Michael Sligh Now is the time for Southerners to speak out about their needs for sound rural development, survival of family farms, redirection of research and extension programs, protection of the environment and access to healthy food. With the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1995Qcommonly called the RFarm BillSQonly one year away, a window of opportunity is open to steer national policy towards the ideals of sustainable agriculture. Building on coalitions established and strategies employed during the last two farm bills, a National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture is already underway. Over the past 18 months, Sustainable Agriculture Working Groups (SAWGUs) across the country held more than 100 grassroots workshops to generate policy ideas for the upcoming Farm Bill. Bringing together consumers, environmentalists, commodity organizations and farm workers, as well as a wide array of agricultural groups, the National Dialogue for Sustainable AgricultureQa prelude to the campaignQidentified the common ground between stakeholders. This process culminated on February 26-27 in Washington, DC where 350 delegates from 42 states targeted a set of 20 priority policy options for inclusion in the 1995 Farm Bill. With 35 delegates from Southern SAWG organizations in attendance,many of the priority issues identified in the Southern region emerged as national priorities. These include: * Reorient USDA programs to support and promote local marketing, cooperatives, and value-added processing in rural communities, * Shift commodity program subsidies into Rgreen paymentsS to reward environmentally sound practices, and raise nonrecourse loan rates, * Strengthen existing programs to help farmers reduce pesticide use and address water quality problems through voluntary incentives, * Preserve and expand minority land ownership by increasing access to USDA programs and decision-making bodies, * Reform dairy policy to discourage over production and increase income to producers, * Reauthorize the SARE program, * Give collective bargaining rights to contract farmers and farmworkers, * Require labeling of products containing rBGH, other genetically engineered foods, and irradiated foods. Farmers, representing less than two percent of the nations population, have very little clout in the federal legislature. This is why coalition building and grass-roots involvement are so important to the national campaign. In 1985, family farm groups banded together with labor organizations to introduce a RSave the Family FarmS omnibus bill that focused on better price policies for farmers. A credit reform bill came out of that campaign, but success was limited because several other interest groups were working on competing legislation. >From this experience, organizations working for sustainable agriculture realized they couldn't change policy alone or with a scattershot approach. For the 1990 Farm Bill, clusters of coalitions comprising farmers, labor, consumers and the environmental community worked together on specific pieces of legislation. This strategy proved effective in getting more legislation introduced and several pieces passed, but the coalitions still lacked the clout to see all the programs funded and implemented. The 1995 National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture includes broader constituent and geographical diversity than ever before. By continuing to build larger coalitions, this process has the ability to influence national agricultural legislation and lead to a unified vision for a national food system. The campaign needs grassroots involvement from everyone in the Southern SAWG network to be successful. The South is critical because House and Senate Agriculture Committees include a total of 25 members from the Southern states, with Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Florida and North Carolina having the highest representation. Julie Burns, the coordinator hired by the Southern SAWG for this campaign, urges, discuss the issues in organizational meetings, identify volunteers who really care about these issues, and make plans for participation now. There will be a need for rapid communication systems set up using phone trees, faxes and E-mail to keep everyone informed of developments and to target certain legislators at critical moments before votes. As the campaign progresses into 1995, the Southern SAWG will be creating media events in several states. Groups will be needed to lobby; to call, write or meet with legislators in Washington, DC; and to testify before congressional committees. Julie will provide information and training assistance to Southern SAWG organizations for the duration of the campaign. The opportunity for change is greater now than at any time in recent history. There is a general recognition that the farm policies begun in the 60Us and early 70Us emphasizing production and exports have failed. The loss of family farmers has been devastating to rural communities, and indirectly adding to the demise of cities by concentrating more and more people in crowded urban areas. Meanwhile, consumers are demanding safer food and less chemical pesticides in their environment. New faces in Congress; a Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Espy, who has emphasized rural development; and an administration that is more environmentally friendly are all potential allies. But we still have a long way to go to bring everyone together. 1995 will be a crucial year in this continuing process. For more information or assistance, contact: Julie Burns, 4 Lands Road, Asheville, NC 28805, phone 704-299-1922. AUDIOTAPES FROM ECO-FAIR TEXAS AVAILABLE Audiotapes from the 1994 Southern SAWG Annual Conference at Eco-Fair Texas are available through Morris Media Associates. Just a few of the workshops and speakers available on tape include: Farmer Stories: Innovative Marketing for Sustainable Agriculture by Dennis Holbrook and Bob Constien, Farmer Stories: Producing and Selling Organic Cotton by Lorna McMahon and Dave Nix, Farmer Stories: Grass-based Dairying (including information on farmstead cheese) by Tom Trantham and Alyce Birchenough, Farmer Stories: Raising Fruits & Vegetables More Sustainably by Mark Cain and Steve Sprinkel, Farmer Stories: Producing Row Crops More Sustainably by Joe Judice and Jim Whitfield, Community Supported Agriculture (two parts) by Jean Mills, Hugh Lovel and Pam Clay, Soil Fertility: The Secret To Successful Farming by Eliot Coleman, Balancing the Soil by Neil Kinsey, How a Farm Bill Works by Betty Bailey, Keynote Speech by Wendell Berry. Tapes are $8.00 each (tax and shipping included). For a complete listing, or to place an order contact: Morris Media Associates, 4306 Wildridge Circle, Austin, TX 78759, phone 512-343-7900 or fax 512-343-2737. JIM HIGHTOWER, A VOICE FOR THE PEOPLE Jim Hightower recently launched a new Saturday and Sunday call-in Talk Show called Hightower Radio, syndicated from coast to coast by the ABC Radio Network. This show will compliment the two-minute Hightower Radio Commentaries that have aired on radio stations daily since February 15, 1993. A former Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Hightower is straight-talking, anti-establishment and fun. He talks from the kitchen table on health, the environment, food, work, the economy, the need to put people back in our democracy and the pursuit of happiness. While his shows point out what's not working in America, they also highlight what does work, particularly at the grassroots. It is his belief that the big gap is not between the right and the left, but between the rich and the rest of us. For more information contact: Hightower and Associates, PO Box 13516, Austin, TX 78711, phone 512-477-5588 or fax 512-478-8536. Radio stations can contact Amy Bolton, Saddle-Burr Productions, 410-362-5345 for program information. NORTH AMERICAN LIVESTOCK CENSUS RELEASED Taking Stock: The North American Livestock Census, recently published by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy of Pittsboro, NC, presents an inventory of North American breeds and describes the status of livestock genetic diversity. The book considers the impact of current agricultural trends on genetic resources, the significance of livestock for sustainable agriculture, and presents a powerful case for livestock genetic conservation. Taking Stock is available from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy for $14.95 plus $2 for shipping. Send check or money order to ALBC, PO Box 477, Pittsboro, NC 27312, or call 919-542-5704 with MasterCard or Visa orders. NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS ONLY MONTHS AWAY The process to create national organic food production and processing certification standards, begun with passage of the Organic Foods Production Act in the 1990 Farm Bill, is nearing the end of the initial recommendation stage. The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture in 1992, has been holding public input hearings and developing recommendations for implementation of the Nation Organic Production Program for the past two and a half years. According to Michael Sligh, NOSB chairman, ROur board handed off recommendations to USDA for standards on accreditation, crops (including the farm plan), livestock, imports, processing and handling at our recent week-long meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We will work over the summer on livestock confinement standards, use of USDA shield, import fumigation prohibitions, further labeling requirements, and the proposed national list of prohibited natural and allowed synthetic materials for use in certified organic production, handling and processing.S Based on these recommendations, the USDA will draft regulations and circulate them for public review by early 1995. The regulations will be published in the federal register as they are developed and again when a final version is prepared to give one last opportunity for public comment. Sligh strongly urges farmers, handlers and processors to carefully scrutinize these recommendations before they become regulations both for the impact on their lives and to prepare themselves for compliance. He points out that the USDA is required to conduct a socio-economic impact analysis to determine potential damage prior to implementation. To be added to the NOSB mailing list, contact: Dr. Harold Ricker, National Organic Program, AMS/TMD/USDA, Room 4006-S, PO Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456, phone 202-720-2704 or fax 202-690-0338. To discuss concerns about the program, contact: Michael Sligh, PO Box 727, Mauldin, SC 29662, phone 803-297-8562 or fax 803-297-0216. SOUTHERN SARE/ACE PROGRAM AMASSING RESEARCH by Keith Richards The USDA Sustainable Agriculture and Education (SARE) and EPA Agriculture in Concert with the Environment (ACE) Programs have been funding grants for sustainable agriculture research and education since 1988. These programs are divided into four regions: Northeast, South, North-Central and West. In the South, over $7 million has been granted to 94 projects since this program began. Two examples of projects funded include: 1. On-Farm Demonstration and Research of Low-Input Sustainable Farming. Funded from 1989 to 1992, this program established on-farm research projects across North Carolina on such topics as intercropping legumes in horticultural crops, herbicide reduction in soybeans, and chemical changes in soil in transition from conventional to organic management. For a published report of their findings, send $5.00 for the On-Farm Demonstration Project Report to Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, 115 Main St., Carrboro, NC 27510 or call 919-968-1030 for information. 2. Organic Soil Amendments of Agricultural By-Products for Vegetable Production Systems in the Mississippi Delta Region. Farmers with the Arkansas Land and Farm Development Corporation are evaluating local waste products such as cotton gin trash and poultry litter as soil amendments for vegetable crops. Other cooperators on this project include the University of Arkansas and Mississippi State University's Cooperative Extension, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Virginia Tech University, and the Rodale Institute. For more information, contact project coordinator Tina Gray Teague, College of Agriculture, PO Box 1080, Jonesboro, AR 72467, phone 501-972-2043. All projects are required to disseminate information about their findings, according to Paula Ford, the Southern Region SARE/ACE program manager. Contact project coordinators for research results or possible site visits. For a complete list of funded projects and individual descriptions, contact: Paula Ford, Southern SARE/ACE Program, 1109 Experiment Street, Griffin, Georgia 30223-1797, phone 404-412-4788 or fax 404-412-4789. STATE OF THE SOUTH IDENTIFIES BARRIERS TO SUSTAINABILITY The biggest barriers to more sustainable agricultural systems in the South lie beyond the farm, according to a preliminary report from the State of the South project. Sponsored by the Southern SAWG and funded by the Southern SARE program, the RState of the SouthS project has been gathering input through focus groups, surveys, database analyses, and opportunity workshops for a portrait of sustainable agriculture in the South since 1992. The final report, due out in September, will identify key constraints to increased sustainability of Southern agricultural systems, and suggest opportunities for research and education projects to remove those constraints. RA major accomplishment of the project so far, according to project director Jim Worstell, has been motivating farmers, researchers, extension and agency staff to work together to conceptualize the best opportunities for sustainable agriculture research and education in their region. Nearly 1000 people, including over 700 farmers, participated in focus groups and workshops in 11 Southern states. Worstell says, every focus group in the study concluded that marketing systems, research/education paradigms and policy systems override constraints at the farm level. The focus groups also concluded that the best opportunities for overcoming constraints will require organized, local farmer groups focused on those above-farm issues. Six region-wide constraints to increased sustainability emerged through the focus group process, according to Worstell. They include: 1. Profitable and environmentally sound production practices especially in the areas of pest and habitat management, and soil fertility and biology. 2. Sustainable marketing alternatives focusing on value-added enterprises. 3. Information, communication and feedback systems between producers and researchers stressing whole farm systems and farmer to farmer exchange. 4. Research to define policies which will increase sustainability at all levels of the agricultural system concentrating on marketing policies, environmentally sound commodity programs, and changing research/education paradigms. 5. Interaction and communication between farmers, environmentalists and consumers. 6. Water qualityQespecially focusing on animal waste management. Preliminary information and analyses are available by contacting: Jim Worstell, RState of the South,S 148 Lost Fork, Richmond, KY 40475, phone 606-623-7250 or fax 606-624-5733. SWEET HOME ALABAMA: A LABOR OF LOVE FOUNDED ON CHEESE by Keith Richards ELBERTA, Alabama. Down along the Gulf coast of Baldwin County, Bermuda grass pastures form a checkered pattern in the thick pine, oak, magnolia and bayberry woods. Although farming has been part of the landscape for over a century, this is an area associated with shrimping more than milking, and cheese-making is absolutely unheard of. Or was unheard of until Alyce Birchenough and Doug Wolbert bought 40 acres here nine years ago. Heading out of Elberta towards the Florida state line, never more than 10 or 12 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, colorful handmade signs point the way down a dirt road to Sweet Home Farm, RHome of AlabamaUs Original Farmstead Cheese.S There at the end of the lane, Alyce and Doug have created a farm enterprise that centers around making cheese and selling it to the increasing number of people who come to this corner of the world. East of the central yard on Sweet Home Farm sit a cattle loafing shed, milking parlor, cheese-making room and cheese storage cooler. This is the heart of their operation, where Alyce and Doug transform the milk into more than 15 varieties of cheese. Inside you can feel the three strands of their guiding philosophy: self-sufficiency, valuing quality over quantity, and shaping work around what they love. Doug built the buildings and installed the equipment himself, mostly from materials he salvaged or recycled, so the place has a hybrid feeling of functionality combined with whimsy. The last rays of sunlight will filter through a well-placed piece of stained glass and shine onto bricks salvaged from a demolished motel. On the evening I visited, Alyce was milking eight cows, bringing them into the small parlor and hooking them to automatic milkers two at a time. As she calmly handled the animals without benefit of stanchions, Alyce told me about their decision to install an automatic milk line. Each piece of technology on their farm has been weighed between the savings it brings in time and energy, and the quality it adds or detracts from their lives and their products. When they first put the line in, they milked enough to make one batch of cheese, then disconnected it for two months until they could judge the final product. Luckily the automation didnUt detract from the quality of their cheese, so now they save an hour per milking by not having to hand carry the milk from cows to tank. They usually milk about 12 cows at any given time, keeping another 12 heifers and dry cows as replacements. Their herd is based on the amount of milk they need to produce 10,000 pounds of cheese per year. Averaging four to eight gallons of milk per cow per day, their goal is to produce a target amount of cheese with the fewest number of cows. If one of the Guernseys goes below four gallons of production for long, sheUs a likely candidate for culling. Recently, they added beef cattle to their operation, so when milk cows lose productivity, they are used as brood cows. The Guernseys are bred with Angus or Brangus bulls to produce a 3/4 Angus, 1/4 Guernsey feeder cow. These are sold at a local auction when they reach 300 to 500 pounds. While Alyce milked the cows, Doug was on the west side of the farmyard, beyond the canning kitchen, machine shop and old restored farmhouse, milking four Nubian goats by hand. The goats average one gallon of milk per goat per day, providing variety to the Sweet Home products, complimentary grazing on their pastures, and lively personalities to the farm. As I watched Doug rapidly fill buckets with milk, I asked about the origin of their stock. He told me they keep closed herds, artificially inseminating all their cows and naturally breeding the goats. Again, quality counts. Doug says, Raising your own stock gives you a totally different relationship with the animals from when you buy them. It also keeps him from being tempted to buy some animal with a pedigree or papers. Papers don't mean a thing to me. He points out, When an animal has papers it only causes you to hang onto her longer. Looking For a Farm-Based Business Alyce met Doug in Michigan, where he was running his own sawmill and collecting usable junk. After marrying in 1978, they began looking for a home-based business. Alyce says, We didn't know what we were doing. Earlier, Alyce had received a bachelors degree in Food & Nutrition from Southeastern Louisiana University and had a propensity towards making food. Doug gave her a Jersey cow for a wedding present, and despite its horns and nasty disposition, they liked having the fresh milk. So they sold the Jersey, bought a Guernsey, and Alyce began experimenting with making cheese. After reading books and practicing on her own, she took a course at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. By 1983, she and Doug decided cheese was to be the foundation of their farm. While they built up a foundation herd, Doug raised a barn and Alyce raised capital by working at factory jobs. In 1985 they moved to Alabama, bringing their cows, lumber, bricks, equipment, and even a chicken coop. Doug built more buildings and worked as a well driller while Alyce worked on the farm. Meanwhile, they shipped milk to a local coop for two more years. Slowly, through sweat equity, Sweet Home Farm grew. We went to the local inspectors before we put up our first brick here to help us with the design and so on, explains Alyce. They wanted to make sure they met all the health and building codes from the start. Once they did, they obtained a commercial license for making cheese and they were in business. Now they make a batch of cheese every three to four days. Alyce has 15 varieties that she makes regularly, including Bama Jack, Gouda, Montabella, Feta, Edam, Cajun Spice, Dagano, Garden Vegetable, Baldwin Swiss, Blue, Garlic Blue, Romano, Pepato Asiago and Cheese Fudge. She says the amount is based on their market. If she made only two, they would need more markets. She will sometimes make an unusual variety for special occasions or special orders. And Alyce makes small amounts of both hard and soft goat's milk cheese seasonally. All the varieties are aged for at least 60 days to fulfill the health requirements for raw milk cheese. As by-products, Alyce also makes cottage cheese and sour cream butter that she sells for $5.00 per pound. There is a waiting list of customers for the butter. Doug drinks most of the buttermilk, saying it is a perfect replacement drink for the fluids and minerals lost through sweating on hot, humid Gulf days. Often people ask Alyce, if you make the cheese, what does Doug do? This is a joke between them, because Doug describes himself as naturally hyperactive. The day I visited, Doug had a full page list of things to do before lunch, including hug Alyce. Besides building, repairing and milking, he has also learned to make cheese so Alyce can get away for more than one or two days at a time not that she does. Tending the Land One of Doug's favorite chores is tending to their land. Before buying the property, he studied soil maps and discovered there was a small band of soil with good structure between the sandy soils along the Gulf and heavy red clay further inland. This is where Sweet Home Farm lies. The farm's original 40 acres is broken into six paddocks surrounding the central yard. About 11 acres along the lowest land is in woods, and one hay field is beyond the woods on the west side. All of our fields have a border of woods for shade and a little herbal, explains Doug. That's important for the cows this far south. Doug walks the pastures every day so he can better understand his land. He believes he had an advantage in coming to this place without preconceived notions. He says he wasn't set in any patterns or trained to think by so-called experts. He came with an open mind, asked lots of questions of his neighbors, and observed. Besides neighbors, Doug gets his information from old agricultural books. He advises, you have to sift through the bad, like recommendations for DDT. He also consults charts from Extension. The Extension service is not on the cutting edge, but they do have the basics,S says Doug encouragingly. Doug has tried all kinds of grass and legume mixtures in the pastures, but likes alicia Bermuda grass interplanted with Haifa clover (an Israeli variety), oats and Puna chicory. He says the cows seem to really like the big leafed clover, and the chicory is high in crude protein. He seeds them at a rate of 2 lbs to the acre for the chicory, 3 lbs for the clover, and 100 lbs for the oats. After some searching he found a John Deere 1500 Powertill grain drill that seeds directly into the Bermuda by rotovating a shallow seed bed ahead of the drill. Since their density of cattle is fairly low, Doug spreads broiler house litterQat $27 per ton deliveredQand lime for fertility. He has tried crab and shrimp meal, but it includes too much trash to make it worthwhile. They graze their herd nearly year-round, rotating them through the fields with the milk cows getting first priority, then the dry cows and heifers. The goats have free access to pasture all the time, but seem to be more affected by inclement weather and go into their shed often. At night, the milk cows are left in the loafing yard next to the milking parlor and their feed is supplemented with a little hay. Doug says this keeps the cows from getting too loose. Doug cuts his own hay, occasionally buying a little extra from the neighbors. Our herd is pretty healthy on the whole because they're out on pasture all the time, says Alyce. Then she adds, but as they say, if you don't have cows, you don't have problems. For fly control, they use ducks and a beneficial fly parasite called Muscidifarax zaraptor, Spanglia. The ducks pick through the manure and eat all the eggs and larvae they can find, especially around the edges of the milking parlor between grass and cement. Doug buys the fly parasites from Bozeman BioTech and releases them periodically throughout the year to keep fly populations in check. Because of the high population of soil-borne parasites and pathogens in their warm environment, they have to worm and vaccinate their cows on a regular program. Still, they've often lost a cow after first frost, and don't know the cause even after having expensive tests run last year. Recently, Doug and Alyce felt forced to buy 20 more acres across the road to the south. The former owner was spraying chemical pesticides and the drift blew onto their property. Once Doug fences the boundary, he will use this pasture for rotational grazing of their beef cattle, dividing it with moveable electric-tape fence. Customers Come To Them Besides all their other chores, Alyce and Doug also operate a little cottage store, open 10 am to 5 pm, Wednesday through Saturday, at the front of their property. When they bought their farm, they planned on selling the cheese through mail-order, so their location at the end of a dirt road didn't seem to be a factor. For a little advertising, Alyce had a publicist friend help her write a press release to send to the local newspapers. Eventually, one paper sent a reporter out and printed an article. Then another did, another and another, until Sweet Home Farm was a regular feature for the print media and television stations from Pensacola to New Orleans. With the customers coming to them, mail-order sales became superfluous. Most of their customers are retired snow birds from the Midwest who come down for the winter, Southerners on vacation, or city people out of Mobile and Pensacola. Alyce catches the travelers by putting out brochures at each of the Welcome Centers to the state. The brochures (10,000 yearly) cost about five cents apiece to print. She had to get them okayed through the Alabama Department of Tour & Travel, who stock them for free. I was very reluctant at first to put brochures in the Welcome Centers because I thought it would be too diffuse (of advertising). But it has been a wonderful thing, marvels Alyce. In addition to cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream butter, they've added a few complimentary items in the store. Alyce makes up nine loaves of bread every night to bake and sell in the morning (nine is how many her oven will hold). They sell homemade pepper jelly, kumquat marmalade, praline syrup, a few vegetables when their large garden overflows, and pecans from the grove behind their cattle shed. They've even added local honey from a neighbor, regional wines, sausage, and crackers because these items go well with the cheese. They've learned some secrets to retail selling over the years. First and foremost is to readily give away samples of the cheese. They also had to learn presentation. Originally, they put out bulbs of elephant garlic in a bulk basket straight from the garden and charged $4.00 per pound. No one would touch it. So Alyce tried cleaning it, broke it into cloves, and packaged it in net bags. Now it is one of their big sellers at $1.00 per bag ($6.50 per pound). Operating a retail store on your farm can be an enlightening (and sometimes frightening) experience, finding out just how ignorant the general public has become about their food. Doug tells a story about a couple who came into the store one day and asked why there were cows on the farm. When Doug replied that that's where the cheese came from, they literally backed out of the door without buying anything. Most customers, though, really like the turkeys that strut around the yard and the chickens in the pen next door. With cattle and their companion egrets grazing at the edge of magnolia trees, and the smell of honeysuckle heavy in the air, Sweet Home Farm presents visitors with a bucolic scene. Meanwhile, it's milking time again. Alyce and Doug both point out a fat toad behind their water heater, proudly telling me it is death on cockroaches. Then they are off in perpetual motion, creating another day's labor of love. SOUTHERN SUSTAINABLE FARMING SURVEY The purpose of this newsletter is to serve the sustainable agriculture community of the South. We need your feedback to do this well. Please take a moment to fill out this survey and return it to the address at the bottom of the page. Thank you. (Please check all that apply.) Overall, what did you think of this issue? [] very useful [] somewhat useful [] not useful [] very relevant [] somewhat relevant [] not relevant [] not enough depth [] too much depth [] just the right depth [] well written [] interesting Which articles did you read? [] Sweet Home Alabama: A Labor of Love Founded On Cheese [] A Brief History of the Southern SAWG [] Grassroots Campaign Builds Towards 1995 Farm Bill [] RState of the SouthS Identifies Barriers To Sustainability [] Southern SARE/ACE Program Amassing Research [] Extension Agents To be Trained in Sustainable Agriculture [] National Organic Standards Only Months Away [] 8 Steps To Successful Value-Added Marketing What topics would you like to see covered in the future? [] News of SSAWG business and actions [] SSAWG member profiles [] Info about sustainable agriculture research & demonstration projects [] Stories on successful sustainable farmers [] Coverage of policy issues that affect Southern farms [] Discussion of sustainable agriculture research needs [] News of markets and marketing tips & information [] Coverage of sustainable agricultureUs role in rural development [] Resource lists with addresses and phone numbers [] Calendar of events [] Appropriate advertising Would you like to receive this newsletter regularly? [] yes [] no How often would you like to receive this newsletter? [] monthly [] 6 times a year [] 4 times a year [] twice a year Would you be willing to pay a subscription fee? [] yes [] no [] maybe If yes, how much per year? [] $5 [] $10 [] $15 [] $20 [] $25 Would you like to be involved as: [] a writer [] an editor [] an editorial board member Name: Farm/Organization: Address: City: State: Zip: Return this form to: Southern Sustainable Farming, 1533 S. RESOURCES Cheese: Sweet Home Farm, 27107 Schoen Road, Elberta, AL 36530. 205-986-5663. Seeds: Cutting Edge Agri Products, RR 1, Box 234AA, Lowry City, MO 64763. 800-753-6511. Oldfields Seed Co., PO Box 190, Mt. Sterling, KY 40353. 800-448-5145. Beneficial Insects: Beneficial Insectary, 14751 Oak Run Road, Oak Run, CA 96069. Phone 916-472-3715 or fax 916-472-3523. BIOFAC, Inc., PO Box 87, Mathis, TX 78368. 800-233-4914 or 512-547-3259. Bozeman Bio-Tech, PO Box 3146, Bozeman, MT 59772. 800-289-6656 or 406-587-5891. M & R Durango Inc., PO Box 886, Bayfield, CO 81132. 800-526-4075 or 303-259-3521. Rincon-Vitova Insectaries, PO Box 1555, Ventura, CA 93002. 800-248-2847 or 805-643-5407. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: JULY 31: SARE Mulch Project Field Day, Twin Oaks Farm, Louisa Co., VA. Call 804-263-4557. AUGUST 6: Organic Market Garden Field Day, Williamsburg VA area. Call 804-566-1367. AUGUST 13: SARE Mulch Project Field Day and Farm Tour, Dayspring Farm, King Queen Co., VA. Call 804-785-9401. AUGUST 14: SARE Mulch Project Field Day and Farm Tour, Potomac Vegetable Farms, Loudon Co., VA. Call 703-882-3885. AUGUST 20: Soil Health and Composting Workshop, Seven Springs Farm, Floyd Co., VA. Call 703-639-0160. SEPTEMBER 23-25: Southern SAWG Steering Committee Meeting, Gulf State Park, AL. Call 501-521-7922. OCTOBER 10: National Organic Standards Board meeting, California. Call 202-720-2704 for details. NOVEMBER 4-6: RSeed Saving,S Tennessee Alternative Growers Assoc. Annual Conference, Standing Stone State Park, TN. Call 615-653-4402. NOVEMBER 18-20: Carolina Farm Stewardship Assoc. Annual Conference, Winthrop College, Rock Hill, SC. Call 919-968-1030. JANUARY 13-15, 1995: SOUTHERN SAWG ANNUAL CONFERENCE, Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores, AL. Call 501-521-7922 to suggest workshops or presenters you would like to see. More details in next issue. From jhaap@tilth.orgFri Aug 25 22:14:44 1995 Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 14:42:27 +0100 From: "J. J. Haapala" To: sanet-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Working draft SUSTAINABILITY INDEX (fwd) WORKING DRAFT - SUSTAINABILITY INDEX (This model was presented to the SARE Administrative Council at their strategic planning session 8/24/95 in Utah. An earlier version of this model was first submitted to the 3rd. Consensus Building Meeting Among IPM and Sustainable Agriculture Leaders held in Washington, DC, May 8-9, 1995 at the World Wildlife Fund Headquarters, and developed with help from: Wendy Wintersteen (Dept. of Entomology, Iowa State University), George Norton (Dept. of Ag and Ap Ec, Virginia Tech), George Bird (Dept of Entomology, Michigan State University), Michael Sligh (RAFI), Craig Hollingsworth (Dept of Entomology, University of Massechusetts), Dan McGrath (OSU Extension, IPPC), Marcos Kogan (IPPC), and Steven Carjuana (Pacific Rivers Council). Thanks to the Northwest Area Foundation for their support - J.J. Haapala) Definitions: Foodshed Council - community, expert, industry, and stakeholder representatives from a given community that identify the constraints to sustainability, and evaluate the potential impact of a set of appropriate positive practices. Sustainability Index - The set of weighted positive practices available to the producers within the region of the Foodshed Council. Threshold - The percentage of adoption of positive practices required of a producer or a community to qualify as "sustainable" Positive practices -cultural practices, materials, and methods, that are commonly held to favorably impact the given criteria. Criteria - the set of outcome based indicators impacted by agricultural practices. Criteria: 1. soil quality 2. water quality 3. air quality 4. energy efficiency 5. economic viability 6. fish and wildlife habitat 7. quality of life (safety) 8. social acceptance Model: The Sustainability Index I. Weight criteria. Weigh outcome based criteria according to their threat to immediate and long-term sustainability.(10 = most threatening) II. Identify positive practices. Identify current and possible agricultural practices for their potential of favorable impact on outcome based criteria. III. Weight potential impact of positive practices on given criteria. Evaluate positive practices for their potential for alleviating the immediate and long term threats to sustainability. IV. Cumulate Multiply practice value by criterion weight to determine total value. Add values to determine 100% Determine percentage of adoption for qualification (ie. 80%). Example: Columbia Basin Plateau I. Weight criteria: Criteria Weight Justification A. Soil quality : 10 erosion, depletion of organic matter B. Water quality: 8 erosion leading to turbidity, siltification, lack of rainfall C. Air quality: 6 burning, dust D. Econ. viabil.: 10 margin of profit nonexistant without deficit payments E. Social acceptance: 5 growing urban animosity, perceived threat to salmon F. Quality of life: 4 consolidation of farming, decreased range land G. Wildlife habitat: 7 loss of anadromous fish habitat, large game II. Evaluate Practices: Criteria A B C D E F G Value Weight 10 8 6 10 5 4 7 X Practice: Wheat fallow 1 0 0 3 2 6 3 106 Annual wheat 5 4 5 5 6 4 2 204 Chisel plow 6 3 2 4 4 2 1 ... No till ... Alternative crops Legume rotation Pasture rotation Residue mgmnt. Off stream watering Burning Fall plowing Grass rotations Windbreak Scouting Terraces Monitoring On-farm research ... Total possible (e.g.) 4,943 III. Cumulate 4,943 points possible = 100% Establish threshold for sustainability (e.g.) 80% Note: This model is to develop local input to establishing criteria and evaluating practices. Its utility extends from Whole Farm Plans to community, state, and national awards programs identifying sustainable producers etc. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- jhaap@tilth.org J. J. Haapala * Oregon Tilth Research & Development 30848 Maple Drive * Junction City, OR 97448 * +1 (503) 998-5801 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From sustag@BETA.TRICITY.WSU.EDUSat Dec 3 22:35:18 1994 Date: Sat, 3 Dec 1994 14:04:23 -0800 From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)" To: Multiple recipients of list SUSTAG-L Subject: Re: Sustainable Ag Programs (... (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 3 Dec 1994 10:57:34 -0500 From: TroyBogdan@aol.com To: SUSTAG@beta Subject: Re: Sustainable Ag Programs (... Greetings, The potential student interested in Sust. Ag. programs you mentioned may wish to learn more about the Master of Science in Sustainable Systems, offered at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. For more information contact: Dr. Larry Patrick, program coordinator (412) 738-2956 or to receive a graduate catalog by contacting the office of Graduate Studies, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA 16057 From dave.c.campbell@ucdavis.eduThu Nov 3 16:16:07 1994 Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 13:12:59 -0800 From: dave.c.campbell@ucdavis.edu To: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." Subject: Re: QUESTION: Need information on growing cotton organically. Will Allen of the Sustainable Cotton Project of the National Organic Cotton Association can tell you most of what you need to know. His number is 209/862-0860 Dave Campbell > Date: Wed, 2 Nov 1994 21:37:10 -0500 (EST) > From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." > To: sanet-mg@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu, sustag-public@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu > Subject: QUESTION: Need information on growing cotton organically. > Mime-Version: 1.0 > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII > Content-Length: 215 > > > Does anyone have any information on growing cotton organically? > > ________________________________________________ > Lawrence F. London, Jr. - london@sunSITE.unc.edu > ------------------------------------------------ > > > Dave Campbell UC SAREP dccampbell@ucdavis.edu x .i ..xTopicsPage.htmlx AgriMenu.htmlx CSAS.htmlxSouthSustAg.htmlxFarmAidNews.htmlxlindex.html#Ag-nameFrom snook@mbi.org Mon Apr 18 10:06:50 1994 Date: Mon, 18 Apr 1994 09:22:41 UNDEFINED From: snook@mbi.org To: Larry London Subject: Re: Compost spores and health. In article <2mkve2$khr@bigblue.oit.unc.edu> london@sunSITE.unc.edu (Larry London) writes: >Path: msuinfo!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!newsrelay.iastate.edu!apollo1.cacd.cr.rockwell.com!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!concert!bigblue.oit.unc.edu!sunSITE!london >From: london@sunSITE.unc.edu (Larry London) >Newsgroups: bionet.mycology,bionet.general,sci.bio,sci.agriculture >Subject: Compost spores and health. >Date: 21 Mar 1994 20:18:10 GMT >Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill >Lines: 32 >Message-ID: <2mkve2$khr@bigblue.oit.unc.edu> >NNTP-Posting-Host: calzone.oit.unc.edu >Summary: Reply to: m1dorrin@attmail.com or sanet-mg@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu >Xref: msuinfo bionet.mycology:363 bionet.general:8165 sci.bio:18700 sci.agriculture:495 >X-status: R >>From m1dorrin@attmail.com Mon Mar 21 14:58:13 1994 >Date: 21 Mar 94 18:06:20 GMT >From: Mike Dorrington >To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu >Subject: compost spores & health >Can anyone answer below (forwarded) message? >>We are looking for information on the possible health >>effects of a mold spore-- Aspergillus fumigatus-- that is >>associated with composting operations and can also be found >>in the air and in buildings. A study by the New York state >>Dept. of Health came out last week with information >>suggesting that it was not the cause of respiratory or other >>health problems around an Islip Long Island composting >>facility. At the same time the study said composting >>facilities should not be located near hospitals, in >>particular, medical facilities with bone marrow transplant >>operations. If you have any information on this subject, >>please send me an e-mail message. Thanks! -- David Hess, >>Executive Director, Pennsylvania Senate Environmental >>Resources & Energy Committee. The Composting Council should be able to provide information on A. fumigatus & Composting. The Composting Council 114 S. Pitt St. Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 703/739-2401 Fax: 703/739-2407 Date: Sun, 23 Jan 94 23:19:33 +0000 Subject: Zendic Farm [text deleted] ....... appears to be a movement based around a form of sustainable agriculture, but involving an entire (peaceful) revolutionary lifestyle - they have farms in California & Texas and are in the process of expanding. i'd highly recommend the magazine based on the issue i've seen - a couple of addresses: Zendic Farm Arts Foundation Cary Roberts Star Route 16C-3 c/o Zendic Farm HQ Bastrop TX 78602 PO Box 1146 512-321-0712 / 321-0845 Boulevard CA 92005 Date: Wed, 26 Jan 1994 12:58:46 -0600 Subject: Re: Zendic Farm Their phone number is 512-321-0845 or -0712. Their snail mail address is: Zendik Farm Ecolibrium Foundation Star Route 16C3 Bastrop, TX 78602. Article 1070 of alt.sustainable.agriculture: Newsgroups: alt.activism,misc.rural,alt.planning.urban,alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!wupost!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!utnut!torn!nott!cunews!freenet.carleton.ca!Freenet.carleton.ca!ae446 From: ae446@Freenet.carleton.ca (Nigel Allen) Subject: American Farmland Trust -- op-ed column Message-ID: Sender: news@freenet.carleton.ca (News Administrator) Reply-To: ae446@Freenet.carleton.ca (Nigel Allen) Organization: The National Capital Freenet, Ottawa Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 05:11:54 GMT Lines: 99 Xref: samba.oit.unc.edu alt.activism:42751 misc.rural:5841 alt.planning.urban:749 alt.sustainable.agriculture:1070 Here is an op ed column from American Farmland Trust. I downloaded it from the PR On-Line BBS in Maryland at 410-363-0834. American Farmland Trust -- Op Ed Column To: Editorial Page Editors Contact: Gary Kozel of American Farmland Trust, 202-659-5170 Editors: The following is submitted for your review as a guest editorial or op ed column. by Ralph B. Grossi President American Farmland Trust The USDA currently estimates that most of the crops on the 6 to 8 million acres of farmland battered by the Midwestern floods will be lost this year. That no doubt will prove devastating to the farmers whose livelihoods so greatly depend on the saturated soils. As one who has endured his share of weather-related calamities, I empathize with the plight of my fellow farmers. But I also know that like farmers everywhere, those in the Midwest are a resolute lot. Unfortunately, some may go out of business, but given the inherent agricultural productivity of the bottomlands and the slight chance that such serious flooding will ever occur again in their lifetimes, most will return to their farms to produce for another day. The damages farmers have suffered from the flooding of crops and erosion of topsoil serve as vivid reminders of the vulnerability of the agricultural resource base with which we have been blessed. It makes it even clearer why we must increase our resolve to protect our best land for food production. I am referring to the highly productive farmland around the nation's growing metropolitan areas. According to USDA estimates, more than 2 million acres of productive farmland is being permanently converted to nonagricultural uses each year, much of it the result of sprawling, poorly planned growth patterns on the urban edge. The ultimate cost of this displacement could be significant. Urbanedge farmland now generates 56 percent of gross U.S. agricultural sales. It also accounts for 86 percent of the country's fruit, nut and vegetable crops, nearly 80 percent of its dairy production and 45 percent of its meat and poultry. Measured on a dollars per acre basis, farmland in urban-influenced counties is more than two and one-half times as productive as other U.S. farmland. Urban sprawl is wasteful, expensive and unnecessary. If it is allowed to go unchecked, the nation will lose some of its best and most productive agricultural capacity. We will increasingly come to rely on foreign countries for fruits, vegetables and other commodities, which will weaken the one industry where we still have a clear advantage. Agriculture will be forced onto marginal land that requires more fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation and is more expensive to farm. And scenic countryside and precious wildlife habitat will be lost. At American Farmland Trust, we believe we must launch a national program to protect our urban edge agricultural resources. USDA in consultation with states and localities must identify and designate strategic agricultural reserve areas where the key agricultural resources most threatened by rapid urban growth are protected. All levels of government must work together to prevent the onslaught of urban sprawl in the reserves and give farmers the encouragement, incentive and technical assistance they need to commit the land to long-term productive use by making their farms more profitable and development-resistant. The federal government must also integrate the protection of strategic farmland with other agricultural resource concerns such as soil conservation and water quality and reinforce state and local farmland protection efforts by fully implementing current farmland protection laws. States should adopt policies to protect strategic farmland and strengthen their right-to-farm laws. Local governments must provide zones for the long-term protection of strategic agriculture and develop growth management programs that avoid sprawl and minimize farmland annexations. State and local governments without farmland protection programs should establish them and direct development to areas where it can be more efficiently served by existing infrastructure. Farmers in and around America's great metropolitan areas are in trouble. Literally and figuratively, they are doing business on the edge. As a nation we must begin to recognize the strategic value as well as the vulnerability of our urban-edge agricultural land and take steps to protect it. Otherwise, we one day will simply lose it. ------ Ralph E. Grossi, a Northern California farmer, is president of American Farmland Trust, a Washington-based farmland conservation group working to stop the loss of productive farmland and to promote farming practices that will lead to a healthy environment. Last week at a press conference in Washington, AFT issued a report on farming on the urban edge of America. -30- -- Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ae446@freenet.carleton.ca From ghegyes@nalusda.gov Wed Mar 30 18:27:43 1994 Date: Wed, 30 Mar 1994 17:10:45 -0500 (EST) From: Gabriel Hegyes To: SANET-mg Subject: SOFTWARE: Manure & Smart Pitchfork (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 30 Mar 1994 15:52:06 -0500 From: Mark Varner To: Multiple recipients of list DAIRY-L Subject: Manure & Smart Pitchfork A question was asked concerning budgeting for expenses associated with manure on a dairy farm. We've not had that question before, so we have nothing stored. However, Phil Goodrick announced Smart Pitchfork about a year ago. A short description is below: "SMART PITCHFORK# Philip R. Goodrich and Zhongyi Sun A user-friendly expert system computer program SMART PITCHFORK is available to assist livestock producers utilize manure more efficiently for sustainable crop production, reduction of energy inputs and pollution control. Animal manure nutrient information and nutrient application plans are determined from rules and calculations bypassing the normal time consuming hand calculations which hinder the farmer or the custom applicator. SMART PITCHFORK allows the client to quickly see the options and understand how the advice was determined. " The information for retreiving a better description of Smart Pitchfork is below. Please note you will still have to contact Phil to get a copy of the software. Phil reads Dairy-L, and perhaps he'll update us. Hope that helps. Mark Varner varner@umd5.umd.edu ================== ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Instructions for Getting File from the Listserv Software ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ To get a copy of the file, send an e-mail message to: listserv@umdd.umd.edu Put the following line in the body of the message: GET WASTE TXT Please note that this file is about 8 Kb in size and it contains about 1400 words. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Instructions for getting the file by anonymous ftp +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ To get a copy, ftp to yorick.umd.edu (128.8.10.37) and use anonymous as the login id and your e-mail address as the password. The file is located in the pub/dairy-l directory, and is named: waste.zip Please note that this is a binary file, so set your transfer method appropriately. For more detailed information on anonymous ftp from the Dairy-L site, send an e-mail message to the listserv address above and put the following line in the body of the message: GET DAIR-FTP TXT Monday, Oct. 26, 1992 A Tribute to Alan Chadwick, Master Gardener by Hilmar Moore reprinted from STELLA NATURA Inspriation and Practical Advice for Home Gardeners and Professional Growers in Working with Cosmic Rhythms - (The 1993 Kimberton Hills Agricultural Calendar available from the Biodynamic Association, Kimberton, PA) When I think of the culture of agriculture in the United States, three names come to mind: Liberty Hyde Bailey, Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, and Alan Chadwick. Bailey had a tremendous effect on the cultural life of rural America through his work at Cornell. His hundreds of bulletins and his characterizations of rural life brought self-respect to a generation of farmers. His 65 books, written between 1885 and 1953, are still standards of excellence for their clarity and usefulness as references, particularly when one needs practical information. The two books on nature study for children were decades ahead of their time. Pfeiffer was the great pioneer of biodynamics in this country. His innovations in scientific research, his ability to inspire quite diverse kinds of people, his leadership of the biodynamic movement for over twenty years, and his spiritual insights have left an indelible record of achievement. Alan Chadwick's contributions are more difficult to categorize. He was an artist, not a scientist like Pfeiffer or Bailey. He had no formal academic training, nor was he skilled at any form of management, yet a number of people are successfully pursuing agriculture professionally who were inspired by him. I do not believe he undertook any systematic form of spiritual development, although he spoke with devotion of Rudolf Steiner and considered himself a Roman Catholic, and yet he played a large role in the spiritual development of many people. Three of the five big gardens he began are still in production. He was one of the most enigmatic men I have encountered and certainly one of the most inwardly tortured. He was born in England in 1909 to a wealthy family, and had private tutors for his education. He received a formal training as an actor, in the manner for which England is justifiably renowned. How he attained his horticultural training is the subject for some debate. Indeed, a journalist who tried to write a biography of Chadwick gave up after months of work. Nothing about Alan Chadwick's lifehis personal relationships, his biography, and even his legacy in horticultureis straightforward or conventional. He came to California in the early 1970s from South Africa, after having worked some years as actor and restoring the Admiralty Gardens in Capetown. He was vited to establish a garden and a training program at the University of California at Santa Cruz, then one of the most innovative universities in the world. Soon his incredibly beautiful and productive garden, his inspirational lectures, and his magnetic personality had attracted a devoted group of gardeners. He inspired and helped to develop a garden at the Zen Center at Green Gulch, north of San Francisco, and another at Saratoga. He founded the Round Valley Garden Project in Covelo, where he worked and taught for over five years. Then he moved to Virginia, where his last project existed for several years. Finally, seriously ill he was invited back to the Zen Center, where he was cared for with real love until his death on Whitsunday, 1980. I think that the source of Alan's strength as a teacher and inspirer lies in his unique vision of what a garden can be. This vision is based on two pillars: a clear understanding of the rhythms of nature in creating an environment in which plants can thrive, and of the role of the garden in human culture. The enthusiasm, delicacy, and accuracy of Alan's presentation of the rhythms of nature are unforgettable. "Why do you water the soil?" he would ask. "So it will dry out!" came his answer, thus pointing to the rhythmic undulations between warmth and cold, wet and dry, that plants require and that must come from the environment skillfully managed by the gardener. His vividly pictorial lectures on the management of fertilization, propagation, irrigation, and cultivation within the cycle of the year, the breathing of the earth, will live as long as people remember his words. He taught that the garden is both the epitome and the mother of all true culture. He foresaw a society thatwould become ever more decentralized and diverse, with its foundation an agriculture that would unite art, science, and religion. What religion? That service to the spirit of the earth without which we have no real inner life; that devotion which allows us to become creative collaborators in the future of earthly evolution. He showed how horticulture can bring about artistic creation in each household, religious devotion in the soul toward one's environment; and how by understanding the requirements of building a living soil community, one receives the bounty of a renewed and enlivened earth. A Tribute to Alan Chadwick Part II by Hilmar Moore reprinted from STELLA NATURA Inspriation and Practical Advice for Home Gardeners and Professional Growers in Working with Cosmic Rhythms - (The 1993 Kimberton Hills Agricultural Calendar available from the Biodynamic Association, Kimberton, PA) Alan taught that the garden would become the center of a new kind of village life, modeled somewhat on an idealized medieval village or town. It would combine aspects of the old monastery, with its culinary, medical, vegetable, and meditation gardens, its orchards, animal husbandry, clinic and hospital, school, and small scale farming. This vision comes from the distant past, from the ancient temple cultures that flourished in Egypt and other places, and which had a last burst of glory in medieval Europe. There were also elements of the great 19th century English landscape gardens of Repton and Capability Brown in Alan's picture, as well as of the "wild garden" of Robinson and the huge flower borders of Gertrude Jekyll. It is easy to ridicule Alan's vision. He related much more to the past than to the present which he hated. He had a relationship to ancient Greece which one could feel emanating from him at times as if part of his soul had never left it. But his vision was not based on a romantic view of human nature; far from it. He constantly inveighed against the inherent evil of human "disobedience" towards the laws of nature, to which he contrasted in powerful images the obedience of the plant kingdom. He was like an Old Testament prophet, railing against the people's falling from the Way into sin and decadence. That he never found an understanding for the mystery of the human spirit was one reason his projects fell apart after some time. In this he was certainly typical of our time. Community based on individuality and not on an older group consciousness is clearly one of our greatest challenges. One could say that what compassion he communicated was much more often for the soil, plants and animals than for the human condition. Yet I often wonder if his vision will not find its true place in the future and that time may be nearer than we think! We may find ourselves working much more closely to our home, as many futurists tell us; and if so, Alan's vision of the "home in the garden" may prove to be much more prophetic than anachronistic. When one speaks to a wide variety of his students, one hears comments which make clear the tortured nature of Alan's destiny. He was through and through an artist, and one whose being looked with reverence to the past, to a society organized around the ancient mystery centers. He felt intimately connected to myth and fairy tales. The most peaceful moments for him seemed to be when he taught "mime, deportment, and elocution" in preparation for dramawork. Here he lauded the most miniscule attempts at creativity. By contrast, managing a large garden, the increasing teaching load, and the many people who looked to him as a spiritual guide caused him real pain. "I am not a maestro, " he once said to me. H e wished that we had such a spiritual teacher, and was aware that that person was not himself: He yearned to place his life in the service of the spirit and to found a community (actually, a village more than an intellectual community) based on his vision, yet he felt constantly pulled by the selfish individuality of his artistic temperament. Constantly he drew people to him through his charismatic personality, abilities, and insight, and just as constantly he drove them away. For perspective, one must look to the many students who have already transcended those areas in which Alan's vision was inadequate, and who have taken his inspiration into the most varied endeavors, by learning to work with appropriate machinery, creating new social forms, and working with disadvantaged people and communities This alone qualifies him as a significant figure in American agriculture. Most of the people who worked with him had a lasting experience of what can be accomplished through common work without machines. The combination of so much hand labor, such quantities of compost and manures, and of saving every scrap of refuse for the compost, can create a truly awesome transformation of the soil. This memory may become more helpful some day when the luxury of working like that becomes a necessity. Another measure can be found in the emphasis he placed on flowers and fruit, on artistically designed borders and other landscaping for beauty and for feeding the birds and insects, whose presence in a living organism is essential for its health. He regarded beauty as just as important a "product" of a garden as vegetables and herbs. I think one will find elements of this concept in nearly every gardening book written after about 1975. If, as Rudolf Steiner predicted, there will come a time when there will not be an atom of earthly substance that has not been transformed by human effort, then there will come a time when Alan Chadwick's ideas will be applied over whole regions, where every aspect of the landscape will be consciously designed for scientific (ecological and agricultural), artistic (repose and beauty), and spiritual (for our meditative life) reasons. Then we will all live in the garden, our true home. Reprinted from ACRES USA July 1991 without permission. INTRODUCTION [from ACRES, USA] Alan Chadwick, the founder of the biodynamic/French intensive school of growing food crops, left the scene over a decade ago. We are told that on the wall to the left of his bed had been hung a copy of Shakespeare's Sonnet XV, a fitting summary to the man's life. When I consider everything that grows Holds in perfection but a little moment, That this huge state presenteth naught but shows Whereon the stars secret influence commeth; When I perceive that men as plants increase, Cheered and checked even by the self-same sky, And wear their brave state out of memory; Then the conceit of this inconstant stays Sets you most rich in youth before my sight, Where wasteful Time debateth with Decay, To change your day of youth to sullied night; And all in war with Time or love of you, As he takes from you, I engraft you new. Not many people know that Alan Chadwick was a child of the stage as well as a gardener. World War II impacted his nature like a stunning hammer. The government demanded that people ignore their preferences and take on the choice of war. Chadwick ended up on the bridge of a mine sweeper, and after the war he went to South Africa to act in A Streetcar Named Desire. But he had this vision - a marriage between Steiner biodynamics and a French system of raised bed growing. Later he me Countess Freya von Moltke, the widow of the German general Helmuth von Moltke. It was Freya von Moltke who arranged for Chadwick to be offered a teaching post at Santa Cruz. As a consequence, this teacher and other teachers have created thousands who know the system. Hunger in this world would be quite impossible if such training became widespread. These few notes necessarily preface a presentation Alan Chadwick made on the subject of fertility at New Market, Virginia about a year before he died. His message was so timeless it rates reiteration over a decade later. There is poetry in ChadwickUs insight. Those who cannot take the time to cherish each syllable, each though, each sentence or fragment there of can go to others reports in this issue. Our editorial marks have been imposed to achieve clarity, and not to alter what Chadwick had to say. Otherwise this, a final lecture in a way, is presented here exactly as taped. FERTILITY Robert Graves in quotation: The decline of true taste for food is the beginning of a decline in a national culture as a whole. When people have lost their authentic personal taste, they lose their personality and become the instruments of other peopleUs wills. And Linsay Robb in his address entitled "Altius Longius Sitius": We have lost that essential unity with the soil. The break in this relationship is first indicated in the disregard for spiritual values, and sense of obligation and obedience to the creative powers of the universe. By way of contrast: On perceiving the violet: that the re-creation of the mind, which is taken thereby, cannot be but very good and honest. For they admonish and stir up the man to do that which is comely and honest. For they admonish and stir up a man to do that which is comely and honest. For through their beauty, color and exquisite form do bring remembrance of honesty, comeliness and all kinst of virtues. So it would be unseemly and impossible, even though the observer was a criminal, to be able to look upon this [flower] and yet remain defiled. Fertility has no limits. It is a gift. And it is an endless eleve uplift or reverse. But remember that the more fertile, the more eleve we introduce, the more danger and susceptible is nature to the four elements, and error. It requires guarding as it becomes gifted in creation. For a moment, IUm going to talk practically again. Fertility, altogether in the whole our lives connected with horticulture, connected with the garden, connected with our art, with our craft is, of course, a marriage. Now, you must perceive that when we dealt with and looked a little into the cosmic, there were enormous keys there, one in particular. That so much of the atmospheres, the gifts we discover, receive and accept are by a form of marriage, and that there is a synergist in the always. And that they are the two energies: the energy of creation, the sun, and the energy of the recipient, the earth, which is always obedient to the leadership. And that you accept it with an obedience and reverence and obey its techniques, obey its requirements in order to bring it about, in order to make it eleve, for it is not static. It will increase all the time and can increase, as you comprehend-- equally by miracle, instantaneously. Therefore, when we spoke of the sun and the earth and this marriage that creates atmosphere, which we call warmth and light--here you have a continuation of this performance, but the multitudinous the fertility is coming out of the energy of that marriage of atmosphere. And as it is part o the destiny of humanity in particular, as the director of the orchestra, as a gardener or a farmer or an >oikosomiast< to invect this and create the >eleve<. it is endless, remember, and can go either way, like a sedge, into the salt ocean or into the sweet land. We discussed cultivation, fertilization and propagation in very minimal degrees as utter basics. Fertility is a marriage of these (three) and it is the marriage of all other that comes out of that marriage in the creation of atmosphere. For the moment, I'm focusing somewhat on a >conservatoire< of productivity in the garden, the production of the garden, not only for the produce for the kitchen but the whole garden, of course. So I want to bring to your observation the utter obedience to technique. If you obey the technique to perfection, that technique will become invisible because it is a craft and that is the Greek word, >technae<, [technique which it has become]. >Technae< means art: Being the creation of God in everything and craft being the method by which humanity brings it into performance in the visible world--very much the way in which we talk about seed and plants. Therefore, technae is art revealed in this world by a craft, and that is the word technique. It combines those. It's a phrase. Therefore, when we look at the subjects that we have slightly dealt with technically, we have talked about stratifications in these raised beds. We have talked about why this is a raised be: to get >motionibus< exposing to >revolutionibus<. And that you have your drainage which is one of the first implementations of acquiring >revolutionibus<. And so you are applying all of these techniques into a marriage which is all working towards the uplift of the procedure of fertility. And if you will make stratifications after you have made you cultivations and you will add these fertilizations and stratifications and texture, and the performance of shapes and movements up to the surface of the soil, which is the skin of the earth, the area of discontinuity where it meets the air. And here you will have produced your plants in a likewise technical manner to produce the utmost fertility in their performance. And now you will either sow the seed or the plant the plants in that formative, artistic bed of enormous technical procedure and thought and obedience, and you will plant it so that all the time the (four) elements will be your friends and not your enemies - - the six houses of fertility and the six houses of destructiveness. And that you will sow or plant that bed in such a manner that the plants will cover that bed, either ley (or bee) plants or weed plants or other plants, will cover that bed as instantly almost as germination can take place. but this mean you will have breathing pursuing with the >revolutionibus< of each day with the cosmic forces, and you will have an in flow and an intake and an outflow of breathing that is of the utmost fertility that at present you can produce in this area. And that those plants will aalmost immediately cover the area of discontinuity--the skin of the earth--with an exquisite mantle. And that will prevent that seizure of the topsoil, which is so dangerous, and a seizure of the collars of the plants, which is so dangerous for there will now be a little area in there of a conservatory, of a glass house. And if you put you hand in on a very windy day, it will be protected, and if you put you hand in on a very hot sunny day, it will be cool, and on a very dry day it will be moisture. And you will find you have come into a conservatoire. And as those plants grow, those warm, moist gases are being retained inside, and that the foliages are performing their duty of protecting that bd and the plants and that area which is dangerous with them. Therefore, you will get this acceleration and this beautiful growth whereby those plants will remain tender, young, succulent and full of nutritives, and gentle. And so they will grow faster and faster and happier and happier, and they will breathe in and out with the inclination and the declination, applying it into the bed through numerous planetary governments--minerals--and breathing into the air, into that atmosphere that aurora (dawn) is crating each day--those mineral atmospheres. It will be taking place ad lit. Ad infinitum. And suddenly, you have got a whole bed full of exquisite lettuce all ready for the salad bowl, or carrots or yount turnips or turnip tops, or whatever the bed may be. And now it will be taken and utilized in the kitchen. And when you collect that crop, you will perceive that soil, and you will perceive what has happened. That within its contents, and even deep down, a change has taken place. That although you have what vulgarly the agricultural world says taken the food values out of the soil and into the plants, you have *not*! This is the adaptation of the purport of fertility: that soil in that bed is better now since the plants dealt with it, when you prepare it and put the plants in and left them to it. It is superior. It is more fertile. And in each cycle this will take place, and out of that bed, what weeds you take, what roots and green matter you put into the compost will produce a secret. That secret is all connected with >image<., (spiritual vision) with >idee< for it has come out of this, out of a pre-thought, for you were given this thought, not from your thinking mind of words. You were give it through your poise, through your breathing, through your diaphragm, from the cosmic, from above, from the stars. thatUs where that impetus came from. And it belongs to *totemism*. FROM ABOVE And now that compost heap will go through the domrancy of winter, and when you place it in the bds next year, the apporaches are the same. you thoughts are from above. your thoughts are to fertility, not fertility for your use, not fertility towards a crop of 1,000 pounds of tomatoes or 500 baskets of strawberries. That calculation would get you nowhere now, or if you want to turn 1,000 pounds of beans into $1,000 to put it in the bank as a cash deposit! It didn't come out of that kind of thought. It came out of a thougtht that was not given you in words, an order to which you were obedient. And now out of that compost come seeds and plants and soil and matter and nutriment and humus which you are putting in the soil, and you will notcie that this spring the worms are different. They may be bigger. They may be a bit more moist, but yet they are changeing, There's a lot of whittling going on. There is fresh color that you didn't notice before, and suddenly you see a butterly. oh, there were those little white ones last year, but that oneUs got orange tips. And suddenly you will seed all sorts of new variations of snakes and lizards and snails and birds. And they are new! Why did they come? Was it just like the nightingale? Did they go when they know they were not wanted and had they come back up the river and were waiting in the tree for the emperor to come and listen that he may sleep and dream? And so something will happen now that is the greatest secret concerned with the garden and fertility and the gardener. Magic comes out of your surprise, for there is in nature always surprise. You don't know anything. you can go through a little woodland, a little alpine area, and you will think you have seen what's growing there., and you can go through it for three months, and each day you will find it incontestably new. It is not static. Every bit of it is new. And now, suddnly, new weeds have come up. They weren't here last year and you walso notcie that there is an appearance of more succulence, of probably mroe intense color, of scent and form. It may not be size and you will certainly notice a differnce in nutritivies and flavor. And this is the gift of the plants in their giving and forgiving, that through their spritiual >image< now relate to our spiritual >image< and have come up to where were were led to lead them to enter--when our thoughts were given to us as from above--we were above that >elve< and were thinking of a new pear, of lettuce more wondreful, a flavor more exuisite, or walkway that id something tht no walkway had ever quite done before, or a tree bow which held atmosphere underneath in a manner that never happened before. They are all meetings of that matter. And now, suddenly, this coming up of nature, of the garden, enters you diapragm and connects again with the cosmic and your spiritual image is lifted again into a real that no verbosity, no ordinary study through words, through books, can give you. It's new! It's out of the atmosphere. Its out of the birth of the hand of God, that is flowing throughout this are in which you are constructing and fulfilling and being obedient and performing. That surely can proceed ad infinitum. And is this not, then, the word fertility? And does it not conjunct with all the bird in the trees? All of the things that you can't comprehend. So many people at lectures, like at Villa montalvo, where threee dear old ldies got up and said, Yes! Yes! Yes! But what do we do about the ants? But, you see, there is always this inclination to rush to a store for a powder because something's happening that's got up your petticoat. ELVE of FERTILITY Now, perceive you, that where I'm speaking of a French Intensive biodynamic bed, I'm only focusing on one little fraction of the whole focus of the garden. That, therefore, it includes all of those insects that you do not comprehend but appear as enemies. And here is a little statement about the seed of tansy; burr marigold. This plant, wilde, grows beside water, but not in water, and cannot grow away from water. It can't exist on dry land, and it cannot exist in abog, so it grows on teh edge of little ponds and pools and around the edges oflakes and streams. In the fall, when it goes to seed, those seeds fall on the dry land and cannot germinate. And when the winds of winer come, they blow it into the path and, Oh, dear, now whatUs going to happen? Those seeds have four horns on the uper end like floats, and the seed floats upwards with the germinative point in the air so that the see sits on the water at an angle facing up, and along comes Mr. Carp, and he says Oh, dear, here we go again. But those four horns are made like fish hooks, and every fish is aware by relationship/disrelationship of what those four horns will do. And any fish tht have had this tuck in their gills for several hours to get rid of it, wouldnt dream of goinG near tht see agAin knowing full well what it would do. [TO BE CONTINUED] Fri 5 Feb 93 6:07 By: ALLAN BALLIETT Re: Part 1 ALAN CHADWICK on ANEMONE redux Here is a repost of Alan Chadwick's lecture on anemone cultivation. It is a sure irritant for those with growing Spring Fever. This time of year, You may be find the part about the building of a hot bed to be particularly valuable. Let me know what you think -Allan : : : : Alan Chadwick Lecture September 12, 1979 ANEMONE This is a very simple practical little study of which we shall be having many. And we have discussed this morning- and you've had your basic herb study yesterday- we have just discussed herbs and we are going to introduce a herb (study) just before each of the subjectivities of the lectures and talks that we have- so you will be having a herb, literally a herb a day so to speak, during the (coming)weeks. And in this way you will cover something like 200 in the year - just to let you know that. The subject today is the Anemone, De Caen and the anemone St. Brigid- they're known as the coronarias- how to grow them to perfection. And it is one of the most exquisite and beautiful plants. An invaluable cut flower of enormous lasting value, of brilliant color, excellent form and really very simple if the technique is applied properly it is utterly, utterly superb in its performance. But if it is disobeyed, it's a complete failure and a dead loss. I'm going to begin and go through the performance of this plant so that you understand it in all its attitudes so that you know how to produce it, because it's becoming very difficult to get in the world. You cannot buy the seed of the De Caen. You can buy the seed of St. Bridgid, but it's almost impossible to buy the seed of the De Caen and if you do, it's not necessarily very g~od. I produced some 28,000 plants-corms-at Santa Cruz and each of those plants produced 26 blooms each a year-that all the students enjoyed.They last tor three weeks and more in water. I give you a little picture of what is possible with great ease, provided that you obey the technique. So we're going to begin- since you cannot get the seed easily- we are going to begin by saying we purchase corms. And those corms that we purchase will be, from an economical point of view, reasonable to buy. They're becoming very expensive, so we should buy 2000 corms at one year nurseryfication of De Caen. This is the best anemone of the two by far. It is plain edged; it's colors are far more intense and it is single and it comes utterly true to its type. The four colors being blood red, purplish blue, mauve, and a white, an ivory white. Therefore, we will purchase 2000 corms one year nurseryfied; they will have been produced from seed. And those corms will be a very small centimeter - I don't know quite what to say- about the size of a, not very much bigger than a rather round oat. And they will be purchased in the late fall. And they will be planted in a bed in the spring of this preparation: preferably in January or February - a deep well-drained, performed bed with an excellent hot bed placed within it. Now these corms are very small and are going to go into a very close area, certainly not more than four times the length of this table (20') and either 3 or 4' wide. So we would have a hot bed placed upon a good drainage. In other words, the stalks of any helio at the boKom. On the stalks of those helio will go a green matter of any sort anything like nasturtium or the sort of matter that is green and on top of that, preferably. a pretty fresh horse manure to produce the heat. On top of that an ordinary top soil as a coverage. And now you have a mixture of 1/3 sharp, 1/3 turf loam, and 1/3 well rotted rich manure, six months to a year stock piled. If possible well turned and eradicated from seed, weed seed issue, no weeds are going to be allowed in these beds at any time. No weeds. NOT, NOT, NOT PERMISSIBLE! Now on top of that soil that we have mentioned that's on top of the hot bed, we will now place a strata of well rotted leaf mold. So that will be leaf mold taken either from a leaf pit or deep in the woods somewhere, from a dell. And that we want to be about two inches. Between an inch and two inches. A really good swathing. Now we will place six inches of that soil that we have just mentioned- that preparation- 1/3 sharp, 1/3 turf loam and 1/3 manure. We will plant our corms gently into the surface of that after it has been pressed down, either with a roller or by the planting boards. Preferably with a roller. We will plant them just into the surface, about, literally about an inch. On to that we will place a strata of sharp, very thin, for disinfectant as much as anything. On to that we will place one inch of utterly well-rotted, seed free, rich manure. An entire strata. And on top of that we will place a thin strata of 1/2 top soil mixed with 1/2 leaf mold. So now you've got your corms down at about 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 inch and the whole preparation is made. Now if the weather is very severe and there is a lot of frost and ice in the district, the preferability of the coverage of the whole of that bed would be with lightly blown up pteris, that is the bracken fern. Or second to that, if you could not get terrace (I imagine there must be plenty of pteris aquilinum up in the mountains and the woods here. Anyone notice?) Well, if not, fern leaves. Female fern - any of those - as a covering from the climate. So that that is removable if possible the moment that the shoots begin to come through. The foliage should be evident in 6 - 8 weeks from those corms. You get one leaf uncurled first and then quite a long time, some weeks, before the next. Now if the weather remains bad, it's perfectly feasible to leave that fern on and let the plant grow through it. There's no harm in that at all. And that that would be much more likely the case in this district. Even though the pteris, or any other fern, you see, were sitting that depth(4"), this plant will work through the fern perfectly simply and is aerated. Therefore it should not be disturbed, unless it is removed before the foliage becomes obvious. At that time of year those corms will come into bloom at 16 weeks. The first blooms will appear at 15 - 16 weeks. The normal period from planting a corm in really good weather in a really good climate is 12 weeks- into bloom. At 8 weeks the foliage has begun to perform pretty properly. And a month after that the blooms begin to appear. Those corms are now blooming for the first time and they will produce about 18 good blooms, not of first class-large for cutting- but the first 2 or 3 will be small and "mini" and probably should be cut off and discarded. And quite quickly will follow decent blooms that can be used for cutting. Now you must understand that what we are doing in this production, we are thinking that it is very difficult to obtain this plant, and we are growing this bed for productiveness - reproductiveness. Do you follow? Therefore, you will want a lot of little pegs- and in this case of the De Caen- you can't possibly do it with the St. Brigid (and we shall be operating from seed with St. Brigid anyway)- but with the De Caen, you see, you have four colors. You sometimes get a puce, one slips in, that's fifth color, we won't bother about that at the moment, but you can have the five pegs if you like. Now those pegs,therefore, will have a color nomination on them. It could be those very colors, which makes that simple. Therefore, as those plants grow and the blooms come, according to which appear to be your best plants during the growing period, so will nominate them with the pegs. Do you follow? That can be used as a cutting bed throughout the growing season which is probably four to five months. And that each of the plants which is assessed to be superior shall be marked in this manner with this peg very clearly so as to be unmistakable. So it must be well-placed because the bed is very full. When they have died down, but are still just visible in growth- is the time to lift the whole bed. But before lifting the whole bed, those which are labeled shall be lifted each with their labelings into what you would call a drying sieve so that all the reds go into one sieve, all the blues go into a sieve with their label and so on. Do you follow? Now these are the pick of the bunch which in the next year are going to be grown for seed production. And the rest will go in en masse as a cutting bed again. So that same performance will take place. The longer you will delay the lifting without losing sight of them the better. But you see to get up the labeled ones you must be able to still see where the plant meets the corm. Now you see the imperative importance of no weeds, for you cannot unearth or discover the matter at all. And what is more, they do not employ the liking of other plants around them. They like to be alone. Now you take a similar performance and you prepare a bed in the same way and you plant those particular selections in their color groups, and you now double space them. You give them plenty of room. That nomination is quite easily made when it comes to the technical performance of the planting, the exact distances. Now as this plant comes up- again you run into- you will plant them a little later this time to be on the safe side, end of February or March according to when the moon is playing. And again you will prepare the bed in the same way. But now the planting is further apart to give them ample room, and again you will roll it before you plant, and again you will cover it in the same way. And indeed you can leave the coverage on again if that is required. The first 2 or 3 blooms shall in any case be removed. Now the plant is going to send up 24, 25 or 26 blooms this time. And now they are going to be verging upon full size. Very big. It's a very big anemone. So any number on the plant- now this bed has got to be looked after by a staff with apprentices, and it's got to be looked after absolutely regularly and attended to, as it is utterly important, for one little mishap and you are in serious trouble that you won't get over- but when you come to number four blossom up to about number ten, according to the performance of the flower up from the bud and its appearance, you either leave it or remove it. And you will allow four or five per plant, total, so that after approximately number eight or number nine all blooms are now removed, as small buds; you can't even make use of them. So that the whole issue (energy) goes into those four or five who are to produce the seed. Now the seed are very tricky. It develops a cone, a long pointed cone, and it withstands any weather, any wind. And suddenly out of that cone issues a little volcano. Suddenly, all unexpectedly the cone undoes, all the way from the tip downwards, and unfolds like a "smoke" of cotton wool. Sometimes spreading as much as that, an incredible thing hanging almost like a swarm of bees. And attached in that cotton wool are all the seeds. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds per blossom per cone. And every one of them is liable, almost certain, to be fertile and first class. Therefore, you must not lose this. But you must not collect it until it is about to fly. And there is no manner of telling that other than the technical on the spot obviousness. There is no other way. But to pull it off by force as you might pull a peach before it's ripe or fig when it is straight, the seed will not be in its ripe composition which is required. In other words it must be about to take off. Now sometimes that cotton wool will hang for 2 or 3 or 4 days in a swarm and increase. And not usually does the cotton wool from right down the cone all together. So you usually have to make two collections. Do you follow? And they, of course, can go into the same bag. There is nothing much better than a large brown paper bag with a big opening, one of the very big ones. "SAFEWAY",you see, becomes useful for the first time. And you see even though there is a wind or a breeze take it on the lower side and pop it in quickly. And you just, as it were, wipe it. Therefore, the unripe remains hanging on to the swarm and leads the rest of the cone into ripeness,so you do not pick off the cone because the cone would go sloppy and would rot. So you've only got the cotton wool in the bag. And you leave that absolutely loose, tie it up around the collar and hang it up to dry. So you make two collections and there is your seed and you will sow it either in the fall or in the spring. Both of them work perfectly. Now this plant does not force. Therefore, you must not produce that seed under a forced heat such as you would raise the tomato. It must be a cooler raising such as you would use for cineraria and freesia and you will get a 99 - 100% germination. And when you come to sow that seed you will find that you've got one huge mass of swarm of cotton wool with little seeds you can't even see. Therefore, you've got nothing but cotton wool. Do not worry. But don't try to sow in any form of draft for it will be away! - which is exactly what it's meant to do to migrate. It can go from here down to South America! You will prepare your seed box- for this must be grown in this manner- you will prepare your seed box and on the day according to the moon, in a beautifully sheltered position, you will slightly press that soil, having filled the box with a special preparation. That preparation will be a thick rotted leaf mold at the base, a coverage of well-rotted- if possible seed proof- manure, and a 1/3 a 1/3 a 1/3. 1/3 sharp; 1/2 well-rotted turf loam, "seed proofed", turned in other words, and 1/3 well-rotted leaf mold. All mixed in well together. Very, very fine and nice and full and pressed. Now you take your cotton wool with your fingers and you simply spread it, undo it, as much as is possible, and don't get in a flummox over it because it doesn't separate. So in other words you end up with a box of one sheet of cotton wool out of the bag. And of course, you must begin with a lump or several lumps in the middle of the box because otherwise- the least little... I mean if you go "Ha! Ha!" Poof! The whole lot of seed is gone! Do you follow? So it's no good mucking about or what have you, or somebody comes in and says, "Wait!" And it's all gone! Now, it is very important for the coverage of this that you have the lightest of light,fine soil. Again the finest sifted, well-rotted leaf with the sifted sharp with the sifted turf loam; 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. And nothing but the finest sitting so that you can still just see the cotton wool. In other words, golden rule "under cover, do not over cover." You could always add a little more soil at germination. Golden rule: "Under cover, do not over cover." Keep thoroughly moist, well-watered. No need for glass. Temperature of 50 degrees at night, 65 degrees by day and you will get an excellent germination. It's slow. There is in the seed the double procedure generally of the hard and the soft shell and, therefore, you are quite liable to get a repercussion, after of a month, of regermination - it nearly always happens. In this way you will produce plants which are superior to those that you grew from those corms. And that you have started an uplift of fertility in your corms. If you proceed on that line from those and take again the second year from those seedlings, not the first, the second and third year (the life of that corm will be approximately five years), and it will start with 18 blooms the second year, will go to 24 - 25 the next, 28 the next at full size, and then will begin to get smaller and remain numerous and then go back to 18 rather small, and after five years as a cut flower you've finished with it. Now the St. Brigid you will deal with in the same way. With the second issue that I've just described with sowing the seed. You will buy the seed and sow it in that manner. It's easy to get and it's cheap, to buy the seed. If you buy the corms it's expensive. So I'm talking about economical. This corm does not force. Convolaria, freesia, daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, you can force them all. With a lot of heat you can have them on by Christmas, January. You cannot force the anemone, it does not. But it is a winter plant. In Cornwall it is in bloom in January and goes to London and the Scilly Isles even in December. It has the capacity, that even though the stalk is quite short with the cold weather, with the frost, and the little bud is only just showing color during the period of one month having picked it, it will come into full bloom in the London market and in the home where it is purchased. It's lasting power is enormous. It is a colossal drinker. It drinks water at a tremendous pace. The vase which you put it in will be drunk in three days. And you must always resuscitate it. It does not need to have the stalk cut to keep the flower going. That color in the winter is one of the most beautiful cut flowers that you can have. Therefore, if you are in a wicked climate the ideal way to grow this is in frames. Therefore, from seed into bloom- now if you had left those corms in the ground that you had purchased, they would come into bloom at the end of that year, providing the climate was satisfactory. If not, they would wait until the next spring. So when you have got a thoroughly satisfactory climate, after you have sown the seed, you can produce bloom from that corm, from that seed that year, in seven months. Do you follow? Now you will perceive that by sowing seed either in the fall or the early spring, you can reproduce blossoming throughout the fall, and the winter and the spring. And, therefore, if you manipulate this growing in frames in the same manner as the beds made in the frames exactly- exactly the same manner- you can have a whole frame full of anemones if you will plant those corms, and you see, for frame ones you want your 3rd and 4th year. Your very best. And the others you will be growing in a bed and using. And that you may play this by planting in August, you see, the corm. You begin at 14 - 15 weeks into bloom and as the winter comes on and the weather gets very cold you will go into 16 and 17 weeks into bloom. So, you simply nominate your dates of sowing and you can have relays of frames coming into bloom, in full bloom, next lot coming on, going out of bloom, taking out, putting in the French beans or the lettuce in place! Do you follow? And, therefore, you have an enormous thing. On Long Island I had these frames made the moment that I was building these gardens and, of course, I had anemones from Christmas onwards which astonished everybody. And you see with all the snows on the frame lights, on the mats, still these anemones and the lettuce all performing, there is no difficulty. You must, of course, take those provisions to prevent the severe freezings of below zero going right into the bed for that would destroy it. So again you would use pteris. You remember that I had remarked about the great miracle of pteris. Pteris actually prevents freezing from entering the soil. It is like the most eiderdown, eiderdown, eiderdown in its performance. And the lighter you use it, the most eiderdown it is. It equally prevents scorch and "dryth" from entering the ground. It's a most bewildering and astonishing protective and, of course, does in time make the most exquisite disinfectant soil and is beautiful for growing all bulbs and corms in. In time you can imagine it is this like, beautiful like spongy loam soil. Therefore, do not attempt to grow the anemone De Caen or St. Brigid in the glass house in heat. It won't work. So you start off all through the winter with your frames and then you go into your spring beds. And you are making the utmost of your anemones. You have got bloom going on there seven months. Now should you go to such an area as the Mediterranean or California, you will find that if you left... now you could leave your corms in the beds here if you covered them, through the winter and that they would come on of themselves and that this very useful when you do the nurseryfication of the 1st year seedlings for they're very very finicky and tiny. And, therefore, to leave them in the bed and cover it well with terrace and with lights of some sort, or with a cloche or bell, they would come up the next year and you would pursue the same thing and that bed would be perfectly ordinate because of its preparation to perform again the second year. So it is very advisable. Now this is a matter to beware that in a good climate that is a ten-month performing climate, that anemone would try to bloom in September and would also want to bloom again, having died down after the November and Christmas issue of 18 blooms, it would again want to come up and bloom in May and June. And that the corm would not be able to supply the issue of. Now it is very interesting that that little corm has only the tiniest of roots. Many bulbs, like gladioli have very little root, dahlias, out of their tubers have very little root at all. In other words, they're growing out of the Revolutionibus much more than out of the Ahrimanic. And therefore, you would have to lift (the corm) to prevent this or your corm would be finished after the one year performance of two blooms. That is just a note that you must remember. Of course, where you are growing the whole of this bed or these beds as a cut flower crop- and it is particularly a good cut flower- it is not a vastly desirable flower for instance, in the herbaceous borders -- either the annual or perennial- not really. In rock garden, some of them like the apenina and the multipulata are very charming. But I am talking about this today and the study is all towards a cut flower. And when I was in New York and stayed with some very important people, I had to give them a little gift and I knew that she loved anemones and I went to one of the florist's. I was there at Christmas and I said, AH! the very thing because I know that she loves a bunch of anemones. There they were, these wonderful Adonis, the blood of- as you know Apollo killed Adonis by mistake- and this wonderful red at Christmas and I said I was thinking of six bunches. I said how much. He said $10.00 a bunch, a dozen. Ten dollars! I supplied Buckingham Palace. I supplied the queen; she wouldn't get them from anywhere else. And I used to sell them at ten pence a dozen. And I made the most fantastic profit. So that I paid for my whole farm in one year; the laying out of it, the buying of it and everything, almost off this alone! For I used to collect thousands and thousands and thousands every other day. Now out of this method of growing in this way- you see frequently you will find in the market that you will get a little stalk so high and that's very finicky in a little vase- but with this method, even with the coldest weather with these coverages, with this intense manuring, you get the utmost fertility and you will get a stalk of that length. And that's a very different matter in cut flowers. And that's what you want to go for, and you won't lose the quality if you blossom by the length of the stalk, because of this beautiful fertility of the soil. But you must remember those stratifications I have given you. They are absolutely adamant and predominant. Absolute. Now, there is a matter that has to be looked at. The De Caen is what you might call a classic. You know that the ranunculus that you purchase, the Turban (Persian) Ranunculus, they're all double, and they look rather like a Venician carnival and fireworks. When you come to look at those in bloom -- and you know they are very Lipstick Pink, Wicked Yellow, Love Citron Lemon Acid (laughter) all the tricks of colors at their most festivalia wickedness- and suddenly you look at this great classical anemone and you see that this intense color is incredibly classic, deep and very subtle, while this ranunculus looks like a HA HA HAAA! business. And this is very interesting. Now, do you see, with the St. Brigid that they are none of them a complete color! They're various colors. Rainbow mixed up in them. And that 8 I still had excellent blooms in June. Some of you, some one or two of you might remember. No, probably not. (Student - I do Alan) (Alan - you do.) And so you can see the number of tens of thousands of blooms you can cut from one bed. And that cutting can take place two and three times per week in those beds. It's an exorbitant gift. Incredible excitement of happiness. Student - Thank you, Alan, that answered my question beautifully. Alan - Yes, good. Student - Alan, if you are lifting your corms, those that you are not to use for seed the next year, is it best to let the plant die down completely? Alan - No. Yes, it is, but it's all advisable because of finding them. Now if your bed is thoroughly well prepared and the soil is perfect, that's all right. Put them very carefully in a very technical manner through a particular sieve. A sieve that will allow the soil, all of the soil, to go through quickly. But you must remember that the little roots hang on to quite a lot of leaf mold. I am glad you mentioned this. Therefore, do you see, the sift method you can indeed let them die down. But I am warning you because in many instances I have had inexperienced people and they have allowed weeds. The moment you've allowed weeds, there's nothing you can do. Do you follow? You've mixed your soil and your weeds and the weeds take the corms with them - always. And you've lost the lot. Now, there's one matter that's very important, and it concerns the storage of all such matters. Dahlia tubers. The storage of potatoes. The storage of vegetables. We're going to deal with all of that. Now gladioli is a corm, but it's a very strong corm and it can dry. But the anemone is a very small corm and during the period of summer in a hot climate or moist climate, or a bade climate will either dehydrate or it will even to a degree rot or contaminate. Do you understand? Therefore, you must use certain dried herbs, you already being to perceive some of them, and you must have ready an excellent peat moss. A really first class peat moss that will not moisten. That will remain dry. And, therefore, you bury all of those corms, and you realize you've got twenty thousand in that size, and they are best in a basket. A very close wicker/bamboo basket with this peat moss in. And all your corms are buried in that peat moss. Now, they are not moist at all but there is a prevention of dehydration of air or interference of damp days entering in. And that method of storage is ideal. Question: What would the best temperature be for storage? Alan: Cool, dry. Plenty of air as in fruit stores. America does not understand, forgive my being so vulgar as to put it that way, ventilation. You need ventilators, you see this in the first place is impossible - concrete floor, to perspire, does everything it shouldn't. But you want ventilators below and you want ventilators either in roof such as you've got here such as you have in a root store or ventilators as all houses in Europe have to have ventilation up near the ceiling. Every room has to have a number of ventilators according to its size and you can have those open and shut. Do you follow? So that is the proper manner. Remember that all such matters should also be on slats, rather than placed on a floor. Oh! It is a technical, practical matter and you will not in the least worry about it. But, I would imagine that nine people out of ten would not know which way up the corm was when it's dry. It is the most funny looking little thing. It has more flanges and is very weird. The first year it's pretty obvious that there is a crown presentment on one end and the other is a point which is the root. That is very obvious at the end of the first year only. The second year that vanishes and these flanges come and it's quite difficult. The moment that you have been shown, a dozen, which way up they are, and if you plant them the wrong way up they will not come up. So, that's just to remind. Not to worry about because the whole point is the technique will be shown. Anything else? Very good. Warren: May I announce that on Monday, the fruit? Response: Yes. Alan: Very well. We've discussed regarding the program. We're going to work very hard producing an adequate and suitable program for you. That you shall be able to study to the utmost. And you shall have the utmost information and leadership that's possible here. You realize how tremendously we lack staff. We're going to try to till these gaps. On Monday, we will take our first orchard fruit study. This will not be the history of fruit, which is extremely fascinating, or the history of the American fruit orchards. This will be the basic of fruit growing. The formation of the trees, which includes, of course, the pruning. Shape of the trees and why. The different shapes and why their valuations. And the stock and scion, the principle base of the formation of the growing of fruit trees. That will be the study on Monday. Now shall this be at 10 or 11? Response: 11 is best for everybody. Alan: Eleven. Very good. I have to go to the doctor, but that is all right; it is in the afternoon. So it is 11:00 as usual. That is the subject for Monday. We will bat it up later with all the histories. Very good? Thank you Alan. : : : : Please let me know if you are interested in seeing more of Alan Chadwick's lectures up here. Thanks! -Allan * Origin: The Twilight Clone (1:109/70.914) Aquaculture information resources on ALF ------------------------------------------ Another document available: AQUALIST.TXT 3695 10-23-90 Aquaculture Info Ctr Publist =========================================================================== LIST OF KEY NAL PERSONNEL AND SERVICES =========================================================================== Aquaculture IC Debbie Hanfman 344-3704 AGS3091 Aquaculture Information Center Subject Coverage: Culture of aquatic plants and animals in freshwater, brackish, and marine environments. Examples include: catfish farming; oyster culture; freshwater prawn culture; tilapia culture; salmon ranching; and trout farming. Subjects related to aquaculture, such as pond management, cage culture, recirculating systems, diseases, and water quality are also covered. Staff of the Center also handle requests on eel culture; Spirulina farming; and aquatic snail and turtle cultivation, but not terrestrial culture. The "fisheries industry" (such as ocean fishing harvests) is not considered a part of the Aquaculture Information Center's coverage. Coordinator: Deborah Hanfman, 301-344-3704 Aquaculture Information Center Coordinator: Debbie Hanfman Room l09C (30l) 344-3704 AQUACULTURE ----------- Algae and Biotechnology. Ann Townsend Young. February 1990. 3 pp. AIC Series no. 1. Aquaculture: A Guide to Federal Government Programs. Prepared by the Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture, in cooperation with the National Agricultural Library. November 1987. 34 pp. Aquaculture for Youth and Youth Educators. Eileen McVey. July 1989. 16 pp. (Aqua-Topic Series) Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding: National Research Priorities. Prepared by USDA Cooperative State Research Service, Office of Aquaculture. March 1988. Vol. I, 56 pages. Vol. II, 61 pp. Aquaculture In the Caribbean Basin: A Bibliography (1970-1988). Prepared by Deborah T. Hanfman, Aquaculture Information Center; Steven Tibbitt, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS); Carol Watts, NESDIS; Dallas Alson, Caribbean Aquaculture Association. More [Y]es,N)o,C)ont,A)bort,J)ump! y Bibliographies and Literature of Agriculture No. 71. September 1988. 71 pp. Aquaculture In the Northeast Pacific: A Bibliography. Prepared by Deborah T. Hanfman, Aquaculture Information Center; Eileen M. McVey, Aquaculture Information Center; Steven J. Tibbitt, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS); Marilyn Quin, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center Library, Newport, Oregon 97365; Carol Watts, NESDIS. Bibliographies and Literature of Agriculture No. 98. October 1989. Culture of Striped and Hybrid Striped Bass. Eileen McVey. April 1990. 28 pp. (Aqua-Topics Series) Eels. Ann Townsend Young. April 1990. 8 pp. AIC Series no. 5. Paddlefish. Deborah T. Hanfman. March 1990. 5 pp. AIC Series no. 2. The Potentials of Aquaculture: An Overview and Bibliography. Prepared by Deborah T. Hanfman, Aquaculture Information Center; Steven Tibbitt, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS); and Carol Watts (NESDIS). October 1989. Bibliographies and Literature of Agriculture No. 90. 73 pp. Practical Aquaculture Literature II: A Bibliography. Eileen M. McVey, Deborah T. Hanfman, Mona F. Smith, and Ann Townsend Young. June 1989. Bibliographies and Literature of Agriculture No. 75. 175 pp. Raising Snails. Sheldon Cheney. SRB 88-04. March 1988. 16 pp. Seafood Safety and Standards. Eileen M. McVey. September 1989. 19 pp. (Aqua-Topic Series) Sturgeons. Ann Townsend Young. April 1990. 10 pp. AIC Series no. 4. Watercress. Ann Townsend Young. April 1990. 6 pp. AIC Series no. 3. =========================================================================== INFORMATION ALERTS Recent items of public interest published as Information Alerts by NAL =========================================================================== IA89-08.TXT REGIS: ... African Aquaculture 4/21/89 IA89-12.TXT NATDP Announces Aquaculture Compact Disk 6/21/89 IA89-21.TXT New Aquaculture Bibliography Available 8/15/89 Another document available: NAL Publ. "Potentials of Aquaculture"......................90-05 IA90-05.TXT AQUACULTURE Deborah Hanfman, a Technical Information Specialist at NAL, selected 62 key U.S. Government publications for this database. They include books, technical reports, bibliographies, leaflets, bulletins and journal articles. These publications are not copyrighted and may be downloaded or printed for personal use. Software used: Textware. This database was created as part of an experimental, pilot project by the National Agricultural Library. Copies are not available. The database may be searched at the D.C. Reference Center and in the main library, Beltsville, MD. Technical questions about the database may be addressed to Deborah Hanfman (301)344-3558, or Judith Zidar (301)344-3818, USDA, National Agricultural Library, 10301 Baltimore Blvd., Beltsville, MD 20705. Another file available for download: LAQUADV.ZIP 59680 06-30-88 Louisiana Aquaculture Expert Advisory Re: 1/3 Aquaculture and the FDA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Life on a Fish Farm: Food Safety a Priority by Beverly Corey, D.V.M. In bold yellow letters the supermarket ad proclaims, "Save on Catch of the Day." Beneath the message is a fisherman's oversized dip-net teeming with thick sliced lemons, red snapper, trout, mussels, a red onion, succulent shrimp, a sprig of parsley, and a luscious lobster. The picture creates an intense hunger for seafood. It also commands a closer look. The ad's fine print lists the usual information: the price of the product, its common or usual name, whether it is fresh or frozen, and its place of origin. But a few products are identified with a term that implies an additional distinction--"farm-raised." This means it's a product of aquaculture. What's Aquaculture? Aquaculture means "water culture" or, more exactly, farming in water. Simply explained, it involves the intensive production of fish and shellfish for human food, plants such as seaweed, and even bait fish and fish for aquaria, in a closely managed habitat. The aquaculture industry has been described as "fragile" because it's still young, yet "on the cutting edge of science" because of its use of technology. Both descriptions are appropriate for an industry that has experienced explosive growth in the last 20 years, but is still immature. Aquaculture is considered by many to be the aquatic counterpart of agriculture, with water substituting for land. But aquaculture is more akin to animal husbandry, the science of animal breeding, than agriculture in general. Farm-raised fish mature in areas called rearing units or rearing areas either offshore or onshore. Ponds, large circular tanks, and raceways--rectangular concrete enclosures that make use of flowing water--are common onshore rearing units for fin fish. Coastal lakes and estuaries can be common sites for offshore systems raising fish and crustaceans in cages or net-pens. Shellfish may be held in floating baskets or suspended on ropes hanging from rafts. The aquaculturist takes species of aquatic plants and animals naturally grown in nature's waterways or in the "wild" and reproduces them in a habitat where the operative word is "control." The farmer can monitor and control every aspect of the fish's environment--from the quality of pond water to the specially formulated fish diet. Fish farmers believe that it's the element of control that makes a farm-raised fish a better-quality product because it's easier to regulate and guarantee its wholesomeness. Fish farmers rely on good management and a host of products to prevent health problems. They use chemicals as disinfectants and to kill bacteria; herbicides to prevent the overgrowth of vegetation in ponds; vaccines to fight certain diseases; and drugs--usually combined in the feed--to treat diseases and parasites. The supervision of this new industry is shared by several federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the Environmental Protection Agency, along with state and local authorities. Their common goal is to ensure the safety and wholesomeness of aquaculture products. USDA has the overall responsibility for promoting the development of aquaculture as an industry. FWS provides developmental research and advice to fish farmers. EPA safeguards the environment and municipal water systems by regulating the discharge of water from aquaculture facilities and registering the chemicals used as pesticides and herbicides. NOAA, for a fee, provides an inspection service that guarantees fish are packed under federal inspection. FDA works with the individual states to ensure the safety of seafood products, especially molluscan shellfish such as oysters, clams and mussels. It also approves the drugs and feed additives used in aquaculture; monitors the manufacturing, distribution and use of fish drugs; provides technical assistance and training to the states; conducts research; and provides the necessary oversight to ensure that fish food products are safe, wholesome and properly labeled. FDA's recently created Office of Seafood--in its Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition--is the focal point for much of the agency's food fish programs. FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine works closely with the Office of Seafood. There are five major components to any fish culture operation: fish, water, container or pond, nutrition, and management practices. Each component plays a significant role in the farming of a safe and wholesome food. A look at the actual process provides an understanding of the term "farm-raised." Raising Catfish Catfish farming makes up 50 percent of the U.S. aquaculture industry and typifies aquaculture in action. The life of a farm-raised catfish begins with the mating of genetically bred broodstock. Broodstock are sexually mature fish used solely for reproduction. They are so important that some farmers specialize in their production. Re: 2/3 Aquaculture and the FDA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Typically, once the eggs are laid and fertilized, they are placed in controlled hatching tanks with oxygenated water of suitable temperature and quality. The eggs hatch in seven to eight days, and 18 days after hatching the young catfish--"fry," as they are called--are strong enough to be transferred to outdoor ponds to mature. The pond size may vary from 5 to 20 acres, is 4 to 5 feet deep, and is usually fed by a good supply of well water. Catfish fry, which are less than 1 inch long at this point, are stocked at densities ranging from 70,000 per acre to upwards of 200,000 per acre, as recommended by hatchery biologists. Once fish enter the pond, their growth and survival will wholly depend upon the quality of that environment. Everything the fish comes into contact with has the potential of becoming a part of the edible flesh of that organism and can affect its life. If the water or food contains contaminants, they may end up in the fish. If improper drugs are used to treat a disease, residues of those drugs may also become a part of the fish. If too many aquatic plants are present, they will compete with the fish for oxygen. Sound management is essential to keep the fish growing. So, from the time of stocking to the time of harvest, the farmer is busy controlling the aquaculture system. First, every attention is given to the quality of the commercially prepared dry pellet diet. It must be high in protein (30 to 40 percent, depending upon the stage of growth), made of soybeans, corn, wheat, and fishmeal, and contain a balance of essential vitamins and minerals in accordance with recommendations by the National Research Council and fish nutritionists. Under FDA requirements, the mill that produces the feed guarantees that ingredients are present at the levels declared on the feed label and that feeds containing medications meet drug level specifications. Prior to pelleting, the mill also analyzes each ingredient to guarantee the absence of toxicants or contaminants. Feeds contaminated with aflatoxins--toxins that occur in moldy feed ingredients--can cause fish deformities and even kill the fish. FDA inspectors routinely examine the mills' feed test results and evaluate their good manufacturing practices. A balanced diet of floating pellets is mechanically scattered on the fish pond's surface once or twice daily. Fish gourmets credit the pellet for the catfish's distinctive flavor, which they say they would recognize blindfolded. Others say the taste comes from the sweet well water in which the catfish grow. This, too, is managed by the farmer. Even before the fish go into the pond, water quality and location are concerns. The farmers make sure the pond's soil is free of pesticides and not contaminated. Then they secure an abundant source of clean water. Most catfish farmers use well water because of its desirable chemical makeup and lack of contaminants. The water quality must be constantly checked for optimum growth requirements: proper temperature, the right amount of oxygen, the appropriate water chemistry, and just the right balance of aquatic plants and weeds. To operate, the farmer must meet state and local requirements on water usage and discharge, as well as the appropriate EPA water permits. Only FDA-approved drugs may be used, with strict adherence to directions for use--particularly directions that tell when the drug must be stopped or "withdrawn" to prevent residues in the fish at the time of harvest. FDA is alert to the potential misuse of drugs and chemicals, including the use of unapproved drugs or chemicals. The agency has approved only five chemicals--including three antibiotics--for use in combating diseases caused by bacteria in the aquaculture environment. The fish-farming industry maintains that this is not enough, especially with resistant strains of bacteria developing to approved antibiotics. FDA supports research to obtain data on the safe use of certain drugs and is encouraging drug manufacturers to develop additional therapies for approval. At the same time, they have developed an enforcement strategy directed towards those who violate the law by selling or using drugs unapproved for use in food fish. To learn the extent of drug use in aquaculture, FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, working with field investigators, recently completed a survey of catfish, crayfish, and trout producers. The center and the Office of Seafood are now developing additional analytical methods to test fisheries' products for drug residues. The center is focusing on illegal residues of drugs from off-label use: drugs approved in species other than fish that might be used in fish. The Office of Seafood is focusing on drug residues that may be in imported seafood and has increased sampling of aquaculture products--both domestic and imported--for pesticides and industrial chemicals. Under the best conditions, 18 to 24 months after hatching, the catfish reach a market weight size of 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds. They are transferred from the pond to water-laden, oxygen-treated tank trucks for live shipment to the processing plant. Once the fish reach the processing plant, the responsibility for quality control shifts to the processor, who must comply with FDA's good manufacturing practice regulations and the provisions of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. FDA inspectors routinely visit the plant to assess its compliance with quality control guidelines to guarantee fish quality from processing to packing and storage. If the plant does not comply with these requirements, FDA takes appropriate regulatory action. Re: 3/3 Aquaculture and the FDA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spokespersons for the catfish industry say they consider quality a number one priority. "Consumers should know we are offering a product grown in a safe and controlled environment that is routinely monitored," says Hugh Warren, executive vice president of the Catfish Farmers of America, a trade association. "Our [current] major thrust is to create a sense of understanding that [with farm-grown catfish] they are getting a federally inspected product." For 90 percent of catfish processors, federal inspection occurs daily. Major commercial catfish processors have voluntarily entered into a contract with the National Marine Fisheries Service--a part of NOAA--to have their products inspected. The catfish processors pay for this daily inspection service. NOAA inspectors issue certificates of quality and conditions of the catfish products. Products that pass inspection can display the seal, "Packed Under Federal Inspection," on the label or carton. With some modification in the breeding requirements of each species, similar methods are used to produce a host of other fin fish and shellfish, with federal and state authorities similarly involved in making sure they're safe to eat. As aquaculture becomes more sophisticated, so do the monitoring tools of government regulators. Their goals, however, remain the same: to keep up with the industry, provide assistance where they can, and enhance the safety of all seafood, including the products of aquaculture. Beverly Corey is a veterinarian with FDA's speechwriting staff. A World Phenomenon Aquaculture worldwide is sophisticated and growing. From a global perspective, China and Japan are still the world leaders whose combined products exceed an annual value of $12 billion. But, they have been at it a great many years longer than anyone else. As the fifth leading producer of aquaculture by dollar value, the United States is making great strides. Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. economy--increasing more than 15 percent per year since 1980. From modest beginnings, the farm value for U.S.-produced fish and other aquaculture projects has risen in 1991 to $750.2 million and is estimated at 543,770 metric tons, or 11,990,128 pounds. The boom in fish farming has been brought about by consumer demand for more fish and a lack of natural supplies. Statistics show that virtually every species of fin fish harvested from U.S. marine waters is now fished at levels above its natural capacity to replace itself. In an age where Americans increasingly search for nutritious but low-fat foods, fish can be an important part of the diet. According to the National Fisheries Institute, a trade association based in Washington, D.C., Americans now consume 22 percent more fish than they did a decade ago. Analysts believe that the level will continue to increase from the current rate of 15.5 pounds per person to 20 pounds per person by the beginning of the next century. Aquaculture provides a way to supplement natural stocks and to potentially provide a steady, year-round supply that processors and retailers can depend on. As one might expect, the products of aquaculture include the ordinary and the exotic, and while not all species are farmed in the United States, our gourmet palates encourage the import of items not fished in our waters. For example, a specialty food shop may stock such items as salmon raised in Chile or Norway, dried seaweed from Southeast Asia, eel from Taiwan, and oysters from Korea--all farm-raised! Not to worry. FDA inspects imports before they enter the country, usually at the port of entry. In 1991, FDA conducted 3,541 seafood inspections and another 4,094 wharf inspections of seafood producers and products. Import sample collections numbered 3,033. In special cases, there are memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with foreign governments that allow FDA to inspect the harvesting areas and processing plants in the country of origin. FDA currently has active agreements for molluscan shellfish from Korea, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Chile. FDA also has MOUs with Iceland, England and Japan. However, these countries are not exporting to the United States at this time. Among the 100 or so aquaculture products cultured in the United States are aquatic plants, eels, abalone, lobsters, carp, tilapia, alligator, trout, hybrid striped bass, crabs, and a variety of mollusks. But four species account for 80 percent of the total volume of all domestic aquaculture products: catfish, crayfish, trout, and salmon. The latest industry statistics list catfish, trout, salmon, shrimp, oysters, and crayfish as the consumers' choice of domestic aquaculture products. In terms of volume, catfish, crayfish and salmon are the industry leaders, while catfish and trout lead in monetary value. --B.C. Re: Aquaculture (mention of biodynamics and alternative agriculture) ------------------------------------- Article 2336 (8 more) in misc.rural: From: Robert Frederick Enenkel Subject: Re: Aquaculture Date: 16 Jan 92 15:33:27 GMT Aquaculture Magazine is a good source of advertisements from U.S. equipment suppliers. They have a reader response card you can send in for information from any of their advertisers. It costs $21 / year for 6 issues sent to Canada (less I think for the U.S.). There is also a yearly buyer's guide for $15. You can order using a credit card by calling 704-254-7334. Also call Argent at 1-800-426-6258 and ask for their free catalogue and their book catalogue. They have aquaculture chemicals and equipment, and an extensive selection of books. Try cross-posting your request to both rec.aquaria and alt.aquaria. There are several people in those groups who practice small-scale commercial aquaculture, or have in the past. In the mean time I will look for some names of specific people to contact by e-mail. Robert Enenkel Article 2337 (7 more) in misc.rural: From: A.S.Chamove Subject: Re: Aquaculture Date: 17 Jan 92 00:28:12 GMT Best book I have found on aquaculture is Huet, Marcel. Textbook of Fish Culture: Breeding and Cultivation of Fish, Eyre & Spottiswoode Ltd at Thanet Press, Margate, UK 1971, ISBN o/85238/020/8 Has special sections on carp, pike, trout, perch, catfish, eels. And sections of building dams, feeding, and the usual. Arnold Chamove Massey University Psychology Palmerston North, New Zealand Article 2346 (6 more) in misc.rural: From: Ricardo J Salvador Subject: Re: Aquaculture Date: 18 Jan 92 18:22:23 GMT Mike Campbell is a graduate student in the Agricultural Education & Studies department here. He has experience and a great interest in aquaculture, biodynamics and alternative agriculture. He is currently working on developing a curriculum in aquaculture under a fairly sizeable grant received by his department. He is not on the net, but if you wish to contact him, call the AgEdS main office here and ask for him: 515-294-5904. Ricardo Salvador | Internet: rjsalvad@IASTATE.EDU | "Thou art a little 1126 Agronomy Hall | BITNET: a1.rjs@ISUMVS | soul bearing about Iowa State University | CompuServe: 71570,212 | a corpse." Ames, IA 50011-1010 | GEnie: R.Salvador | -Marcus Aurelius- Article 2347 (5 more) in misc.rural: From: Bill Spikes Subject: Re: Aquaculture Date: 17 Jan 92 17:32:54 GMT Along these lines, does anyone know of anyone specifically growin' abalones? The Dept of Fish & Game either doesn't plant enough or the sea otters are getting too frisky. Bill Article 2423 (20 more) in misc.rural: From: John Long Subject: Re: Aquaculture Date: 29 Jan 92 19:55:59 GMT >Along these lines, does anyone know of anyone specifically growin' >abalones? The Dept of Fish & Game either doesn't plant enough or the >sea otters are getting too frisky. There is a research project in Kona looking at the possibility of generating power from the difference in temperature between surface and deep sea water, known as ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). As a sideline in the project, the used cold water is piped to aquaculture experiments at the site. The aquaculture experiments have been successful enough to become commercial, one of them is even doing very well on the stock market (that's the most important thing, after all! ;^) Abalone are grown, as are 'Maine' lobsters, salmon have been spawned, and have returned and been harvested, edible seaweeds, and others. Cold water from the deep has many advantages over surface water, which I can't enumerate. All in all, the aquaculture experiments have been extremely promising. -LongJohn 3767 Article 3767 (14 more) in misc.rural: From: bj368@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mike E. Romano) Subject: Re: Aquaculture Date: 15 Oct 92 03:13:01 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA) There has been a great deal of intensive fish farming going on in parts of Asia for at least centuries so they have developed a number of efficient systems. Generally the carp species are best suited since they can thrive on a variety of feeds many of which can be produced in a farm situation as a byproduct. The tilapia species in particular are well suited to raising in a small high production pond although certain requisites in- clude maintaining a fairly warm pond temp. (65 to 85 deg F), some aeration of the water, and certain companion plants. Experiments were done for several years at the New Alchemy Institute in Massachusetts, installing the ponds inside a greenhouse for warmth through the seasons and using plexiglass tanks to let sunlight in from the sides although this is not necessary. The earthworms would certainly be a feed for the fish but tilapia surprisingly tend to do better if the diet is lower in protein, so other feeds could be added. Tilapia are a bit like pigs; they'll eat almost anything so kitchen scraps or cuttings from a veg garden are also useful. At the risk of getting a bit too graphic: tilapia can thrive on manure alone as a feed, although I cannot remember which manure is most suitable for this, I think pig manure is used in Malaysia and works quite well. Article 3954 (30 more) in misc.rural: From: bill@chaos.cs.umn.edu (Hari Seldon...psychohistorian) Subject: Re: Aquaculture Organization: University of Minnesota Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 21:44:33 GMT In <1binjtINN9jg@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> bj368@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mike E. Romano) writes: >The tilapia species in particular are well suited to raising i do believe that this particular species is *not* wanted in this particular state by the local natural resources folks. i think it had something to do with their tendancy to take over. so you might want to verify if any species you want are allowed in your state. tilapia will also live quite well in a ditch (if the information generated by the local d.n.r. is true) bill pociengel Article 3958 (29 more) in misc.rural From: Mark Crispin There is a problem with Asian style fish ponds that may make you think twice about whether or not you really want one. They're natural incubators for new strains of influenza. It goes like this; it is pretty common to keep both ducks and pigs at a fish pond. The pigs eat, among other things, duck manure; and both ducks and pigs are protein sources for humans. So far so good. Unfortunately, as a result of eating the duck manure the pigs are exposed to avian influenza. Apparently, through some not-yet-completely understood processes, the avian influenza and swine influenza viruses combine or mutate inside the pig and become a new strain. Humans can't get avian influenza but they can get swine influenza. The massive expansion in the number of fish ponds in Asia under UN funding is postulated as a probable cause of the great number of new strains of influenza which have emerged in Asia. I would suggest that if you do have a fish pond, it would be prudent not to permit your pigs to eat avian manure. This would hopefully break the cycle. As I implied, this process hasn't been proven yet, but it's the most plausible explanation offered to date for the observations. While we're spending billions of dollars in the name of prudence with `global warming' (which remains unproven), it seems reasonable to take a few less costly steps to prevent your fish pond from being a potential source of a new strain of flu. Article 3961 (28 more) in misc.rural: From: bj368@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mike E. Romano) Subject: Re: Aquaculture Date: 16 Oct 1992 03:04:11 To Dean Nelson: your original posting asked about the use of earthworms which are thriving on the rabbit manure on your farm. I wrote a reply concerning some aspects of the fish pond system and the tilapia fish in particular. Since you do not have pigs, then the mention of pig manure should not be as specific advice, only that this particular fish is extremely hardy. Several postings on this thread have advised caution in these areas. Let's go back to the original, then. A small farm with various possibilities of using byproducts in an efficient manner. This particular subject has intrigued me for several years. Much literature is written on farming for a profit, looking for the right crop and raising it for the highest production, essentially for an external market. I am much more interested in how =well= say a family of four can feed itself on a small piece of land, say 5 acres. There are books and studies in this area, especially for efficient vegetable production. But beyond that, for such a small land area, for meat eaters (such as myself), how efficient can a system be designed for the smaller livestock, i.e. poultry, rabbits, etc.? For example, could certain insects be bred specifically for feed for one of these (and let's include a fish pond too)? There is an insect food newsletter from a university back east but I do not have the name handy. The earthworms are close, then, to this idea. What would be the most efficient way to use them for food production on a small homestead? I think much more research should be done in this area. As for the fish pond, a bass pond or some other fish may be more useful for your location. However, tilapia being a tasty and easy to grow fish and also often grown organically so that a higher price can be had, is a fast growing fish industry, although it has been slow to catch on in the U.S. A few refs: The dome as nursery and breeding pool for tilapia. R. Zweig New Alchemy Institute 1980 Summary of fish culture techniques in solar algae ponds. R. Zweig, Wolfe J. et al New Alchemy Institute 1980 Tilapia Culture: 1979-1990 Quick Biblio service USDA Beltsville MD March 1991 Article 3977 (23 more) in misc.rural: From: enenkel@cs.toronto.edu (Robert Frederick Enenkel) Subject: Re: Aquaculture Summary: book source Date: 19 Oct 92 15:13:15 GMT I've lost the original posting, but I suggest calling Argent Aquaculture Supplies at 1-800-663-2871 (Canada) or 1-800-426-6258 (USA) and ask for their book catalogue. While you're at it, ask for their aquaculture products catalogue too. They'll send you both free. They have a large selection of useful aquaculture books. (Some of their book prices are a bit high, so after finding the books you want from their descriptions, you might want to check with a local bookstore to see what their special-order price would be. Sometimes it is significantly less.) While I'm at it, let me put in a plug for Carp. Common Carp are the *best tasting* and *best looking* fish. They are also friendly and will stick their big leathery tubular mouths right out of the water and take bread, say, right out of your hand. So there - I've said it. I raise carp in my basement and eat them, and boy are they good. I've even roasted one in my fireplace. How's that for wild crap (carp?) Now I just have to figure out how to get them to spawn. Then I'll be <> and can kiss the rest of the world good-bye :-) :-) Robert Enenkel Article 3981 (35 more) in misc.rural: From: bj368@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mike E. Romano) Subject: Re: Aquaculture Date: 20 Oct 1992 08:06:26 GMT In reference to Robert Enenkel's posting of growing carp in his home. If he has the time, it would be very interesting to find out a little more: What kind of lighting is used, any plants. What is fed them, the temperature range where they are kept. Is this a Canadian traditional custom, raising carp in the basement? Seriously, if you've read some of my previous posting you would know that I am seriously interested in small scale fish raising such as you have mentioned. Any info would be appreciated. mike romano Article 3982 (34 more) in misc.rural: From: bj368@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mike E. Romano) Subject: Re: Aquaculture Date: 20 Oct 1992 09:29:30 GMT In reference to Larry London's request for further cites of publications by New Alchemy and on the subject of bioremediation, I have the following from my files: Solar Aquaculture: perspectives in renewable, resource based fish production, results for a workshop at Falmouth, Mass. Sept 28, 1981 supported by the National Science Foundation New Alchemy Institute. Bioremediation for marine oil spills. U.S. Gov Doc. Office of Technology Assessment 1991 doc # Y 3.T 22/2:2 B 52.7 Bioremediation of contaminated surface soils by Sims & Matthews. EPA 1989 EP 1.23/6:600/9-90/041 National Conference on Bioremediation (1988). Hazardous waste treatment by genetically engineered or adapted organisms. Superfund '88. Silver Springs, MD Bioremediation of petroleum spills in arctic environments. Alaska Dept of Transportation 1990 Understanding Bioremediation: a guidebook for citizens. EPA 1991 doc EP 1.8:B 52/2 Quick Bibliography Series # 92-47. Biotechnology and Bioremediation. National Agricultural Library Beltsville MD 1991 Practical environmental bioremediation. Barry King Lewis Publishing 1992. Article 3985 (32 more) in misc.rural: From: enenkel@cs.toronto.edu (Robert Frederick Enenkel) Subject: Re: Aquaculture Summary: Carping about Carp Date: 20 Oct 92 15:19:51 GMT >My step-father had a good way of preparing carp. Take one carp, nail it >to a board. Build a nice smokey fire and slowly rotate the carp for several >hours. Then take the carp off......... and eat the board. ;> Actually, I forgot to mention the one bad thing about carp: the bones! They have the strength of piano wire and are quite dangerous, as well as easy, to get stuck in your throat if you're not careful. It helps to get a large carp, at least 12 pounds, as small ones are functionally inedible due to the large number of Y-bones. Robert Enenkel Article 3998 (39 more) in misc.rural: From: Bob Kyweriga Subject: Aquaculture Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1992 15:10:49 GMT : I am interested in starting up a small tank or pond to raise some fish. : Does anyone know a good source of information? A good introduction to aquaculture is The Freshwater Aquaculture Book - A Handbook for Small Scale Fish Culture in North America William McLarney ISBN 0-88179-018-4 This is still in print - and if you just want to look at this, your library can probably get it through a interlibrary loan. A guide to small tank culture is Home Aquaculture - A Guide to Backyard Fish Farming Steven D. VanGorden Douglas J. Strange Rodale Press ISBN 0-87857-472-7 Maybe available from Rodale Press; otherwise maybe available from Steven Van Gorden PO Box 109 Breinigville PA 18031 Who also has available a bunch of information sheets on a variety of issues. Also publishes a quarterly newsletter that you probably wouldn't Article 4010 (44 more) in misc.rural: From: Bob Kyweriga Subject: Aquaculture To: misc.rural Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1992 15:57:48 GMT I've been informed that some people are having difficulty in reaching the list server for AQUA-L. If you cannot reach LISTSERV%VM.UoGuelph.CA@VM1.NoDak.EDU you might try LISTSERV@vm.uoguelph.ca Article 4010 (44 more) in misc.rural: From: Bob Kyweriga Subject: Aquaculture To: misc.rural Message-ID: <9210221557.AA19563@pserv.CFSMO.Honeywell.COM> Posted-Date: Thu, 22 Oct 92 10: 57:48 CDT Mailer: Elm [revision: 66.25] Sender: daemon@src.honeywell.com Organization: Honeywell Systems & Research Center Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1992 15:57:48 GMT Received-Date: Thu, 22 Oct 92 10: 57:39 CDT Lines: 14 I've been informed that some people are having difficulty in reaching the list server for AQUA-L. If you cannot reach LISTSERV%VM.UoGuelph.CA@VM1.NoDak.EDU you might try --MORE--(96%) LISTSERV@vm.uoguelph.ca End of article 4010 (of 4016)--what next? [npq] From alenssen@LAMAR.COLOSTATE.EDU Tue Nov 2 16:57:34 1993 Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1993 14:05:58 MST From: Andy Lenssen Reply to: Agriculture Discussion To: Multiple recipients of list AGRIC-L Subject: Re: Artichoke experts On Tue, 2 Nov 1993 14:52:05 -0600, Tom Bauer wrote: >I am looking for specialists in the area of artichoke production. Does >any one have any suggestions of persons I may talk to. > >Thanks, Tom Bauer, Winrock International >TOMB@WINROCK.ORG or phone (501)727.5435 Ext. 253 Whitney Cranshaw, Dept. of Entomology, Colorado State University, is the expert artichoke grower in this area of the US. A Lenssen From nkobzina@LIBRARY.BERKELEY.EDU Tue Nov 2 16:58:18 1993 Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1993 13:43:52 -0800 From: Norma Kobzina Reply to: Agriculture Discussion To: Multiple recipients of list AGRIC-L Subject: Re: Artichoke experts There is a company called California Artichoke and Vegetable Growers Corporation in Castroville, California (Castroville is "the artichoke capital of the world" according to their banner on the highway) 408-633-2492. There is another group called "Castroville Artichoke People", 408-633-2144. In addition, the Artichoke Advisory Board is P.O. Box 747, Castroville, CA 95012, Phone 408-633-4411. You could also contact any county extension agent in that area. Norma Kobzina UC Berkeley nkobzina@library.berkeley.edu On Tue, 2 Nov 1993, Tom Bauer wrote: > I am looking for specialists in the area of artichoke production. Does > any one have any suggestions of persons I may talk to. > > Thanks, Tom Bauer, Winrock International > TOMB@WINROCK.ORG or phone (501)727.5435 Ext. 253 From D470018%UNIVSCVM.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu Tue Nov 2 21:03:37 1993 Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1993 18:35:12 EST From: Bill Hughes Reply to: Agriculture Discussion To: Multiple recipients of list AGRIC-L Subject: Re: Artichoke experts John Rudisill, owner of Boondocks Farm in Eastover, S.C. has been growing commercial artichokes for several years. He can be reached at 803-776-2294. Bill Hughes Business Writer The State newspaper AUTHOR(s): Kennedy, Decland TITLE(s): Permaculture and the sustainable city. Summary: "A design method abandoning the linear sectoral oreganization of human support systems and creating linkages between the various elements - each enhancing the function of the others - similar to the way in which highly ddeveloped organisms work": the role of urban municipalities in optimizing the overall yield and creating beauty, flexibility and responsiveness. In: Ekistics. oikistike. MAY 01 1991 v 58 n 348 / 349 Page: 210 AUTHOR(s): Pleasant, Barbara TITLE(s): Translating permaculture-: Australia's Bill Mollison tells how to achieve a landscape of food, beauty and restored natural habitat. In: Organic gardening. APR 01 1990 v 37 n 4 Page: 42 AUTHOR(s): Ketchum, Richard M. TITLE(s): In the Hands of Willem Kips. Summary: One of the world's most successful growers believes the future of agriculture lies in no-chemical, biodynamic farming. Richard M. Ketchum reports from Holland on a farm reclaimed from the Zuyder Zee. In: Country journal. MAY 01 1992 v 19 n 3 Page: 53 AUTHOR(s): Todd, John TITLE(s): Adventures of an Applied Ecologist. In: Whole earth review. Sprg 89 v n 62 AUTHOR(s): Quinney, John TITLE(s): Out of the Ark and Into the World: New Alchemy turns pro. In: Whole earth review. Sprg 89 v n 62 Page: 33 TITLE(s): Organic gardening (1988) Organic gardening. Emmaus, Pa. : Rodale Press, [Emmaus, PA : Rodale Press, c1988- Living earth (Bristol, England) TITLE(s): The Living earth : journal of the Soil Association. Also called: Living earth and Soil Association news Oct./Dec. 1988- Also called: Living earth with Soil Association news Jan./Mar. 1989 [Bristol, England] : The Association, 1988- TITLE(s): The New farm The New farm. Emmaus, Pa., Regenerative Agriculture Association. TITLE(s): Is Your Tomato Really a Tomato? Your Guide to Good Health in the 21st Century. Summary: It may look and taste like a tomato, but its genetic imprint could contain fish genes. Do consumers have a right to know if the food they eat has been genetically engineered? Plus, an update on the USDA food pyramid and a new approach to organic farming. In: Delicious] OCT 01 1992 v 8 n 7 Page: 16 AUTHOR(s): Ackert, Denise TITLE(s): Guaranteed Sales From Subscription Farming. Summary: Community supported agriculture yields rewards for both organic farmers and consumers. In: In business. JUL 01 1992 v 14 n 4 Page: 52 AUTHOR(s): do Pico, Guillermo A. TITLE(s): Hazardous Exposure and Lung Disease Among Farm Workers. Summary: Industrialization of farming, animal raising, and forestry has added new chemical and mechanical hazards that need to be recognized and prevented. Lung disease among farm workers can result from a wide variety of hazardous exposures that include organic dusts, chemicals, and toxic gases. In addition to nonspecific symptoms of mucous membrane irritation, farm workers can develop occupational asthma or bronchitis, organic toxic dust syndrome, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, silo filler's disease (toxic hemorrhagic pulmonary edema), and neuromuscular respiratory failure. In: Clinics in chest medicine. JUN 01 1992 v 13 n 2 Page: 311 TITLE(s): Texas Sees Big Increase in Organic Farming: Growers focus on crops once considered too difficult to grow without toxic chemicals. In: In business. MAY 01 1992 v 14 n 3 Page: 38 TITLE(s): The Fresher the Better: Food update: subscription farming and organic beef. In: Metropolitan home. APR 01 1992 v 24 n 4 Page: 83 AUTHOR(s): Hill, S.B. MacRae, R.J. TITLE(s): Organic farming in Canada. In: Agriculture, ecosystems & environment. MAR 31 1992 v 39 n 1 / 2 Page: 71 AUTHOR(s): Cudjoe, Frank Rees, Philip TITLE(s): How important is organic farming in Great Britain? In: TESG, tijdschrift voor economische en sociale ge 1992 v 83 n 1 Page: 13 AUTHOR(s): Marshall, G. TITLE(s): Organic Farming: Should Government Give it More Technical Support? In: Review of marketing and agricultural economics. DEC 01 1991 v 59 n 3 Page: 283 AUTHOR(s): Mitchell, Sandy TITLE(s): Organic Farming in Worcestershire. In: Country life. NOV 14 1991 v 185 n 46 Page: 64 AUTHOR(s): Mitchell, Sandy TITLE(s): Organic Farming in Worcestershire. In: Country life. NOV 14 1991 v 185 n 46 Page: 64 TITLE(s): Weed Control By the Book. Using maps showing variation in soil organic matter and pH levels to adjust herbicide rates, growers are improving weed control-and saving money. In: Successful farming. AUG 01 1991 v 89 n 8 Page: 52 AUTHOR(s): Springett, J. TITLE(s): Organic Farming - Learning Not to Panic. In: Search. APR 01 1991 v 22 n 3 Page: 83 TITLE(s): Red-Light District. Special sensors on fertilizer trucks `read' organic matter levels. In: Successful farming. DEC 01 1990 v 88 n 12 Page: 36 AUTHOR(s): Malpas, Tony TITLE(s): Organic Farming. Summary: Tony Malpas on how to plant an organic wood. In: The Living earth : journal of the Soil Associat OCT 01 1990 n 172 Page: 18 AUTHOR(s): Readman, Jo TITLE(s): Growing in School. Summary: A special feature looking at education and the opportunities for teaching about organic farming, including an interview with Damian Randle, articles by Jo Readman and a critique of material on organic farming produced by the agrochemical industry and details of the Soil Association's new project. In: The Living earth : journal of the Soil Associat OCT 01 1990 n 172 Page: 10 AUTHOR(s): Broom, Sue TITLE(s): Commercial Organic Farming. In: Country life. JUN 28 1990 v 184 n 26 Page: 126 AUTHOR(s): Nash, Tom TITLE(s): Organic Growth. Summary: With today's awareness of organic food, the farming and retailing of it should be healthily profitable. Is it do buoyant that you can start up a chain of slopes selling the organic experience? Paul Jackson thinks so. In: Director. JUN 01 1990 v 43 n 12 Page: 98 AUTHOR(s): Dudley, Nigel TITLE(s): A role for organic farming. Summary: Nigel Dudley calls for a greater role for organic food production. In: Town & country planning : [the journal of the T MAY 01 1990 v 59 n 5 Page: 158 AUTHOR(s): Coates, Hugh TITLE(s): Subscription Farming: A co-operative approach to organic farming. In: The Living earth : journal of the Soil Associat APR 01 1990 n 170 Page: 21 AUTHOR(s): Coates, Hugh TITLE(s): Subscription Farming: A co-operative approach to organic farming. In: The Living earth : journal of the Soil Associat APR 01 1990 n 170 Page: 21 AUTHOR(s): Haines, P.J. Uren, N.C. TITLE(s): Effects of conservation tillage farming on soil microbial biomass, organic matter and earthworm populations, in northeastern Victoria. In: Australian journal of experimental agriculture. 1990 v 30 n 3 Page: 365 AUTHOR(s): Hartl, W. TITLE(s): Influence of undersown clovers on weeds and on the yield of winter wheat in organic farming. In: Agriculture, ecosystems & environment. NOV 01 1989 v 27 n 1 / 4 Page: 389 AUTHOR(s): McNulty, Karen TITLE(s): When Are Two Farms Better Than One? Summary: When you want to compare the effects of chemical and organic farming on the soil, that's when. Would Americans go hungary if farmers gave up chemical fertilizers and pesticides? Should the government ban their use? Debate and decide. In: Science world. Teachers' edition. OCT 20 1989 v 46 n 4 Page: 13 TITLE(s): Organic farming. Jeffrey Fox reports on the US National Research Council's recommendations for alternative agriculture practices. In: Chemistry and industry. OCT 02 1989 n 19 Page: 619 TITLE(s): 20% by 2000: Nic Lampkin looks at the evvects of organic farming on food output. In: The Living earth : journal of the Soil Associat OCT 01 1989 n 168 Page: 16 TITLE(s): Spray Free Food. Summary: Buy organic and avoid pesticide residues. A special feature by Pamela Stephenson and Nigel Dudley, plus a plan to increase organic farming to 20% of land by 2000 by Elm Farm Research Centre, and a special feature by David Hodges. In: The Living earth : journal of the Soil Associat JUL 01 1989 n 167 Page: 12 TITLE(s): Going bananas over organic farming. In: Newsweek. MAR 27 1989 v 113 n 13 Page: 24 TITLE(s): Conservation: Organic farming and the environment. In: The Living earth : journal of the Soil Associat JAN 01 1989 n 165 Page: 21 AUTHOR(s): Reganold, John P. TITLE(s): Comparison of soil properties as influenced by organic and conventional farming systems. In: American journal of alternative agriculture. Fall 198 v 3 n 4 Page: 144 AUTHOR(s): Anderson, Christine TITLE(s): Moving to the Mainstream. Summary: Starting small in organic farming triggered success for Valley Fresh Distributing, Inc., near Center. In: Colorado rancher and farmer. NOV 01 1988 v 42 n 11 Page: 12 From koval@plantpath.wisc.edu Wed May 25 22:20:32 1994 Date: 25 May 1994 14:44:36 CST From: Chuck Koval Reply to: koval@calshp.cals.wisc.edu To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Info-Asian burdock Any help you can provide on Asian burdock, Aretium lappa. Also called edible burdock. Apparently has value as a vegetable and has medicinal use. Leads greatly appreciated. C.F.Koval Professor and Extension Entomologist Department of Entomology Phone (608) 262-4608 1630 Linden Drive FAX (608) 262-3322 University of Wisconsin Internet koval@calshp.cals.wisc.edu Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1598 From C531539@MIZZOU1.missouri.eduFri Nov 25 11:29:59 1994 Date: Fri, 25 Nov 94 00:27:47 CST From: "chang,rhi-kao" To: et-parti@searn.BITNET, one-l@clvm.BITNET, ecol-econ@csf.colorado.edu, pol-econ@shsu.edu, ae@sjsuvm1.BITNET, renew-energy@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Biodiesel Hi, My name is Rhi-Kao Chang. I has recently done my dissertation defense. The title of dissertation is " AN ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF USING BIODIESEL IN THE KANSAS CITY METROPOLITAN AREA ". Attached message shows references of the thesis. Thank you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Adams, Gary. 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A, 1993, "The Economic Feasibility of Community Based Biodiesel Plants", Unpublished Master Thesis, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Mo. Whicker, M. L., 1993, "Controversial Issues In Economic Regulatory Policy", Controversial Issues In Public Policy, Volume 6, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Winston, 1981, "Ethanol Fuels: Use, Production, and Economics", Solar Energy Information Data Bank, Solar Energy Research Institute, Golden, Colorado. Zheng, C., and Harou, P. A., 1988, "A Method to Estimate Input-Output Multipliers for the Forestry Sector without an I-O Table", Forest Science, Dec 1988, v34(4) , p.882- 893. From niemirab@student.msu.edu Mon Jun 20 23:54:05 EDT 1994 Article: 22230 of sci.energy Path: bigblue.unc.edu!concert!gatech!swrinde!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!agate!msuinfo!safir.bpp.msu.edu From: niemirab@student.msu.edu (Brendan A. Niemira) Newsgroups: sci.energy Subject: C4 vs. C3 (a little botany) Date: Tue, 14 Jun 1994 12:22 est Organization: Michigan State University Lines: 38 Distribution: world Message-ID: <19940614122230.niemirab@safir.bpp.msu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: safir.bpp.msu.edu X-Newsreader: FTPNuz (DOS) v1.0 As someone else (Emil, perhaps?) has said, good old , corn to the Yanks, maize to the rest of the world, is a C4 grass. The C3 and C4 compounds aren't really all that important, but any introductory plant physiology text will explain it. The significant fact about C4 plants is that they are designed to grow in some pretty nasty climates. C4 metabolism, coupled with Crassulacean Acid Metabolism, allows growth in deserts, on mountains, tundra, etc. The poor C3 plants must necessarily capture and subsequently incorportate their CO2 while the sun shines, so they open their pores to get the CO2 during the day; the heat and wind dries them out and they die. Those clever C4 plants, however, open their pores at NIGHT and capture the CO2 when the air is cooler, so they won't dry out. The next day (with pores closed), they use the light to incorporate the CO2. C4 metabolism is a more expensive [energy-consuming] physiological process than the C3 metabolism, but it allows the C4 plant to capture more CO2 overall than C3 plants. If you put a C4 (corn) in a sealed chamber with a C3 (potato), the C4 will suck up all the CO2, and the C3 plant will wither and die. Interesting fact: The C4 plants are more effecient overall because at low CO2 concentrations, (about 180-250 ppm, Earth's atmospheric CO2 conc. up until a few years ago) the more expensive method is more cost-effective. However, growth chamber studies have shown that at higher CO2 concentrations (about 380-400 ppm), the more expensive method isn't needed, and the C3 plants are more efficient, overall, and therefore more competitive. Current CO2 concentration is 375 ppm and rising. Screw global warming, we're talking about ecological collapse due to differential CO2 fixative capacity. Ooops.. should have posted to sci.ecology.conspiracy Brendan A. Niemira Dept. Botany and Plant Pathology Michigan State University ......... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Brendan A. Niemira niemirab@student.msu.edu All opinions expressed are entirely my own. "You know your Shelley, Bertie." "Oh, am I?" P. G. Wodehouse THE CODE OF THE WOOSTERS From steinly@topaz.ucsc.edu Mon Jun 20 23:55:44 EDT 1994 Article: 22261 of sci.energy Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!darkstar.UCSC.EDU!darkstar!steinly From: steinly@topaz.ucsc.edu (Steinn Sigurdsson) Newsgroups: sci.energy Subject: Re: C4 vs. C3 (a little botany) Date: 14 Jun 94 11:47:40 Organization: Lick Observatory/UCO Lines: 41 Distribution: world Message-ID: References: <19940614122230.niemirab@safir.bpp.msu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: topaz.ucsc.edu In-reply-to: niemirab@student.msu.edu's message of Tue, 14 Jun 1994 12:22 est In article <19940614122230.niemirab@safir.bpp.msu.edu> niemirab@student.msu.edu (Brendan A. Niemira) writes: The significant fact about C4 plants is that they are designed to grow in some pretty nasty climates. C4 metabolism, coupled with Crassulacean Acid Metabolism, allows growth in deserts, on mountains, tundra, etc. The poor C3 plants must necessarily capture and subsequently incorportate their CO2 while the sun shines, so they open their pores to get the CO2 during the day; the heat and wind dries them out and they die. Those clever C4 plants, however, open their pores at NIGHT and capture the CO2 when the air is cooler, so they won't dry ... Interesting fact: The C4 plants are more effecient overall because at low CO2 concentrations, (about 180-250 ppm, Earth's atmospheric CO2 conc. up until a few years ago) the more expensive method is more cost-effective. However, growth chamber studies have shown that at higher CO2 concentrations (about 380-400 ppm), the more expensive method isn't needed, and the C3 plants are more efficient, overall, and therefore more competitive. Current CO2 concentration is 375 ppm and rising. Screw global warming, we're talking about ecological collapse due to differential CO2 fixative capacity. Ooops.. should have posted to sci.ecology.conspiracy My understanding was that C4 mechanism became competitive because geochemical processes have been depleting the atmospheric CO2 on very long time scales. Go back O(10^7) years and CO2 concnetrations were ideal for C3. In fact there was a series of articles recently in Nature about future CO2 depletion due the erosion of the Himalayas and the impending collapse of C3 plants and associated ecosystems. For a while it was the frontrunner for "first natural process to terminate life on Earth" - time scale was 1-2 \times 10^8 years as I recall, much shorter than, for example, solar evolutionary time scale. * Steinn Sigurdsson Lick Observatory * * steinly@lick.ucsc.edu "standard disclaimer" * * I know people whose idea of fun * * Is throwing stones in the river in the afternoon sun * * Oh let me be as free as them * * - BB 1986 * From ohgs@chatham.demon.co.uk Mon Jun 20 23:50:19 EDT 1994 Article: 22246 of sci.energy Newsgroups: sci.energy From: ohgs@chatham.demon.co.uk (Oliver Sparrow) Path: bigblue.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!demon!chatham.demon.co.uk!ohgs Subject: Re: C4 Grasses (Was Re: ..and energy from biomass) References: <23351.kchishol@fox.nstn.ns.ca> <1994Jun14.075024.24364@athen.mch.sni.de> Organization: Royal Institute of International Affairs Reply-To: ohgs@chatham.demon.co.uk X-Newsreader: Demon Internet Simple News v1.27 Lines: 67 Date: Wed, 15 Jun 1994 08:55:15 +0000 Message-ID: <771670515snz@chatham.demon.co.uk> Sender: usenet@demon.co.uk The grass in question is of the genus Miscanthus, which is most commonly seen tieing dunes together on the sea shore. It is likley to yield about 60 MT/ha of dry biomass once the basic agronomy and varietal selection is complete and under European conditions. The largest cost of biomass power is the establishment of the crop and its subsequent handling. Trees take a long time to grow (even coppiced). This implies a long pay-out time for the farmer and high ultimate profit requirements. They also do considerable damage to farm land by destroying drains and, if the land it to revert to crops for strategic reasons, presenting a major hurdle in respect of stumping and rooting. It is costly to cut and handle trees and farmers need equipment that they do not have. Biomass power from trees would be expensive. Annual crops have to grow from seed; and this implies a long period of low interception of the sunlight; and thus low conversion efficiency. What is required is a perennial crop which can be cut on a 1-4 year cycle, offering fast establishment (compared to trees) and automatic regeneration. Plants such as Miscanthus and bamboo (on which data is scant) offer considerable opportunities; for they can stand on the land until needed, the upper parts can be chemically killed (paraquat) so that they dessicate whilst standing and they can be cut and chipped or baled with convertional farm equipment. Biomass is a poor source of energy, which is why we stopped using it when we could afford to do so. In order to upgrade biomass, the best route is to burn it effectively and to deliver the energy as electricity. Routes through chemical purification (ethanol, methanol, RME etc) look hideously uneconomic. The way to do this is, it would seem, is to establish many small-ish rural power stations. These consist of a high-pressure gasifier and an aero-derived turbine, possibly with a combined cycle tail end or - problematic - with steam injection. A modified RB211, for example, would deliver about 30 MW from a partly-manned station with the footprint of a conventional farmyard. Farmers would bring the crop in from a 10 km catchment area in which 50% of the land was down to Miscanthus (etc).The plant would also burn conventional residues, such as straw. Power could be sold from the fifth station (allowing for the experience curve) at 3.8 p/kWh in order for the project to make 8% real. Power would be sold to the 33 kV reticulation system, making for low attachment costs. The UK Government study on renewables (1990?) showed that biomass so treated represented far the largest (70% or so) of the renewable potential identified under 8 p/unit.(I quote without looking it up, so don't quote me!) Advantages: no CO2, real rural employment, security of supply, third world-appropriate solution. Disadvantages: Costs more than CCGT and =~ clean coal. Many small plant to run. Noise (said to be managable). Intrusion (a design problem, probably fixable). Some NOx, fixable with NH3 injection. Extensive monoculture: business as usual. The C3/C4 debate is a non-sequitur. Soem plants fix CO2 by one route which requires them to open their staomat (pores in the leaves) when there is sunlight. They lose water by doing this. Other open their stomata at night and fix the CO2 chemically into malate, a 4 carbon compound, which is then used as the substrate for light-driven reactions, which occur with the stomata shut. There are intermediary stratgegies; and C4 plants may open their stomata when there is light if water is not in short supply. C4 plants often grow fast but are not intrinsically rapid growers: cactuses, orchids and liverworts, for example, do not impress by their speed. Try Power from Plants: Walt Paterson; Chatham House, 10 St James's Sq London SW1Y 4LE Biomass Energy: Shell Briefing Service, Shell International, Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA _________________________________________________ Oliver Sparrow ohgs@chatham.demon.co.uk From KLB@gnv.ifas.ufl.eduWed Mar 15 14:05:40 1995 Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 09:27:27 -0500 (EST) From: "Ken Buhr / KLB@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU on Internet" To: Sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Breeding food crops for environments subject to climate stress I volunteered to make a presentation to our weekly Plant Breeding Journal Club, to plant breeders and graduate students in Agronomy and the Horticultural Sciences (Fruit Crops and Vegetable Crops). Although the date for the informal presentation is almost here, Thursday, 16 March, I have a long term interest and concerns about the subject. So, if you have input, I would be happy to hear from you, even if March 16 is long gone. I will be exploring a somewhat controversial subject - breeding food crops for environments likely to be increasingly subject to irregular precipitation (or as one of my colleagues in Africa put it, breeding food crops for a population increasingly subject to aberrations in climatic patterns): Here is a bit of background - my farming systems work (I am a plant breeder by training) in Africa (primarily in Mozambique) has repeatedly shown that small farmers *want* earlier-maturing varieties. There are two reasons for their interest in early varieties: the limited-input farmers (the term in Mozambique is "family sector" farmers) have been experiencing shortened rainy seasons with increasing regularity and severity (1992 was worst in living memory), and, early-maturing varieties reduce the amount of time in the period known as the "hunger months." I got to wondering if this experience in Africa may be applicable to broader concerns, in years to come. This would make a good topic to discuss with fellow faculty and some of tomorrow's breeders (the grad students). Clearly, there are a couple plausible ways for at-risk environments to originate or increase in importance: 1) increasing pressure to use more marginal land for food crops - be it the result of increasing pressures of a growing human population, or simply, degradation of favorable crop land and natural resources, or, 2) mounting concerns that the increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" may result in modifications to environments here-to-fore favorable to crop production (granted, some previously unfavorable may become favorable). I went to our campus library and searched AGRICOLA and CAB databases, using keywords "plant breeding" and "climate change." I got two "hits," neither of which are in our library: A) Hillman, J.R. 1992. Opportunities and problems in plant biotechnology - an overview. Proc. of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section B: Biological Sciences. 99:3-4, 173-182. 17 refs. B) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Dev. 1992. Biotechnology, Agriculture and Food. 219 pp. Address: Scottish Crop Res. Ins. Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK. I invite input and suggestions on the general theme, and if someone could help me obtain the Hillman article (A above) I would be grateful. Thanks in advance. Ken Buhr Agronomy, U of Florida KLB@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu  Date: Thu, 14 Oct 93 16:25:28 EDT From: Carolina.Farm.Stewardship@calypso (cfsa.inc@launchpad.oit.unc.edu) Cc: Marjorie Bender Subject: News release for Sust Ag Conference Building Sustainable Communities Through Sustainable Agriculture RALEIGH - The 8th annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference is being held Friday, November 12 through Sunday, November 14, 1993 at the McKimmon Center at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. Farmers, consumers, agriculture advocates, food processors, distributors and retailers, and government and university representatives will join forces to focus on "Building Sustainable Communities," this year's theme. The conference is a project of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA). For the past thirteen years, CFSA has promoted sustainable and organic agriculture through advocacy, certification, market promotion, education, and research. This annual conference is the highlight of these efforts. Public concern for water and food pesticide contamination is growing. Recent reports from the National Academy of Sciences on the measurement standards used to study the impact of pesticides on children has caused alarm. Farmers are faced with increased pressure to reduce pesticide use. Some of today's most urgent environmental and health questions involve clean water, healthy soil, and a safe and consistent food supply. Sustainable agriculture methods answer these questions directly and demonstrate not only the possibility, but also the profitability, of sustainable practices. The primary objective of this conference is to bring together people from all aspects of the agriculture industry to interact, learn and share information as we work towards creating a sustainable future together. The sponsors represent the diversity and strength of this collaborative effort: Agriculture Resources Center, Albert's Organics, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, Clemson University, Corganics, Harmony Farms, McGill Environmental, Necessary Trading Company, North Carolina A&T University, NC Cooperative Extension Service, NC Department of Agriculture, NC State University, Rural Advancement Foundation International, South Carolina Land Resources, Conservation Commission, and Wellspring Grocery. Additionally, this conference is being held concurrently with the NC Solar Energy Association's annual conference. Friday's program will set the stage for discussing the role of sustainable agriculture in the bigger picture of developing sustainable communities. Wes Jackson of the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, who is known within the sustainable agriculture community as a visionary leader, will be the keynote speaker. He will deliver his address, entitled "On Becoming Native to this Place," at the awards banquet Friday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m. Mike Nicklas, of the International Solar Energy Society, will also speak Friday. An afternoon panel will focus on the relationships between natural resources and how technologies for different disciplines and resources can be linked together to support sustainable agriculture and sustainable communities. A total of twelve workshops Saturday and Sunday will offer in-depth information on organic production methods, biological pest control, permaculture, farm biodiversity, rotational grazing, alternative energy, and intentional communities. Representatives from the region will discuss their experience and new developments. A tour of the North Carolina Solar Home will be held on Sunday. This conference will provide hand-on, technical and practical information about agriculture production practices which reduce the need for chemical applications. Sustainable agriculture solutions embody a systems approach that considers farmers' economic and lifestyle need. Mutual goals of consumer and production demands to provide quality, healthy food are achieved with sustainable agriculture. Alternative production methods and marketing strategies show growth potential at a time when growth is needed. Approximately 600 acres in the Carolinas are certified by the CFSA and are currently in organic crop production. This represents 29 farms, of which 27 are certified organic and two are certified transitional organic. Today, according to the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA), 5% of the total farm population nationally is certified organic, and that figure is growing. Ticket are available for the 8th annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference being held Friday, November 12 through Sunday, November 14, 1993 at the McKimmon Center at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. Tickets for the awards banquet only, featuring keynote speaker Wes Jackson, Friday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m., are $25.00 and are available now. After October 22, call for banquet ticket availability. Student rates are available. For registration or other information, contact Marjorie Bender at CFSA (919/968-1030). ### Article 13461 of rec.gardens: Newsgroups: rec.gardens Path: samba!concert!gatech!swrinde!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!pacbell.com!well!kjp From: kjp@well.sf.ca.us (Karen Paulsell) Subject: Re: Alan Chadwick 1979 Lecture on Anemone Culture Message-ID: Sender: news@well.sf.ca.us Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link References: <1993Feb7.041837.7244@samba.oit.unc.edu> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1993 22:14:17 GMT Lines: 8 Thank you, I enjoyed that immensely! More, you have more? I heard Chadwick speak once, and while I didn't (quite) get the urge to throw up my life and move to Round Valley for the requisite year of study, I could certainly understand that impulse in the many who did so. I could hear his voice echoing through that post, and will look at my anemones with new respect. COVER CROP CHOICES Legumes Other Legume Cover Crops Non-Legumes Other Non-Legume Cover Crops Legume-Grass Mixtures LEGUMES alfalfa Austrian winter pea clover, berseem clover, crimson clover, mammoth red clover, medium red clover, subterranean clover, white lupine, blue sweetclover, annual sweetclover, yellow-blossom vetch, bigflower vetch, hairy Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) About the crop Perennial legume. Overwinters in most of New England (NITRO variety is non-dormant and winterkills in North). Won't not tolerate wet or acidic soil. Seedlings won't tolerate competition. High N producer. Can supply 80% to 100% of N needed for winter wheat (West). Can help make P and micronutrients more available to subsequent crops. Once established, alfalfa is winter-hardy, vigorous and highly competitive. Excess N from alfalfa plowdown can cause yield loss in first cereal crop to follow, but yields increase after that (West). One of the most expensive cover crops to seed. Can be hard to kill, because of extensive root system. Requires lots of K to maintain stand longevity. Seeding and management 9-25 lbs./A Can broadcast and roll, or drill seed 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. In south-coastal New England, plant in Apr. or May, or in Aug. For NITRO annual alfalfa in Montana, seed 6-9 lbs./A in mid-Apr. for top forage yield. In Missouri, broadcast (or drill % to ~/2 inch deep) 8-15 lbs./A between Mar. 1 and Apr. 15 or between Aug. 15 and Sept. 1. Small grains -- In West, alfalfa typically is grown in pure stand or with grass for 3-5 years. Then its either cut for hay or clipped and used for ACR set aside before being plowed and followed by wheat. Vegetables -- Alfalfa can be used as 2- to 4-year sod in rotation with vegetables (Northeast). Austrian winter pea (Pisum sativum, var. arvense) About the crop Winter-annual legume. Viny like vetch, but more determinant growth habit. Probably not suitable for areas with severe winters. High N content, breaks down quickly when killed to provide N rapidly. Won't tolerate traffic. Ascochyta fungus is a key threat; MELROSE variety has some tolerance. Avoid growing the peas for successive winters in same field; Sclerotinia rot may damage new stands in late winter. Seeding and management 60-90 lbs./A Seed from Sept. 10 to Oct. 10 in Mid-Atlantic. Seed in Oct. in South. In south-coastal New England, drill 1-2 inches deep in Apr. or Aug.; rate = 60-120 lbs./A. When planted in early spring, Austrian winter peas may provide plowdown N by Memorial Day for a summer annual cash crop in Northeast. Aerial seeding is seldom successful. Peas are very succulent and usually can be killed with a light disking. Experts in Mid-Atlantic suggest seeding and killing methods for peas are similar to those for hairy vetch. In South, can be killed in spring by plowing or with herbicides for no-till. Small grains -- In West, fall-plant peas after grain harvest. Some research shows harvesting pea seed before plowdown has no effect on subsequent wheat yield. But in general, removal of pea crop reduces N benefit to next crop. Clover, berseem (Thfolium alexandrium) About the crop Winter-annual legume (South) or summer annual (West). Survives light frost, but kills at 18 F, so it overwinters irregularly (if at all) in Northeast and northern North-Central. Grows erect; typically does not reseed itself. Well-adapted to areas with warm winters and minimal frost danger. Good seedling vigor; rapid growth and regrowth. Its rapid establishment compared with other legumes makes berseem clover a good smother crop for weedy fields. BIGBEE, TOPCUT and MULTICUT are main varieties; they can withstand several mowings per season. BIGBEE retains seed well; yields 250-350 lbs./A in Mississippi, 300 lbs./A in Montana (dryland; harvest in late Sept.), and 500 lbs./A in California. Excellent forage for ruminants. High N-fixation potential. Similar to alfalfa in drought-tolerance; moderate tolerance to waterlogged and saline soils. Grows in variety of soil types. No reported cases of bloat in ruminants feeding on berseem. BIGBEE variety is susceptible to crown rot. Berseem clover is susceptible to injury from certain herbicides (West; low-rainfall areas); least risky is EPTC at 3 lbs. of active ingredient per acre. Seeding and management 9-20 lbs./A Seed as early as possible in spring. Oct. planting is possible but marginal in South. 6-9 lbs./A in Montana; seed in mid-Apr. for best forage yield. Can broadcast and roll, or drill seed V4 to V2 inch deep. In south-coastal New England, plant in May or Aug. In South, can be killed in spring by plowing or with herbicides for no-till. Tremendous biomass production during cool and warm months makes it a good choice for a "mow-and-blow" green manure system (Northeast). In California, Arizona and Gulf Coast states, berseem clover is grazed, fed as greenchop or baled as hay; also used as green manure and as companion crop with annual grasses. To control weeds in berseem without herbicides, increase seeding rate, and cut early for forage. Clover, crimson (Trifolium, incarnatum) About the crop Winter-annual legume with bunch, upright determinant growth habit. The only annual clover that consistently overwinters in southeastern Pennsylvania. Also overwinters in southern New England. Flowers between May 1 and May 15 in Mid-Atlantic. Taller flower stems and larger seeds than red cloven Hardy varieties such as KENTUCKY SELECT and DIXIE have overwintered in northeastern Connecticut. CHIEF is also very winter-hardy. Ky C-1 germ plasm, selected for winter-hardiness and released by Univ. of Kentucky, outyielded all other varieties tested in Lexington, Kentucky. This experimental variety may perform well in North-Central and Northeast. Adapted to sandy, well-drained soils with ordinary acidity. Apply P and K as indicated by soil test; if P is needed, place it in band below and to side of seed at planting. Boron has improved growth and seed yield on some soils. N content -- 2% to 3%. In southeastern Pennsylvania, pure stand of crimson clover contained 111 lbs. N/A on May 10, 1985. Produced average of 2,000 lbs. biomass/A (maximum 4,000 lbs./A) in southeastern Pennsylvania. Also one of the fastest-growing legume covers tested at this site, making it an excellent choice where fall weeds are a problem. Produces better fall growth and ground cover than hairy vetch in Mid-Atlantic. Often has high percentage of hard seed, which can aid natural reseeding. Larger-seeded and faster-growing than many other clovers, so it can compete well with winter-annual weeds. Not as winter-hardy as hairy vetch in Mid-Atlantic. In colder regions, and where soil heaving occurs in fall or early spring, crimson clover must be well-established or it will winter-kill. However, rank fail growth may invite crown and stem rot, which may kill the plants. Seeding and management 12-20 lbs./A In Mid-Atlantic, best seeding time is from mid-Aug. to first week of Sept. In South, can seed 15-30 lbs./A in Oct. In Northeast, seed 20-30 lbs./A in Aug. Can also be planted in spring or early summer in Northeast, in which case it will bloom within two or three months. Can broadcast and roll, or drill seed 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. In south-coastal New England, plant 15-40 lbs./A in Apr. through May or in Aug. through Sept. In Missouri, drill 15-20 lbs./A 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep from Aug. 15 to Sept. 15. When planted in early spring, crimson clover may provide plowdown N by Memorial Day for a summer annual cash crop in Northeast. Mow, or kill with plow or herbicide, at early bloom when N-fixation has peaked. If allowed to set seed before being killed, crimson clover often naturally reseeds in fall in Mid-Atlantic. In Mid-Atlantic rotations, uses are similar to hairy vetch (including no-till and conventional planting methods). Aerial seeding crimson clover in Mid-Atlantic has been less successful than with vetch but better than with Austrian winter peas. In Missouri, a good stand of crimson clover produces 1 ton or more of dry hay per acre if left to flowering, in which case sorghum could still be planted afterward. Corn -- Plant corn into clover killed in spring by plowing or with herbicides (Mid-Atlantic and South). May be possible to seed after silage harvest (Mid-Atlantic). Fruits -- In South, crimson clover as a living mulch in blueberries was found to be as cost-effective as a conventional blueberry fertilizer and herbicide program. Clover, mammoth red (Trifolium pratense) About the crop Vigorous, hardy single-cut biennial legume. Over-winters in most of New England. Fixes considerable N while its large, fairly deep root system conditions the soil. Can help make P and micronutrients more available to subsequent crops. Grows slowly at first (Northeast), but is easier to establish than alfalfa and some other small-seeded legumes, because it's more tolerant of moderate drainage and clayey or acid soils. Tolerant of shading from weeds (Northeast); also tolerates shade from cash crops when overseeded. Does poorly in hot, dry conditions; may fail if sown in summer or if weed pressure is intense (Northeast). Seeding and management 8-15 lbs./A Can broadcast and roll, or drill seed 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. In south-coastal New England, plant in Apr. or May, or in Aug. Usually planted in spring and grown for entire year before being incorporated into the soil (Northeast). Corn -- Overseed mammoth red clover when corn is at least 6 inches tall (Northeast). Soybeans -- Overseed mammoth red clover when soybeans are at least 6 inches tall (Northeast). Small grains -- On land that's too steep, rough or wet to work in spring, frost-seed mammoth red clover in early March into existing stand of winter wheat or winter rye (Northeast). Clover, medium red (Trifolium pratense) About the crop Short-lived, perennial legume. Most common perennial legume cover crop in Northeast. When frost-seeded into wheat, it produced 2,000 lbs. biomass/A and about 80 lbs. N/A as plowdown by May before corn planting in southeastern Pennsylvania. Overwinters in most of New England. Can help make P and micronutrients more available to subsequent crops. Can be established under various conditions (North-Central). Does not perform very well when treated as winter annual and plowed down in spring in Northeast. Seeding and management 10-15 lbs./A Can broadcast and roll, or drill seed 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. In south-coastal New England, plant 8-15 lbs./A in Apr. or May, or in Aug. In Missouri, broadcast (or drill 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep) 8-10 lbs./A before Sept. 1, or overseed into small grains in Feb. Corn -- Overseed medium red clover at last cultivation (Northeast). Soybeans -- Soybeans should not follow red clover, because bud blight, a disease of soybeans, can be transmitted by volunteer clover plants. Small grains -- Frost-seed red clover into wheat in Mar. (Northeast); many growers harvest for hay through the following year. Red clover has been successfully interseeded with spring wheat (and with spring peas) in southeastern Washington. Vegetables -- Broadcast into competitive cash crops in early summer, such as winter squash before vines run, or sweet corn at tasseling. Clover, subterranean (Trifolium subterranaum) About the crop Low-growing, winter-annual legume. Probably not suitable for areas with severe winters. Produces tight, thick sward that's very effective at suppressing weeds. Produces many of its seeds below soil surface (like peanuts), so if killed late enough, it reseeds very well. Low percentage of hard seed, so it may germinate anytime in summer when conditions are right. If all seeds germinate in summer, stands may not last through corn harvest, because subclover is very susceptible to shading. It is well-adapted to the Coastal Plains of Maryland, but not to Piedmont Maryland. Subclover proved less winter-hardy than many other winter-annual legumes tested in Maryland, and it produced less N than crimson clover, hairy vetch and Austrian winter peas. Seeding and management 9-20 lbs./A Seed from Sept. 10 to Oct. 10 (Mid-Atlantic). In South, seed 10 lbs./A in Oct. Can broadcast and roll, or drill seed 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. In south-coastal New England, plant 20-30 lbs./A in Apr. through May, or in Aug. through Sept. Should be drilled for best results. If irrigation is available, allow subclover to grow until it dies naturally in July (Mid-Atlantic); ample seed will then be available for natural reseeding in fall. N production will also be best with that method. Can be killed in spring by plowing or with herbicides for no-till (South). Corn -- Subclover works well ahead of corn, provided ground is irrigated during fall establishment and spring corn planting (Mid-Atlantic). Can also seed after silage harvest (Mid-Atlantic). Vegetables -- In New England, seed subclover into early vegetables and allow it to winterkill. Clover, white (Trifolium repens) About the crop Perennial legume. Efficient water-user. Overwinters in most of New England. LADINO is a medium to tall variety used a lot for pasture and hay. "Common white" clover (also called "White Dutch") is more low-growing. Widely adaptable, but prefers well-drained silt loam or clay with pH of 6-7. Once established, it is long-lived and it requires little maintenance, but biomass is never outstanding (Northeast). Tolerates wet soils better than most other clovers or legumes. Although drought-tolerant, white clover doesn't compete well with summer weeds if it's seeded in summer (Northeast). Not competitive with grasses in mixtures, unless N fertilizer is withheld and the stand is mowed frequently. Seeding and management 5- 7 lbs./A Does best if sown in spring, but can be established in fall, too (Northeast). Can broadcast and roll, or drill seed 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. In south-coastal New England, plant 1-12 lbs./A in Apr. or May, or in Aug. In Missouri, broadcast (or drill 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep) 2-4 lbs./A before Sept. 1, or overseed into small grains in Feb. Fruits -- White clover is considered a good living mulch or cover crop in berries and other perennial cash crops, as long as irrigation is available during droughty periods (Northeast). Lupine, blue (Lupinus angustifolia) About the crop Winter-annual legume with variable tolerance to frost. Does best in coarse, well-drained soils with pH of 5.0 to 6.5. Deep root system is sensitive to waterlogging; planting in poorly drained soils can cause root rot and loss of stand. No P or K should be needed when lupines are grown as cover or green manure. Properly inoculated lupines can fix up to 70 lbs. N/A. Large seed size may limit seeding rate. Poor competitor with weeds. Susceptible to root rot fungi (Fusarium and Rhizoctonia), especially on heavier, poorly drained soils. Also susceptible to damage from seed corn maggot, potato leafhopper and tarnished plant bug. However, weeds, diseases and insects should not be a concern for fall-sown lupine covers (Northeast). Seeding and management As cover crop, lupines probably would be best seeded at 14,500-22,000 plants/A with 40-50 lbs. of oats/A in early Aug. (Northeast). However, more research is needed on lupine seeding rates for cover crop mixtures. Blue lupine may require lower seeding rate than white lupine to produce adequate biomass. For seed harvest, recommended population is 260,000 seeds/A planted in 6- to 10-inch rows (plant early Apr. in southern New England and up until early May in northern New England). Can be seeded into relatively rough seedbed provided seed depth is between 3/4 and 1 3/4 inches with good seed-soil contact. No-till seedings are possible in previously cropped fields, but adequate depth and seed-soil contact still are important. If planted in late summer or in fall, lupines will continue growing until killed by frost (Northeast). When planted in early spring, they may provide plowdown N by Memorial Day for a summer-annual cash crop in Northeast. Sweetclover, annual (Melilotus alba) About the crop A true annual; survives only one winter. Deep taproot and well-developed root system. HUBAM var. has tremendous warm-season growth potential in Northeast. Has grown 6 feet tall by mid-July when seeded in early May in southeastern Pennsylvania. Needs soil pH of 6.0 for proper nodulation; otherwise, widely adaptable. Can help make P and micronutrients more available to subsequent crops. Has poor cold-tolerance and won't grow late into fall in Northeast. Seeding and management 15-25 lbs./A Can broadcast and roll, or drill seed 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. In south-coastal New England, plant in Apr. or May. In Missouri, broadcast (or drill 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep) 8-15 lbs./A before Sept. 1, or overseed into small grains in Feb. Small grains -- Annual sweetclover has performed well when overseeded into winter wheat (Northeast). Vegetables -- Overseed annual sweetclover into broccoli and other fall crops (Northeast). Sweetclover, yellow-blossom (Melilotus officinalis) About the crop Biennial legume. Blooms in late spring the year after seeding. Deep, strong taproot. Overwinters in most of New England. Useful for breaking up plowpan. Also said to be efficient at drawing up nutrients from deep in soil profile. Can supply about 100 lbs. of plowdown N/A (North-Central). Provides good weed control because of competitive nature in second year (North-Central). Residues of yellow-blossom sweetclover are said to have allelopathic effect on stinkweed and green foxtail; repeated plowdowns of yellow-blossom sweetclover also reportedly have eradicated Canada thistle. Seeding and management 9-15 lbs./A Can broadcast and roll, or drill seed 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. In south-coastal New England, plant 10-20 lbs./A in Apr. or May, or in Aug. Most appropriate as full-year fallow on heavy or compacted ground (Northeast). In West and dry parts of North-Central, yellow-blossom sweetclover usually is planted on fallow land with spring barley or spring peas; but barley can be competitive, and herbicide compatibility is a concern with peas. In West, yellow- blossom sweetclover grows 10-16 inches first year, is left to overwinter, then regrows in spring for plowdown in mid-June or early July. N content in above-ground foliage levels off when plant is 12-16 inches tail in second year, so plow it early to conserve soil moisture. Corn -- Overseed yellow-blossom sweetclover into corn or sunflowers at last cultivation (North-Central). Soybeans -- Overseed yellow-blossom sweetclover at last cultivation (North-Central). Small grains -- Seed yellow-blossom sweetclover at 12-15 lbs./A if sowing on clean seedbed; can be frost-seeded at slightly higher rates into winter grains (Northeast). Can be used on fallow land before winter wheat every 3-6 years (West). In Plains, yellow-blossom sweetclover usually is sown with wheat, oats or barley, and then it is plowed the following year. Vetch, bigflower (Vicia grandiflora) About the crop Winter-annual legume. At least as cold-tolerant as hairy vetch in Pennsylvania, where it has consistently performed well when drilled in mid-Aug. Midwest farmers say big flower vetch overwintered without damage during 1990-91 in areas where hairy vetch frost-killed. Flowers two to three weeks earlier than hairy vetch, but only produces about two-thirds as much biomass, making it a good option for farmers who want to no-till cash crops into a cover without herbicides. Overwinters in southern New England (has survived three consecutive winters in northeastern Connecticut). Matures early (Northeast), so it has potential to produce seed in late spring, interfering with row crops planted on same ground. Resistant to vetch weevil and anthracnose disease. Seed is expensive and difficult to obtain, unless the crop reseeds itself. Seeding and management 25-40 lbs./A In south-coastal New England, drill 1/2 - 1 inch deep in Aug. through Sept. In South, seed 10 lbs./A in Sept. or Oct. In upper South, bigflower vetch grows better when seeded in mid-Sept. than when seeded in mid-Oct. When planted in early spring, bigflower vetch may provide plowdown N by Memorial Day for a summer-annual cash crop in Northeast. In South, it can be killed in spring by plowing or with herbicides for no-till. When bigflower vetch is overseeded into standing corn, traffic at harvest will promote seed-soil contact. Mowing corn residue after harvest will provide protective mulch so vetch can establish and overwinter for no-till corn planting the next spring. Mow vetch and weeds at corn emergence (one flail mowing in May killed big flower vetch in Kentucky). Corn -- Overseed bigflower vetch in mid-Sept., or drill after silage harvest (Northeast). Soybeans -- Overseed big flower vetch two weeks before leaf drop (Northeast). Vegetables -- In Northeast, overseed bigflower vetch into sweet corn at last cultivation. Vetch, hairy (Vicia villosa) About the crop Winter-annual legume. Thick, viny, climbing growth habit. Begins flowering between May 15 and May 23 in southeastern Pennsylvania when seeded from mid-Aug. to Sept. 1 (will bloom in July when spring-seeded). Overwinters in most of New England. Requires good seed-soil contact for germination. Timely rains or irrigation will improve stands regardless of seeding method used. Best-suited to well-drained soils; do not plant on poorly drained soils. Produces well on moist soils in the South and in the Delta region of Missouri. Relatively high P and K requirements; no N needed. Can tolerate pH of 4.9 to 8.2; recommended pH in South is 5.8 to 6.5. Probably the most widely adapted -- and widely used -- of all winter legume cover crops in the country. Produces the most biomass of all cover crops that will overwinter in Pennsylvania: average = 3,000 to 4,000 lbs./A. N content = 3% to 4.1% (250 lbs. N/A at 6,000 lbs. biomass/A). Breaks down quickly when killed, to provide N fast. Resistant to root rot. When growing, it competes well with weeds for nutrients, water and light. May have allelopathic properties (though not as much as grain rye). Can help make P and micronutrients more available to subsequent crops. At $0.60 to $1.50 per pound, vetch seed is relatively expensive (a good reason to harvest your own seed). Stands may be poor in dry weather, especially in corn, where there's no leaf drop to cover seeds. Poor tolerance of wheel traffic. Susceptible to vetch weevil and anthracnose disease. Grown alone, vetch can suffer frost-heaving (Northeast). As vines elongate in spring, they fall and become matted, which can limit growth and favor fungal diseases. Its rapid decomposition could release N faster than cash crop can use it, creating risk of N leaching into groundwater. Seeding and management 25-40 lbs./A Use the lower rate when drill-seeding with adequate moisture; use the higher rate when broadcasting (drilling is preferred). Plant between Aug. 15 and first week of Sept. in southeastern Pennsylvania. Can plant as late as Oct. in South. In upper South, hairy vetch grows better when seeded in mid-Sept. than when seeded in mid-Oct. Use same seeding rate when mixing vetch with small grain (Northeast). In south-coastal New England, drill %-1 inch deep in Aug. through Sept.; rate = 15-60 lbs./A. In Missouri, aerial-seed or broadcast (or drill 3/4 inch deep) 20-30 lbs./A before Sept. 15, or overseed into small grains in Feb. Kill between Apr. 20 and May 15 (Mid-Atlantic). Earlier kill will reduce N contribution; later kill risks soil moisture depletion. In South, can be killed in spring with plow or herbicides for no-till. Plow or mow vetch before it sets mature seed, to reduce risk of it becoming a weed. Rolling with disk has suppressed vetch in Virginia research. Preliminary research shows vetch can supply 75 lbs. N/A if killed in mid- to late May (Northeast). Perhaps 50% of vetch N is available for first crop after plowdown (less for no-till); the other half becomes available in Years 2 and 3 (Northeast). Harvesting topgrowth can remove 80-90% of vetch N. To make best use of vetch's weed-killing properties, kill it with low sickle- or flail-mowing (in mid- to late May in southeastern Massachusetts), and leave it on the soil surface as mulch. Corn -- Drill hairy vetch after harvesting corn silage (Northeast). Agronomists in southeastern Pennsylvania have no-tilled corn into living hairy vetch mulch. They mowed vetch seven to 10 days later, before corn has emerged too much (mower must be set to clip vetch residue knocked down by tractor wheels). Aerial seed into corn when canopy starts to open (Mid-Atlantic). No-till vetch into corn stubble after harvesting silage or grain (Mid-Atlantic). Light disking of stubble, followed by broadcast seeding of vetch, also works well; avoid broadcasting vetch into corn stubble without disking. Plowing vetch will maximize N mineralization and eliminate need for burndown herbicide, but also will reduce both soil moisture and ground cover during early corn development. No-till planting corn into live vetch works well on light soils in dry weather; kill vetch with herbicide or by mowing when vetch blooms (but before risk of removing too much corn leaf area). Mowing eliminates need for herbicide (except post-emerge), but waiting for proper mowing time increases risk of soil moisture depletion by vetch. With heavy soils and wet weather, your best bet is killing vetch with herbicide a week or two before corn planting. But don't plant no-till corn too soon after herbicide kill (especially in wet soils), or you'll push tough plant material into seed slots resulting in poor seed-soil contact for corn. Soybeans -- Overseed hairy vetch around soybean leaf yellowing (Northeast and Mid-Atlantic). Vetch can be a host of soybean cyst nematode in the Midwest; nematode-resistant bean varieties are available. Small grains -- Hairy vetch can be a serious weed problem if you're producing certified winter wheat seed. Vegetables -- Drill hairy vetch between vegetable rows. In Wisconsin, vetch is a host of chocolate spot, a bacterial disease of snap beans; spot-resistant or -tolerant varieties are available. Michigan farmers have successfully planted dry beans after hairy vetch. In New England, broadcast vetch into late-season vegetables in late Aug. Vetch can serve as an excellent mulch for tomatoes, according to new USDA-ARS research in Maryland. Scientists mowed vetch to 1-inch height in spring, then planted tomatoes without tillage. Vetch formed brown, matted mulch within a few days, and promoted much higher tomato yields than did plastic and paper mulches. Fruits -- Do not plant hairy vetch in orchards, because it is a host of Turner's plant bug (Northeast). ATTRA Summary: Cover Crops and Green Manures The practices of cover cropping and green manuring can serve a number of important functions in cropping systems. Any field or forage crop grown to provide soil cover is a "cover crop." "Green manures" are crops tilled into the soil while green, or soon after flowering, to improve the soil. Since a crop grown as a cover crop may later be soil-incorporated as a green manure, the two practices are often referred to interchangeably. Cover crops are grown mainly to prevent erosion of soil by wind and water. But cover cropping and green manuring practices perform other important functions in cropping systems which: - improve soil quality and moisture-retention capacity - add fertility and cycle plant nutrients - aid in pest management About the crop Deep root system is sensitive to waterlogging; planting in poorly drained soils can cause root rot and loss of stand. No P or K should be needed when lupines are grown as cover or green manure. Properly inoculated lupines can fix up to 70 lbs. N/A. Large seed size may limit seeding rate. Poor competitor with weeds. Susceptible to root rot fungi (Fusarium and Rhizoctonia), especially on heavier, poorly drained soils. Also susceptible to damage from seed corn maggot, potato leafhopper and tarnished plant bug. However, weeds, diseases and insects should not be a concern for fall-sown lupine covers (Northeast). Seeding and management As cover crop, lupines probably would be best seeded at 14,500-22,000 plants/A with 40-50 lbs. of oats/A in early Aug. (Northeast). However, more research is needed on lupine seeding rates for cover crop mixtures. Blue lupine may require lower seeding rate than white lupine to produce adequate biomass. For seed harvest, recommended population is 260,000 seeds/A planted in 6- to 10-inch rows (plant early Apr. in southern New England and up until early May in northern New England). Can be seeded into relatively rough seedbed provided seed depth is between 3/4 and 1 3/4 inches with good seed-soil contact. No-till seedings are possible in previously cropped fields, but adequate depth and seed-soil contact still are important. If planted in late summer or in fall, lupines will continue growing until killed by frost (Northeast). When planted in early spring, they may provide plowdown N by Memorial Day for a summer-annual cash crop in Northeast. Newsgroups: bionet.plants,rec.gardens From: dr@ducvax.auburn.edu Subject: Kudzu (was: Re: gardening ethics) Date: Thu, 3 Dec 1992 02:54:45 GMT > I believe that the main motivation of introducing kudzu was as a > conservation crop to prevent the soil erosion of your item 1. The > conservation folks were right about it being a good cover crop! That is more-or-less the impression I've always had; however I've recently read a couple of period articles which make me think that greater emphasis than is generally thought was placed on kudzu's value as a forage crop. A masters thesis at Auburn, "A study of the effect of various treatments on the rooting and survival of kudzu seedlings and vine cuttings" (ca. 1941) had this introductory paragraph: "Kudzu (Pueralia thumbergiana) is a plant which most agronomy workers agree is well adapted as a perennial hay crop for the Southern States. Kudzu does well on land that is too steep or too low in fertility to support other hay crops. This is especially true in the Piedmont region of the southeastern states where steep slopes accompanied by a humid climate have resulted in untold losses through erosion on farm lands in this area." More illustrative is a circular published (1939, and earlier) by the Agricultural Experiment Station of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute titled "Kudzu Its Value and Use in Alabama": "Kudzu, a perennial legume that produces large yields of hay, is adapted to temporary grazing by livestock, is an excellent soiling crop and is sufficiently drout-resistant to produce good yields when other crops fail. Its feeding value compares favorably with other legumes. It is valuable for soil building, stoping erosion, and planting on road banks, fills, and along gullies..." The remainder of the 20 pages are spent extolling (citing experimental data) the many virtues of kudzu. The Hay Crop section gets 4 pages; Grazing Crop, 6 pages; Soil Improvement, 2 pages; Propagation, 3 pages; Erosion, 1 page; Care(!), 2 pages; summary, 1 page. Just before the Summary, there is a cautionary section: "Kudzu as a Pest" "Some farmers have opinions that kudzu may become a pest, may not be eradicated, and may spread where it is not wanted. Such ideas are unfounded. It may be easily eradicated by grazing or by plowing. Kudzu has been confined to the edges of fields at Auburn for a period of 35 years and has never become a pest or spread to areas where it was not wanted. It may be confined indefinitely to terrace ridges in a field simply by cultivating the field in row crops." Read today, much of the circular seems a delicious satire - there are cautions on how to avoid the loss of kudzu seedlings, warnings to not allow livestock to overgraze, etc. The data shown in the report really *is* impressive; I imagine that in its time kudzu seemed as much The Answer as, in their times, . Rec.gardens added to distribution, better historians may wish to add corrections. D.R. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Roller | Bitnet = dr@auducvax | "Because we're all Auburn Univ. | Internet = dr@ducvax.auburn.edu | in this together." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article 7700 (99 more) in rec.gardens: From: Paul Harvey Subject: green manure cover crops mail order source Date: 23 May 92 04:36:59 GMT Organization: The Duck Pond public unix: +1 408 249 9630, log in as 'guest'. Harmony Farm Supply, pobox 460, graton, ca, 95444, CAT $2, 128 pgs 707-823-9125 sample prices per pound: (clovers are coated with rhizobium bacteria) crimson clover $1.59 hykon rose clover $2.89 white dutch clover $2.99 annual rye grass $0.49 blando brome $2.92 bonsai dwarf fescue $2.29 calif red oats $0.40 creeping red fescue $1.20 yellow mustard $1.20 bell beans $0.40 purple vetch $1.20 calif poppy $7.00 Article 5482 (106 more) in rec.gardens: From: Michael Dean Mefferd Subject: Re: Green Manure Request Summary: more on green manure request Date: 27 Feb 92 15:40:24 GMT > Can someone give me some advice on a good green manure for the part of > the garden that I will not put into production this year? > My aims are to keep the weeds down and to add humus and nutrients > to the soil. I have heard that alphalfa (sp?) works well but is > difficult to till under. Should I consider clover? and if so what > kind? I will be using a 5 HP rear tine tiller and would like to avoid > having to mow the stuff first before turning it under. > I also want something with low carry-over. Actually, alfalfa is a nice choice. You might want to reconsider mowing before you till to reduce ware-and-tate on your tiller, reduce tangels in the tines, and to speed decomposition. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is kind of pretty. It has clusters of small purple flowers. I'd say the best characteristic of alfalfa is that it grows very deep roots that will bring up potash from deep within the soil. Often there is plenty of K in the soil but it is not available to the more shallow rooted garden plants. K is also very easily leached from the soil by watering and rain. You might even want to try a mix of cover crops. If you plant just about any vetch (genus Vicia) you'll get some nitrogen fixing results as well. Although legumes do have some good N fixation qualities, they can become a nuisance. Of course this is true of most cover crops that you let go to seed. You might even want to try several different cover crops in the same season. Grow some vetch and then till in under. Then grow some alfalfa and then till it under. Oh, by the way, vetch also has pretty little purple colored flowers. If you want more information on cover crops, send a request via E-mail and I'll get my literature from home; it's fairly comprehensive. Article 5595 (29 more) in rec.gardens: From: Michael Dean Mefferd Subject: cover crops/green manure crops Keywords: cover crops/green manure crops Date: 4 Mar 92 20:01:27 GMT The following is a list of cover crops/green manure crops that you may find useful. This material was extracted from Rodale's Organic Gardening "Best Ways To Improve Your Soil" which Rodale Press, Inc gave me at no cost. Other sources that I've found useful are Rodale's Organic Gardening "Today's Best Gardening Ideas", and _Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening and Landscaping Techniques_. I'm not selling Rodale Press, Inc. Keep in mind that the characteristics of each green manure crop will vary according to climate and growing conditions. Before resorting to the seed sources listed, you may want to check out local garden centers and farm supply stores for varieties that will grow best in your area. Contact your Cooperative Extension Service for local planting dates. where: a) N fixed per year, average (lbs./acre) b) soil preferences c) soil fertility needs d) tolerates low pH e) drought tolerance f) seeding rate (oz./100 sq. ft.) g) depth to cover seed (in.) h) when to sow i) when to turn under legumes: alfalfa a) 158-250 b) well drained, loamy, neutral pH c) high d) no e) high f) 1/2 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring garden beans a) 40 b) loam c) medium d) no e) medium f) 4 g) 1 1/2 h) spring i) fall fava beans a) 71 b) widely adaptable c) low d) yes e) medium f) 8 inch centers g) 1/8-1/4 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring field peas a) 32-48 b) heavy loam c) low d) no e) medium f) 4 g) 1 1/2 h) spring i) fall soybeans a) 58-105 b) loam c) medium d) no e) medium f) 2-3 g) 1 1/2 h) spring i) fall hairy vetch a) 80 b) widely adaptable, good in sandy soil c) low d) yes e) high f) 2 1/2 g) 3/4 h) spring, fall i) fall or spring, spring clover: alsike a) 119 b) heavy loam c) high d) yes e) high f) 1/4 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring crimson a) 94 b) widely adaptable, good in sandy loam c) medium d) no e) medium f) 1/2-2/3 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring red a) 103-151 b) loam c) high d) no e) low f) 1/3 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring sweet white a) 93-168 b) heavy loam c) high d) no e) medium f) 1/2 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring sweet yellow a) 93-168 b) widely adaptable c) medium d) no e) high f) 1 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring white dutch a) 103-133 b) heavy loam c) high d) no e) medium f) 1/4 g) 1/2 h) spring, summer i) fall white ladino a) 179 b) sandy loam c) medium d) no e) medium f) 1/3 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring grains: barley a) 0 b) loamy, neutral to alkaline pH c) medium d) no e) high f) 4 g) 3/4 h) fall, spring i) spring, fall buckwheat a) 0 b) widely adaptable c) low d) yes e) medium f) 2 1/2 g) 3/4 h) spring, summer i) summer, fall millet a) 0 b) loam c) low d) yes e) high f) 2 g) 1/2 h) spring i) fall oats a) 0 b) widely adaptable c) medium d) yes e) low f) 4 g) 1 h) spring, fall i) summer, spring winter rye a) 0 b) widely adaptable c) medium d) no e) high f) 4 g) 3/4 h) fall i) spring spring wheat a) 0 b) loam c) medium d) no e) high f) 4 g) 3/4 h) spring i) fall winter wheat a) 0 b) loam c) medium d) no e) high f) 4 g) 3/4 h) fall i) spring  : Article 7700 (99 more) in rec.gardens: From: Paul Harvey Subject: green manure cover crops mail order source Date: 23 May 92 04:36:59 GMT Organization: The Duck Pond public unix: +1 408 249 9630, log in as 'guest'. Harmony Farm Supply, pobox 460, graton, ca, 95444, CAT $2, 128 pgs 707-823-9125 sample prices per pound: (clovers are coated with rhizobium bacteria) crimson clover $1.59 hykon rose clover $2.89 white dutch clover $2.99 annual rye grass $0.49 blando brome $2.92 bonsai dwarf fescue $2.29 calif red oats $0.40 creeping red fescue $1.20 yellow mustard $1.20 bell beans $0.40 purple vetch $1.20 calif poppy $7.00 Article 5482 (106 more) in rec.gardens: From: Michael Dean Mefferd Subject: Re: Green Manure Request Summary: more on green manure request Date: 27 Feb 92 15:40:24 GMT > Can someone give me some advice on a good green manure for the part of > the garden that I will not put into production this year? > My aims are to keep the weeds down and to add humus and nutrients > to the soil. I have heard that alphalfa (sp?) works well but is > difficult to till under. Should I consider clover? and if so what > kind? I will be using a 5 HP rear tine tiller and would like to avoid > having to mow the stuff first before turning it under. > I also want something with low carry-over. Actually, alfalfa is a nice choice. You might want to reconsider mowing before you till to reduce ware-and-tate on your tiller, reduce tangels in the tines, and to speed decomposition. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is kind of pretty. It has clusters of small purple flowers. I'd say the best characteristic of alfalfa is that it grows very deep roots that will bring up potash from deep within the soil. Often there is plenty of K in the soil but it is not available to the more shallow rooted garden plants. K is also very easily leached from the soil by watering and rain. You might even want to try a mix of cover crops. If you plant just about any vetch (genus Vicia) you'll get some nitrogen fixing results as well. Although legumes do have some good N fixation qualities, they can become a nuisance. Of course this is true of most cover crops that you let go to seed. You might even want to try several different cover crops in the same season. Grow some vetch and then till in under. Then grow some alfalfa and then till it under. Oh, by the way, vetch also has pretty little purple colored flowers. If you want more information on cover crops, send a request via E-mail and I'll get my literature from home; it's fairly comprehensive. Article 5595 (29 more) in rec.gardens: From: Michael Dean Mefferd Subject: cover crops/green manure crops Keywords: cover crops/green manure crops Date: 4 Mar 92 20:01:27 GMT The following is a list of cover crops/green manure crops that you may find useful. This material was extracted from Rodale's Organic Gardening "Best Ways To Improve Your Soil" which Rodale Press, Inc gave me at no cost. Other sources that I've found useful are Rodale's Organic Gardening "Today's Best Gardening Ideas", and _Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening and Landscaping Techniques_. I'm not selling Rodale Press, Inc. Keep in mind that the characteristics of each green manure crop will vary according to climate and growing conditions. Before resorting to the seed sources listed, you may want to check out local garden centers and farm supply stores for varieties that will grow best in your area. Contact your Cooperative Extension Service for local planting dates. where: a) N fixed per year, average (lbs./acre) b) soil preferences c) soil fertility needs d) tolerates low pH e) drought tolerance f) seeding rate (oz./100 sq. ft.) g) depth to cover seed (in.) h) when to sow i) when to turn under legumes: alfalfa a) 158-250 b) well drained, loamy, neutral pH c) high d) no e) high f) 1/2 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring garden beans a) 40 b) loam c) medium d) no e) medium f) 4 g) 1 1/2 h) spring i) fall fava beans a) 71 b) widely adaptable c) low d) yes e) medium f) 8 inch centers g) 1/8-1/4 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring field peas a) 32-48 b) heavy loam c) low d) no e) medium f) 4 g) 1 1/2 h) spring i) fall soybeans a) 58-105 b) loam c) medium d) no e) medium f) 2-3 g) 1 1/2 h) spring i) fall hairy vetch a) 80 b) widely adaptable, good in sandy soil c) low d) yes e) high f) 2 1/2 g) 3/4 h) spring, fall i) fall or spring, spring clover: alsike a) 119 b) heavy loam c) high d) yes e) high f) 1/4 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring crimson a) 94 b) widely adaptable, good in sandy loam c) medium d) no e) medium f) 1/2-2/3 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring red a) 103-151 b) loam c) high d) no e) low f) 1/3 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring sweet white a) 93-168 b) heavy loam c) high d) no e) medium f) 1/2 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring sweet yellow a) 93-168 b) widely adaptable c) medium d) no e) high f) 1 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring white dutch a) 103-133 b) heavy loam c) high d) no e) medium f) 1/4 g) 1/2 h) spring, summer i) fall white ladino a) 179 b) sandy loam c) medium d) no e) medium f) 1/3 g) 1/2 h) spring, fall i) fall, spring grains: barley a) 0 b) loamy, neutral to alkaline pH c) medium d) no e) high f) 4 g) 3/4 h) fall, spring i) spring, fall buckwheat a) 0 b) widely adaptable c) low d) yes e) medium f) 2 1/2 g) 3/4 h) spring, summer i) summer, fall millet a) 0 b) loam c) low d) yes e) high f) 2 g) 1/2 h) spring i) fall oats a) 0 b) widely adaptable c) medium d) yes e) low f) 4 g) 1 h) spring, fall i) summer, spring winter rye a) 0 b) widely adaptable c) medium d) no e) high f) 4 g) 3/4 h) fall i) spring spring wheat a) 0 b) loam c) medium d) no e) high f) 4 g) 3/4 h) spring i) fall winter wheat a) 0 b) loam c) medium d) no e) high f) 4 g) 3/4 h) fall i) spring : From jim.mcnelly@granite.mn.org Wed May 4 19:49:54 1994 Date: Wed, 4 May 94 16:09:00 +0600 From: Jim Mcnelly To: LONDON@SUNSITE.UNC.EDU Subject: Creativity FAQ Subject: Creativity FAQ This message was originally addressed to Leo Elliott [76440.1416@COMPUSERVE.COM] and a carbon copy was sent to you. ---------------------------------------- This message was from Rousseau Paul to JIM MCNELLY and was forwarded to you by JIM MCNELLY ---------------------------------------- Dear creative colleague Following are the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) suggested by you, i.e those who voted for the newsgroup misc.creativity. As you can see the task before us is huge, not to mention the difficulty we will have in agreeing to the "correct answer" for each of the questions. A Proposal First, thanks to all of you who submitted questions. I did some editing since there were many repeat questions, and this may explain why your particular questions may not appear here. I doubt if the over 300 people who are receiving this post will be have the time or be interested in working on answering these questions. So, what I want you to do is to decide if you want to continue to develop the FAQ. IF YOU WANT to join the misc.creativity "FAQ Team", send me a note to that effect, (with subject line Creativity FAQ Team) You will then receive further instructions. If you do not, ignore this and I will not correspond with you any longer concerning this matter. Nothing personal, I will just drop you from my group alias. If you want to get back to me later, drop me a note). To help you decide, here is my plan for developing the FAQ. 1. A limited number of related questions are sent out to the FAQ Team (probably beginning with the ones under resources) and team members develop the answers. 2. Answers are sent back to me. I collate them, leaving conflicting viewpoints intact, check for spelling and post the FAQ, version 1, to misc.creativity newsgroup. 3. Another set of questions are then sent and the process starts again, ending with the posting of an updated and expanded version of the FAQ. 4. This continues until the questions end (probably never :-)) So there it is. Please do not feel guilty for not responding. You don't even have to say no, just do nothing, except continue to read misc.creativity. However, if you want to be part of the misc.creativity FAQ Team, act quickly so we can get this off the ground as soon as possible. BTW, I intend to list the names of the Creativity FAQ Team on the actual FAQ. Tell me if you do not want to have your name listed. *********************************************************************** General What is Creativity? How do I know if I am, or could be, creative? Is creativity a natural trait in humans? Can people really learn how to be more creative? Isn't creativity found in a few people, like inventors or artists? What practical value does creativity have for the average person? Where do ideas come from? What's a good diet for increasing my creativity? How does the environment affect creativity? What adaptive advantages or disadvantages (in an evolutionary sense) might creativity have? Resources What are some Books, Journals, Films, Audio Recordings, Software, Magazines, and on-line Resources (lists, newsgroups, e-magazines) that discuss and promote creativity? What are the major conferences and annual meetings related to creativity? Who (people and organizations) does creativity training and certification? What are the main professional groups in the field of creativity? Mental Health Is there really a correlation between madness and creativity? Was Freud right in stating that creativity and neurosis have a lot in common: both are unable to accept the world as it is. What is the relationship between creativity and insanity? Is creativity dangerous to your mental health? Can my creativity help or hurt me in my day-to-day life? Consciousness What do dreams have to do with creativity? What states of mind are most helpful, i.e. meditative, desperate? What's the consensus on drugs and creativity? (witness Coleridge, Huxley and Hemingway)? What is the relationship between the conscious and unconscious mind and creativity? Age Is it really more difficult to be creative went we get older? Are children more creative than adults? Right-Left Brain What is the interplay between right brain and left brain in the creative process? Do I have to learn how to access my right brain to be creative?" Physiology What is the source of the tangible "rush" or exhilaration that happens when you're creating? Is it physical? Interpersonal How or why is our creativity sparked by contact with other people's creativity? How can managers foster creativity? In what ways might I make the creative talents of the people around me socially beneficial? Techniques and Methods What can I do to increase my creativity? What is brainstorming? What is mindmapping? What is storyboarding? What is fishboning? What is brainwriting? What are some successful methodologies for improving one's own creativity? What are some steps/actions that a person or group can take to "improve their creativity" or creative ability? What do people need to learn in order to systematically enhance their individual and collective creative competencies? What training has been designed to facilitate the development of enhanced creative competencies? Which software tools are available to organize ideas, pieces of knowledge, in a visual oriented inspiring way? Evaluating Ideas How do you go about evaluating ideas for execution (once one has brainstormed a large set of ideas, what good rules are there for narrowing the focus)? How can we better manage the balance between new ideas and old realities? Groups How do I get a group to generate more and better ideas? Do groups help or hinder the creative process? Blocks What are some of the barriers to creativity? What are some exercises to overcome a lack of creative thought, e.g.. writer's block? What are some of the main things which hamper creative thinking or creative processes in general? How can one cope with the distractions of daily life that inhibit or deflect creativity (for example, child care, elderly parents care, dull job, ill health, etc.)? History and Research What did early studies of creativity produce? Who conducted them? When was the term "creativity" first used and by whom? What is the relation between creativity and intelligence?" In laymen's terms, how does the creative part of the mind work? Selling What are some ways to demonstrate the practical value of improved creativity (particularly in the world of business, where decision makers frown on the idea of "fun and games" without any payoff)? Invention What's involved in the invention process: product development, patents and marketing) Odds and Ends Isn't it true that left-handed people are more creative? Are there any differences between creativity and new ideas or there are the same? What are the differences between different and creative? Jim~ McNelly ReSourceNet and GardenNet 612-654-8372, 656-0678 v.32bis jim.mcnelly@granite.mn.org --- * May 4th - Some men's lives are too noble to be merely successful. cc: Michael Million [MM24681@UAFSYSB.UARK.EDU] Byron Belitsos [71055.3435@COMPUSERVE.COM] Dan Massey [massey@world.std.com] Lawrence London [LONDON@SUNSITE.UNC.EDU] Dick Prince [rfprince@netcom.com] Phil Calabrese [CALABRES@COD.NOSC.MIL] Pat McNelly [PMCNELLY@LIBERTY.COM] Subject: NEWS: Organic Cotton: A Growing Future Date: 10 Jul 92 03:51:38 GMT [Greenpeace Press Release from Greenbase -- Redistribute Freely] ORGANIC COTTON: A GROWING FUTURE Greenpeace Urges Textile Industry's Switch to Clean Production VISALIA, California, March 10, 1992 (GP) Cotton growers and the clothing and textile industry must convert to organic cotton -- not only to eliminate dangerous pesticides, but also to meet the growing demand of consumers for more environmentally sound products, Greenpeace says. On March 11, environmentalists will join farmers, manufacturers, agricultural scientists and health experts at the First Transitional Organic Cotton Conference in Visalia, Calif. With participants drawn from all over the United States, Europe and Australia, this is the first international conference to address consumer concerns for cleaner cotton -- and how growers can meet the challenge. Greenpeace, an international environmental organization with offices in 27 countries and more than 5 million members, has made a commitment to offer only organic cotton in its merchandise as soon as the market can provide adequate supplies. At the Organic Cotton Conference, Greenpeace will outline the principles of clean production and their implications for the textile industry. "Preservation of the environment and the health of our communities must be the most important factor in cotton production -- from seed to shirt," said Lisa J. Bunin, a Greenpeace Toxics Campaign policy advisor who will address the conference Wednesday. "Clean production is non-polluting, it conserves energy and materials, and it meets the consumer's demand for non- toxic products. Because of the United States' growing conditions, scientific expertise and strong environmental market, U.S. farmers are uniquely positioned to supply a growing worldwide market for organic cotton." In the United States, 25 percent of all insecticides are used on cotton alone, and in many developing countries, over half of all pesticides used are applied to cotton. Among the dangerous pesticides widely used is the deadly poison paraquat, which is sprayed on cotton as a defoliant. The widespread use of defoliants in California's Central Valley agricultural region has been linked to health problems, including respiratory ailments. Cotton is grown primarily as a fiber, not as a food. But in fact, cotton seed, which represents about two-thirds of the crop by weight, is widely used as animal feed and to make cooking oils. The intensive spraying of pesticides on cotton right up to the time of harvest raises concerns that the poisons could be entering food supplies undetected. Greenpeace is campaigning for a conversion to "ecological agriculture" -- farming methods that are not only environmentally sound, but socially just and economically viable. Bunin pointed out that Greenpeace's "clean production" campaign has already achieved significant success in the pulp and paper industry, helping to convince "Time" and "Der Spiegel" magazines to switch to chlorine-free paper. "Conversion to chemical-free organic cotton is a major step forward, but unfortunately it doesn't resolve every environmental problem facing agriculture," said Bunin. "The real significance of this Organic Cotton Conference is that it marks the beginning of a new partnership between farmers, consumers and environmentalists in the search for lasting solutions to these issues." From MDANNER@delphi.com Thu Aug 26 18:53:43 1993 Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1993 14:04:05 -0400 (EDT) From: MDANNER@delphi.com To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Community Supported Agriculture / Permaculture Software I apologize for the two cryptic messages I sent on the sanet-mg yesterday. While trying out some LISTSERV commands found in an Internet manual, I clearly did something incorrectly. Was I ever embarrassed when I saw my queries "broadcast" on the sanet-mg! Oops... While I'm here, I might as well introduce myself. I'm a computer systems analyst with a strong interest in sustainable agriculture. I and others have started a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project in Boise, Idaho. We formed a nonprofit corporation, contracted with local organic growers, and sold shares in their harvests to local households. We're currently distributing those shares twice weekly from a garage owned by one of the shareholders. We're working with 6 growers and 35 households this season, which is our first. So far, everyone seems quite pleased with the project. I'd be happy to send you more information about our project. Also, I would love to hear from others involved in similar projects - let's swap notes! (I might mention that our editor, Robert Stevahn, culls interesting tidbits from sanet-mg and puts them in our quarterly newsletter called "Growing Concern") I'm also developing a working prototype of a computer program to produce site designs based on permaculture design principles. The program consists of a database of design elements, a computer-assisted drafting (CAD) tool, and an electronic permaculture design consultant that walks the user through the design process. I started this project because I felt the need for such software for my own personal use. Do you think others have a similar need? Do you know of any similar projects? The sanet-mg has proven to be an informative and stimulating forum for me. It's good to see the level of interest in sustainable agriculture so high. I believe SA is not merely interesting - it's essential for the long-term well-being of this planet and the people who live on it. Forums like sanet-mg play an important part in the flow of information and ideas. Keep those messages coming! Martin Danner From claudir@hubcap.clemson.eduTue Aug 22 01:25:08 1995 Date: Mon, 21 Aug 1995 22:48:24 -0400 (EDT) From: White Horse To: White Horse Subject: More on EcoPsychology Hello, A few months ago we spoke to each other about ecopsychology. I thought you might be interested in learning about some new developments. Recently, I learned about several exciting opportunities to participate in workshops about ecopsychology and joined one myself. I found it to be a wonderful opportunity to meet face to face with concerned people and to address the profound issues of our lives within a context I know has strong potential to effectively create significant, deep resolutions. I wish for you to be part of this too and for this emerging field to become known. Please feel free to share this with your friends. Cheers, Claudia >|< claudir@hubcap.clemson.edu P.S. There are partial and full tuition scholarships available. .-=* ECOPSYCHOLOGY *=-. Intensive training programs in the emerging field of EcoPsychology ***The September 1st program has 14 participants signed-up already, and the ***limit is 25 participants. If interested, please respond immediately. Integral Sustainability Associates is offering intensive training programs in Ecopsychology this Fall, co-sponsored by the Center for Psychology and Social Change, an affiliate of the Harvard Medical School. The 8-day programs are designed to help participants explore their unique roles in ecological healing, and to create a vibrant network of health professionals and mainstream environmentalists working together to discover new directions in ecological healing and activism. Key questions to be addressed include: o In what specific ways can health professionals and mainstream environmentalists work together to address the deeper roots of the ecological crisis? o How can ecological consciousness and practice be integrated into the clinical work of practicing health professionals and environmentalists? o How can the agenda for environmental activism be expanded to include transformation of cultural values? WHAT IS ECOPSYCHOLOGY? The emerging field of ecopsychology bridges the domains of ecology, psychology, and the consciousness disciplines to address the psychological and spiritual roots of the environmental crisis. Ecopsychology views humanity as interdependent with all other life forms. Hence, the health and well-being of individuals cannot be separated from the health of society or the Earth itself. By reawakening this consciousness, we act instinctively to care for the Earth. WHO WILL BENEFIT? The training is designed for a broad range of healing professionals, environmental scientists and activists, and advanced students in these fields. Spiritual practitioners seeking to engage in ecological work are also welcome. No previous knowledge of ecology or ecopsychology is required. /|\ TWO RESIDENTIAL TRAINING PROGRAMS OFFERED IN 1995: September 1-9, Emerald Valley Ranch near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Guest faculty include Elizabeth Roberts, PhD and Elias Amidon, founders of the Institute of Deep Ecology and authors of _Earth Prayers_; Judith Gass, LCSW and Robert Gass, EdD, celebrated teachers and consultants to major corporations. October 29-November 5, Shenoa Retreat Center in northern California. Guest faculty include Duane Elgin, MBA, author of _Voluntary Simplicity_ and _Awakening Earth_; Allen Kanner, PhD, co-editor of _Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind_; and Ann Krumboltz, MA, program officer at the Energy Foundation. Training organizers are Will Keepin, PhD, environmental activist; Johanna Johnson, MA, psychotherapist, and Jed Swift, MA, founding director of Colorado Sacred Earth Institute. The fee for each training is $595 tuition + lodging and meals. Partial and some full scholarships are available to cover tuition; email for more information and an application. To receive a brochure and an application, please contact me at: claudir@hubcap.clemson.edu Thank you. -o-o-o-o- From lhawkins@cdprsmtp.cdpr.ca.govMon Oct 31 19:48:33 1994 Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 09:08:40 -0800 From: lhawkins@cdprsmtp.cdpr.ca.gov Subject: Contact Vashek Cervinka, Dept. of Food and Agriculture, 1220 'N' St., Sacramento, CA 95814 Telephone Contact Vashek Cervinka, Dept. of Food and Agriculture, 1220 'N' St., Sacramento, CA 95814 Telephone (916)653-9140. Vashek has worked on energy issues and may have infromation on energy consuming crops. High labor and pesticide (methyl bromide to fumigate soil) crops - strawberries; highly processed crops - peaches; greenhouse crops including floriculture; high water costs - so. Calif. citrus are all potential candidates. Good Luck Cheers Lyndon S. Hawkins Sr. Environmental Res. Sci. Dept of Pesticide Regulation 1020 N St. Sacramento, CA 95814 -=- From RPE8105@acs.tamu.eduFri Oct 28 21:15:23 1994 Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 11:46:51 -0400 From: Richard Egg To: halth@starbase.neosoft.com Cc: sanet-mg@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu, london@president.oit.unc.edu Subject: Re: Need Information on Agriculture and Energy (fwd) In message "Lawrence F. London, Jr." writes: > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Wed, 26 Oct 1994 22:15:33 -0500 (CDT) > From: Hal T. Herdklotz > To: london@sunSite.unc.edu > Subject: Need Information on Agriculture and Energy > > Where might one search for the ten most energy intensive agricultural > products. Planting - harvesting - processing - distribution. Any help > would be appreciated. I suppose you are looking for a simple answer, but it is probably more like--it depends. You may have to do some extensive searching. However, a few starting points: Stout, B.A., Energy for World Agriculture, FAO Agriculture Series No. 7, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 1979. Fundamentals of Machine OperationPMachinery Management. John Deere Service Publications, Moline, Il, 1975. (This is a series of publications that deal with fuel consumption, field efficiency, etc for different ag. operations) Stout, B.A., et al. 1984. Energy Use and Production in Agriculture. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology Report No. 99. 250 Memorial Uniton, Ames IA 50011. Stout, B.A., et al. 1977. Energy Use in Agriculture: Now and for the Future. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology Report No. 68. 250 Memorial Uniton, Ames IA 50011. American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE), 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, MI 49085. ASAE has a number of publications (proceedings of conferences, etc) that deal with energy. You could contact them and request a publications catalog. ASAE Standards (Ag. Machinery Management) has data on energy and fuel consumption and field efficiency for different operations and soil types. There was a journal, Energy in Agriculture (it stopped publication several years ago) that is available in some University libraries. A current journal that may help is Biomass and Bioenergy. The Rocky Mountain Institute, 1739 Snowmass Creek Road, Snowmass, CO 81654 has several publications dealing with irrigation and energy. If you have access to a university library, do a literature search for energy/agriculture. You might also contact the USDA Office of Energy and see if they have any reports or publications. The information you need is probably available, but not in the form you want. Good luck with your research. Richard Egg Agricultural Engineering Department Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 (409) 845-7686 r-egg@tamu.edu From a16msafley@attmail.comFri Oct 28 21:20:01 1994 Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 13:46:20 -0400 From: Marc Safley To: london@president.oit.unc.edu Subject: Re: Need Information on Agriculture and Energy (fwd) Regarding the 10 most energy-intensive products...you might try the National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, Maryland. The Alternative Farming Systems Information Center ther e may be able to find that for you. Their email address is nalafsic@asrr.arsusda.gov Good luck. From RPE8105@acs.tamu.edu Fri Oct 28 22:12:21 EDT 1994 Article: 4229 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!oit-mail2news-gateway From: RPE8105@acs.tamu.edu (Richard Egg) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Re: Need Information on Agriculture and Energy (fwd) Date: 28 Oct 1994 18:36:58 -0000 Organization: sustag-public mailing list Lines: 63 Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <199410281546.LAA12162@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: bigblue.oit.unc.edu In message "Lawrence F. London, Jr." writes: > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Wed, 26 Oct 1994 22:15:33 -0500 (CDT) > From: Hal T. Herdklotz > To: london@sunSite.unc.edu > Subject: Need Information on Agriculture and Energy > > Where might one search for the ten most energy intensive agricultural > products. Planting - harvesting - processing - distribution. Any help > would be appreciated. I suppose you are looking for a simple answer, but it is probably more like--it depends. You may have to do some extensive searching. However, a few starting points: Stout, B.A., Energy for World Agriculture, FAO Agriculture Series No. 7, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 1979. Fundamentals of Machine OperationMachinery Management. John Deere Service Publications, Moline, Il, 1975. (This is a series of publications that deal with fuel consumption, field efficiency, etc for different ag. operations) Stout, B.A., et al. 1984. Energy Use and Production in Agriculture. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology Report No. 99. 250 Memorial Uniton, Ames IA 50011. Stout, B.A., et al. 1977. Energy Use in Agriculture: Now and for the Future. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology Report No. 68. 250 Memorial Uniton, Ames IA 50011. American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE), 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, MI 49085. ASAE has a number of publications (proceedings of conferences, etc) that deal with energy. You could contact them and request a publications catalog. ASAE Standards (Ag. Machinery Management) has data on energy and fuel consumption and field efficiency for different operations and soil types. There was a journal, Energy in Agriculture (it stopped publication several years ago) that is available in some University libraries. A current journal that may help is Biomass and Bioenergy. The Rocky Mountain Institute, 1739 Snowmass Creek Road, Snowmass, CO 81654 has several publications dealing with irrigation and energy. If you have access to a university library, do a literature search for energy/agriculture. You might also contact the USDA Office of Energy and see if they have any reports or publications. The information you need is probably available, but not in the form you want. Good luck with your research. Richard Egg Agricultural Engineering Department Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 (409) 845-7686 r-egg@tamu.edu -=- From WEINTRAUB@zodiac.rutgers.eduFri Oct 28 21:06:54 1994 Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 10:48:57 -0400 (EDT) From: Irwin Weintraub To: london@president.oit.unc.edu Subject: Re: Need Information on Agriculture and Energy (fwd) From: IN%"london@president.oit.unc.edu" "Lawrence F. London, Jr." 27-OCT-1994 13:23:39.51 To: IN%"sanet-mg@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu" CC: IN%"halth@starbase.neosoft.com" Subj: Need Information on Agriculture and Energy (fwd) Return-path: Received: from twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu by zodiac.rutgers.edu (PMDF V4.2-11 #5212) id <01HIRS6HS2HS9OYLCM@zodiac.rutgers.edu>; Thu, 27 Oct 1994 12:43:02 EDT Received: from SunSITE.Unc.EDU (president.oit.unc.edu [152.2.22.97]) by twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu (8.6.9/RK-931108.0) with SMTP id KAA24088 for ; Thu, 27 Oct 1994 10:36:44 -0400 Received: by SunSITE.Unc.EDU (5.65c+IDA/FvK-1.07) id AA28173; Thu, 27 Oct 1994 10:37:08 -0400 Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 10:37:08 -0400 (EDT) From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." Subject: Need Information on Agriculture and Energy (fwd) To: sanet-mg@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu Cc: halth@starbase.neosoft.com Message-id: X-Envelope-to: weintraub MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 26 Oct 1994 22:15:33 -0500 (CDT) From: Hal T. Herdklotz To: london@sunSite.unc.edu Subject: Need Information on Agriculture and Energy Where might one search for the ten most energy intensive agricultural products. Planting - harvesting - processing - distribution. Any help would be appreciated. Hal ************************************************************************** You can't change the wind but you can change your sails. halth@starbase.NeoSoft.com The Elsevier Publishing Company has a series of books called "Energy in World Agriculture." They are well written and chock full of facts. Vol. 1 Energy in Food Processing, edited by R.P. Singh (ISBN 0-444-42446-6) Vol. 2. Energy in Plant Nutrition and Pest Control, edited by Zane R. Helsel. (ISBN 0-444-42753-8) Vol. 3. Electrical Energy in Agriculture, edited by K.L. McFate (ISBN 0-444-43026-1) Vol. 4. Solar Energy in Agriculture, edited by B.F. Parker (ISBN 0-444-88622-2) Vol. 5. Analysis of Agricultural Systems, edited by R. M. Peart and R.C. Brooks. (ISBN 0-444-88600-5) Vol. 6. Energy in Farm Production, edited by Richard C. Fluck (ISBN 0-444-88681-8) You might want to call the folks at Elsevier to ask if they are still in print. Otherwise call your local public or land grant library. Elsevier (NEW YORK) 212-633-3803 Irwin Weintraub Agriculture Resource Librarain Library of Science and Medicine Rutgers University From WEINTRAUB@zodiac.rutgers.edu Mon Oct 31 20:45:31 EST 1994 Article: 4256 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!oit-mail2news-gateway From: WEINTRAUB@zodiac.rutgers.edu (Irwin Weintraub) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Energy in Agriculture Date: 31 Oct 1994 15:04:56 -0000 Organization: sustag-public mailing list Lines: 37 Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <01HIX4KYSLAG9P4VQV@zodiac.rutgers.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: bigblue.oit.unc.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT For those who are seeking information on energy in agriculture: Elsevier has a 6 volume series on this topic: Vol. 1. Energy in Food Processing, edited by R.P. Singh, 1986 (ISBN 0-444-42446-6) Vol. 2. Energy in Plant Nutrition and Pest Control, edited by Zane R. Helsel, 1987. (ISBN 0-444-42753-8) Vol. 3. Electrical Energy in Agriculture, edited by K.L. McFate, 1991. (ISBN 0-444-43026-1) Vol. 4. Solar Energy in Agriculture, edited by B.F. Parker, 1991. (ISBN 0-444-88622-2) Vol. 5. Analysis of Agricultural Energy Systems, by R.M. Peart and R.C. Brooks, 1992. (ISBN 0-444-88660-5) Vol. 6. Energy in Farm Production, edited by Richard C. Fluck, 1992. (ISBN 0-444-88681-8) For do it yourself types who want to design their own energy systems, the following title is recommended: Kuecken, John A. Alternative Energy Projects for the 1990s. Blue Ridge Summit, PA, TAB Books, 1991. 254 pages. Includes tables, diagrams and index. (ISBN 08306-28355) Irwin Weintraub Agriculture Resource Librarian Rutgers University weintraub@zodiac.rutgers.edu From bcompton@UNIXG.UBC.CA Fri Jan 21 12:51:04 1994 Date: Fri, 21 Jan 1994 08:50:14 PST From: Brian Compton To: Multiple recipients of list INDKNOW Subject: Ethnobiology Sylvia, If you wish to find out more about traditional Pacific Northwest uses of plants then consult the works of Nancy Turner (my former doctoral supervisor - I am her first doctoral student), Gene Hunn at Univ. of Wa, or others such as Erna Gunther. Also see the journals Economic Botany, Ethnobotany and Journal of Ethnobiology. You may even wish to consult a copy of my recnt Ph.D. dissertation on Upper North Wakashan and Southern Tsimshian ethnobotany at UBC. Also, if Nancy can't give you the complete details on the upcoming Ethnobiology conference, then on one can - she is the main organizer. Brian Compton From Chris.Dean@mariner.amc.edu.au Date: Sat, 01 Oct 1994 14:58:55 -1000 From: Chris.Dean@mariner.amc.edu.au To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Cc: mritchie@igc.apc.org Subject: Re: Farm community database software? Dear Saneters, Some time ago I sent the following message. Beyond it are the replies. Thak you all very much for responding. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner but I've snowed under (as perhaps many of you are). Regards, Chris (cdean1@cs.amc.edu.au) PS we don't quite have our own computer yet nor our own connection to email. But almost! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- >Dear Saneters, >I would like to know if there is software already already available >for storing and retrieving information about groups of farms. > >I will post the answers to sanet-mg. > >Our group presently has about 35 holistic farms in Tasmania and plans to store >information such as locality, crops, rainfall, pests, people, delights, >maps, photographs, bills, profits etc for each farm. Our group is a >certification and marketing group run by the farmers and a few helpers. > >Presently we have access to a standalone PC running MS-windows but hope >to get a modem in a few months time. We would like to be better able to serve >our members and support queries. Also, with an analysis of our community we >should be able to submit something to gain recognition by the government. > >Regards, >Chris (cdean1@cs.amc.edu.au) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 11 Sep 1994 18:37:17 -0500 To: Chris.Dean@mariner.amc.edu.au (cdean1@cs.amc.edu.au) >From: d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu (Dick Richardson) Subject: Re: Farm community database software? Hi, Chris, I'm curious about what the management process for the farms you're talking about in your comment: >Our group presently has about 35 holistic farms in Tasmania and plans to store >information such as locality, crops, rainfall, pests, people, delights, >maps, photographs, bills, profits etc for each farm. Our group is a >certification and marketing group run by the farmers and a few helpers. We are using "Holistic Resource Management" for much of our work, although I prefer to describe it as collaborative holism. I know of ranchers in Australia practicing this kind of management from a friend, Roger Bowe, who recently was over there. Maybe you met him. I'm not sure what your database requirements are in detail. We use Excel for normal information, and MapiX for a GIS system. Both work well in their particular areas. Cheers, R. H. (Dick) Richardson * (512) 471-4128 (w) Zoology Department * (512) 471-9651 (FAX) University of Texas * (512) 476-5131 (h) Austin, TX 78712 * d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu ========================================================================= ========================================================================= To: cdean1@cs.amc.edu.au Subject: Re Farm database info request, and I have a >From: dayspr@mookie.sbay.org (Dayspring Consulting) Comments: Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day.... Date: Sun, 11 Sep 94 18:22:31 PDT Organization: Los Altos SDA Church BBS Dear Chris, I am a Sanetter - saw your post this evening regarding a farmers database for windows etc. I develop databases for farmers and would be willing to work with you to develop a custom one for your group of farms. I have a spare 2400 baud modem also. Please let me know if you are interested. This work - supporting farmers with technological tools for maintaining information on their farms is my life's passion and I would jump at the chance to help you guys. I grew up on a very small vegetable farm in Southern Oregon and now live in the heart of Silicon Valley but do most of my work in the country with small family owned and operated farms. I don't enjoy living in the city, but at this stage in my life - this is where I need to be. You might be familiar with some of my work, I publish the Organic Market News & Information Service's Organic Wholesale Market Report every other week - we call it OMNIS for short. This is how you can reach me, if you're interested, otherwise if not, I am happy to have heard of your work and I encourage to keep going in that direction - it is a wonderful pursuit..... I am Cecile Glassy my company is: Dayspring Consulting PO Box 3230 Santa Clara, CA. 95055-3230 Ph ( 408 ) 247-6778 ext 2 Fax( 408 ) 247-5823 and my alternative email address is: organicrpt@aol.com Best wishes to you and your colleagues. -- dayspr@mookie.sbay.org (Dayspring Consulting) Mookie's Place BBS +1.408.942.1984 Milpitas, Ca ========================================================================= ========================================================================= >From: barth@ncatfyv.uark.edu (Bart Hall-Beyer) Subject: Re: Farm community database software? To: Chris.Dean@mariner.amc.edu.au Date: Mon, 12 Sep 1994 09:22:34 -0500 (CDT) Content-Length: 191 I personally like the 'Notebook' database because it has unlimited fields. 'Paradox' is a commonly used _relational_ database that supports a number of operating platforms. Bart Hall-Beyer ========================================================================= ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 13 Sep 1994 09:37:41 -0500 To: Chris.Dean@mariner.amc.edu.au (cdean1@cs.amc.edu.au) >From: d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu (Dick Richardson) Subject: Re: Farm community database software? Hi, again, Chris. What do you do with you HRM? It's basically a decision making process. Beginning with the identification of a Whole -- People, land, economics. Then the people begin to form a single goal with three parts -- Quality of Life, Production, Environment. The whole often includes neighbors, bankers, businessmen, but always the kids and spouses of all who are on the land in the whole. (These terms are modified a bit if the whole is primarily a "business" or a community.) As the goal is formed, an evaluation is made of "where we are" and "what options do we have". There are certain things we've learned are potential stumbling blocks. For example, "tools" in the goal will tend to cause dissention, but values bring people together. "Problems" to solve in the goal are basically transitory, and maybe symptoms of deeper processes that are the appropriate focus, and therefore are distractors in a goal. They become counterproductive in giving a sense of direction. Anyway, the decision to use a tool (take action) is screened against a series of testing guidelines, involving financial, ecosystem process effects, social and ethical criteria. From the options, we pick the best according to the testing sequence. Then, after acting, since we NEVER have enough information to be sure we did the "right" thing, and even if we did, conditions will change and unexpected results emerge, we assume we must pay close attention to monitor what the results become, and be ready to repeate the process. I guess you can imagine this is a very brief sketch. No tool is automatically eliminated, such as pesticides, but they RARELY pass the testing guidelines. The general result is the operation becomes organic, community based, collaborative, etc., and the learning of why the forces of rationality and the goal based on values and ecosystem PROCESSES leades us there. It's harder to disagree with the choice of tools when they are FOR something rather than against something. This has a strong effect of "bringing skeptics into the fold." >I know about Excel, does MapiX run on MS-windows? MapiX is, indeed, Windows based, whether PC, or workstation. The company that produces it is a small privately owned company that is primarily an environmental engineering company that produced the software for its own use. They don't advertise much, but fully support others, even middle schoold (6-8 year old kids) learning to use it. Their name is Delta Data Systems, Inc., 131 Third Street, Picayune, Mississippi 39466. If you're interested in followup, check with Ren Clark there. They're not on Internet. Nice to hear about the direction of agriculture/community you're doing. ========================================================================= R. H. (Dick) Richardson * (512) 471-4128 (w) Zoology Department * (512) 471-9651 (FAX) University of Texas * (512) 476-5131 (h) Austin, TX 78712 * d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu ========================================================================= ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 04:01:43 -0700 >From: Mark Ritchie To: cdean1@cs.amc.edu.au Subject: Wanting More Info I would like to get more info on the farm community database software you requested. Thank you. Mark Ritchie - - - - - - - - - - - - Discalimer: The views, statements or data expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of anyone else, nor my employer. From cole@dg-rtp.dg.com Tue Jan 17 22:44:38 EST 1995 Article: 14429 of misc.rural Newsgroups: misc.rural Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!hearst.acc.Virginia.EDU!caen!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!ncar!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!cole From: cole@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bill Cole - 919-248-6118) Subject: Re: Farm Management Software Sender: usenet@dg-rtp.dg.com (Usenet Administration) Message-ID: <1995Jan12.201216.19560@dg-rtp.dg.com> Date: Thu, 12 Jan 95 20:12:16 GMT References: <9501071202225188@beenet.com> <1995Jan10.143623.26076@dg-rtp.dg.com> Organization: Data General Corporation. RTP, NC. X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Lines: 23 C.M.Newell (reshan@deyr.ultranet.com) wrote: : In article <1995Jan10.143623.26076@dg-rtp.dg.com> cole@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bill Cole - 919-248-6118) writes: : >From: cole@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bill Cole - 919-248-6118) : >Subject: Re: Farm Management Software : >Date: Tue, 10 Jan 95 14:36:23 GMT : >Suggest you subscribe to a few mailing lists: : >AGNEWS@PUCCVM.BITNET : >EQUINE-L@PSUVM.BITNET : >VETMED-L@UGA.BITNET : >are a good start. : >Purdue just published a list of interesting programs available. : Where can I find this Purdue list? Subscribe to the AGNEWS list above. It comes out regularly. Contact Mike Willis, mike_willis@uns.purdue.edu, for the January Agriculture Package. That'll get you started. From london@calypso-2.oit.unc.eduThu Feb 22 13:06:48 1996 Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996 13:50:37 -0500 (EST) From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." Subject: Good tools available by mail-order. - This is the Februrary, 1996 update of: ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/ gardening/gardening-faqs/gardening-hand-tools.faq maintained by london@sunSITE.unc.edu http://sunSITE.unc.edu/london - ============================== Agricultural Hand Tool Sources ============================== Smith & Hawken and A.M. Leonard sell a scythe with a straight snath (lightweight, strong & easy to use) and a grass & grain blade that is thin, long and can easily be sharpened razor-sharp. This tool is perfect for cutting lawns. It _can_ remove weeds/grass right down to the sod. It's fairly easy to maintain the proper stance and swinging motion to cut your grass to a consistant height and in regular arcs that blend together evenly. A wonderful tool, indespensible for the rural dweller and suburban gardener alike. - Request a catalog from: Johnny's Selected Seeds Foss Hill Road Albion, Maine, 04910 Customer service: 1-207-437-4301 They supply EARTHWAY and PLANET, Jr. seeders and will, on request give you information on suppliers of other seeders (i.e. a small hand-carried corn/bean seeder. You may want to hybridyze the EW and the P, Jr. when planting small seeds in rough terrain. An organic vegetable grower North Carolina has successfully done this. From: George Stone Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Johnny's Web Page id finished I have finished the initial work to get this page to a presentable form. You may browse all our new products for 1996 with selected pictures as well as request a commercial or home garden catalog on-line. Happy holidays from all of us at Johnnys. http://johnnyseeds.com/seeds From: jsseeds@aol.com (Jsseeds) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Johnny's Selected Seeds New Address Date: 4 Sep 1995 19:46:46 -0400 Johnny's now has a new internet E-Mail address. This address can be used to request a catalog or to be added to their mailing list. The address is: johnnys@mint.net. - >Whole Earth "Ecolog" mentioned five tool suppliers for farm and garden >supplies; my hunch would be try Lehman's Hardware and Appliances, >their catalog is $2.00 from PO Box 41, 4779 Kidron Rd., Kidron OH 44636; >or Cumberland's, catalog $3.00 from rt. 3 box 81, Crossville TN 38555, and >they have a telephone: 615-484-8481. - A.M. Leonard 241 Fox Drive P.O. Box 816 Piqua, Ohio, 45356 1-800-543-8955 1-800-433-0633 fax Mostly tree maintenance and nursery equipment, plus miscellaneous excellent gardening/landscaping tools/supplies eye hoes, scythes - Mellingers Ohio similar to Leonard - Forestry Suppliers, Inc. P.O. Box 8397 205 West Rankin St. Jackson, Mississippi, 39204 "Quality Forestry, Engineering and Environmental Equipment, Shipped Worldwide" tools, equipment and supplies for the forestry industry - Langenbach "A Collection of the World's Finest Hand Tools" P.O. Box 453 Blairstown, N.J., 07825 Toll Free: 1-800-362-1991 English-made high quality spades, spade forks, forks and much else Excellent! - Smith and Hawken "Tools of the Trade - A Complete Source For the Organic Gardener" Orders: 2 Arbor Lane, Box 6900 Florence, Kentucky, 41022-6900 1-800-776-3336 General info: 25 Corte Madera Mill Valley, California, 94941 1-415-383-2000 Also excellent! you may need to ask them what tools they have for sale that are not listed in their catalogue, held-over stock offered in out-of-date ones - i.e. the 4"X7" Japanese field hoe (grub-type eye hoe using 1 3/4" X 54" handle) they used to offer, an indispensible tool! They now offer English Bulldog brand eye hoes; also a complete line of digging forks, digging spades, spade forks, border forks and border spades and straight snath scythe systems. - Ben Meadows Company Equipment for Natural Resource Managers 3589 Broad Street Atlanta, Georgia, 30341 1-800-241-6401 Fax: 1-800-628-2068 Mail Order address: P.O. Box 80549 Chamblee, Georgia, 30366 e-mail: mail@benmeadows.com http://www.benmeadows.com (great Web page!) See pages 132-139 for garden handtools information; see esp. page 134: Adze Hoe & Pic'N Planter tools - The Cook's Garden "Seeds and Supplies for the New American Kitchen Garden" P.O. Box 535 Londonderry, Vermont, 05148 802-824-3400 Fax: 802-824-3027 Offers the Korean "HO-MI" hand cultivator (curved trowel/cultivator), well-designed and effective - Necessary Trading Co. One Nature's Way New Castle, Virginia, 24127-0305 FAX - 703/864-5186 Phone: 1-703-864-5103 "Natural Solutions for Farm, Home and Garden" Wide range of supplies, books, fertilizers, tools and equipment - catalogue headings include: books, composting equipment & supplies, soil testing equipment & supplies, cover crop seeds, fertilizers (their largest offering), pest management supplies and equipment, wild bird supplies, animal care supplies and miscellaneous hand tools. A major supplier, along with Zook & Ranck and Fertrell, for organic farmers and market growers in the Eastern U.S. - HARMONY FARM SUPPLY [CAT - $2 deduct. from] P.O. Box 451 [first order] Graton, CA 95444 PEACEFUL VALLEY FARM SUPPLY [CAT - $2 deduct. from] P.O. Box 2209 [first order] Grass Valley, CA 95945 - Shepherd's Garden Seeds Shipping Office 30 Irene St. Torrington, Connecticut, 06790 860-482-3638 - You might also call the folks at ATTRA (Appropriate Technology for Rural Areas) at 1-800-346-9140. They might have some other names & addresses for you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following list was found in an article posted to the rec.gardens newsgroup: - Gardening Hand Tool Mail Order Sources ====================================== 1. P.A. Bonvallet's Sons Inc. R.R. 1 Box 160 St. Anne, IL 60964 Catalog: Free 815-427-8222 Offerings: pots, containers, soil conditioners, fertilizers Comments: wholesale distributor ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. W. Atlee Burpee & Co. 300 Park Ave. Warminster, PA 18991-0001 Catalog: Free Offerings: seeds, perennials, bulbs, woody plants, supplies Comments: separate seasonal catalogs are available ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Dayton Bag and Burlap 210 Dowdle St., Unit 5 Algonquin, IL 60102 Catalog: Free 708-658-8488 Fax: 708-658-4197 Offerings: nursery supplies Comments: wholesale distributor ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. The Dramm Company P.O. Box 528 Manitowoc, WI 54220 Catalog: Free Offerings: watering tools ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Earl May Seed Company 208 North Elm Street Shanandoah, IA 51603-0099 Catalog: Free 712-246-1020 Offerings: woody plants, seeds, perennials, growing supplies ----------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Garden's Alive Hyw. 48, P.O. Box 149 Sunman, IN 47041 Catalog: Free 812-623-3800 Offerings: tools, equipment, IPM supplies, beneficial insects ----------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Gardener's Supply 128 Intervale Rd. Burlington, VT 05401 Catalog: Free 802-863-1700 Offerings: tools, equipment, IPM supplies ----------------------------------------------------------------- 8. Gempler's P.O. Box 270, 211 Blue Mound Rd. Mount Horeb, WI 53572 Catalog: Free 800-328-8473 Fax: 800-551-1128 Offerings: agricultural supplies, protective equipment ----------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Grower's Supply Company P.O. Box 1123 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Catalog: Free 313-662-6058 Offerings: indoor stands, lights and trays ----------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Henry Field's Heritage Gardens 1 Meadow Ridge Rd. Shenandoah, IA 51601-0700 Catalog: Free 605-665-5188 Offerings: woody plants, perennials, tools, supplies ----------------------------------------------------------------- 11. Innis Violets 8 Maddison Lane Lynnfield, MA 01904 Catalog: $1 617-334-6679 Offerings: African violet growing supplies, high dome terrariums ----------------------------------------------------------------- 12. J. W. Jung Seed Co. 335 S. High Street Rondolf, WI 53956 Catalog: Free Offerings: seeds, woody plants, perennials, tools, supplies ----------------------------------------------------------------- 13. Kinsman Company, Inc. River Road Point Pleasant, PA 18950 Catalog: Free 215-297-5613 Offerings: gardening tools and equipment ----------------------------------------------------------------- 14. A. M. Leonard, Inc. 6665 Spiker Road, P.O. Box 816 Piqua, OH 45356-0816 Catalog: Free 513-773-2694 Fax: 513-773-8640 Offerings: tools, supplies Comments: offers a range of professional tools and equipment for horticulturists ----------------------------------------------------------------- 15. Mellinger's 2310 W. South Range Road North Lima, OH 44452-9731 Catalog: Free 216-549-9861 Offerings: seeds, woody plants, perennials, tropical plants, tools, growing supplies ----------------------------------------------------------------- 16. Midwest Trading P.O. Box 384 St. Charles, IL 60174 Catalog: Free 708-742-1840 Fax: 708-888-3818 Offerings: horticultural supplies, equipment, tools, and structures. Comments: wholesale catalog ----------------------------------------------------------------- 17. Walt Nick Company 36 McCleod Lane, P.O. Box 433 Topsfield, MA 01983 Catalog: Free 508-887-3388 Offerings: gardening tools and equipment ----------------------------------------------------------------- 18. Park Seed Company Cokesbury Road Greennwood, SC 29647-0001 Catalog: Free Offerings: seeds, bulbs, perennials, growing supplies Comments: separate seasonal catalogs offered ----------------------------------------------------------------- 19. Ringer 9959 Valley View Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3585 Catalog: Free 800-654-1047 Fax: 612-941-5036 Offerings: tools, equipment, growing supplies, IPM supplies Comments: offers a range of organic lawn and garden products ----------------------------------------------------------------- 20. Smith And Hawkins 25 Corte Madera Mill Valley, CA 94941 Catalog: Free 414-383-2000 Offerings: tools, gardening supplies, furniture ----------------------------------------------------------------- 21. Wayside Gardens 1 Garden Lane Hodges, SC 29695-0001 Catalog: $1 800-845-1124 Offerings: perennials, woody plants, growing supplies Comments: illustrated catalog ----------------------------------------------------------------- 22. Wingert Pottery 1185 Atlantic Dr. West Chicago, IL 60185 Catalog: Free 708-293-9097 Fax: 708-293-9114 Offerings: clay pots, garden ornaments Comments: an extensive selection of clay pots, wholesale and retail, a division of Ceramo Company, Inc. : Lawrence F. London, Jr., Venaura Farm, Chapel Hill, NC USA london@sunSITE.unc.edu, london@mercury.interpath.net http://sunSITE.unc.edu/london/The_Sustainable_Farmstead.html http://www.interpath.net/~london Organic Gardening & Permaculture Information : .cache* .cap/ AERO-SAON BIOS CES-history EBUG.org/ ECHO EPA.US-food-ag.changing.paradigms Farmer-to-Farmer.newsletter GP-Guide.Anti-Env.Orgs Green.Center.New-Alchemists INDEX IPMnet.News Jackson.Leopold.sust-ag-leaders O.C.I.A OMNIS.wholesale.market.report Ocean.Arks.International README Real.Goods.m-o SAN.showcase Zendik.Farm aft-fertile-crescent ag-software alan.chadwick.lecture.3* alan.chadwick.lecture1* alan.chadwick.lecture2* aquaculture.info* aquaculture.listserver* artichoke-prod articles.journals* aspergillus.fumigatus cfsa.sustag.conference chadwick.feedback* cover-crop.inf covercrop.info* crops.organic* csa.software econet.log ethnobiology general-list grain.crops.new* handtool.lst* hemp.comm.uses human-powered-seeders human.powered.seeders hydroponic-lit hyperacc.10-93 internships.org-farms kudzu* micronutrients mofga neem new-alchemy-institute.update* nitrogenfix.listserver* oilseed.radish organfarm.jobop* perennial.forage.legumes.info plant.domain* planter-seeder.info practical.formulas prescription.agriculture* seed.presprouting seedlings* seedproducer.swiss* seeds.new* seedsaving* shitake.growing soilconservation* soilprep* sustag-curricula/ sustainability-in-ecology.research-project sustainable.communities* tools-equipment* usda.office.for.small.ag verticillum.wilt From GALE-SINEX@AE.AGECON.WISC.EDUFri Mar 17 00:09:18 1995 Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 17:56:57 GMT -0600 From: Michele Gale-Sinex/CIAS Reply to: SAED-SHARE-L@cornell.edu To: saed-share-l@cornell.edu Subject: Norm's question and Nancy's reply Norm wrote: > I am interested in hearing, particularly from organic producers, > as to what techniques a student could benefit from.... Nancy replied: > Any practical ways of getting farmers on-line with us? Howdy, all-- A few quick thoughts on Nancy's question. CIAS here at UW-Madison has had a pilot project to get sustainable animal farmers (management intensive rotational graziers and seasonal dairy operators) on the Internet, and while I haven't yet had a chance to write anything up, we have some tips and observations for people trying to diversify the Net community, arising out of what we've learned from that pilot project. Coupla quicks: An easy way is to get some accounts thru your institution for key farmers to use and then support them in using e-mail and other tools in return for using and contributing to the listserv. Another easy thing to do is start asking around through your various human networks and through farmer-to-farmer networks about who the computer wizards are, then let them know about the listserv. But be ready to tell them why they should spend time using it. In other words, those of us in academic institutions, nonprofits, and Extension have our own ideas about why this information is important, yet we may have a very different information economy than farmers do. So subscribing to a listserv has to have very concrete benefits for the farmers. What we've watched as co-founders of the listserv GRAZE-L is how farmers will have plenty to say when the conversation is clearly about issues of interest to them. Sometimes if we want farmer input, the best thing we can do is serve them in technical facilitation of things they want to talk about...and perhaps piggyback onto that with our own questions and needs, but without dominating their conversation. I agree with Nancy's observation about newsletters. After twenty years in educational communications I've concluded that if the goal is to change the world (as is the goal of sustag), we can often get much more punch by facilitating farmer-to-farmer communication (that is, rather than by producing one-way media like newsletters) and then standing ready to serve them as they need us to. Newsletters have their place...but are just one tool to record and impart information. Of course, in an academic context--where print is the currency by which power is negotiated--it can be a challenge to focus scarce resources on these other kinds of communication, like face-to-face, informal, and embodied communications. This is all quite oversimplified in the interest of length. We have ideas on how to facilitate and enourage such involvement as Nancy discusses...but maybe she'd like to e-mail me directly. Peace, all-- Michele <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Michele Gale-Sinex Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems Agricultural Technology and Family Farm Institute UW-Madison--Voice: (608) 262-8018 FAX: (608) 265-3020 The Hall of Fame is for baseball people. Heaven is for good people. --Jim Dwyer (Twins DH, late 80s) (1195) Tue 26 May 92 12:14 Re: QUINOA QUINOA Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) has been grown for centuries in high altitude areas of Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. Quinua, a more native spelling of the common name, has also been used for the grain amaranth species, Amaranthus caudatus. Quinoa and amaranth, although of different botanical families, have similar characteristics, uses, and ancient history. Amaranth was more widely adapted and important than quinoa in ancient South America, but quinoa established its niche at high altitudes. Quinoa is used for flour, soup, breakfast cereal, and alcohol. Seed of some varieties have bitter saponin compounds which must be removed in soaking water before consumption; other varieties are saponin-free. The leaves are eaten as a leafy vegetable like spinach. Quinoa seed ranges from 12 to 18 percent protein, but the protein quality is better than that of grain crops like wheat. Like amaranth, it is high in lysine amino acid. Seed imported from South America and products containing it are sold as health foods at high prices in the United States. Related species are common lambsquarters weed (Chenopodium album L.), canahua (Chenopodium pallidicaute Aellen), and wormseed chenopodium ambrosioides L. anthelminticum. Canahua or canihua is shorter, more branched, and smaller seeded than quinoa. The seed is black and shatters when the plants are shaken. It is grown at higher altitudes, 12,000 to 14,000 feet, than quinoa in the semi-arid plateau of the Andes Mountains.Canahua is tolerant of frost and cool weather. It can germinate at 40 F, flower at 50 F, and mature seed at 60 F. Wormseed is grown for its oil, but acreage and markets in the United States are small. Wormseed oil is obtained by distillingthe entire plant although most of the oil is in the seeds. About 40 pounds of oil are obtained per ton of plant. The oil contains ascaridole that is used in worm medicines. Quinoa is mostly self-pollinated but cross-pollination occurs so isolation of about 650 feet is desirable for pure seed production. Quinoa was planted in mid-May at Rosemount. It emerged about June 1 and was attacked by fleabeetles and aphids which necessitated spraying. It grew about 2 feet tall but did not flower or produce seed. High summer temperatures at Rosemount probably caused it to become dormant. Cool temperatures at the high altitudes where it is grown allow various varieties to mature within a range of 80 to 150 days. The Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station is releasing an experimental yellow-seeded variety for production on about 50 acres in 1986. Agronomist D. L. Johnson estimates that the crop has a potential acreage of 6,000 in Colorado at elevations above7,000 feet. The new variety grows 3 to 4 feet tall, matures in 100 days, and resists shattering. It will be grown in rows 20 to 30 inches apart, irrigated, and harvested with a combine. Yields of 1,200 pounds per acre are expected. Varieties adapted to lower elevations and of white seed color are expected in the future. TEF OR TEFF Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] has been a major grain crop in Ethiopia since antiquity. The crop is little grown outside of Ethiopia where it is called t'ef (tee-ef). The scientific name used to be Eragrostis abyssinica (jacq.) Link., in recognition of Ethiopia's old name, Abyssinia. White- and brown-seeded varieties are grown. The grain is ground into flour and used for unleavened bread since there is little gluten in the grain. Tef is a warm-season grass and a poor weed competitor until fully grown, so a high seeding rate is suggested for weed control (Table 1). Four introductions were tested at Rosemount, and they required 67 to 80 days from planting to heading when planted June 5 (Figure 9). Earlier plantings did not emerge. Only the early variety produced seed -- 1,000 pounds per acre from June 5 planting and 220 pounds per acre from June 24 planting. The plants remained green and leafy, and the seed shattered easily. A killing frost or a preharvest desiccant would be needed for combine-harvest of the standing crop. Otherwise the crop would need to be dried in windrows before combining. Tef is fine stemmed and the plants remain green and leafy to the base, indicating that it might have value for forage. Related species are used as perennial, warm-season pasture grasses from Texas-Oklahoma to California. Weeping lovegrass [Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees.] and sand lovegrass [Eragrostis trichodes (Nutt.) Wood.] are examples of the Eragrostis species used in the United States for forage. Stinkgrass (EragrostiS citianensis All.) is a common annual weed in Minnesota. Tef is self pollinated, so isolation is not needed for pure seed production. Tef and ragi were compared in forage production at Rosemount and Elk River (Table 12). Ragi yielded more forage than tef and was higher in protein or digestibility in five of six comparisons. The Minnesota ragi selection is higher and more dependable in seed yield than any of the tef introductions. Consequently, ragi has greater potential than tef as an annual, warm-season, grass forage crop in Minnesota. Table 12. Comparative performance of tef and ragi (finger millet) for hay (single cut) or pasture (two or three cuts) Year and trial Location Tef Ragi Tef Ragi yield/acre (pounds)' protein (percent)l 1968 hay Rosemount 6,353 6,666 7.3 12.4 1969 pasture total Rosemount --2 4,932 --- ---- first cut --2 2,142 --- 25.0 second cut --2 1,710 --- 20.2 third cut --2 1,080 --- 20.8 1970 hay Rosemount 5,016 11,144 16.1 11.2 1970 pasture total Rosemount 1,440 2,256 ---- ---- first cut 932 690 24.8 26.2 second cut 508 1,033 ---- ---- third cut --- 533 ---- ---- 1971 hay dryland Elk River 3,249 4,211 8.2 10.5 1971 hay irrigated Elk River 6,190 8,614 7.8 8.8 digestible dry matter (percent) 1971 hay irrigated Elk River --- --- 57.0 59.1 1 Oven-dry. 2 Failed to establish satisfactory stands. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RAGI OR FINGER MILLET Ragi or finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.], also called African millet, is a major grain crop in parts of the tropics, subtropics, and semi-arid tropics to about 30 degrees north or south latitude. Ragi is consumed in bread, porridge, puddings, and liquor in Africa and Asia. The grain is deficient in lysine but above average in the sulfur-containing amino acids and tryptophan, so it complements the deficiencies of pulse crops. Consumption of both ragi and pulses provides a good balance of amino acids in the diet. Although plantings in May were satisfactory in Minnesota, experience from 1967 to 1981 indicated that June plantings were best. Most introductions did not produce seed in Minnesota. In one trial of 28 introductions from India and eight African countries, only one introduction produced seed on some plants (Figure 7). Selection continued for several years, and data reported here are primarily from this selection. The grain yield of ragi was not high enough in Minnesota to compete with adapted grain crops. Consequently, research was focused on its forage potential. The early maturing Minnesota selection was used even though later maturing lines had greater forage yield. Empire is a recommended variety of foxtail millet [Setaria itatica (L.) Beauv.]. Comparisons of ragi and Empire planted in June in rows 6 inches apart indicate that Empire is about the same or slightly higher in forage yield and much higher in seed yield (Table 9). However ragi averaged higher than Empire in forage protein and digestibility. Ragi leaves retain green color and density to the base of the plant long after heading (Figure 8). The top leaf blade on all plants tends to be bent or broken by August. The large flat stems elongate slowly so tall, leafy plants have short stems for a long time. However, early cutting to avoid stems in the forage required two harvests (Table 10). Although digestibility and protein decreased as the stem elongated, good digestibility compared with alfalfa was retained through the heading to seed stage (Table 10). The increase in digestibility at the heading to seed stage may be attributed to the seed. Pasturing of the high quality forage before stem elongation is untested but should be practical. Ragi has a very strong, dense root system in contrast to the weak root system of foxtail millet. Table 9. Comparison of finger and foxtail millets grown in rows 6 inches apart at Rosemount and Elk River, 1967-76 Years Finger Foxtail Location of trial millet millet forage/acre (pounds) (1) Rosemount 9 7,770 8,430 Elk River 3 3,550 5,880 Elk River irrigated 1 8,020 7,760 forage protein (percent) (1) Rosemount 5 9.4 8.6 Elk River 3 7.7 6.9 Elk River irrigated 1 7.1 7.42 forage digestibility (percent) (2) Rosemount 4 64 58 Elk River irrigated 1 59 62 grain/acre (pounds) (3) Rosemount 2 950 1890 (1) Oven-dry. (2) Good alfalfa standard was 64 percent. (3) separate plots not harvested for forage. Table 10. Growth stage at harvest and performance of finger millet at Rosemount, 1972-75 Harvest stage stem length (inches): 1 to 9 Forage yield/acre (pounds) (1): 6149 (3) Digestibility (percent) (2): 65.9 Protein (percent) (1): 16.3 Harvest stage stem length (inches): 12 to 16 Forage yield/acre (pounds) (1): 6757 (4) Digestibility (percent) (2): 61.2 Protein (percent) (1): 12.4 Harvest stage stem length (inches): 19 to 29 Forage yield/acre (pounds) (1): 7836 Digestibility (percent) (2): 61.2 Protein (percent) (1): 14.9 Harvest stage stem length (inches): headed to seed Forage yield/acre (pounds) (1): 8382 Digestibility (percent) (2): 63.7 Protein (percent) (1): 9.8 Harvest stage stem length (inches): LSD 5% Forage yield/acre (pounds) (1): 719 Digestibility (percent) (2): --- Protein (percent) (1): --- (1) Oven-dry. (2) Good alfalfa standard was 64.3. (3) Harvested twice. (4) Harvested twice in 1975; once in other years. Minnesota ragi, Empire foxtail millet, Minhybrid 7301 corn (Becker), Minhybrid 7301 and M 309 corn (Rosemount), and NK Sordan 77 (sorghum X sudangrass) hybrid were compared in rows 30 inches apart. The corn and sorghum were planted May 13-26 and the millets June 2-29 (Table 11). All were harvested once at mature silage stage except for two cuttings of the ragi that was cut before the stem elongated. Grain yields at maturity were determined on adjacent plots not harvested for silage. Table 11. Comparison of finger millet (ragi) with foxtail millet, corn, and sorghum X sudangrass hybrid grown in rows 30 inches apart at Rosemount from 1978-81 and at Becker from 1979-81 Ragi cut before stem elongation had extremely high protein, but yields were almost doubled by waiting until silage stage. Ragi was slightly higher in forage yield and decidedly better in quality than foxtail millet. Foxtail millet is not as well adapted to 30-inch rows as ragi. Corn and sorghum X sudangrass are well adapted to 30-inch rows, and they were much higher in yield but lower in protein than the millets. Corn produced the highest grain yields. Empire outyielded ragi but grain yields of both were sufficiently high to allow seed production for sale to farmers at a reasonable price. Ragi is self-pollinated. Less than 1 percent natural crossing was reported by researchers in Africa. Test weights per bushel of mature seed harvested at Rosemount ranged from 49 to 54 pounds. A related species is goosegrass [Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.] which is an annual grass weed in the tropics. Introductions from India and Kenya made a spreading growth like crabgrass rather than upright like ragi. They grew about 2 feet and headed but did not mature seed at Rosemount. ------------------------------------------------------------- NIGER Niger [Guizotia abyssinica (L.) Cass.), also called Nigerian thistle, is imported from India (formerly from Ethiopia) and used for birdfeed in the United States. It has been a major oilseed crop in Ethiopia since antiquity and is also used as an oilseed crop in India. It is in the same plant family as sunflower, an important oilseed crop in Minnesota, but the seed and plants resemble thistles without spiny leaves (Figure 10). Oil concentration in niger seed is about like that of sunflower, 40 to 45 percent, and the oil is used primarily for food. It can be used in soap, paint, oil lamps, and other nonfood uses. Niger oil characteristics of potential value for cosmetics are its lack of odor and its capacity for absorbing fragrances of flowers. The meal remaining after oil extraction is about 37 percent protein. Introductions from Ethiopia and India have been grown in research plots at Rosemount. Production practices were similar to those used for sunflower. Planting dates ranged from late April to June 1 and it required 2.5 weeks to emerge. Trifluralin (Treflan 4E) at 1 quart/acre preplant incorporated and cultivation controlled weeds. Row spacing was 30 inches, and plants grew 3 to 4 feet high by September (Figure 11). In only I of 3 years did the plants bloom before frost, and the yellow flowers, 1.25 inches in diameter, failed to produce mature seed. Yields of about 375 pounds per acre are reported in Ethiopia. Since niger is an annual and did not produce seed, it should not become a weed in Minnesota despite its wide distribution in birdfeed. However, weed regulatory personnel in some states have been alerted to this hypothetical problem. Niger seed could be produced in states with longer growing seasons. It has produced seed at Lincoln, Neb. Seed production in the United States to replace imports would reduce the foreign trade deficit by millions of dollars. However, potential yields and economics of production in the United States are unknown. Variability in maturity was evident at Rosemount indicating that varieties differing in maturity might be developed for south and central United States. Niger flowers are cross-pollinated by insects so isolation is needed for pure seed production. The five crops discussed in this report are examples of many potential field crops evaluated by the University of Minnesota Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics. The research started in 1948, and publications on some of the crops are available in agricultural libraries and county extension offices. New and uncommon field crops are of current interest as potential future alternatives to continued surplus production of the major field crops. Alternative crops researched were sunflower, safflower, field- bean, fieldpea, chickpea, grasspea, cowpea, tangierpea, sainfoin, lupine, peanut, fababean, adzuki, lentil, crownvetch, vetch, teparybean, mungbean, fenugreek, hyacinth bean, berseem, guar, sunn hemp, hemp, kenaf, rye, annual canarygrass, sorghum, broom- corn, millet, buckwheat, castorbean, naked-seeded pumpkin, crambe, rape, canola, mustard, tyfon, kale, comfrey, flax, ses- ame, fodder beet, anise, coriander, and about 200 other uncommon crops. Most alternative crops have genetic or production defi- ciencies or very limited usage. Consequently research is needed to develop better varieties, better production practices, or expanded usage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Amaranth, Quinoa, Ragi, Tef, And Niger Alternative Agricultural Opportunities Minnesota Amaranth, Quinoa, Ragi, Tef, and Niger: Tiny Seeds of Ancient History and Modern Interest R.G. Robinson Amaranth, quinoa, ragi, tef, and niger, old crops in developing countries, are potential new crops in Minnesota. These crops have been grown intermittently for about 20 years in research plots on silt loam soil at Rosemount and on sandy soil at Elk River or Becker. The crops differ in use, culture, and appearance, but small seed is their common characteristic. A major advantage of small seed is the very few pounds needed to plant an acre (Table 1) and the relatively small space needed to store planting seed over the winter. Table 1. Approximate planting rates for small-seeded potential crops compared with wheat Seeds/ Planting Planting rate/ pound rate/acre square foot Crop (number) (pounds) (seeds) Amaranth 560,000 0.4 5 Quinoa 140,000 1.6 5 Ragi 230,000 5.0 25 Tef 1,815,000 2.0 85 Niger 150,000 4.0 15 Wheat 14,000 80.0 25 Commercial production of amaranth in the United States started in 1983 with about 400 acres followed by nearly 1500 acres in 1984 when production exceeded demand. This led to reduced acreage in 1985-86, but more farmers participated. Despite its small acreage, amaranth is a well-known and important crop in the United States. The large research program at the Rodale Research Center, Kutztown, PA 19530 since 1977 and the promotional efforts of the Rodale Press, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18049 aroused the interest of millions of Americans, and thousands have planted a few amaranth seeds. Quinoa will be planted for seed increase in Colorado in 1986 and commercial production is planned. Ragi, tef, and niger are not grown commercially in the United States. AMARANTH Amaranth was a major grain crop during the Inca and Aztec dynasties of South America and Mexico and is now an important grain crop in parts of India, Pakistan, Nepal, and China. Amaranth is an important vegetable crop in parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, India, China, and the Caribbean. Grain amaranth species are Amaranthus cruentus (L.) Thell., Amaranthus hypochondriacus L., and Amaranthus caudatus L. The leaves of vegetable amaranth are used for boiled greens and include Amaranthus cruentus, dubius, tricolor, lividus, hybridus, palmeri, gangeticus, and other species. 1 The author is a professor, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108. Amaranth species in Minnesota are the common weeds -- redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) and prostrate pigweed (Amaranthus blitoides s. wats.). These dark-seeded weeds are hardier than the crops, and redroot pigweed with its strong tap root and upright growth is a serious weed in amaranth (Figure 1). Amaranth is drought-tolerant and grows best in warm, dry weather. Species differ in daylength requirements from short to long indicating a potential world wide adaptation from the equator through the temperate zones. Amaranth, like corn, uses the C4 pathway of photosynthesis. These crops convert more atmospheric carbon to sugar per unit of water lost than most other crops that use the conventional C3 pathway. Consequently, amaranth has great potential but undeveloped yielding ability. Varieties Varietal trials from 1977 to 1982 at Rosemount included about 20 varieties belonging to several species, and seed yields ranged from 300 to 3800 pounds per acre from hand-harvested plots. Heights ranged from a few inches for some vegetable varieties to over 8 feet for some A. hypochondriacus varieties. A. cruentus varieties headed about 9 days earlier than A. hypochondriacus varieties. Most of the United States crop consists of white-seeded varieties of A. cruentus and include: R 1041 was selected by the Rodale Research Center in plantings made from seed collected in Mexico. R K112 is a white-seeded selection from a cross made at the Rodale Research Center between a black-seeded African and a white-seeded Mexican line. R 158 is a uniform selection of R K112 made by Johnny's Selected Seeds, Albion, ME 04910. A. hypochondriacus varieties are also available but not commonly grown as a farm crop. Selections from crosses between A. hypochondriacus and A. cruentus are now available. Amaranth is monoecious with one male flower in each group (glomerule) of female flowers. There has been no evidence of intercrossing between varieties in progeny of seed saved from plantings at Rosemount. The breeders at the Rodale Research Center are handling amaranth as a self-pollinated crop. In some other environments, outcrossing has been reported. Seedbed Preparation and Planting The home gardener can either plant seed by hand and thin or transplant started plants, but stand establishment is a major problem in farm fields. Germination and emergence should be fast and uniform so that the crop establishes before weeds. Amaranth requires a warm soil, preferably over65 F, for germination. Soil temperature near the surface fluctuates with air temperature, but consistently warm temperatures are not achieved until June. A major advantage of delaying planting until June is that many weeds emerge earlier and will be destroyed by seedbed preparation tillage. The small seed and weak seedlings make shallow planting ( Reply to: hydro@Hawg.Stanford.EDU To: hydro@Hawg.Stanford.EDU Subject: hydroponics and health I have heard from Steve Diver that I shuld Leave My address for those interested in contacting me about growing hydroponically barley grass in the home to supplement our diets. I am putting this on the hydro group network for everyone. My name is Jim Morris My complete address is: Dr. Jim Morris, Head Animal and Poultry Science Section Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada N0P-2C0 Phone - (519)674-1545 Fax - (519)674-1555 Internet: morrisji.min.gov.on.ca Thanks Steve. Respectfully yours Jim Agricultural Hand Tool Sources Request a catalog from: Johnny's Selected Seeds Foss Hill Road Albion, Maine, 04910 Customer service: 1-207-437-4301 They supply EARTHWAY and PLANET, Jr. seeders and will, on request give you information on suppliers of other seeders (i.e. a small hand-carried corn/bean seeder. You may want to hybridyze the EW and the P, Jr. when planting small seeds in rough terrain. An organic vegetable grower North Carolina has successfully done this. Also: >Whole Earth "Ecolog" mentioned five tool suppliers for farm and garden >supplies; my hunch would be try Lehman's Hardware and Appliances, >their catalog is $2.00 from PO Box 41, 4779 Kidron Rd., Kidron OH 44636; >or Cumberland's, catalog $3.00 from rt. 3 box 81, Crossville TN 38555, and >they have a telephone: 615-484-8481. Also: A.E. Leonard somewhere in Ohio or perhaps Illinois Mostly tree maintenance and nursery equipment, plus miscellaneous gardening/landscaping tools/supplies Mellingers Lima, Ohio (I think) similar to Leonard Forestry Suppliers, Inc. somewhere in Alabama or Louisiana tools, equipment and supplies for the forestry industry [I will look up addresses for the above companies if anyone needs them] Langenbach "A Collection of the World's Finest Hand Tools" P.O. Box 453 Blairstown, N.J., 07825 Toll Free: 1-800-362-1991 Excellent! Smith and Hawken "Tools of the Trade - A Complete Source For the Organic Gardener" 25 Corte Madera Mill Valley, California, 94941 1-415-383-2000 Also excellent! you may need to ask them what tools they have for sale that are not listed in their catalogue, i.e. held-over stock offered in out-of-date ones - ask them to continue carrying the 4"X7" Japanese field hoe (grub-type eye hoe using 1 3/4" X 54" handle) they used to offer, and indispensible tool! The Cook's Garden "Seeds and Supplies for the New American Kitchen Garden" P.O. Box, 535 Londonderry, Vermont, 05148 Offers the Korean "HO-MI" hand cultivator (curved trowel/cultivator), well-designed and effective Necessary Trading Co. One Nature's Way New Castle, Virginia, 24127-0305 FAX - 703/864-5186 Phone: 1-703-864-5103 "Natural Solutions for Farm, Home and Garden" Wide range of supplies, books, fertilizers, tools and equipment - catalogue headings include: books, composting equipment & supplies, soil testing equipment & supplies, cover crop seeds, fertilizers (their largest offering), pest management supplies and equipment, wild bird supplies, animal care supplies and miscellaneous hand tools. A major supplier, along with Zook & Ranck and Fertrell, for organic farmers and market growers in the Eastern U.S. Also: HARMONY FARM SUPPLY [CAT - $2 deduct. from] P.O. Box 451 [first order] Graton, CA 95444 PEACEFUL VALLEY FARM SUPPLY [CAT - $2 deduct. from] P.O. Box 2209 [first order] Grass Valley, CA 95945 You might also call the folks at ATTRA (Appropriate Technology for Rural Areas) at 1-800-346-9140. This free information service funded by the USDA might have some other names & addresses for you. From bmasel@igc.apc.org Wed Feb 9 09:24:49 1994 Date: Tue, 8 Feb 1994 22:30:36 -0800 From: Ben Masel To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: 'AN AMAZING PLANT' AN AMAZING PLANT by Bill Leuders >From ISTHMUS, "the weekly newspaper of Madison" Feb 8-14, 1991 Reprinted by permission. Further reprints permitted with credits. ---------------------------------------------------- There aren't many things upon which long-haired radical Ben Masel, state Department of Agriculture official Erwin "Bud" Sholts, agronomy researcher Pat LeMahieu and corporate head George Tyson can be expected to agree. Among them: kicking puppies is mean, Drano should not be taken internally, and hemp - commonly known as marijuana - could become a major cash crop for Wisconsin. According to these and other participants in a, ahem, budding scientific discussion, the hemp plant could be cultivated not just for such traditional uses as rope and fabric, but also as a readily renewable resource for making paper, construction materials, high protein food, and safe, clean fuel. Masel, director of the Wisconsin Chapter of NORML, (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), in 1990 spoke in more than 50 US cities on the potential uses of the pot plant. Scientific American last December published an item on the nascent "grass-roots" movement in support of hemp; Masel was just interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for an upcoming article on the same. A primary organizer of Madison's annual "marijuana harvest" festival, the oft jailed Masel says his goal is "to relegalize this useful plant for its paper, fiber, fuel, food, medical and recreational value." Sholts, director of the state ag department's development and diversification program, affirms part of Masel's message: that hemp grows well in Wisconsin, even on soil not good for much else. "My father raised it on his farm," Sholts recalls of the time during WWII when farmers were encouraged to grow hemp for the war effort. (Masel, citing old US Department of Agriculture reports, says Wisconsin was once the nations leading producer of hemp, in some years accounting for more than half the nation's total crop.) Because hemp grows quickly and has a high per-acre yield, Sholts says "It's a very, very prime product for biomass" -organic material that can be converted to fuel. Hemp is also seen by "people with expertise" as preferable to kenaf, (aka ambry) a warm weather fibrous plant, for making paper and other products. But alas, Sholts points out, hemp has one big problem: With its current properties its illegal." LeMahieu, director of operations for Agrecol, the Agricultural research division of Madison-based W. T. Rogers Co., has a solution in mind: the development of a strain of hemp that is "socially acceptable." In other words, hemp that has been genetically engineered to remove the alkaloids that get people high. "It's feasible," insists LeMahieu, formerly a leading agricultural researcher at the UW-Madison. "Any trait can be bred out of a plant with recombinant DNA." Engineering a strain of hemp with the desired traits for mass cultivation will require "massive amounts" of money and commitment, says LeMahieu, who thinks Wisconsin- which has "the top plant-genetics research groups in the nation, maybe in the world" - is ideally suited for the task. "It truly is an amazing plant" says LeMahieu of hemp. "If you look at all the possible products that could be made from the hemp plant, it makes you wonder why we haven't pursued this." Tyson, chairman of the board of Xylan Inc., a biomass research firm in the University Research park, takes the point beyond wonder to rage. "We have the technology now to convert biomass into the fuel we're fighting for in the Persian Gulf," he says, asserting that the United States could eliminate its dependence on foreign oil simply by growing high-biomass crops like hemp on the acreage it now pays farmers to keep fallow. "It just seems silly to be paying farmers $26 billion a year not to produce something that would replace something that we are importing at the cost of over $100 billion a year. "This," Tyson asserts, "is a national disgrace." GRASS ROOTS Throughout most of U.S. -and indeed human- history, hemp has been domestically cultivated for a variety of uses, including textiles, rope, and paper. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp on their farms; the rigging and sails of the U.S. Constitution were all made from hemp (some 60 tons worth; Betsy Ross used hemp cloth to make the first U.S. flag; hemp canvas (the word "canvass" comes from cannabis, Latin for hemp) covered the pioneers' wagons and prairie schooners; Abraham Lincoln used a hemp-oil lamp to study law. Hemp was also used to make fine linen and underwear. Masel has a friend in Hungary [actually Germany] who still uses his family's hemp tablecloth - made in 1820. According to Jack Herer's pro-hemp manifesto, The Emperor Wears No New Clothes, the word "towel" comes from its original material-hemp tow, a silk-like textile professedly four times as absorbent as cotton. There is little historical record of people smoking hemp grown for rope or fabric. Masel, who testified as a marijuana expert in a 1988 court case, says plants used for such purposes would be harvest before flowering, and thus be more likely to cause headaches than highs, Still, some hemp grown for seed was smoked for its psychoactive and medicinal properties-a use no one seemed too bothered by until the plant became a threat to U.S. petrochemical companies. As outlined in Herer's history of hemp, super-efficient fiber- stripping machines invented in the in the 1930s promised to do for hemp what the cotton gin did for cotton, Corporations like Du Pont and industrialists like William Randolph Hearst feared hemp would compete with their pulpwood paper and synthetic products. The Hearst chain of newspapers declared hemp and other drugs Public Enemy No.1. Hemp, renamed "marihuana,." was blamed for crime and car accidents and linked to black jazz musicians and Mexican revolutionaries. "Marihuana makes fiends of boys in 30 days," screamed the headlines of one Hearst story, which claimed that hemp "goads users to blood lust." Du Pont, which had just patented a new process for making pulpwood paper and was at work on a petroleum-based synthetic it later named nylon, behaved similarly. Banker Andrew Mellon, Du Pont's chief financial backer and President Herbert Hoover's Secretary of the Treasury, tapped his nephew-to-be, Harry Anslinger, to head the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Anslinger, backed by the Hearst papers, crusaded for pot prohibition. (Among his favorite slogans, "If the hideous monster Frankenstein came face to face with the monster marihuana, he would drop dead of fright.") Such efforts resulted in the "Marihuana Tax Act of 1937"-the apparent death knell of legal hemp. As it happened, however, the government was unable to keep a good weed down. Hemp was still needed for a variety of uses, especially naval ones (hemp being the only natural fiber that can withstand saltwater for long). When World War II began and Japan blocked U.S. imports of Indian hemp, the government called on the nation's "patriotic farmers" to resume growing the monster marihuana. A 1942 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) film entitled "Hemp for Victory" evoked hemp's historical usefulness ("For the sailor, no less than the hangman hemp was indispensable,"), noting that the plant - "now little known outside of Kentucky and Wisconsin" was sorely needed for war items ranging from tow lines to the webbing of parachutes. "In 1942, 14,00 acres of fiber hemp were harvested in the United States," the narrator proclaimed amid strains of patriotic music. "The goal for 1943 is 300,000 acres. "The film also touted hemp's agronomical virtues: "A dense and shady crop, hemp tends to choke out weeds. Here's a Canada Thistle that couldn't stand the competition, dead as a dodo. Thus hemp leaves the ground in good condition for the following crop." When Asian markets reopened after the war, domestic hemp production again came to a halt. Well, sort of: State agriculture official Sholts notes that, as a result of its erstwhile cultivation, hemp still grows wild over much of Wisconsin - including on his father's farm, 11 miles south of Madison. Observes Sholts, "It's a very prolific plant." At this point, no one knows just how prolific or useful hemp may be-because, unlike such crops as corn, hemp has not benefited from modern agricultural techniques, including plant genetics. Although Agrecol (the company's name, like its mission, blends agriculture and ecology) has had impressive results test-planting kenaf, division head LeMahieu says hemp has higher-quality fiber, more potential uses, the ability to withstand cold better, and possibly higher yields: "If it weren't for the alkaloids [psychoactive ingredients] in hemp, we wouldn't even be talking about kenaf." Masel, who last September garnered 11,230 votes in a pro-hemp Primary challenge to Gov. Tommy Thompson, is especially fired up about the potential as a renewable source of paper and other products traditionally made from wood. One advantage of hemp over trees, says Masel, is that it contains significantly less lignin, a natural adhesive whose content must be lowered in the papermaking process. Roger Faulkner, a UW research specialist who works at the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Products Lab in Madison, adds that annual growth plants including hemp generate four to five times as much biomass yearly as trees. The disadvantage is that trees can be cut and stored until needed, but annuals not immediately processed or properly warehoused will degenerate. A "polymer scientist," Faulkner is part of a team of Forest Products Lab researchers studying the feasibility of using high-fiber plants to make "structural components." Within the last year, the group has made high-density construction boards using both kenaf and hemp-the latter from "ditch weed" (low-grade wild marijuana) that Tyson brought in. By blending plant fibers and polymers - compounds of high molecular weight - Faulkner thinks the same techniques can be used to make hemp and kenaf auto-body parts. (Hemp is already being used in some wallboard made in Germany.) "I don't think there's any doubt that hemp's one of the best fiber crops there is," says Faulkner, "Certainly, it's the best-adapted plant for Wisconsin." Faulkner further laments that both the Forest Service and private industry seem more interested in timber than annual-growth plants - although the USDA is funding a mill in Texas that will make paper from kenaf. Cultivating fiber on farms, he argues, is ecologically preferable to growing "monocultural" forests for pulp. What's more, it would allow fallow farmland to be put to use without adding to surpluses of existing crops. Another potentially useful hemp product is seed, which can account for 50% of the weight of plants grown for this purpose. Hemp seed, Says Masel, is about 16% protein and contains eight amino acids, compared with just four in soybeans. Masel has made cake from imported hemp seeds (legal if sterilized to make them "incapable of germination") and envisions their use as a high-protein food or animal feed. (In China, hemp-cake was used to feed animals for centuries.) Hemp-seed oil, at least 35% of seed content by weight, can be used as a lubricant (as it was in World War II fighter-plane engines), a cooking and salad oil, or even as a diesel fuel. Gatewood Galbraith, a Democrat running for governor of Kentucky on a pro-pot platform, last fall campaigned with singer Willie Nelson from Lexington to Louisville in a diesel Mercedes powered with 25% hemp-seed oil. The engine, says Masel, would have run on straight hemp-seed, but Galbraith didn't have a big enough supply. Masel, who sells $35 dollar hemp T-shirts and $10.00 hemp product sampler kits through an outfit called Wisconsin Hemp Products Inc. (P.O. Box 3481, Madison 53704), also thinks the hemp plant's "Styrofoam-like stalk" could be used as an insulator, or to make biodegradable fast-food clamshells. Can Masel see the day when McDonald's sells hamburgers in containers made from hemp? "I can see the day when they will be paying me royalties on the patent." HARVESTING THE SUN Perhaps the most exciting us of hemp is as biomass fuel. Through process called pyrolysis-the application of intense heat in the absence of air-hemp and other organic material can be efficiently converted to charcoal, oil, gas, or methanol. Hemp is a favored crop for biomass-organic material-because it grows very rapidly in a variety of climates. Indeed hemp has been called "the world's champion photosynthesizer," capable of converting energy from the sun more readily than any other plant. Biomass boosters further claim that pyrolytic fuels would be good for the environment. Pyrolysis charcoal, said to have the same heating value as coal, is virtually sulfur-free, unlike coal or other fossil fuels, a key cause of acid rain. What's more, hemp and other high-growth plants produce beneficial oxygen when grown- and take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere equal to the amount they release when burned. Thus, hemp hounds assert, if biomass replaces fossil fuels, the amount of acid rain and smog will be reduced and the trend toward global warming - the so-called greenhouse effect - will have a chance to reverse. "We're fighting in the Middle East for the right to pollute ourselves," hemp guru Herer told Al Giordano of Massachusetts' Valley Advocate newspaper. "We have a plant that can win a war. We have a plant here that can save the planet." James Converse, chairman of the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the UW-Madison, says university researchers hav done some work converting biomass material - corn, primarily - to ethanol. But he thinks the day when it makes sense to talk about biomass fuels replacing fossil fuels is a long way off: "Biomass will hold possibilities only when the price of fuel or the availability of fuel becomes such that you can make a profit with [biomass.] Tyson, whose company develops and licenses rights to emerging biomass technologies, disagrees. "These people [the UW scientists] are ten years behind. They don't know the current state of the art," he says. "We are much closer than that." Still, Tyson stresses the need for "a national policy" to develop the technology and build the refineries to convert biomass to fuel. "Bring the troops home and put them to work to build this infrastructure," he urges. "That will scare the daylights out of that part of the world. When [oil exporting countries] see we don't need them anymore, oil prices will come down. More importantly, we will not have to go to war for this reason anymore." "Let's harvest the sun through the process of photosynthesis," continues Tyson in a tone reminiscent of the narrator in Hemp for Victory. "Let's harvest solar energy into clean, safe fuels." OBSTACLES The revival of hemp and the development of other promising non food uses for fallow cropland will be discussed at an April 5 conference in Middleton organized by Sholts and other state agricultural officials. Gov. Thompson, outgoing federal Small Business Administration head Susan Engeleiter, and representatives of agribusiness will attend the all-day affair, which is open to the public for a $20 fee. Tyson, who is now focusing on "demonstration projects" to prove the viability of biomass technology, hopes Wisconsin can get the ball rolling by genetically engineering a strain of hemp that lacks psychoactive properties. "It can be done," he says unreservedly. "We can make anything we want to now." Agronomist LeMahieu agrees, saying the goal should be to create "a whole new plant" that lacks alkaloids and doesn't look like ordinary marijuana - ostensibly to foil folks who might wish, as Masel puts it, to "sneak a few" smokeable specimens alongside those grown for fiber or biomass. But LeMahieu frets about the legal roadblocks to any use of hemp. "State laws would have to change, federal laws would have to change, and we have international agreements that prohibit it.," he says. Jim Haney, assistant to state Attorney General James Doyle, notes that the state Controlled Substances Board can issue permits allowing possession of otherwise illegal drugs "for purposes of scientific research, instructional activities, chemical analysis, or other special uses." However, rejoins Masel, the wholesale cultivation of hemp would still be illegal under state and federal laws-which define marijuana in terms of plant parts, not alkaloid content. Ultimately the psychological obstacles to renewed hemp production may prove more formidable than legal ones. UW researcher Faulkner is uneasy even discussing the plant's potential, sensing "widespread opposition to and repression of the whole idea that hemp may have other uses." Masel is more optimistic. "I think [domestic revival of hemp] could happen surprisingly quickly," he says. Whenever one state moves the others are going to follow, rather than see that state make all the money." Does Wisconsin, which in 1990 seized and eradicated 849,324 domestic marijuana plants, 97% of which were wild plants no self respecting marijuana smoker would want, have the gumption to become that first state? Put it another way: Is making billions of dollars while helping save the environment and achieve domestic energy independence a strong enough incentive for officials like Thompson to let a long-haired radical like Ben Masel say "I told you so"? From psmith@ccs.carleton.ca Thu Mar 3 12:57:57 1994 Date: Mon, 24 Jan 94 15:47:17 EST From: Peter Smith To: Larry London Subject: Re: Human-powered Seeders Larry You asked for a synopsis of my newsgroup findings re: garden seeders (human-powered). Unfortunately, I only got a couple of responses, and one of them -- though appreciated, nonetheless -- was quite vague and spoke of experiences 2nd hand. Of the useful info, one user said that under good soil conditions, the Earthway Precision garden seeder was fine; under wet conditions it was very inadequate. A sturdier machine would likely have been better. In discussing with some growers in my locale, Eastern Canada, it appears that Earthway's Precision Seeder is about the only one used by those opting for human-powered techniques. One drawback that I foresee is the inflexible spacing of seed. I like to plant at intervals close to the ultimate placement of mature plants. The seeder plates tend to plant up to 4 times as densely as I would like depending on the particular plant type. If I get one of these devices, I am going to try to fashion some sort of plug for seed holes in the plates, thereby reducing plant density. I wish I had more concrete info to pass along, but that is it for now. bye and thanks again for your interest P.S. I did take a look at your ftp site, but didn't manage to find a file with discussion of human-powered seeders. If you have since run into the specific file, please let me know. But don't go out of your way, as it isn't critical. thanks Date: Mon, 24 Jan 94 15:47:17 EST From: Peter Smith Subject: Re: Human-powered Seeders Of the useful info, one user said that under good soil conditions, the Earthway Precision garden seeder was fine; under wet conditions it was very inadequate. A sturdier machine would likely have been better. In discussing with some growers in my locale, Eastern Canada, it appears that Earthway's Precision Seeder is about the only one used by those opting for human-powered techniques. One drawback that I foresee is the inflexible spacing of seed. I like to plant at intervals close to the ultimate placement of mature plants. The seeder plates tend to plant up to 4 times as densely as I would like depending on the particular plant type. If I get one of these devices, I am going to try to fashion some sort of plug for seed holes in the plates, thereby reducing plant density. From a-ehawl@microsoft.com Fri Dec 17 15:44:07 1993 Date: Thu, 16 Dec 93 09:02:37 PST From: Eric Hawley To: hydro@Hawg.Stanford.EDU Subject: Books for beginners After a quick check of my own collection, I have a list of six books I can recommend. "Home Hydroponics and How to Do It" by Lem Jones, Crown Pub. 1977 Good basic info. "Hydroponics For Everyone" by Dr. Struan K Sutherland, Highland House Pub. 1987 I like this book for its simple systems and drawings/photos. Good information presented clearly. "Hydroponic Gardening, A Practical Guide To Growing Plants Without Soil" by Lon Dalton/Rob Smith, Cobb/Horwood Pub 1985 Probably my favorite beginner level book. Lots of excellent quality photos, Detailed drawings of various systems, good horticultural advice. I liked the strawberry columns he details so well, I built three. They worked GREAT. "Grower's Bulletin #5, 2nd ed. Nutrient Film Technique" by Glasshouse Crops Research Institute, Little Hampton, W. Sussex England 1985 Great technical info for pretty cheap. "Basic Hydroponics" by M E Muckle 1982 A compilation of technical papers and articles published by Mr Muckle, a self-proclaimed "expert" on hydroponics. Some good information. He also owns a store in Vancouver BC: Western Water Farms. Lots of attitude here but he does have some good advice. He also publishes a pretty decent magazine. "Hydroponic Food Production" by Howard Resh 1978, 1985, ... This book has been mentioned before by others, but I felt it should be mentioned again. This is definitely the definitive book on hydroponics. Once you've gotten hooked, this is the best general reference you can get. All of these books can be, or at least were purchased through the Hydroponics Society of America. A good organization with many experienced growers, willing to share information and advice with others. I've lost contact with them over the last couple of years for vatious reasons, but can heartily recommend them as a great source of help/information. The address I have for them is: Hydroponic Society of America P.O. Box 6067 Concord, Ca. 94524 This is about 5 years old, so I suppose it could have changed... Eric From barth@ncatfyv.uark.edu Wed Oct 27 12:31:19 1993 Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1993 10:17:33 -0500 (CDT) From: Bart Hall_Beyer To: sustag-principles@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: What to DO with DOO-DOO One possibility that merits consideration is the use of Phragmites species (reed-type) things to provide kind of a quaternary treatment. They grow like crazy with a good nutrient supply and lots of water (sounds like effluent to me). They are also notorious for their ability to take up metallic contaminants, including Cd, Pb, and such. What you end up with is a tremendous amount of biomass. Why not use *it* to generate power or whatever? I would be willing to bet that the resulting ashes are richer in metals than some ores currently being mined. The major losses of organic matter in our system are a result of cultivated row crops and all forms of erosion. Let's concentrate on fixing that problem agronomically (more forage based rotations and feeding systems, for example) rather than trying to patch it with relatively small amounts of human manure in an inconvenient form. [PS - for the record, my background is in geology and soil science, so that may explain some of where I'm coming from on this question] From 0006857554@mcimail.com Tue Nov 8 10:00:41 EST 1994 Article: 4394 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!oit-mail2news-gateway From: 0006857554@mcimail.com (Jonathan & Alex Taylor) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Infra-red Goggles Date: 8 Nov 1994 07:50:25 -0000 Organization: sustag-public mailing list Lines: 8 Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <24941108014542/0006857554DC3EM@MCIMAIL.COM> NNTP-Posting-Host: bigblue.oit.unc.edu An ornithologist friend has heard about infra-red glasses that are used on vegetation to detect plant death before any browning is visible. He is interested in applying this technology to his nesting research. So far, he hasn't had much luck tracking these goggles down, and he thought someone in agriculture might be able to help. He'd appreciate any information you can offer--who uses them, where to get them, what further applications might be possible. Please send responses to 685-7554@mcimail.com. Thanks for your time. From jbs@duke.edu Tue Nov 8 19:30:23 EST 1994 Article: 3626 of misc.survivalism Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!news.duke.edu!duke.edu!jbs From: jbs@duke.edu (Joe B. Simpson) Newsgroups: misc.survivalism Subject: Re: Heat Sensor sights Date: 7 Nov 1994 03:44:48 GMT Organization: Joe's Bar and Grill Lines: 28 Message-ID: <39k7rg$sgn@news.duke.edu> References: <39h7an$nek@freenet3.scri.fsu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: ee.ee.duke.edu In article <39h7an$nek@freenet3.scri.fsu.edu> bolante@freenet2.scri.fsu.edu (Aldwin Bolante) writes: > >I am looking for a place that sells a device that will detect where heat >(the heat of a human being) out of a particular area. I'm thinking >something like a sight glass, or binoculars. When you look through it, >you can sweep around the area until you see a bright color. This bright >color is where the heat is located. > >Where can I get such a device? Something I saw in the U.S. Cavalry catalog (1-800-333-5102): GFI-IR2A Game Finder - $299.95 "...hand-held scanner works by detecting heat sources and motion of heat to help you find game or humans." "...tested at 1,000 yards in open fields, at 150 yards through woods." "...in extreme temperatures, detection to 250 feet is guaranteed." Weighs 6.3 ounces. Runs on a 9v battery. I have used a similar device, and it worked well. I don't remember the brand or the model I used, but this one isn't it. These are not optical instruments; you aim them rather than look through them. -joe -- "When personal freedom's being abused, | "I have an open mind, about everything you have to move to limit it." | it needs to be open about." | - U.S. President Bill Clinton, 1994 | - George Greene 9/13/94 From chollingsworth@coopext.umass.edu Thu Mar 3 12:29:05 1994 Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 09:00:54 -0500 (EST) From: CRAIG HOLLINGSWORTH To: Larry London Subject: Re: your mail For information on internships on organic farms, contact Julie Rawson, Northeast Organic Farmers Assoc., RFD 2, Barre MA 01005 (508) Phone: 508 355 2853 Good luck. -- CRAIG HOLLINGSWORTH INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY BOX 30210 PHONE: (413)545-1055 UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FAX: (413)545-5858 AMHERST MA 01003-0210 Email: chollingsworth@coopext.umass.edu From steved@ncatfyv.uark.eduFri Nov 17 14:23:05 1995 Date: Fri, 10 Nov 1995 10:41:54 -0600 (CST) From: Steve Diver To: permaculture-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Permaculture & Sustainable Agriculture Permies: This paper is two years old but it provides a framework for comparing permaculture (as a large umbrella) to sustainable agriculture (as a parallel large umbrella) to the more specific alternative farming systems in use. The audience included conventional farmers, and thus the focus on "low-input" as a bridge to sustainable ag and the more refined alternative farming systems. Source: Diver, Steve. 1994. Introduction to low-input sustainable agriculture. p. 152-158. Proceedings of the 13th Annual Oklahoma Horticulture Industries Show. Held January 7-8, 1994, Tulsa Jr. College-Northeast Campus, Tulsa, OK. INTRODUCTION TO LOW-INPUT SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Sustainable agriculture is a regular feature in farm journals and growers meetings these days. Thus, an introduction to production systems that strive towards sustainability seems appropriate. While sustainable agriculture is based on long-term goals and not a specific set of farming practices, it is usually accompanied by a reduction of purchased inputs in favor of managing on-farm resources. A good example is reliance on biologically-fixed nitrogen from legumes as versus manufactured nitrogen fertilizers. Low-input agriculture is one of several alternative farming systems whose methods are adaptable to sustainable agriculture. Low-input farming is based on a reduction--but not necessarily elimination--of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides. Farmers are adopting these practices primarily to reduce costs, but also because they want to minimize impact on the environment or because they perceive future pesticide regulations. In a search for information on how to farm with fewer chemicals, it is helpful to examine alternative farming systems in existence that largely exclude chemicals in favor of biological farming practices. Experiences of producers who've successfully practiced these methods are valuable to farmers considering a transition to low-input sustainable agriculture. Alternative Farming Systems There are four established approaches to alternative farming in the U.S. A common thread in all four schools is an emphasis on biological systems to supply fertility and pest control rather than chemical inputs. Organic farming is the most widely recognized alternative farming system. Modern organic farming evolved as an alternative to chemical agriculture in the 1940s, largely in response to the publications of J.I. Rodale in the U.S., Lady Eve Balfour in England, and Sir Albert Howard in India. In 1980, U.S.D.A. released a landmark report titled Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming (1) in which organic farming was defined as such: Organic farming is a production system which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. To the maximum extent feasible, organic farming systems rely upon crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manures, off-farm organic wastes, mechanical cultivation, mineral-bearing rocks, and aspects of biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients, and to control insects, weeds, and other pests. In the 70s and 80s, organic certification of farms emerged as a marketing tool to insure foods produced organically met specified standards of production. The Organic Foods Production Act, included in the 1990 Farm Bill, enabled USDA to develop a national program of universal standards, certification accreditation, and food labeling. Implementation, initially scheduled for October of 1993, was delayed due to lack of funding and complexity of issues and is anticipated to take effect in 1995. Biodynamic farming evolved in Europe in the 1920s following lectures on agriculture by the Austrian anthroposophist Rudolf Steiner. Biodynamic farming parallels organic farming in many ways but places greater emphasis on the integration of animals to create a closed nutrient cycle, effect of crop planting dates in relation to the calendar, and awareness of spiritual forces in nature. A unique feature of this system is the use of eight specific preparations derived from cow manure, silica, and herbal extracts to treat compost piles, soils, and crops. Demeter (tm) is a certification program for food and feed produced by strictly biodynamic farming methods. The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) marketing programs, gathering popularity as an innovative method of subscription farming, were largely introduced into the U.S. by the biodynamic movement. An article on soil quality and financial performance of biodynamic and conventional farms in New Zealand in the April 16, 1993 issue of Science. In a comparison of 16 adjacent farms, the biodynamic farms exhibited superior soil physical, biological, and chemical properties and were just as financially viable as their counterparts (2). "Biological" farming has become synonymous with farmers using the Reams fertility system as the basis for crop production. Eco-agriculture is the term used to describe this system by the monthly Acres, U.S.A. The Reams system is based on the LaMotte-Morgan soil test and the use of rock phosphate, calcium carbonate, and compost to achieve nutrient ratios of 7:1 calcium to phosphorus, 2:1 phosphorus to potassium, and so on. "Biological" farming allows the use of selected chemical fertilizers (avoiding disruptive materials such as anhydrous ammonia and potassium chloride) and adopts low-input approaches to use of herbicides and insecticides. Diagnostic instruments to monitor plant and soil conditions are frequently used in "Biological" farming; these include refractometers to monitor sugar content (Brix) in plant tissue sap; electrical conductivity meters to monitor ERGS (or energy released per gram of soil); ORPS meters (or oxygen reduction potential of soil); and radionics. Based on data gathered, foliar sprays containing biostimulants and soluble nutrients are applied. The Pandol Brothers, a large commercial fruit and vegetable operation in California, reduced their annual pesticide bill from $500,000 to $50,000 per year after adopting a "Biological" fertility program. Nature Farming was developed in Japan in the 1930s by Mokichi Okada, who later formed the Mokichi Okada Association (MOA). Nature Farming parallels organic farming in many ways but includes special emphasis on soil health through composts rather than organic fertilizers, when possible. Kyusei Nature Farming, a branch group, emphasizes use of microbial preparations in addition to traditional Nature Farming. Nature Farming is most active in the Pacific rim, including California and Hawaii. Since the late 1980s, Nature Farming has gained wider recognition in the United States through the coordinated efforts of MOA and the Rodale Institute in the formation of the World Sustainable Agriculture Association (WSAA). The WSAA and MOA sponsor annual conferences on Nature Farming and sustainable agriculture. Kyusei Nature Farming conducts on-farm research in California. In addition to these methods-based approaches to sustainable farming, regenerative agriculture and permaculture are widely recognized in the U.S. and abroad. However, these latter systems, like sustainable agriculture, are more conceptually oriented than methods-based. Regenerative agriculture became the preferred term of the Rodale Institute in the late 1970s and 80s under the direction of Robert Rodale. Regenerative agriculture builds on nature's own inherent capacity to cope with pests, enhance soil fertility, and increase productivity. It implies a continuing ability to re- create the resources that the system requires. In practice, regenerative agriculture uses low-input and organic farming systems as a framework to achieve these goals. Permaculture is a contraction of "permanent agriculture" and was coined by Bill Mollison, an Australian forest ecologist, in 1978. Permaculture is concerned with designing ecological human habitats and food production systems, and follows specific guidelines and principles in the design of these systems. To the extent that permaculture is not a production system, per se, but rather a land use planning philosophy, it is not limited to a specific method of production. Thus, practically any site- specific ecological farming system is amenable to permaculture. A common thread among all six schools is an opposing world view to the industrial model of agriculture. These competing paradigms were summarized in "Conventional Versus Alternative Agriculture: The Paradigmatic Roots of the Debate" (3) as: * centralization vs. decentralization * dependence vs. independence * competition vs. community * dominance of nature vs. harmony with nature * specialization vs. diversity * exploitation vs. restraint These objectives obviously have more to do with societal and economic responses to modern industrial agriculture than they do with farming practice A or farming practice B. Nevertheless, they underscore the sometimes contentious debate between sustainable farming advocates and supporters of high-input conventional agriculture. Evolution of Sustainable Agriculture In the 1960s and 70s, a growing environmental agriculture movement evolved in response to increasing soil erosion, pesticide use, and groundwater contamination. Simultaneously, economic conditions for farmers were becoming more stressful and the number of family farms declined. In 1980 Wes Jackson of The Land Institute in Salina, KS, began using the term "sustainable agriculture" to describe an alternative system of agriculture based upon resource conservation and quality of rural life. Through the lobbying efforts of several nonprofit farming organizations, Congress passed legislation in the 1985 Farm Bill that mandated implementation of a low-input sustainable agriculture program by the Department of Agriculture. In 1988 U.S.D.A. initiated the Low-Input Sustainable Agriculture research and education program, or LISA. In 1991 the name of this program was changed to the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, or SARE. Funds made available through the LISA/SARE programs have resulted in significant additions to landgrant research and extension programs in the last five years. While sustainable agriculture has become the umbrella under which many of the above-mentioned alternative farming systems fall, it is important to note that sustainable agriculture is really a long-term goal, not a specific set of farming practices. In Sustainable Agriculture in Temperate Zones (4) sustainable agriculture was defined as such: Sustainable Agriculture is a philosophy based on human goals and on understanding the long-term impact of our activities on the environment and on other species. Use of this philosophy guides our application of prior experience and the latest scientific advances to create integrated, resource-conserving, equitable farming systems. These systems reduce environmental degradation, maintain agricultural productivity, promote economic viability in both the short and long term and maintain stable rural communities and quality of life. Three indicators that appear most frequently in a definition of sustainable agriculture are: * Environmentally sound * Economically viable * Socially acceptable In this context, sustainable agriculture embraces all agricultural systems striving to meet these criteria. Many aspects of modern conventional agriculture are included in sustainable agriculture, just as are many aspects of alternative farming systems. One aspect of modern agriculture receiving a lot of attention in the sustainable agriculture discussion is the use of chemical inputs to supply fertility and pest control. While agriculture chemicals will continue to play an important role in American agriculture, many farmers are looking at alternatives due to environmental, economical, or regulatory reasons. In a transition to farming systems more reliant on biological methods of production, low-input farming serves as an intermediary step. Low-Input Agriculture The term low-input agriculture has been defined as a production activity that uses synthetic fertilizers or pesticides below rates commonly recommended by the Extension Service. It does not mean elimination of these materials. Yields are maintained through greater emphasis on cultural practices, IPM, and utilization of on-farm resources and management. Although the term "low-input farming" has often been used to describe any system of alternative agriculture, it can be seen that it is distinctly different from organic farming, etc. Nevertheless, any system that reduces purchased chemical inputs can be called low-input farming. As research funded through U.S.D.A.'s LISA/SARE program has emerged, it is apparent that many Extension programs are now offering low-input practices as a regular option for growers. Examples of low-input agriculture Extension Service programs in the United States: * University of Arkansas reduced herbicide program for soybeans * University of Massachusetts low-spray apple orchard program * Pennsylvania State University living mulches for vegetables program In Oklahoma, speakers have reported at Horticulture Industries Show meetings that: (1) poultry litter can replace nitrogen fertilizers in the production of watermelons; (2) legume cover crops can supply the total nitrogen requirements of pecan trees; and, (3) two timely applications of a synthetic insecticide can produce a full crop of worm-free apples. In Arkansas, speakers have reported at the Arkansas Society for Horticultural Science meetings that: (1) compost amended potting mixes produce superior vegetable transplants than traditional soilless mixes; (2) no-till vegetable systems are feasible using reduced herbicide rates to kill cover crops; and, (3) subterranean clover living mulches supply nitrogen and weed control in peach orchards. Integrated pest management is probably the oldest and most widely recognized Extension Service program devoted to low-input agriculture. However, only recently have the "non-chemical" approaches--such as cultural, mechanical, and biological--within the IPM framework been emphasized over the chemical component. Some programs, in fact, are now termed "biologically-intensive IPM." In Oklahoma, low-input sustainable agriculture is being practiced on many farms and ranches. Extension efforts are needed to photograph and document these practices for wider distribution. Research efforts are needed to validate practices through on-farm research for wider application. Finally, in the adoption of sustainable farming practices that depend on a higher degree of management of biological resources, it is helpful to remember one or two ideas about priorities in farming: "Any system that allows people to get started, however imperfect it might be, is the right system for that situation." That is to say that during these rough times in U.S. agriculture, it is far more important to help young people get into farming, and keep established farmers financially secure, than it is to worry about eliminating tools--including fertilizers and pesticides--that support farming. In other words, "get the engine running first, then adjust the carburetor." References: 1) USDA. 1980. Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 94 p. 2) Reaganold, J.P., et al. 1993. Soil quality and financial performance of biodynamic and conventional farms in New Zealand. Science. April 16. p. 344-349. 3) Beus, C.E., and R.E. Dunlap. 1990. Conventional versus alternative agriculture: the paradigmatic roots of the debate. Rural Sociology. 55(4): 590-616. 4) Francis, C.A., C.B. Flora, and L.D. King. 1990. Sustainable Agriculture in Temperate Zones. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 487 p. Alternative Farming Organizations: Organic Farming Rodale Institute Research Center 611 Siegfriedale Rd. Kutztown, PA 19530 (610) 683-6383 Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA)-International 3185 Township Rd. 179 Bellefontane, OH 43311 (513) 592-4983 Biodynamic Farming Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Assn. P.O. Box 550 Kimberton, PA 19442 (215) 935-7797 Josephine Porter Institute of Applied Biodynamics P.O. Box 133 Woolwine, VA 24185 (703) 930-2463 Michael Fields Agricultural Institute West 2493 County Rd. ES East Troy, WI 53120 (414) 642-3303 Biological Farming Acres, U.S.A. Book Store 2617-C Edenborn Ave Metairie, LA 70002 (504) 889-2100 Nature Farming Mokichi Okada Association c/o Pacific Cultural Center 1835 Vancouver Drive Honolulu, HI 96822 (808) 595-6344 (808) 595-8014 Fax Nature Farming Research & Development Center 6495 Santa Rosa Rd. Lompac, CA 93436 (805) 737-1536 (805) 736-9599 Fax Alternative Farming Systems Information Sources: 1) Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) P.O. Box 3657 Fayetteville, AR 72702 1-800-246-9140 Information Packages Resource Lists Custom research on sustainble farming practices and alternative crop and livestock enterprises. 2) Alternative Farming Systems Information Center National Agricultural Library 10301 Baltimore Boulevard Beltsville, MD 20705-2351 (301) 504-6559 Quick Bibliographies Special Reference Briefs Bibliographic database searches Date: Sun, 28 Aug 1994 18:33:18 -0700 From: Mark Ritchie Source for information on Japanese farming cooperatives The best single source would be to write to Mika Iba, 3-23-15, Matsubara, Setagayaku, Tokyo 156, Japan. Tell her what you need and she can direct you to the best sources. From gwfeenstra@ucdavis.edu Date: Wed, 7 Sep 1994 10:19:12 -0700 From: gwfeenstra@ucdavis.edu To: Larry London Subject: Re: Japanese farming > Hi, does anyone know anything about cooperative agriculture in Japan. I am > trying to find addresses of groups to write to as I am writing a thesis on > Japanese agricultural policy > > Thanks in advance for any help > > THE RUBBISH MAN > mischews@waikato.ac.nz Yes, I suggest you contact Arthur Getz (e-mail address: arthur@igc.org.apc. He used to live there and was connected with organic farmers and cooperative farming organizations (I think). Gail Feenstra University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program gwfeenstra@ucdavis.edu From dmo@gus.nsac.ns.ca Sat Oct 22 10:57:44 EDT 1994 Article: 1936 of sci.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!swrinde!sgiblab!sgigate.sgi.com!olivea!uunet!newsflash.concordia.ca!nstn.ns.ca!ac.nsac.ns.ca!gus.nsac.ns.ca!DMO Newsgroups: sci.agriculture Subject: information request: lambsquarters Message-ID: <1994Oct20.192852.136@ac.nsac.ns.ca> From: DMoerman@gus.nsac.ns.ca Date: 20 Oct 94 19:28:51 -0400 Reply-To: dmo@gus.nsac.ns.ca Organization: Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Marketing, Nova Scotia, CANADA Nntp-Posting-Host: gus.nsac.ns.ca Lines: 18 Hello: I am posting this for a student at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. Hi! For my B.Sc. (Agric)- horticulture undergraduate project I am examining different seed treatments of lamb's quarters (Chenopodium album L.) in order to obtain information for a better method to increase harvestable yield of herbage. Yes herbage! I am examining this plant as it is a suitable potherb and there is a market for it (and it tastes good too!). I am looking for information about: - edible uses, culture, other uses (ie. cover crop, forage) Please respond by email to m90856@cox.nsac.ns.ca I will also monitor responses to the group. If you are interested I will compile the responses and post them to the group. Thank-you, KAREN MCKENZIE From nikki@trmphrst.demon.co.uk Date: Sat, 22 Oct 94 18:39:13 GMT From: Nikki Locke To: london@sunsite.unc.edu Cc: m90856@cox.nsac.ns.ca Subject: Re: information request: lambsquarters (fwd) In article <9410221457.AA04250@sunsite.oit.unc.edu> you write: > Hi! For my B.Sc. (Agric)- horticulture undergraduate project I am examining > different seed treatments of lamb's quarters (Chenopodium album L.) in order to > obtain information for a better method to increase harvestable yield of > herbage. Yes herbage! > I am examining this plant as it is a suitable potherb and there is a market > for it (and it tastes good too!). > I am looking for information about: > - edible uses, culture, other uses (ie. cover crop, forage) Here is what the "Plants for a Future" plant database has to say about it ... Latin name: Chenopodium album Botanical references: 17 Family: Chenopodiaceae Common name: Fat hen Habit: Annual Deciduous/Evergreen: Height: 0.9 Width: 0.2 Hardyness: Range: Britain. Habitat: A common weed of cultivated g Soil: LMH Shade: N Moisture: M Well-drained: 0 Nitrogen fixer: 0 pH: ANB Acid: 0 Alkaline: 0 Saline: 0 Wind: Growth rate: Pollution: Poor soil: 0 Drought: 0 Wildlife: 0 Woodland: 0 Meadow: 0 Wall: 0 In leaf: Flowering time: 7 - 10 Seed ripens: 8 - 10 Flower Type: H Pollinators: Wind Self-fertile: Known hazards: The leaves and seeds of all members of this genus are more or less edible. However, many of the species in this genus contain saponins, though usually in quantities too small to do any harm. Although toxic, saponins are poorly absorbed by the body and most pass straight through without any problem. They are also broken down to a large extent in the cooking process. Saponins are found in many foods, such as some beans. The plants also contain some oxalic acid, which in large quantities can lock up some of the nutrients in the food, but they are very nutritious vegetables in reasonable quantities. There is also a report that very large quantities of the leaves have caused photosensitivity in some people[74]. Only the raw leaves can cause problems, and then only if large quantities are consumed[172]. Synonyms: C. reticulatum. Cultivation details: Succeeds on most soils, but dislikes shade[1, 200]. Prefers a moderately fertile soil[200]. In moderate amounts this plant is a good companion for potatoes, corn and cucurbits[20, 54]. Responds directly to the Mg content of the soil so it can be used as an indicator[114]. Occassionally cultivated as a food crop,[46] there is at least one named variety[183]. Called 'Magenta' in reference to the colour of its leaves, it is considered by some people to be the best tasting of all potherbs[183]. Edible uses: Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 4, 5, 9, 12, 20, 54, 62, 102]. A very acceptable spinach substitute[183]. The leaves are best not eaten raw, see notes at the top of the page[74]. The leaves are generally very nutritious but very large quantities can disturb the nervous system and cause gastric pain[74]. The leaves contain about 3.9% protein, 0.76% fat, 8.93% carbohydrate, 3% ash[179]. Edible seed - dried and ground into a meal and eaten raw or baked into a bread[[2, 4, 12, 14, 54, 102, 183]. The seed can also be sprouted and added to salads[183]. The seed is very fiddly to harvest and use due to its small size[9]. The seed should be soaked in water overnight and thoroughly rinsed before it is used in order to remove any saponins. Seeds contain about 49% carbohydrate, 16% protein, 7% ash, 5.88% ash[114, 179]. Young inflorescences - cooked[183]. Medicinal: Antiphlogistic, antirheumatic, odontalgic[172]. Uses notes: A green dye is obtained from the young shoots[99]. The crushed fresh roots are a mild soap substitute[106]. Propagation 1: Seed - sow spring in situ. Usually self-sows freely in most soils. Cultivars: - Heavy clay: 0 Last update:16/12/93 Record checked: - -- Nikki Locke,Trumphurst Ltd.(PC & Unix consultancy) nikki@trmphrst.demon.co.uk trmphrst.demon.co.uk is NOT affiliated with ANY other sites at demon.co.uk. From ealarson@iastate.edu Thu Jan 5 21:41:42 EST 1995 Article: 4976 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!oit-mail2news-gateway From: ealarson@iastate.edu (Anne Larson) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Manure management seminar set Date: 5 Jan 1995 21:49:17 -0000 Organization: sustag-public mailing list Lines: 87 Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <199501051853.AA22021@mailhub.iastate.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: bigblue.oit.unc.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Seminar series to focus on manure management The Iowa State University Department of Animal Science is launching a weekly seminar series on manure management issues in sustainable agriculture. The series, which is open to the public at no cost, will feature presentations and discussions on livestock issues in Iowa, including confinement units, grazing, odor, and sociological aspects of incorporating livestock into farming operations. All sessions will be held on Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. in Room 2050 of the ISU Agronomy Building. The weekly series begins on Jan. 19 with a presentation on the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at ISU by center director Dennis Keeney. On Jan. 26, ISU agricultural and biosystems engineer Stewart Melvin will discuss environmental considerations for the size of animal enterprises; on Feb. 2 ISU agricultural economist Mike Duffy will describe micro- and macro-economic aspects of animal waste management. The seminars conclude on April 20. The series, which is also offered for graduate credit, is jointly supported by the ISU College of Agriculture departments of animal science, agronomy, agricultural and biosystems engineering, entomology, forestry, sociology, economics, and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. For a complete list of topics to be covered in the seminar, contact Jim Russell at 294-4631. LIST OF SEMINAR DATES, SPEAKERS, AND TOPICS Jan. 19 Introduction to the Seminar, Jim Russell, ISU Animal Science The Leopold Center and Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, Dennis Keeney, Leopold Center Jan. 26 Decisions for Iowa: Environmental Considerations for the Size of Animal Enterprises, Stewart Melvin, Agric. & Biosystems Eng. Feb. 2 Manure Management: Micro- and Macroeconomic Aspects, Michael Duffy, Agricultural Economics Feb. 9 Public Perceptions of Animal Confinement Units; Opportunities for ISU, David Topel, Dean, College of Agriculture Feb. 16 Manure Nitrogen and Phosphorus Management in Cropping Systems, Randy Killorn, Agronomy Feb. 23 Substituting Animal Manures for Synthetic Fertilizers, Fred Blackmer, Agronomy March 2 A Systems Engineering Approach for Managing Animal Manure, Doug Karlen, National Soil Tilth Laboratory March 9 Nonpoint Source Pollution Control through Grazing Management: Knowledge, Opportunities, and Needs, James Russell, Animal Science; Antonio Mallarino, Agronomy March 23 Manure Nutrient Management through Dietary Control in Cattle and Swine: Knowledge, Opportunities, and Needs, Allen Trenkle, Animal Science; Mark Honeyman, Outlying Research System March 30 Manure Treatment Systems: Opportunities and Needs, Richard Dague, Civil & Construction Eng., Ruihong Zhang, Agricultural and Biosystems Eng. April 6 Managing Odor and Insect Problems Associated with Manures: Knowledge, Opportunities, and Needs, Dwaine Bundy, Agric. & Biosystems Eng. and Ken Holscher, Entomology April 13 Use of Woody and Herbaceous Biomass Crops as Manure Treatment Systems: Knowledge, Opportunities, and Needs, Dick Schultz, Forestry April 20 Effectiveness of Incentives vs. Penalties to Encourage Improved Manure Management, Steve Padgitt, Sociology Anne Larson, Comm. Specialist Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture ealarson@iastate.edu (515) 294-0626 From pcorless@cisco.com Thu Dec 15 20:44:14 EST 1994 Article: 2422 of sci.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!udel!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!darkstar.UCSC.EDU!news.hal.COM!decwrl!cronkite.cisco.com!acs-mac.cisco.com!user From: pcorless@cisco.com (Peter Corless) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture,sci.bio.ecology Subject: Medieval Agricultural Yields and Equivalents... (long) Followup-To: sci.agriculture,sci.bio.ecology Date: 10 Dec 1994 08:23:00 GMT Organization: Cisco Systems, Inc. Lines: 170 Distribution: world Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: acs-mac.cisco.com Xref: bigblue.oit.unc.edu sci.agriculture:2422 sci.bio.ecology:7726 Hello folks! I'm doing some rather extensive research into Norman-era English agriculture, c Domesday Survey (1086 AD). (Long story, folks...) Yes, yields have gotten really cool over these last eight centuries, but let's go back to the medieval farmer turning over the heavy English clays with an eight-oxen team. I don't know if there's someone out there working in modern developing-world countries that might be able to shed light on this sort of material, but anything would be better than my "wag"s (wild-ass guesses). >From what I've been reading, Medieval yields for various grains are as follows: Rye = seven-fold render (7 bushels on one acre); does better in poor soil Wheat = 5-fold render (5 bu/acre) in poor soils... Barley = ??? I believe the seed distribution was 1 bushel/acre for planting. Other sources indicate 2 bushels/acre, though this seems rather high to me. This didn't jive with most other estimations I received, which indicated Anglo-Saxon farm yields for wheat ranging from 6 (poor harvest) to 8 (average) to 10 (great) bushels per acre. But I think these also assumed average to good plowland. Given the early two-field rotation system, I tried to rationalize how England could support the debated-but-seemingly-accepted historical estimates of 1.2 to 1.5 million inhabitants. Basically, the Domesday survey showed 67,000 some odd "hides", "sulungs" or "carucates" under plow... Each unit can be rounded off to representing 120 acres (though this varied *greatly* depending on all sorts of variables...) That's about 12,600 square miles under plow... or 8,000,000 acres (very rounded figures). Given 50% utilization for rotation (I'll use the other 50% for pasture below), that's 4,000,000 acres. Okay. Here we go... Given a bad harvest year (famine, but people aren't dropping like flies), that'd be equivalent to a 6 bu/acre render minus 1 bu/acre for replanting = 5 bu/acre for food, or 4 million x 5 bu = 20 million bushels of grains. I've heard that a typical human being requires about 24 bushels of food per year (which would create a loaf a bread a day). But that means 1.5 million people x 24 bushels = 36 million bushels food/year! Even 1.2 million (the low-ball accepted value) = 28.8 million bushels/year. So somewhere I'm only 50-75% towards the dietary needs of the population. btw: Even if you break down this equation to the individual farmstead, which we have very explicit survey results for, the equation doesn't work too well. The typical farm has about 4 households per "hide" of 120 acres. Estimates of family size are ~4-5/household. Given 16-20 people per 120 acres = (16 to 20) x 24 bu required = 384-480 bushels equiv. required versus 120 x 50% x 5 = 300 bushels produced! Only 62%-78% the way there... Hmmm... At the same time, I didn't decrease grain yields to account for the significant losses due to requirements for brewing into alchohol. (I've heard *all* sorts of wild guesses for that figure...) Or take into account losses due to pestilence in storage, spillage, losses in milling, etc. So somehow people were able to live without starving to death... So my next thought: "must be their consumption of vegetables and meats!" But the figures don't support this. Or do they? Gardens were dissapointing. Crofts, gardens and other growing areas were rated at no greater than 10% of the arable. Most locations didn't even rate a mention of such. What is the typical vegetable garden's yield? Given an equivalent "5 bushels/acre" yield to grain, then we'd get to add another 5-10% towards our goal... Now we stand at about 55% (worst case) to 88% (best case) of our needs -- or roughly two thirds the way there. Now let's turn to the aminal part of the diet... >From a sample of 1.7% of the population (taken from the richest and best-victualled nobles' farmsteads), I came up with the following stats: 2.3 oxen per family (Can't eat 'em... these were the plow beasts) 0.24 head of cattle per family 0.04 horses per family (Mostly for the wealthy... I only included them since I was trying to figure out how the *heck* people'd survive in the lean years.) 0.23 goats per family 0.61 pigs per family 4.02 sheep per family (Alas, chickens and ducks were not compiled by the tax collectors! ;-) The meadow and pastureland statistics also bear out the above numbers for livestock. For instance, most meadow -- reserved grazing land for oxen -- amounted to 5-20% of the arable. As mentioned already, common pasture was often the rotated crop land, but some locations were also lucky enough to rate set-aside pastures for their cattle, but not much. Now, I haven't butchered enough animals, but this does not seem like enough victuals to make up 30% of your dietary needs over a year. The sheep are the most promising, but I don't think that'd last you more than a couple of months. How many "bushels" equivalent does 4 sheep, a half-a-pig, and a quarter-of-a-cow equate to? Also, remember that you cannot eat the whole of the available livestock, lest you then have *nothing* left for future years... I would assume you could consume no more than 30-50% of your available animals (depending on the type, gestation period and rate of maturation per beastie) if you do not want to adversely affect the overall economic and ecologic system. I also considered hunting and fishing, but I don't have any idea how much that would change the equation. Rabbit was probably available widely, and venison to those authorized to hunt in the King's forests. (Poachers were also quite likely ;-) Renders of eels, fish, sesters of honey and other food were mentioned, but not enough to make "great unified theory" equations. So far, so good. Given some good hunting, we can just about scratch our heads and give them the benefit of the doubt. Now here's the tricky part: TAXES. Food renders were made -- usually 10% of the harvest -- to the church every year. If I knock 10% off my values, well... now things *really* look bleak. As well, agriculture renders as "valet" -- taxes -- were about 1-2 pounds/hide, or roughly 1.6 to 3.2 pence per acre. And these weren't paid in coinage, but in renders of food as well! (I have not been able to establish the selling price of bushels of grain at this time... But that's another posting altogher in a different newsgroup! ;-) And no, I'm sorry; the clergy did *not* make up 10% of the rural population of England... More like 1 in 260 -- about what you'd expect! Similarly those who were getting the taxes were not statistically equivalent to the amount of goods that were being delivered to them. The ratio of taxes would be about 15% of the yield (if, as I've guessed, a bushel as worth 2 pence). This also matches the taxes of "one sheep/pig in seven" that was collected by the king's men. And, by the way, this 15% rendered as taxes was split amongst only 5% of the population -- I think they were *quite* set! :-) So I scraped to get to 100% of food, only to be brought back down by 25%. How well does a population survive on 75% of it's annual requirement? Famine would obviously claim some lives.... but I can't see it being an even-percentage exchange. Surely there's some resiliency towards undernourishment. Otherwise, England would have been nearly depopulated after a relatively short number of drought or pestilence years. Anyone have figures on such large-scale and primitive agrarian societies? I *know* people survived the feudal era... I'm trying to figure out *how*, and from this, get a good idea of their diet and lifestyle. Any help would be *greatly* appreciated in this endeavour. If I get published, I'll be sure to site any assistance rendered. References are also highly desired. Please e-mail directly back to me (pcorless@cisco.com). I'll try to amass and post the best of the reponses. -Peter Corless. From RJHDVM@aol.com Mon Nov 14 19:58:36 EST 1994 Article: 4460 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!oit-mail2news-gateway From: RJHDVM@aol.com Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Re: 40,000 U.S. farmers, but not one ounce of reason Date: 14 Nov 1994 17:45:49 -0000 Organization: sustag-public mailing list Lines: 25 Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <941114105741_7244043@aol.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: bigblue.oit.unc.edu I would like to call attention to a short article in FEEDSTUFFS magazine on July 11, 1994, entitled "Microfarmer, 'clean foods' could reach 25% of consumers". According to Gerald Celente, president of The Trends Institute in Rhineeck, NY, "microfarmers will challenge food giants just as microbrewers are confronting brewery giants today, by producing upper-end, premium-priced products that are bought for their perceived quality and safeness as well as their uniqueness. Microfarmers will be driven by demand for 'clean food', certifiably free of artificial preservatives, drug residues and synthetic pesticides and will be produced without genetic manipulation... ." Lest microfarmers be chalked off as producing for a less than meaningful consumer segment, Celente advised that they will market to 19 to 25% of the population and represent 12-18% of the agrimarket by the year 2015. Clean foods will be the "ace" in the food producers"s hole in the future, he said. (above abstracted from FEEDSTUFFS, July 11, 1994) I may be missing something here, but the title of these postings "40,000 U.S. farmers, but not one ounce of reason" is offensive to me and probably to many farmers. Perhaps we could just as easily write " 40,000 lawyers, but not one ounce of honesty". Doc Holliday Richard J. Holliday, DVM America On Line: RJHDVM 203 2nd St N E Phone 319 568 3624 Waukon, IA 52172 Fax 319 568 4259 From sals@coyote.rain.org Fri Feb 18 16:39:03 1994 Date: Fri, 18 Feb 1994 07:43:12 -0800 (PST) From: Sal Schettino To: sanet Subject: Micronutrition (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 18 Feb 1994 05:21:20 -0500 From: Bob Cruder To: Multiple recipients of list GARDENS Subject: Micronutrition One major failure of the "green revolution" is a slow but consistent alteration in the trace mineral content of foods. Soil constituents break down at a fixed rate regardless of the amount of vegetable matter that intensive farming can produce. While plants require three macro-nutrients (NPK) and another half-dozen or so micro-nutrients, humans require more. Those extras are not included in fertilizer because they do not increase yield, apparent quality or market price. The resultant produce becomes more nutrient poor over time. The macro-nutrients that are applied in chemical fertilizers are produced by industrial processes that yield trace amounts of heavy metals which are not ordinarily present in soil. These potentially toxic materials have been increasing over time. The following numbers come from the November 1993 Journal of Applied Nutrition and compare the mineral content of commercial produce to organic produce (which is similar to that of vegetables produced before the "green revolution"). The percentages are averaged for apple, pear, potato, wheat and corn but would be similar for leafy crops as well. Element % Comment Aluminum 167 No nutritional use, implicated in Alzheimer's Boron 59 Required for calcium metabolism Cadmium 95 No nutritional use, carcinogenic Calcium 61 Required to prevent osteoporosis Chromium 56 Cofactor for insulin/glucose utilization Cobalt 100 Component in vitamin B12 Copper 68 Deficiency implicated in arthritis and CHD Iodine 58 Required for thyroid hormone production Iron 63 Required for hemoglobin/myoglobin production Lead 141 No nutritional need, neurotoxic Lithium 46 General need unproven, used to treat BAD Magnesium 42 Lowers blood pressure, cofactor in calcium use Manganese 36 Used in antioxidant enzymes, deficiency symptoms include premature loss of hair pigment. Mercury 133 Neurotoxic Nickel 60 No nutritional use Phosphorus 52 With calcium a component of bone Potassium 44 Deficiency causes hypertension, neurological damage and cardiac arrest. Rubidium 139 No nutritional use Selenium 20 Used in antioxidant enzymes, deficiency reduces protection against cancer, infection and age related damage. Silicon 54 Cofactor for growth of skin, hair, nails and bone Sodium 39 Deficiency not likely Strontium 43 No nutritional need Vanadium 93 Cofactor for insulin/glucose utilization. Can reverse type II diabetes. Zinc 63 Used in anti-oxidant enzymes. Deficiency implicated in cataracts, macular degeneration, loss of taste/smell and immune deficiencies. Extremes included corn with 6% of natural manganese content and apples with 1000% of natural mercury content. I suggest that even if worldwide food production can be made to keep up with rising population, (an unlikely event in the opinion of the Worldwatch Institute and most world governments) the quality of that food may decline to the point that mortality due to deficiency/toxicity exceeds that from starvation. Bringing formerly cultivated land back into use is likely to exacerbate the effects noted above since mineral exhaustion or pollution was what took it out of use in the first place. While organic farming methods can restore nutritional value, they cannot currently match the yield that the world requires from such staples as cereal grains. That yield cannot be maintained by current methods anyway. An International Rice Research Institute research farm in Los Banos found that yield from the best yielding rice varieties declined 40% in a 24 year period starting in 1968 using the best fertilization technique and in spite of improvements in the rice varieties during that period. The twofold solution is obvious, organic methods AND major reductions in world population. Neither will suffice alone. Bob Cruder - bcruder@miaco.com From sals@rain.orgFri Dec 16 22:09:02 1994 Date: Fri, 16 Dec 1994 17:25:54 -0800 (PST) From: Sal Schettino To: sust_ag-mg@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu Cc: "sustag-public@wosocks.ces.ncsu.edu" Subject: Returned mail: User unknown (fwd) Sal Schettino,Organic Farmer,don't panic eat organic,sals@rain.org or check out my homepage: http://www.rain.org/~sals/my.html ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 16 Dec 94 17:13:35 PST From: Mail Delivery Subsystem To: sals@coyote.rain.org Subject: Returned mail: User unknown ----- Transcript of session follows ----- 550 sal@rain.org... User unknown ----- Unsent message follows ----- Received: by coyote.rain.org(4.1/SMI-RAIN) with id AA28425 for on Fri, 16 Dec 94 17:13:35 PST Date: Fri, 16 Dec 94 17:13:35 PST From: Sal Schettino Full-Name: Sal Schettino Message-Id: <9412170113.AA28425@coyote.rain.org> X-Within-Url: http://www.rsnz.govt.nz/cgi-bin/news_format?rsnz/news+239 To: sal@rain.org Subject: news+239 LACK OF KNOWLEDGE SLOWING DOWN GROWTH OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE _________________________________________________________________ Christchurch, Dec 15 - A lack of knowledge about organic farming, what it entails, and how to do it, are factors which are slowing down progress, a leading British organic farmer says. Helen Browning, who runs a mixed organic farm at Wiltshire in England, told the international organic conference at Lincoln University that misconceptions about the system abound among conventional farmers. There was still a great deal of scepticism and cynicism in the farming community and within organisations such as the British National Farmers' Union. Mrs Browning said she showed hundreds of farmers around her farm each year and it was apparent that ``first they are confused by the standards, and secondly, they expect to be confronted by fields growing little but weeds, and sick animals at every turn.'' If ``these farmers are going to convert, they are going to need re- educating and a considerable amount of hand-holding, because it is clear that they have no confidence whatsoever in their ability to farm without chemicals,'' she said. Some British colleges were taking up the challenge with enthusiasm. But there was still a lack of fundamental husbandry within the syllabus let alone any real attempt to examine the complexities of an ecological system. ``Unfortunately, I suspect that, rather than leading the way into the agriculture future, the colleges will only respond to perceived market demand,'' she said. If a small percentage of the money that had been spent on conventional research over the last 40 years had been invested in organic methods, production systems far in advance of where they were today would be in place. Prospects had improved for UK organic producers, she said. The reasons included an upturn in demand for products and the long-awaited introduction of the organic aid scheme which gave financial support, at a low level, for the first five years on land newly converted to organic methods. Organic acreage showed no sign of even modest expansion, she said. There had been only 14 applications for the aid scheme funding. Organic acreage was static around 20,000 hectares, managed by about 700 producers. Mrs Browning said organic growers needed more information and a major breakthrough could have a substantial impact on the whole of agriculture. ``A good example is work being done on no-plough techniques, using basic fertility-generating swards into which cereals and potentially other crops, are sown. I understand this work is progressing well, and should yield great benefits,'' she said. These benefits would include the ability to crop more frequently, rapid improvements in soil structure, and the elimination of erosion risks posed by exposing bare soils, a reduction of nitrate leaching, and improvements in yields. Organic farming was seen by conventional farmers as regressing. ``Famous organic farmers include the Prince of Wales, whose magnificently run farm at Highgrove provides inspiration to us all. It is too easy, however, for the world to dismiss his efforts with, `Ah, it's okay for him, he can afford it. So it's either a rich man's hobby or a poor man's dream.'' But Mrs Browning says she remains optimistic about the future of organic farming. She has been appointed to a new think tank on agriculture policy reform set up by the British Government. NZPA CHP kca 15/12/94 17-23NZ _________________________________________________________________ For our feedback page, click here. Fri 26 Nov 93 11:50 By: Daniel Cohen Re: SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS UNITED STATES IMPORTS MOST OF ITS SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS Shiitake mushroom production in the United States reached 2.7 million pounds in 1991-1992, says a fact sheet published by USDA Small-Scale Agricultural Alternatives. The United States imports 14,000 metric tons of dried Shiitakes annually, nearly 100 times its current fresh production. A 13-minute video, "Growing Shiitake Mushrooms," is available for $10. from Extension/Research, NCA&T University, PO Box 21928, Greensboro, NC 27420. Source: Maine Agricultural Report, Maine Dept. of Ag., Sept. 10, 1993 * Excerpted from Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener (MOFGA), Nov/Dec 1993. For more information on MOFGA: MOFGA PO Box 2176 283 Water Street Farrell Building (Fourth Floor) Augusta, Maine 04338 (Voice: 207-622-3118) * Origin: The Daily Planet - Maui, HI (808) 572-4857 (1:345/111 FidoNet) From sustag@BETA.TRICITY.WSU.EDU Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 05:45:46 -0700 From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)" To: Multiple recipients of list SUSTAG-L Subject: THE DANGERS OF MONOCULTURE TREE PLANTATIONS (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 3 Oct 94 11:31:27 EST From: Net News Filter To: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)" Subject: THE DANGERS OF MONOCULTURE TREE PLANTATIONS I found this article interesting, and thought others may share the same view. Livinus THE DANGERS OF MONOCULTURE TREE PLANTATIONS This article highlights the ecological and social impact of large-scale monoculture tree plantations which service the export-led strategy of many Third World countries. A global network of NGOs has been formed to address this issue. By Ricardo Carrere Third World Network Features During the past two decades, tree planting has been increasing on a global scale. This has been encouraged by a number of multilateral financial agencies, as well as by national and international advisory and support agencies. Transnational corporations (TNCs) have also become directly involved through the implementation of large-scale forestry projects in diverse areas of the world. The reasons underlying these tree-planting activities may be very different; for example, tree planting for fuelwood needs at local community level, to halt desertification, and to supply raw materials for local timber and paper industries. Nevertheless, the main thrust arises from large wood and pulp transnationals attempting to secure a homogeneous, abundant and cheap supply of raw materials. To do this, TNCs are trying to locate plantations in regions which exhibit appropriate characteristics for achieving their goal: cheap land and labour force, foreign currency hunger, and environmental conditions that guarantee fast tree growth. Most Third World countries fulfil all these conditions, thus becoming potential suppliers of this raw material. The terms 'afforestation' and 'reforestation' lead to confusion because they are used to define extremely diverse situations. They are used to refer to monoculture plantations of exotic or native species, (in areas which were either previously covered by forest or used for some other purpose), and also to refer to native or exotic tree planting within agroforestry systems. This is why many people are surprised when environmentalists support certain types of afforestation but oppose others. In order to understand the problems, it is therefore important to define more precisely the concepts being dealt with. The term 'reforestation' should be applied only to the operation of planting local species, with the aim of trying to recover a degraded or clear-felled native forest. The term 'afforestation' should be replaced by 'tree crops' when referring to monocultures that include soil preparation, selected genetic material, agrochemical inputs, a high degree of mechanisation and market-oriented production. Agroforestry systems also imply tree planting, but these are part of the agro-ecosystem, having both directly productive functions (timber, fruits, leaves, resins etc) and support functions (nutrient recycling, shelter and shade etc). Finally, there are other possible types of afforestation, different from the above: protective landscaping, recreational afforestation. What matters then is not to be misleading. Tree planting in itself is not the problem. What has triggered concerns from both environmentalists and local communities has been, and still is, the establishment of large-scale mono-culture tree plantations, mostly composed of fast-growing eucalyptus and pine trees. These plantations are being promoted and established in vast areas throughout the world. The present pattern of industrial tree crops is leading to a number of negative environmental and social impacts. Environmentally, the adverse impacts of these large plantations on hydrological basins are being exposed. This is because the fast-growing species of trees commonly used in timber plantations consume huge volumes of water. Secondly, there are concerns about the possible irreversible changes of soils under plantations of exotic species, which could lead to desertification processes. Furthermore, these large plantations modify the native wildlife substantially . This could lead to a chain of adverse impacts on the different ecosystems involved. The above may also be aggravated by the polluting processes derived from transforming large volumes of wood into pulp and other wood products. It is likely that once plantations become productive, these industries will move to developing countries, given the growing trend towards relocation of polluting industries from industrial countries to the Third World, where standards in legislation for environmental protection are much lower. From a social point of view, large-scale industrial tree crops have in some countries resulted in open opposition at the local level. In many cases, this opposition arises from pre-existing conflicts over land tenure, where tree plantations have deprived local people of the lands they need for survival. In addition, plantations generate other problems arising from the competition between trees and agricultural crops and also from the proliferation of pests under the tree canopy. At the same time, these plantations give rise to a number of changes in the social structure of the affected communities and even within their culture. In some countries, the conjunction of these elements has led to conflicts, where peasants have attacked tree nurseries and uprooted or burned plantations, having suffered repression by the State powers themselves. The economic convenience of tree crops for Third World countries must be questioned. Despite the obvious contradiction in a world ruled by the neo-liberal ideology, tree plantations are being subsidised in a number of countries with support from a wide range of agencies, including the World Bank. The question is why? If investment in plantations were great business, subsidies would not be necessary. The answer lies in the industrialised countries' wish to secure the supply of this raw material at the lowest possible price. Subsidies, linked to credits and support, at the present price levels make this investment profitable. However, the increasing production of the vast plantations being established everywhere will result in a widespread price decrease in the mid-term. This would be one of the central aims of this North-driven strategy. This price decrease is already foreseen for the 1995-2000 period for eucalyptus wood in the Pacific area, as a report by the American consultancy Jay Gruenfeld Ass. Inc in May 1992 pointed out. Domestic markets would not be able to absorb all the timber on offer since it is an export crop, and the only way out would therefore be to export at any price, with the whole- hearted approval of importing countries. During the 1992 Earth Summit, a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) held a meeting and decided to create a global network to share information and implement joint actions on this issue. Among those who participated in this meeting were Project for Ecological Recovery (Thailand), Third World Institute (Uruguay), Sustainable Agriculture Forum (Laos), Greenpeace International (Netherlands), Indonesian Forum for Environment (Indonesia), Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (Philippines), Associao Gacha de Proteo ao Ambiente Natural (Brazil), Instituto Brasileiro de Analises Sociais e Economicas (Brazil), Pacific-Asia Resource Center (Japan), CEPEDES (Brazil), ACAPEMA (Brazil), Japan International Volunteer Center (Japan), Japan Tropical Forest Action Network (Japan), CDDH (Brazil) and the European Rainforest Movement (Netherlands). Initial concerns relating to monoculture tree plantations were broadened to include the issues of pollution derived from industrial processes of paper manufacturing, and the wasteful consumption of paper which leads to a continuous increase in demand for the raw material. In May 1993, the World Rainforest Movement organised a Southeast Asian Regional Workshop on Plantations, which was hosted by the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, in Manila, the Philippines. Local organisations from the region (the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan) were joined by representatives from IBASE (Brazil), the Third World Institute (Uruguay) and the British publication The Ecologist. During the meeting, participants described problems arising at the local level from large-scale forestry projects, and discussed the roles that governments, local business, TNCs, multilateral agencies and international consultancies play. The importance of NGOs and grassroot organisations from local communities was also discussed. Despite the different country specifications, a number of important common factors emerged, giving evidence to the increasing globalisation of the issue of tree plantations, particularly in the Third World. In view of the above, the need to strengthen the network born in Rio was re-affirmed, and a decision was taken to launch joint actions aimed at creating a trend to encourage forestry adapted to local needs, which arises from local communities and which is environmentally sustainable. In line with the latter, the network will campaign against industrial monoculture tree crops in all cases where they are considered to be incompatible with improving the quality of life of local populations, and with the long-term interests of these countries. --Third World Network Features - ends - About the writer: Ricardo Carrere is with the Third World Network in Montevideo, Uruguay. When reproducing this feature, please credit Third World Network Features and (if applicable) the cooperating magazine or agency involved in the article, and give the byline. Please send us cuttings. Published by Third World Network 87, Cantonment Road, 10250 Penang, Malaysia. Email: twn@igc.org; Phone: (+604)373511; Fax: (+604)364505 ------------------------------------- Coordinador Ecologia / MedioAmbiente Nodo Wamani - Red A.P.C. e-mail: eccoord@wamani.org.ar eccoord@wamani.apc.org ------------------------------------- From vankante@UVS.EDU.SR Tue Aug 31 11:05:07 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 02:02:51 -0400 From: "Percy E. van Kanten" To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Re: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree Bob Thomson writes: > Does anyone on the "network" have information about this tree or can you > point us to someone who does? I am no botanist but with the help of the Encyclopedia of Suriname I will try to give a fast first answer. I will also seek additional information from more able coleagues at our University. Two related plants, bith refered to as "Neem" grow in Suriname. Both are originally from Asia and have been brought to Suriname by immigrants from India and/or Indonesia. Both are of the family of Meliaceae (and thus it seems tom me that they are related to the Mahogany) and both have feather-like compound leaves. The leaves of both are known to be effective medicine against scabies and rash. One is Melia azedarach L. with 1 cm long light purple flowers and a yellow or brownish fruit. The other is Melia azadirachta L. (= Azadirachta indica Juss) with white flowers. The latter has cultural/religious significance for Hindu's; in India it is a sacred tree. An extract of its leaves is used against fever. The plant contains a bitter resinous gum that has anitseptic properties. Its leaves are used to prevent rice to be invested by insects. I did not find anything about use as fertilizer. Hope this helps. Regards, Percy van Kanten _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Ir Percy E. van Kanten | vankante@uvs.edu.sr | phone/fax (+597) 47 7129 University of Suriname | POBox 755,Paramaribo,Suriname From london@calypso Tue Aug 31 11:10:16 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 93 11:08:44 EDT From: Larry London To: london@sunsite.unc.edu Subject: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree This section is from the document '/.pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/mailing-lists/devel-l/devel-l.002'. >From caribdesk@IGC.APC.ORG Mon Aug 30 22:35:28 1993 Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1993 12:04:51 PDT From: Bob Thomson To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree >From bthomson@web.apc.org Mon Aug 30 11:56:07 1993 Received: from web.apc.org by igc.apc.org (4.1/Revision: 1.104 ) id AA29554; Mon, 30 Aug 93 11:56:00 PDT Received: by web.apc.org (Smail3.1.28.1 #6) id m0oXELr-0001q0C; Mon, 30 Aug 93 14:53 EDT Message-Id: Date: Mon, 30 Aug 93 14:53 EDT From: bthomson@web.apc.org (Bob Thomson) To: igc!caribdesk Subject: Information on the Nim (Neem?) tree Status: RO /* Written 1:09 pm Aug 30, 1993 by bthomson in web:at.general */ /* ---------- "Information on the Nim (Neem?) tree" ---------- */ From: Bob Thomson Subject: Information on the Nim (Neem?) tree Greetings from IFAT, the International Federation for Alternative Trade. I've just had a visitor from UCIRI, a co-op coffee producers federation in Mexico which exports organic coffee to a number of alternative trading organizations that are members of IFAT. They have some seeds of a plant called the Nim or Neem tree which is good for nitrogen fixation and has properties which also make it a good organic pesticide. It originally comes from Bangladesh but apparently is well established in Burkina Faso and other parts of Africa. They got seeds from a farm in the Canary Islands. They've been looking for information about the tree, its cultivation and properties for some time and have found very little in the way of written material. Does anyone on the "network" have information about this tree or can you point us to someone who does? The UCIRI representative will be coming back to our office on Wednesday (Sept.1) and it would be a nice demonstration of the power of computer networking to be able to show him that one can actually use all this fancy technology to find information that is useful to small farmers. From london@calypso Tue Aug 31 11:10:28 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 93 11:08:58 EDT From: Larry London To: london@sunsite.unc.edu Subject: Re: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree This section is from the document '/.pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/mailing-lists/devel-l/devel-l.002'. >From aphilipp@NAS.EDU Mon Aug 30 22:36:40 1993 Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1993 15:35:20 EST From: Alwin Philippa To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Re: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree Bob, The National Academy of Sciences' Office of International Affairs recently published a report " NEEM: A TREE FOR SOLVING GLOBAL PROBLEMS" (ISBN 0-309-04686-6, 1992, 152 pp,, $19.00 +S&H). The report can by ordered through the National Academy Press (Phone: 1-800-624-6242) Alwin Philippa National Academy of Sciences Washington, D.C. From london@calypso Tue Aug 31 11:10:45 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 93 11:09:17 EDT From: Larry London To: london@sunsite.unc.edu Subject: Re: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree This section is from the document '/.pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/mailing-lists/devel-l/devel-l.002'. >From veerasam@CC.GATECH.EDU Tue Aug 31 11:04:18 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 01:30:05 EDT From: Veerasamy Aravindan To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Re: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree Being from a place where neem trees are just one of things you get for granted, I did not pay much attention to how it is being cultivated... It just grows on the roadside and is a common site in the southern parts of India. It is not "cultivated", but grows on its own. I understand that I am kinda "lay man"-ish here. However, I know that neem trees have good medicinal properties. Traditional medicinal pratice (called Ayurvedic medicine as opposed to the Allopathic western medicine) uses neem seeds and leaves for quite a few illnesses. Neem leaves have some property (think it is anti-bacterial) which makes it a good medicine against different poxes (I have seen it commonly used for chicken pox). My 2 cents worth... --Samy (veerasam@cc.gatech.edu) > >From bthomson@web.apc.org Mon Aug 30 11:56:07 1993 > Subject: Information on the Nim (Neem?) tree > > > I've just had a visitor from UCIRI, a co-op coffee producers federation in > Mexico which exports organic coffee to a number of alternative trading > organizations that are members of IFAT. > > They have some seeds of a plant called the Nim or Neem tree which is good > for nitrogen fixation and has properties which also make it a good organic > pesticide. It originally comes from Bangladesh but apparently is well > established in Burkina Faso and other parts of Africa. They got seeds from > a farm in the Canary Islands. They've been looking for information about > the tree, its cultivation and properties for some time and have found very > little in the way of written material. > > Does anyone on the "network" have information about this tree or can you > point us to someone who does? > From markh@ORA.COM Wed Sep 1 10:16:48 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 23:53:45 PDT From: Mark Harrington To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Neem Tree ECHO (Educ concerns for hunger org) has the seeds and some info on propagation and use available. Apparently the twigs are excel lent toothbrushes as well. they are slightly alkaline and neutralize the acidic plaque. They have an interesting intern newsletter. ECHO, 17430 Durrance Rd., North Ft. Myers FL 33917-2200 voice 813 543 3246 Cheers... -- Mark Harrington email: markh@ora.com phone: (H) 707-526-0867 (W) 707-576-2434 From Brij.Mathur@F165.N109.Z1.FIDONET.ORG Wed Sep 1 10:39:20 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 17:20:00 -0400 From: Brij Mathur To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree Provide mailing address to Brij Mathur at VITA to receive information NEEM. * Origin: VITAnet - Arlington, Virginia : 703/527-1392 (1:109/165) From KAREN_WESTLEY.parti@PARTI.INFORUM.ORG Wed Sep 1 10:48:33 1993 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1993 09:30:00 -0400 From: KAREN_WESTLEY.parti@PARTI.INFORUM.ORG To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: BOOK ON NEEM Book on Neem Natural Crop Protection in the Tropics by Gaby Stoll (1988) contains useful information on neem as an organic pesticide. You can order the book from UNIPUB 4511-F Assembly Drive Lanham, MD 20705-4391 tel: (301) 459-4391 The book costs US$25 Hope this is useful. Karen Westley International Ag-Sieve Rodale Institute From MIKE_SANDS.parti@PARTI.INFORUM.ORG Wed Sep 1 20:15:33 1993 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1993 14:15:01 -0400 From: MIKE_SANDS.parti@PARTI.INFORUM.ORG To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: MORE INFO ON NEEM Neem has been grown for years in much of South and Sotheast Asia as well as Africa. It is known to have a wide variety of uses, most importantly insecticidal and medicinal. Your mention of it as a fixer of Nitrogen is new to me, and quite frankly I would view it with some skepticism. One example of it's insecticidal properties was demonstrated in the following reference: Olaifa, J.I. & A.O. Adenuga 1988. Neem products for protecting field cassava from grasshopper damage. Insect Science and its Application 9(2):267-270. The authors had significant results using both Neem oil extract (from the seeds) and Neem kernel water extract for the control of grasshoppers in cassava. Both neem products outperformed the chemical control products. A bit of promotion here: The above information is available on a bimonthly basis in the "INTERNATIONAL AG-SIEVE, a sifting of news about regenerative agriculture". Subscriptions to the printed version are $16/year from: Circulation Manager INTERNATIONAL AG-SIEVE Rodale Institute 611 Siegfriedale Road Kutztown, PA 19530 USA Tel: 215-683-1400 Fax: 215/683-8548 Email: agsieve.topic@parti.inforum.org From Rafe.Ronkin@P18.F151.N109.Z1.FIDONET.ORG Thu Sep 2 10:31:31 1993 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1993 22:13:00 -0400 From: Rafe Ronkin To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree > Does anyone on the "network" have information about > this tree or can you > point us to someone who does? Bob, The American Heritage Dictionary, 3d ed. says neem is "a tall, usually evergreen East Indian tree (Azadirachta indica) widely cultivated in tropical Asia for its timber, resin, bitter bark, and aromatic seed oil. [Hindi nim, from Sanskrit nimbah.]" These days, people are finding all kinds of "promising" and actual pharmaceutical chemicals in neem. In many rural parts of India, people chew and brush their teeth with neem twigs (I think the twigs are full of salicylates) as they walk to work in the morning. And some Indians believe that neem embodies male principles (not necessarily pharmacological) in contrast to the peepul or bo tree, Ficus religiosa. -Rafe- R. R. Ronkin ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3212 McKinley Street NW Volunteer: community service Washington, DC 20015 Tel. +1 (202) 244-7023 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Origin: Rafe's point. (1:109/151.18) From DHARRIS@upei.ca Thu Mar 3 12:48:41 1994 Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 10:00:47 -0400 From: Don Harris Reply to: Agriculture Discussion To: Multiple recipients of list AGRIC-L Subject: Neem seeds Not too long ago there was a discussion on the net of the neem tree and all its benefits. Does anyone know where this discussion is archived or more importantly a source for neem seeds? Please reply directly to me, thanks. Don Harris National Research Council University of Prince Edward Island 550 University Ave., Charlottetown, P.E.I. Canada, C0A 1R0 902-566-0794, Fax: 902-566-0756 dharris@upei.ca From conrad@richters.com Tue Nov 8 23:22:16 EST 1994 Article: 47116 of rec.gardens Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!EU.net!uunet!fonorola!infoshare!whome!scilink!uunet.ca!uunet.ca!richtr!conrad From: conrad@richters.com (Conrad Richter) Newsgroups: rec.gardens Subject: Re: REQUEST: Neem tree info Message-ID: <2092uc4w165w@richters.com> Date: Mon, 31 Oct 94 07:45:12 EST References: <39123p$17t@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us> Organization: Richters Herbs Lines: 43 z005114b@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us (Joan Bradley) writes: > I am now the proud owner of a neem tree in a one-gallon pot. It was > a gift. How much water and fertilizer does it need? How big does it get? > I'm in South Florida. How do they fare in this area? I'd appreciate > learning about this before I plant it and would hope some of the > knowledgeable people "out there" could help. A gift? You what enlightened friends you have. Neem is a fascinating plant with some pretty remarkable medical, insect-inhibiting and other commercially useful properties. It has been the subject of a lot of research in the last few decades. This summer I collected seeds in Ghana where it has become naturalized as it has in much of the tropics. It is very hardy -- ethnic East Indians tell me it is almost weedy in its disposition, and indeed the USDA has some concerns over its potential to become the next _Schinus_ in Florida. (I say they need not have much concern for while it is agressive I have never seen it become a nuisance.) I understand that there are people trying to develop strains that are frost tolerant, but as far as I know nothing significant has come of the efforts yet. So, for now, assume that it will suffer badly if it gets hit by frost. Indeed, it doesn't even like temperatures below 60F -- in our greenhouses they suffer badly during the winter months when our greenhouses drop to 50F nightly. Neem will grow in full or partial shade, needs heavy feeding (high N) and doesn't mind copious water if it can get it. I have the notion to promote neem as a house plant, since it seems to do very well in bright windows. Would require the occasional heavy pruning, but otherwise it requires little care. And it has its own pest defense system... There is a book out on neem put out by the National Research Council called _Neem: A Tree for Solving Global Problems_ (1992). (We are planning to list it in our next catalogue. Sorry, Adam, I couldn't help myself, but at least I avoided mentioning the price.) Conrad Richter RICHTERS HERBS | Info: info@richters.com Goodwood, ON L0C 1A0, Canada | Catalog Requests: catalog@richters.com Tel +1-905-640-6677 Fax 640-6641 | Conrad Richter: conrad@richters.com From steve.pickett@ectech.com Tue Nov 8 23:25:15 EST 1994 Article: 47180 of rec.gardens Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!iat.holonet.net!ectech!steve.pickett From: steve.pickett@ectech.com (Steve Pickett) Newsgroups: rec.gardens Subject: REQUEST: Neem tree info Date: Wed, 2 Nov 1994 02:12:00 GMT Message-ID: <9411021011483745@ectech.com> Organization: holonet Lines: 114 TO: z005114b@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us FROM: steve.pickett@ectech.com SUBJECT: Neem Info Z{|}I am now the proud owner of a neem tree in a one-gallon pot. It was Z{|}a gift. How much water and fertilizer does it need? How big does it get? Z{|}I'm in South Florida. How do they fare in this area? I'd appreciate Z{|}learning about this before I plant it and would hope some of the Z{|}knowledgeable people "out there" could help. Z{|}-- Joan, Here is a copy of a message to me on this topic. From: William Glover Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 15:44:37 -0400 To: steve.pickett@ectech.com Subject: Neem Tree Q & A Steve Pickett, Glad you received the seeds. Don't know that I'm so glad to have all the questions, but here goes: >How big does the Neem get (height and width)? 40 feet high x 20-30 feet wide in the tropics. >How fast does it grow? Two feet or so a year, in the tropics. >Is the root structure such that it can be planted near a sidewalk (and >not lift the cement)? Nevis, W.I. is where the sidewalk ends. Have no idea, but most any sizeable tree will lift sidewalks. Don't think it would lift sidewalks anywhere in the USA outside of Key West, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands. The Neem is a *tropical* tree; seedlings are killed by frost and larger ones can take only a few degrees below 0 F for a very short time. >Can other things grow under it, or does it sterilize the soil? Grass, sansevierias, stapeliads, and baby neems grow under mine. >What is it's shape (conical, open, twisted, upright, umbrella, spreading, >...)? Upright, erect, and moderately spreading. >Can it be trimmed to have the lower branches up off the ground? Yes. Can stand any amount of pruning. >Can you walk under it? If the lower branches are cut away. >What is the fruit like? Ovoid, yellow, with about 2 mm of flesh around the seed. >What can the fruit be used for (eating, jams, jellies, fodder, compost, Doesn't taste very good. Have no idea if considered edible in India and Sri Lanka. Leaves and branches said to be suitable for cattle fodder, but my neighbor's sheep won't touch them. Primary use for seeds nowadays is for the extraction of azadirachtin for bioinsecticides such as those being marketed under the names of Margosan-O, BioNEEM, and Neemix. >Is it a messy tree? Not especially. Little leaf litter, but abundant fruit fall in season. >How close together can they be planted? I have a number planted 2-3 feet apart as a windscreen. >Why the concerns about it being invasive? It naturalizes readily in warm, arid climates. One should always be concerned about exotics being invasive and crowding out native species. Think about kudzu and water hyacinth in southern US, lantana in Hawaii, prickly pears in Australia, Brazilian pepper trees in Florida, etc. >Lot's of questions. True. Happy you didn't ask how much a big one weighs as my scale is broken. > I looked it up in my Sunset Garden Book, and it was >not listed, neither the common nor the botanical names. As far as I know, on the US mainland neems are only in southern Florida and but recently introduced. Warm regards, William Glover I have also spoken to some local people who have come up dry on info. Even Hortus 3rd didn't have info which suprised one nurserywoman. I'm trying to propagate some seeds, but no luck yet. Let me know how it goes. Steve --- * QMPro 1.52 * Vegetarians eat vegetables. Beware of Humanitarians! From paul.maser@megasystem.com Tue Nov 8 23:26:44 EST 1994 Article: 47217 of rec.gardens Newsgroups: rec.gardens Apparently-to: JOAN BRADLEY Subject: REQUEST: Neem tree info From: paul.maser@megasystem.com (Paul Maser) Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!iat.holonet.net!megasys!paul.maser Distribution: world Message-ID: <215.7436.1362.0NA70CF6@megasystem.com> Date: Wed, 2 Nov 94 07:18:00 -0800 Organization: MegaSystem BBS * 702-849-2207 * 10 Nodes * Lines: 21 JB>I am now the proud owner of a neem tree in a one-gallon pot. It was >a gift. How much water and fertilizer does it need? How big does it get? >I'm in South Florida. How do they fare in this area? I'd appreciate >learning about this before I plant it and would hope some of the >knowledgeable people "out there" could help. >-- JB>Joan Bradley I've been raising a couple of neem trees for a few years. A one gallon pot is probably too small, but it appears that you can bonzai them. I finally transplanted mine into twenty gallon pots and they loved it. Now they're up to about four feet and much healthier. They are tropical trees and can't take frost. In southern Florida you can probably leave them outdoors most of the year. I give mine a small amount of miracle grow on occassion. To water, lift the pot and when its almost dry, soak it. Best Regards; Paul From edb_tone@debet.nhh.no Fri Jun 17 00:32:01 EDT 1994 Article: 35692 of rec.gardens Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!EU.net!sunic!trane.uninett.no!due.uninett.no!alf.uib.no!debet.nhh.no!edb_tone From: edb_tone@debet.nhh.no Newsgroups: rec.gardens Subject: Re: Nettle fertilizer? Message-ID: <1994Jun16.124509.1401@debet.nhh.no> Date: 16 Jun 94 12:45:09 MET References: <1994Jun15.073608.2959@sequent.com> <1994Jun15.142305.29048@freenet.victoria.bc.ca> Organization: Norwegian School of Economics Lines: 36 In article <1994Jun15.142305.29048@freenet.victoria.bc.ca>, uq026@freenet.Victoria.BC.CA (Colin Frost) writes: > > In a previous article, mje@sequent.com (Martin Elliff) says: > [stuff deleted] >>Does anyone have any experience of using this? Can the liquor be used >>neat, or should it be diluted? Do I need to leave it for the full >>month? >> >>Martin Elliff >>Twickenham, England. >> > I use comfrey for the same purpose and use it when it is about the colour > of tea. It seems to work well except for the manure like smell. > Nettle water as a fertilizer should be used when it has stopped fermenting, and should then be diluted with water, 1:10 if you have used about 1 kilo fresh nettles to 10 liters of water, dilute more or less as your nettle/water relationship differs from this (sorry for not converting the metrics). If you want to use it while fermentation is still going on, you should dilute it more, 1:50. While fermenting the brew should be stirred vigorously at least once a day, and according to my "recipe" book, metal containers ought not to be used as the fermentation can cause the release of chemicals which are no good for plants. Fermentation has stopped when the brew has got a dark colour and doesn't produce foam anymore. Tone -- Tone Strom | tone.strom@nhh.no (Norw. School of Econ. and Buz. Adm) N-5265 Ytre Arna | Bergen, NORWAY | USDA zone 8? (Mild winters, cold and rainy summers) Sat 20 Feb 93 9:10 By: ALLAN BALLIETT Re: New Alchemy/Ocean Arks Here's documentation from the founder himself, John Todd, that New Alchemy is dead, but the spirit goes on living and WORKING towards a sustainable future! ================================================== January 1 993 Dear Friends of New Alchemy As you know, last summer the New Alchemy Institute officially closed its doors. You may also know, however, that neither the vision nor the work that began there have been lost. With the founding of Ocean Arks International in 1983. there began a new phase in the research and implementation of the ideas that first took form at New Alchemy. Like New Alchemy, Ocean Arks was founded by John Todd and Nancy Jack Todd and is a nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to the creation and dissemination of the thinking and the technologies fundamental to a sustainable future. Drawing on what we learned of the ecology of aquatic ecosystems at New Alchemy, we since have created a family of living technologies that now are restoring waters polluted by human and industrial wastes to drinking water standards. Working through The Center for the Restoration of waters at Ocean Arks, we have created one of the most advanced ecologically engineered waste treatment systems in the world which, after a few years of extensive verification, is now legally permitted in two states. We have begun to restore a highly polluted pond in Massachusetts w ith our new floating Living Machine, Lake Restorer 1, opening a channel for its use on water bodies the world over. Our Providence, RI and Marion, Me research facilities have been making ground-breaking discoveries in purifying industrial and toxic wastes. We have demonstrated, on a laboratory scale, that Living Machines can break down such highly toxic wastes as those found in Chattanooga Creek, for which we have attracted the attention of Vice President-elect Al Gore. We have also received continuing support from Congressman Gerry Studds and Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Joe Kennedy and Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island, to name a few, giving us a strong vote of encouragement with the political leaders in Washington. Our education program is reaching professionals and students with courses in ecological design skills, aquaculture, food production, waste treatment and environmental repair. Recently, we were granted the Discover Award for Technological Innovation and the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Award by President Bush. We have managed not only to survive but to move ahead with these developments during a period when the environment was a low priority in the eyes of government and most industry. But we have done so at the cost of incurring considerable debt believing that the ideas were too important to let die. Now, with the renewed promise of the incoming administration and because of your support for New Alchemy over the years, we are again turning to you to ask you to remain a part of keeping its mission alive. If you were willing, each of you could help us in some way. It would be wonderful if you would consider any of the following suggestions: 1. Contribute towards a debt reduction fund or to our general support. 2. Help us to create an endowment, which would secure a future for our work. 3. Help us find customers/clients in industry and in various communities who need help cleaning up pollution and repairing environments. Living Machines can upgrade drinking water reservoirs, restore polluted water bodies and purify wastewaters. 4. Help spread the word. Subscribe to our publication, "Annals of Earth" an updated equivalent of the old "Journals of the New Alchemists " . 1992 was a tough year for us. Salaries weren't always paid, yet our morale remained high. We are a committed and talented organization - dedicated to the Earth and to the training of its stewards. We are ready with the skills and technologies to make things happen. It is our hope that there will be a new environmental agenda over the next decade and we want to play a key role in it. Please help us. Sincerely, John Todd, president P.S. Your contribution is tax deductible. We now accept MC/VISA and American Express. ================================================== Annals of Earth The exchange of ideas feeds the roots of new thought. To this end the Center for the Restoration of Waters publishes "Annals of Earth" to disseminate the ideas and practice of ecological sustainability throughout the world. It seeks, through written communication, to foster the emergence of a new global culture. Published 3 times yearly, "Annals" has an international roster of scholarly, philosophical and ecological writers who deal with planetary issues from a wide range of perspectives. While "Annals" covers and chronicles the Center's activities, it also publishes articles that range in subject from the philosophy of ecology, basic biology, hands on environmental projects, to the Gaia Hypothesis. Distributed world-wide, "Annals" is an intellectual forum for the presentation of leading edge environmental thought. A Publication Of Ocean Arks International and the Lindisfarne Association Volume X, Number 2, 1992 $? Contribution $15 Student/unwaged member $30 Individual member $35 Canadian member $ 40 Foreign member $ 50 Family member $100 Supporting member $1000 Patron member Membership includes subscription to "Annals", course announcements and contributes to the work of OAI. Please make checks payable to Ocean Arks International. We now accept MC/VISA & American Express. To renew by phone, please call 508-510-6801. A Publication of Ocean Arks International and The Lindisfarne Association OCEAN ARKS INTERNATIONAL * Origin: The Twilight Clone (1:109/70.914) From aceska@cue.bc.caSat Jan 13 18:30:56 1996 Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 08:09:57 -0800 From: Adolf Ceska To: ben@cue.bc.ca Subject: BEN # 124 BBBBB EEEEEE NN N ISSN 1188-603X BB B EE NNN N BBBBB EEEEE NN N N BOTANICAL BB B EE NN NN ELECTRONIC BBBBB EEEEEE NN N NEWS No. 124 January 13, 1996 aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca Victoria, B.C. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2 ----------------------------------------------------------- GENERA OF THE NITROGEN FIXING TREES From: James Brewbaker [based on Brewbaker et al. 1990 - see References] A summary table is provided of trees and large shrubs (> 3 m high) that were validated as nodulating, and known or presumed to fix nitrogen. The summary is derived from NFTA's expanded database that includes about 1500 taxa. Only one family that includes nodulating plants, the Datiscaceae, does not appear in this table, as the genus Datisca lacks arboreal or woody forms. Most of the 115 genera of N-fixing trees and shrubs (NFT) are legumes. As calculated by de Faria et. al. (1989) nodulation characterized 23% of 349 tested caesalpinioid species, 90% of 454 tested mimosoids and 97% of the 2592 papilionids. Nodulation involves symbiosis with rhizobial bacteria in the legume and in the genus Parasponia (and possibly other taxa in the Ulmaceae). All other non-leguminous genera are nodulated by actinomycetes of the genus Frankia. LIST OF GENERA OF NITROGEN FIXING TREES BETULACEAE: Alnus (38/38) CASUARINACEAE: Allocasuarina (11/20), Casuarina (8/45), Gymnostoma (1/2) CORIARIACEAE: Coriaria (16/16) ELEAGNACEAE: Elaeagnus (10/45), Hippophae (1/3), Shepherdia (2/3) LEGUMINOSAE: CAESALPINIOIDEAE [nodulation found in 23% of tested species - all "positive" genera listed here]: Brownea (1/30), Chamaecrista (2/250), Colvillea (1/1), Cordeauxia (1/2), Dialium (1/40), Dicymbe (2/13), Dimorphandra (2/25), Epurea (1/14), Erythrophleum (2/9), Gossweilerodendron (1/2), Hardwickia (1/1), Lysidice (1/1), Maniltoa (1/20), Sclerolobium (3/35), Tachigali (2/24) MIMOSOIDEAE [nodulation found in 90% of tested species, only the larger genera listed]: Acacia (193/1200), Albizia (30/150), Calliandra (11/200), Inga (14/350), Mimosa (3/400), Newtonia (1/11), Parapiptadenia (1/3), Paraserianthes (1,5), Prosopis (15/44), etc. PAPILIONOIDEAE: [nodulation found in 97% of tested species, only the larger genera listed]: Aeshynomene (2/150), Caragana (4/80), Chamaecytisus (1/30), Clitoria (1/70), Dalbergia (17/100), Desmodium (including Codariocalyx and Ougeinia) (4/300), Erythrina (26/108), Indigofera (1/700), Laburnum (4/2- 6), Lonchocarpus (8/150), Robinia (3/4), Sophora (7,50), Swartzia (8/135), Tephrosia (1/400), Wisteria (4/6), etc. MYRICACEAE: Comptonia (1/1), Myrica (13/35) RHAMNACEAE: Ceanothus (14/55) ROSACEAE: Cercocarpus (4/20), Purshia (1/2) ULMACEAE: Aphananthe (1/5), Celtis (2/80), Parasponia (3/6), Trema (2/30) Note: First number is the number of species validated as NFT's; second is number of species in the genus. References: Brewbaker, J.L., K.B. Willers, & W. Macklin. 1990. Nitrogen fixing trees; Validation and prioritization. "Proceedings of IUFRO Congress," Montreal, Canada. Publ. by IUFRO, Vienna, Vol. 2: 335-349. (Reprinted in Nitrogen Fixing Tree Research Reports 8: 8-16. 1990.) de Faria, S.M., G.P. Lewis, J.I. Sprent, & J.M. Sutherland. 1989. Occurrence of nodulation in the Leguminosae. New Phytol. 111: 607-619. CONFERENCE: PEATLANDS FOR PEOPLE IN VANCOUVER B.C. Where: George Curtis Law Building, University of British Colum- bia, Vancouver, B.C. When: January 26-28, 1996 The conference "Peatlands for people" is organized by the Burns Bog Conservation Society. Its goal is "to explore and advance multi-stakeholder actions for achieving sustainability of world's disappearing peatlands." The speakers will include Jim Pojar (rare aquatic and wetland plants), Allen Banner (peatlands in British Columbia), Richard Hebda (discussion on Burns Bog), Martin Gabauer (Sandhill Cranes in Burns Bog), Anne Brown (methane production in peatlands), Ralph May (use of peatlands for cranberry farming), Tony Cable (peatlands and peat extraction), Alison Gail (eco-sites and tourism within metropolitan communities). The well known English botanist, writer and TV personality Dr. David Bellamy was in- vited as a keynote speaker (Celebration of mires/peatlands). For more information contact Burns Bog Conservation Society Phone: 604-572-0373, FAX: 604-572-0374 VICTORIA, B.C.: BOTANY NIGHT & NATIVE PLANT GROUP Tuesday, January 16, 1996: Botany Night - Del Meidinger "Forest Ecologist in SE Asia" - Swan Lake Nature House, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 18, 1996: Native Plant Group of the Victoria Horticulture Society - Adolf Ceska "Rare plants of southern Vancouver Island and their protection" - University of Vic- toria, Clearihue Building, Room A 215, 7:00 p.m. THE EUROPEAN MAGAZINE LOOKS AT CRAWLING THROUGH CYBERSPACE From: The European MagAZine No. 279 (14-20 Sept. 1995) p.6,7. The Internet grew up in such an unregulated way that no one really knows exactly how much is really out there in cyberspace. As any net user will tell you, trying to find what you want can be difficult and time-consuming. There is no comprehensive Internet telephone book that allows you to look up someones's net address (URL). So what can the baffled netsurfer do? If you want to find a web page related to your favourite group etc., you crawl. Crawling the web in search of URLs Usenet or newsgroups is a serious business. A search engine is the name given to the programs and Internet resources dedicated to crawling. Some are commercial, others are free. http://fuzine.mt.cs.cmu.edu/ Lycos - the king of the online search engines. This massive database, maintained by Carnegie Mellon University, is the first place you should go to on your web search. http://akebono.stanford.edu/yahoo Yahoo web crawler has the only disadvantage that it is biased towards US sites. European web sites often fail to get recog- nized or fail to post their URL. http://harvest.cs.coloradu.edu/ Harvest contains more than 25,000 3w sites with fewer duplications than Lycos. http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/Data Sources/WWW/Servers.html http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/Data Sources/bySubject/Overview.html These are one of the most essential and powerful search tools on the net. http://cui_www.unige.ch/w3catalog CUI index is mainatined by the Centre Universitaire d'Informatique in Geneva. It is a well maintained database which allows you to search existing web catalogues and produce detailed summaries and links. It has around 13,000 entries so you should have no trouble getting what you need. PLANTS DATABASE FOR WASHINGTON STATE AND OTHER STATES OF THE USA From: "John A. DeLapp" originally posted on For those folks with Web access the PLANTS database allows the downloading of a list of Washington state plants from the fol- lowing URL: http://trident.ftc.nrcs.usda.gov/plants/staselec.html The data file can be imported into any spreadsheet, database, or word processor. (If you are lucky enough to use a Macintosh, you can use the shareware macro program TypeIt4Me to allow you to type the abbreviation (symbol) of the name and have the Mac enter the full name automatically within any program.) The text of the web page follows: PLANTS State Data Download Screen Information: The reports contain the symbol, scientific name, accepted name/common name, and family. The data is in ascii text format with fields enclosed in double quotes and delimited by commas. The files are not compressed. Data: Alabama Kansas New Mexico Virginia Alaska Kentucky New York Washington Arkansas Louisiana North Carolina West Virginia Arizona Maine North Dakota Wisconsin California Maryland Ohio Wyoming Colorado Massachusetts Oklahoma American Samoa Connecticut Michigan Oregon Guam Delaware Minnesota Pennsylvania Palau Florida Mississippi Rhode Island Puerto Rico Georgia Missouri South Carolina US Minor Outlying Hawaii Montana South Dakota Islands Idaho Nebraska Tennessee Virgin Islands Illinois Nevada Texas Fed. S. Micronesia Indiana New Hampshire Utah Marshall Islands Iowa New Jersey Vermont N Mariana Islands Copyright Information: The data found in PLANTS for the plants known to occur within North America were provided under a cooperative agreement by John Kartesz and his staff at the Biota of North America Program (BONAP). Portions of these data are copyrighted (@ 1994) by John Kartesz, Biota of North America Program. The copyright notice must be preserved on all copies. Cooperator derived data that is altered by the user cannot redistribute it as PLANTS data. All users of PLANTS data are to acknowledge the contributions made by USDA, Soil Conservation Service and BONAP. When using this information, you must use the copyright notice. AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLANT TAXONOMISTS (ASPT) NEWSLETTER ONLINE Beginning in January 1996, the ASPT Newsletter will no longer be distributed as hard copy. It will be posted quarterly on a World Wide Web (WWW) Server maintained by the NMNH, Smithsonian In- stitution. The following URL will bring you directly to the ASPT Web Page and Newsletter . ---------------------------------------------------------------- Submissions, subscriptions, etc.: aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. The URL is: gopher://freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben Also archived at http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ ________________________________________________________________ From llengnic@asrr.arsusda.govThu Feb 23 20:13:21 1995 Date: Thu, 23 Feb 1995 17:22:21 -0500 (EST) From: llengnic@asrr.arsusda.gov To: sals@rain.org Cc: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Org. N loss was Re:Soil Quality Attributes Thought I'd respond to your question about organic vs. conventional N sources. I did my PhD on exactly that question. So, while its only one project, in one location (central Pennsylvania), I did do a lit. review on the subject and found *no evidence* for the conventionally held point of view. In fact, there's been little research designed to test this theory. I think it is a reasonable idea that if mineralization occurs after crop harvest the nitrate is at risk for leaching losses, but there is little research out there that supports this argument. My research, in corn cropping systems, no till and till, alfalfa in rotation, dairy manure or ammonium nitrate supplying N, found no evidence that the organic sources of N increased N leaching risks. In fact, the corn following alfalfa treatment had lower fall soil nitrate levels than corn supplied the economic optimum rate of ammonium nitrate (and grain yields in these two treatments were the same and high - 10 Mg/ha on average all three years of the study). Guess I ought to get around to writing that up, huh?! The issue of taking land out of a pasture (ley) is different. Lots of nitrate can be released and lost in this case. But as you say, organic management is more than just *one* practice, and the *system* of covering the land all year helps to prevent N losses that may occur through mineralization of organic N during periods of no crop uptake. Reasons for no N mineralization after crop harvest in systems supplied with organic N? My best guess is that in Central Penn., fall is dry, crops have pulled all the moisture out of the soil, low microbial activity. Once precip. begins in Nov/Dec,soils too cold to support mineralization/nitrification. The project I was working in also directly measured N leaching in these systems with lysimeters at 1 meter depth (ie below corn rooting depth) and corroborate my findings. That work has continued at Penn State. The project is now 6 years old. By the way, the argument that your colleagues present is also strongly argued by British soil scientists....but I could find no studies to support the view in the British literature, either. Curious, isn't it? Laura -------- Date: Tue, 13 Oct 92 11:51 -0100 From: Eng-Leong_Foo_MIRCEN-KI%MICFORUM@MICA.MIC.KI.SE To: natura-l@uchcecvm.bitnet, cyano-tox@grearn.bitnet, micronet@uoguelph.bitnet, envst-l@brownvm.bitnet, econet@miamiu.bitnet, biosph-l@ubvm.bitnet, sanet-mg@oes.orst.edu, devel-l@auvm.american.edu, biodiv-l@bdt.ftpt.ansp.br, ecolog-l@umdd.bitnet, agric-l@uga.bitnet Subject: 2nd BNFNET Annual Computer Conference 2nd BNFNET Annual Computer Conference Theme: Ecology of Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria Date: 1st Nov - 31 Jan 1993 Biological Nitrogen Fixation Electronic Network invites you to participate in its 2nd BNFNET Annual Computer Conference on the Ecology of Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria. Paper presentations and discussions will be related to - * Approaches and methodologies for identification, monitoring and population studies of natural and genetically manipulated nif bacteria. * Nitrogen fixing bacteria in their natural habitats, extreme environments, symbiotic and associative relationships with other organisms, plants & animals * Role of nitrogen fixation bacteria in biocycles, agricultural and cropping systems, reforestations, and land reclamation. * International programmes and projects on ecology of nitrogen fixing bacteria To participate, kindly send the message: "ADD ME TO 2BNFCC" to eng-leong_foo_mircen-ki%micforum@mica.mic.ki.se If you wish to present a paper (2-4 pages), kindly send the title of your paper to BNFCC-WG@SEARN.SUNET.SE To join BNFNET, send the message SUBSCRIBE BNFNET-L to LISTSERV@FINHUTC FROM: Eng-leong Foo, Karolinska Institute, 10401 Stockholm, Sweden Unesco Microbial Resources Center & Dept of Bacteriology Phone: 46-8-7287145 Fax: 46-8-331547 email: eng-leong_foo_mircen-ki%micforum@mica.mic.ki.se From sustag@BETA.TRICITY.WSU.EDU Mon Apr 4 17:47:20 1994 Date: Mon, 4 Apr 1994 10:14:25 -0700 From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)" To: Multiple recipients of list SUSTAG-L Subject: Oilseed Radish (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 4 Apr 94 15:14:30 GMT From: (Sender of message unknown) To: sustag@beta.tricity.wsu.edu Subject: Oilseed Radish Does anyone on the SA-Net have information on Oil (or Oilseed) Radishes? A farmer from NE Indiana has contacted me about using the plants as a cover crop to meet residue levels in corn and soybean production. He stated that he received only minimal information at a national machinery show in Louisville, Ky and was told that the crop is mainly used in N. Michigan and nearby Canadian provinces. Information being sought in seed source locations (!), any existing planting information (seeding rates, fertility info., planting dates, etc.), and any experiences SA Netters may have had with the crop. Thanks, Kenneth J. Eck Ext. Soil Cons. Spec. Purdue Univ. - Agron. Dept. 680 Rumbach Avenue Jasper, IN 47546-3513 ph.(812)634-2103 keck@ina4@in1000@attmail From m.collins@ncl.ac.uk Fri Dec 2 22:48:17 EST 1994 Article: 2297 of sci.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!warwick!news.ncl.ac.uk!usenet From: Matthew Collins Newsgroups: sci.agriculture Subject: Meeting June 95: Organic-Mineral Interactions in Soils Date: 1 Dec 1994 11:26:38 GMT Organization: Newcastle University, UK Lines: 58 Message-ID: <3bkbte$dml@whitbeck.ncl.ac.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: tholian.ncl.ac.uk X-Newsreader: WinVN 0.92.6 ORGANIC-MINERAL INTERACTIONS IN SOILS AND SEDIMENTS 28-29 JUNE 1995, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE A meeting sponsored jointly by: Mineralogical Society (Geochemistry and Clay Minerals Groups) British Soil Science Society International Humic Substances Society (British and Irish Chapters) In this rapidly developing field, cosponsorship reflects our aims of cross-fertilisation between soil chemists, sedimentary geochemists, environmental chemists and biogeochemists. Topics to be considered include: * influence on mineral precipitation / dissolution * controls in the preservation and destruction of organic matter and pollutants * role in soil sediment aggregations * characterisation and interactions of inorganic and organic colloids If you are interested in presenting a paper or poster at this meeting, please send a 300 word abstract to any of the convenors: Andrew Aplin and Matthew Collins, Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry Postgraduate Institute: NRG, Drummond Building, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU Tel. 091 222 6426, Fax 091 261 1182, e-mail A.C.Aplin@ncl.ac.uk, M.Collins@ncl.ac.uk David Rimmer, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science, King George VI Building, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU Tel. 091 222 6916, Fax 091 222 5228, e-mail David.Rimmer@ncl.ac.uk. ABSTRACT DEADLINE IS 10 DECEMBER 1994 We are intending to publish as many of the contributions as possible in a thematic issue of Organic Geochemistry in early 1996, subject to normal peer review. In order to meet this tight schedule, manuscripts must be brought to the meeting. A second circular will be mailed in January 1995 with details of costs, accommodation and the programme. Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 11:57 EST From: RFRNKLN@prism.clemson.edu Subject: opportunity in commercial operation To: sanet-mg@oes.orst.edu 30 September 1992 Anyone knowing of an individual interested in pursuing an opportunity in commercial organic farming in South Carolina should contact: Ben Williamson Oaklyn Plantation Route 3 Box 462 Darlington, SC 29532 Phone 803-393-7306 Mr. Williamson is looking for a partner or successor to his enterprise. He farms 150 acres of OCIA certified land and has facilities, equipment, and experience to contribute to the operation, and is looking towards retirement in a few years. From diane.bourn@stonebow.otago.ac.nz Wed Aug 24 13:56:57 1994 Date: Wed, 24 Aug 1994 16:35:22 +1100 From: Diane Bourn To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Organics and Nutrition - ref list Many thanks to everyone who responded to my request for info on the comparison of the nutritional value of organically and conventionally grown food back in June. Here is the list of refs I've compiled. Some of the refs are not easy to get hold of - if anyone would like more info about a particular ref please contact me. Basically I think that because so many factors can influence nutritional value of crops irrespective of farming system (soil type, climate, maturity etc) it is an extremely difficult question to answer. Some of the studies below are poorly designed with many confounding factors - consequently results are conflicting. I think it is more useful to compare the quality of organically and conventionally grown food on a much broader basis ( not just on the basis of one factor like nutritional value) including social, political and environmental dimensions. In any case most of the studies simply report the concentrations of a very small range of nutrients in a limited range of crops - this does not tell us much about nutritional value - bioavailability is rarely addressed. Organics - Nutrition/Related Issues Reference List Auld GW, Kendall PA, Chipman H. Consumer and producer perceptions and concerns regarding pesticide use. Food Tech 1994 March:100-109 Brandt CS, Beeson KC. Influence of organic fertilization on certain nutritive constituents of crops. Soil Science 1951 71:449-454 Brklacich M, Bryant CR, Smit B. Review and appraisal of concept of sustainable food production systems. Environmental Management 1991 15:1-14 Brunsgaard G, Kidmose U, Sorensen L, Kaack K, Eggum BO. The influence of variety and growth conditions on the nuritive value of carrots. J Sci Food Agric 1994 65:163-170 Clancy KL. The role of sustainable agriculture in improving the safety and quality of the food supply. Am J Altern Agric 1986 1:11-18 Cserni I, Prohaska K. The effect of N supply on the nitrate, sugar and carotene content of carrots. Acta Horticulturae 1987 220:303-307 Culliney TW, Pimental D, Pimental MH. Pesticides and natural toxicants in foods. Agric Ecosystems Environ 1992 41:297-320 DeEll JR, Prange RK. Postharvest quality and sensory attributes of organically and conventionally grown apples. HortScience 1992 27:1096-1099 Dlouhy J. Alternative forms of agriculture - quality of plant products from conventional and biodynamic growing. Report #91. Department of Plant Husbandry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala 1981 Dlouhy J. Product quality in alternative agriculture. From: Food Quality - Concepts and Methodology. Proceedings of the Colloquim organised by Elm Farm Research Centre in association with the University of Kassel. 1989 Dlouhy J. Quality in ecololgical agriculture. In:Ecological Agriculture, NJF-Seminar 166-Miljovard. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alternative Agriculture Report No 5, Uppsala, Sweden 1990 209-218 Dlouhy J. Organic crop production. From: International Seminar on Organic Farming in Central and Eastern Europe. The Czech Republic, October 1993 1993 Eppendorfer WH. Effects on n-fertilization on amino acid composition and nutritive value of spinach, kale, cauliflower and potatoes. J Sci Food Agric 1978 29:305-311 Fairweather-Tait. Optimal nutrient requirements:important concepts. J Hum Nutr Dietet 1993 6:411-417 Fischer ADA, Richter CH. Influence of organic and mineral fertilizers on yield and quality of potatoes. From: Proceedings of the Fifth IFOAM Conferences, Germany 1986 Fritz S. Agriculture and the consumer. A Discussion Paper. Prepared for the Food and Nutrition Programme, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia 1993 Glenn E, Clement C, Brannon P, Leigh L. Sustainable food production for a complete diet. HortScience 1990 25:1507-1512 Goldman BJ, Clancy KL. A survey of organic produce purchases and related attitudes of food cooperative shoppers. Am J Alt Agric 1991 6:89-96 Gussow JD, Clancy KL. Dietary guidelines for sustainability. J Nutr Educ 1986 18:1-5 Gussow JD, Akabas S. Are we really fixing up the food supply? J Am Dietet Assoc 1993 93:1300-1304 Hammitt JK. Risk perceptions and food choice:an exploratory analysis of organic-versus conventional-produce buyers. Risk Anal 1990 10:367-374 Hansen H. Comparison of chemical composition and taste of biodynamically and conventionally grown vegetables. Qual Plant - Pl Fds Hum Nutr 1981 30:203-211 Haynes L. Concerning the quality of food. From:Proceedings of the 9th IFOAM Conference, Brazil 1992 Hornick SB. Factors affecting the nutritional quality of crops. Am J Altern Agric 1992 7:63-68 Institute of Food Technologists. Organically grown foods. Food Tech 1990 December:123-130 Knorr D, Vogtmann H. Quality and quality determination of ecologically grown foods. In: Sustainable Food Systems. Ed D. Knorr, Ellis Horwood Ltd 1983 Koepf HH. Organic management reduces leaching of nitrate. Compost Sci 1974 Nov/Dec:11-15 Kopp H-J. Research on organically versus conventionally grown vegetable. >From: Proceedings of the 9th IFOAM Conference, Brazil 1992 Lairon D, Spitz N, Termine E, Ribaud P, Lafont H, Hauton J. Effect of organic and mineral nitrogen fertilization on yield and nutritive value of butterhead lettuce. Qual Plant Plant Foods Hum Nutr 1984 34:97-108 Lairon D, Termine E, Gautier S, Trouilloud M, Lafont H, Hauton J-C. Effects of organic and mineral fertilizations on the contents of vegetables in minerals, vitamin C and nitrates. From: Proceedings of the Fifth IFOAM Conference, Germany 1986 Leclerc J, Miller ML, Joliet E, Rocquelin G. Vitamin and mineral contents of carrot and celeriac under mineral or organic fertilization. Biological Agric Hort 1991 7:349-361 Lieblein G. Quality and yield of carrots:effects of composted manure and mineral fertilizer. PhD Thesis. Department of Horticulture, Agricultural University of Norway 1993 Lockeretz W, Shearer G, Kohl D. Organic farming in the corn belt. Science 1981 211:540-547 MacRae RJ, Hill SB, Henning J, Bently AJ. Policies, programs, and regulations to support the transition to sustainable agriculture in Canada. Am J Alternative Agric 1990 5:76-92 Maga JA. Organically grown foods. In:Sustainable Food Systems. Ed D. Knorr. AVI Pub Co 1983 Martens M. Quality and quality evaluation. Acta Horticulturae 1984 163:15-30 Martens M, Rosenfeld HJ, Russwurm Jr H. Predicting sensory quality of carrots from chemical, physical and agronomical variables:a multivariate study. Acta Agric Scand 1985 35:407-420 McNutt K. Integrating nutrition and environmental objectives. Nutr Today 1990 Nov/Dec:40-41 McSheehy TW. Nutritive value of wheat grown under organic and chemical systems of farming. Qual Plant - Pl Fds Hum Nutr 1977 27:113-123 Meier-Ploeger A, Duden R, Vogtmann H. Quality of food plants grown with compost from biogenic waste. Agric Ecosystems Environ 1989 27:483-491 Mickelsen O. Nutritional considerations in planning for food production. In: Sustainable Food Systems. Ed D. Knorr. E Avi Pub. Co 1983 Mozafar A. Nitrogen fertilizers and the amount of vitamins in plants:A review. J Plant Nutr 1993 16:2479-2506 Nilsson T. Yield, storage ability, quality and chemical composition of carrot, cabbage and leek at conventional and organic fertilizing. Acta Horticulturae 1979 93:209-223 Ophuis PAMO. Is sensory evaluation of alternatively produced foods affected by cognitive information and product familiarity? From: Food Acceptability. Ed David MH Thomson. Elsevier Science 1988 Perez CM, Juliano BO, De Datta SK, Amarante ST. Effects of nitrogen fertilizer treatment and source and season on grain quality of IR64 rice. Plant Fds Human Nutr 1990 40:123-130 Pfeilsticker K. Quality of organic-grown food- an experimental, multifactorial approach on vegetables for example. From: Proceedings of the 9th IFOAM Conference, Brazil 1992 Pimental D, Levitan L. Pesticides:Amounts applied and amounts reaching pests. BioScience 1986 36:86-91 Plochberger K, Velmirov A. Are food preference tests with laboratory rats a proper method for evaluating nutritional quality? Biol Agric Hort 1992 8:221-233 Schulz DG, Zedoe D, Kopke U. Determining the quality of organic produce:Extended quality parameters and quality index. From:Proceedings of the 9th IFOAM Conference, Brazil 1992 Schuphan W. Food plants-fresh, prepared, processed - in relation to standards of living and potential diseases of civilization. Qual Plant - Pl Fds Human Nutr 1973 23:33-74 Schuphan W. Nutritional value of crops as influenced by organic and inorganic fertilizer treatments. Qual Plant- Pl Fds Hum Nutr 1974 23:333-358 Schuphan W. Experimental contributions to the problem of improving the nutritional quality of food plants. Qual Plant - Pl Fds Hum Nutr 1974 24:1-18 Senti FR, Rizek RL. Nutrient levels in horticultural crops. HortScience 1975 10:243-246 Simko MD. Organic foods:Are they better? J Am Dietet Assoc 1990 Mar:367, 370 Smith BL. Organic foods vs supermarket foods:elemental levels. J App Nutr 1993 45:35-39 Somers GF, Beeson KC. The influence of climate and fertilizer practices upon the vitamin and mineral content of vegetables. Adv Food Res 1948 1:291-324 Stopes C, Woodward L, Forde G, Vogtmann H. The nitrate content of vegetable and salad crops offered to the consumer as from "organic" or "conventional" production systems. Biological Agric Hort 1988 5:215-221 Svec LV, Thoroughgood CA, Mok HCS. Chemical evaluation of vegetables grown with conventional or organic soil amendments. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 1976 7:213-228 Termine E, Lairon D, Taupier-Letage B, Gautier S, LaFont R, LaFont H. Yield and content in nitrates, minerals and ascorbic acid of leeks and turnips grown under mineral or organic nitrogen fertilizations. Plant Fds Hum Nutr 1987 37:321-332 Venter F, Fritz PD. Nitrate contents of kohlrabi (brassica oleracea l. var. gongylodes lam.) as influenced by fertilization. Qual Plant - Pl Fds Hum Nutr 1979 29:179-186 Vogtmann H. Quality of agricultural produce originating from different systems of cultivation. Translation of a paper published in German 1980 Wilkins JL, Hillers VN. Influences of pesticide residue and environmental concerns on organic food preference among food cooperative members and non-members in Washington State. J Nutr Educ 1994 26:26-33 Diane Bourn Department of Consumer Sciences University of Otago PO Box 56 Dunedin New Zealand Ph 03 479-7552, FAX 03 479-7567 e-mail:diane.bourn@stonebow.otago.ac.nz From SAM@eds.mes.umn.edu Fri Feb 11 09:59:49 1994 Date: Thu, 10 Feb 1994 13:05:33 CST6CST From: Sam Brungardt To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: New publication about forage legumes NEW BULLETIN PROVIDES INFO ABOUT ALTERNATIVE FORAGE LEGUMES A new publication about perennial forage legumes should be of value to dairy, livestock and forage producers in the north-central and northeastern United States and southern Canada who are seeking alternative forages to incorporate into their cropping systems. The 40-page bulletin was published by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Energy and Sustainable Agriculture Program. It is titled "Forage Legumes: Clovers, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Cicer Milkvetch, Crownvetch, Sainfoin and Alfalfa." The authors of the bulletin say that forage legumes are essential to sustainable agricultural systems because they not only provide livestock feed but also nectar for insect pollinators of other crops and, through their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, nutrients for subsequent crops. "Forage Legumes..." discusses the origin, use, management (for grazing, hay and silage), comparative yields, adaptation and identifying characteristics of 10 perennial legumes. The clovers discussed include red, white, alsike, kura and sweet clover. The text is supplemented with botanical drawings and color and black-and-white photos to aid identification of these forages. This and the tables of research trial results, will also make this bulletin useful to extension personnel, crop consultants, seed company representatives, and agricultural instructors and their students. "Forage Legumes..." may be purchased as item SB-5963-EM3 from the Distribution Center, 20 Coffey Hall, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108-6069 (fax 612/625-2207). It costs $5 (plus 6.5 percent tax on Minnesota orders). Please order by item number and title, and make your check payable to University of Minnesota. Call (612) 625-8173 to bill to Mastercard, Discover or Visa or to obtain prices on orders of 20 or more copies. From bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!xanth.cs.odu.edu!lll-winken.llnl.gov!overload.lbl.gov!agate!lhom Sun May 8 22:13:55 EDT 1994 Article: 8446 of misc.health.alternative Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!xanth.cs.odu.edu!lll-winken.llnl.gov!overload.lbl.gov!agate!lhom From: lhom@OCF.Berkeley.EDU (Louis Hom) Newsgroups: misc.health.alternative Subject: Pesticides in Organic Farming Date: 7 May 1994 15:33:16 GMT Organization: U.C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility Lines: 75 Distribution: usa Message-ID: <2qgcbs$208@agate.berkeley.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: sandstorm.berkeley.edu **I apologize in andvance if this is inappropriately posted here, but it seems that many alternative health-ers seek to escape pesticides by buying organic and might be interested in this** Organic produce has become increasingly popular in recent years, as consumers have grown more health conscious and environmentally aware. Many stores and supermarkets now have large sections devoted to organic fruits and vegetables. WHAT MAKES PRODUCE "ORGANIC"? Contrary to what most people believe, "organic" does *not* automatically mean "pesticide-free" or "chemical-free". In fact, under the laws of most states, organic farmers are allowed to use a wide variety of chemical sprays and powders on their crops. So what *does* organic mean? It means that these pesticides, if used, must be derived from natural sources, not synthetically manufactured. Also, these pesticides must be applied using equipment that has not been used to apply any synthetic materials for the past three years, and the land being planted cannot have been treated with synthetic materials for that period either. Most organic farmers (and even some conventional farmers, too) employ mechanicaland cultural tools to help control pests. These include insect traps, careful crop selection (there are a growing number of disease-resistant varieties), and biological controls (such as predator insects and beneficial microorganisms). ORGANIC PRODUCE AND PERSONAL HEALTH When you test synthetic chemicals for their ability to cause cancer, you find that about half of them are carcinogenic. Until recently, nobody bothered to look at natural chemicals (such as organic pesticides), because it was assumed that they posed little risk. But when the studies were done, the results were somewhat shocking: you find that about halfof the natural chemicals studied are carcinogenic as well. This is a case where everyone (consumers, farmers, researchers) made the same, dangerous mistake. We assumed that "natural" chemicals were automatically better and safer than synthetic materials, and we were wrong. It's important that we be more prudent in our acceptance of "natural" as being innocuous and harmless. ORGANIC PESTICIDES VERSUS SYNTHETIC PESTICIDES Clearly, the less we impact our environment, the better off we all are. Organicfarming practices have greatly advanced the use of non-chemical means to controlpests, as mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, these non-chemical methods do not always provide enough protection, and it's necessary to use chemical pesticides. How do organic pesticides compare with conventional pesticides? A recent study compared the effectiveness of a rotenone-pyrethrin mixture versusa synthetic pesticide, imidan. Rotenone and pyrethrin are two common organic pesticides; imidan is considered a "soft" synthetic pesticide (i.e., designed to have a brief lifetime after application, and other traits that minimize unwanted effects). It was found that up to 7 applications of the rotenone- pyrethrin mixture were required to obtain the level of protection provided by 2 applications of imidan. It seems unlikely that 7 applications of rotenone and pyrethrin are really better for the environment than 2 applications of imidan, especially when rotenone is extremely toxic to fish and other aquatic life. It should be noted, however, that we don't know for certain which system is moreharmful. This is because we do not look at organic pesticides the same way thatwe look at conventional pesticides. We don't know how long these organic pesticides persist in the environment, or the full extent of their effects. When you look at lists of pesticides allowed in organic agriculture, you find warnings such as, "Use with caution. The toxicological effects of [organic pesticide X] are largely unknow n," or "Its persistence in the soil is unknown." Again, researchers haven't bothered to study the effects of organic pesticides because it is assumed that "natural" chemicals are automatically safe. WHY HAVEN'T WE HEARD THIS BEFORE? For obvious reasons, organic farmers have done little, if anything, to dispel the myth that "organic = chemical/pesticide-free". They would only stand to lose business by making such a disclosure. Pesticide manufacturers have little concern in the matter. To them, "synthetic pesticides sold" and "organic pesticides sold" are both "pesticides sold". As for conventional farmers, they are not really in a position to be critical. It would not be in their interest to draw attention to chemical and pesticide use. WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN? The purpose of this message is not to discourage you from buying organic produce. It is only meant to let you know what you are or aren't getting when you make such a purchase. Unless you know your grower personally, there is no guarantee that your produce has been grown without pesticides or other chemicals. It's a point to consider, given the substantially higher cost of organic foods. There are many choices and decisions that we, as consumers, are asked to make. Hopefully, this text has provided some new information that you will find helpful. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Please feel free to distribute this text as you please. A hard copy of this message in leaflet form (on recycled paper, of course!) is available; just send your snail mail address to: lhom@ocf.berkeley.edu Your comments and questions are welcome. The study comparing rotenone-pyrethrin and imidan was performed by J. Kovach of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York. The data describing the carcinogenicity of natural and synthetic compounds are referenced in Gold, L.S., et al. (1992) _Science_ Vol. 258, pp. 261-265. Many thanks go to the Organic Crop Improvement Association for their cooperation in this study. The OCIA has chapters in AZ, AR, CA, CO, FL, IL, IN,IA, KS, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NM, NC, ND, OH, PA, SD, UT, and WI. Thanks are also extended to the California Certified Organic Farmers, the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, and Oregon Tilth Certified Organic. (The appropriate information has not yet been obtained from the Natural Organic Farmers Association (NOFA), but it is a lmost certain that all facts stated here apply to their certified products as well.) The following state Departments of Agriculture have also been very helpful: AL, AK, CA, CO, DE, FL, HI, IA, LA, MD, MI, ND, OK, TN, VA, and WA. States with no laws governing organic products include Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, and Tennessee. -- **************************************************************************** * Lou Hom * "All folks are family." * * lhom@ocf.berkeley.edu * -- John Saponara * **************************************************************************** 732 Article 732 (3 more) in bionet.plants: Newsgroups: sci.archaeology,sci.anthropology,bionet.plants From: claird@NeoSoft.com (Cameron Laird) Subject: [ARCH] Re: Which Came First, Agriculture or Pastorialism? [LONG] Organization: NeoSoft Communications Services -- (713) 684-5900 Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 18:37:40 GMT Lines: 182 In article dchapman@well.sf.ca.us (Dave Chapman) writ es: >Can anyone out there tell me what the best current dates are >for the beginning of agriculture, and for the beginning of >herding? I have the impression that domestication of sheep >occurred later than the domestication of grains, but would >like to see actual references. > >Also, information on the approximate order in which the various >food animals and food crops were domesticated would be >appreciated. Thanks. . . Domestication is a marvelous subject. That is, --MORE--(13%) it endlessly fascinates me. This comes up often enough, by the way, that it deserves to be in an FAQ. The cheap answer is to instruct you to look in recent Scientific Americans; there was, for ex- ample, a review this fall of the archaeology of some of the early Eurasian horse pastoralists. There is much, much more to it than this, though. Humans have practiced domestication all around the globe, and throughout the last ten thousand years or so. Well-attested dog remains have been found dating back around 10,000 years in Idaho, Britain, Turkey, ... (what's the archaeology of dingos? Is there genetic evidence that humans and dogs settled the New World together 12000 BP?) Plenty of people believe that hominids and canids go back a lot farther than that. Cattle are descended from at least two wild species; this process seems to have been well underway by 9000 BP. Sheep go back at least 7000 BP. Swine have also been domesticated more than --MORE--(26%) once during the last 5000 years, probably first in China. Horses likely entered human society just a bit later, and almost certainly in Central Asia, although the date on this one seems to be subject to revision backwards. My position: these numbers will continue to be shuffled for some time into the future. The first hard evidence for plant domestication also dates from around 9000 BP. Barley, sorghum, sweet potato (!), rice, common beans, flax, egg- plant, and maybe maize and avocados (!) have been well dated before 7000 BP. A different way to interpret your question: does a particular people domesticate plants or animals first? There's a lot of ideology tied up in an- wering this question; it's probably best for you to read some of the standard literature. Don't lose sight of these keys: 1. domestication has happened at many times and places, and by many people. It continues to the present (fox; kiwi fruit; cashews; high- bush blueberry; jojoba; various pines; red --MORE--(39%) deer; ...); 2. it's a rare society which is "isolated". Most peoples have been connected to a greater or lesser extent to the world economy, at least for the last 6000 years; 3. domestication isn't irreversible. Elk ("moose" to North Americans) and stinging nettles once were kept by some northern Europeans, and a number of ungulates by southwestern Asians; no more. I like thinking about some of the marginal cases: mesoamerican turkeys, New World rodents and camelids, and the cervidae. For a well-contextualized discussion of a hunter-herder transition, look at Ingold, Tim 1980 Hunters, pastoralists, and ranchers: reindeer economies and their transform- ations. Cambridge University Press, New York Most of the controversy in this field has to do with the "scientific materialism" of archaeology; antagonists --MORE--(51%) become quite heated over such questions as whether it is "winners" or "losers" that have innovated in agricultural technique, and whether horticultural surplus antedates political hierarchy, and whether social infrastructure requires, or is required by, agriculture. You can start on some of these questions yourself in Reed, Charles A., editor 1977 Origins of agriculture. Mouton, The Hague The classic that everyone criticizes is Boserup, Ester 1965 The conditions of agricultural growth: the economics of agrarian change under population pressure. Aldine Publishing Company, New York For other views, try Ammerman, Albert J., and L. L. Cavalli-Sforza 1984 The neolithic transition and the genetics --MORE--(61%) of populations in Europe. Clark, J. Desmond, and Steven A. Brandt 1984 From hunters to farmers: the causes and consequences of food production in Africa. University of California Press, Berkeley Cohen, Mark Nathan, and George J. Armelagos 1984 Paleopathology at the origins of agriculture. Proceedings of the 1982 Conference on Paleopath- ology and Socioeconomic Change at the Origins of Agriculture. Academic Press, New York Cowan, C. Wesley, and Patty Jo Watson, with the assistance of Nancy L. Benco 1992 The Origins of agriculture: an international perspective. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington Centro linceo interdisciplinare di scienze mate- matiche e loro applicazioni 1986 The Origin and domestication of cultivated plants: symposium. Elsevier, New York --MORE--(74%) Dolukhanov, Pavel Markovich. 1979 Ecology and economy in neolithic Eastern Europe. Duckworth, London Flannery, Kent V. 1986 Guila Naquitz: archaic foraging and early agriculture in Oaxaca, Mexico. Academic Press, Orlando Harlan, Jack R., Jan M. J. de Wet, and Ann B. L. Stemler 1976 Origins of African plant domestication. Mouton, the Hague Higgs, Eric, editor 1976 Origine de l'elevage et de la domestication. Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Paris MacNeish, Richard S. 1992 The origins of agriculture and settled life. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman --MORE--(84%) Rindos, David 1984 The origins of agriculture: an evolutionary perspective. Academic Press, Orlando Sauer, Carl Ortwin 1969 Agricultural origins and dispersals; the domestication of animals and foodstuffs. M.I.T. Press, Cambridge Smith, Philip Edward Lake. 1976 Food production and its consequences. Cummings Publishing Company, Menlo Park Zeven, A. C., and P. M. Zhukovsky 1975 Dictionary of cultivated plants and their centres of diversity excluding ornamentals, forest trees, and lower plants. Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation, Wageningen Zvelebil, Marek, editor 1986 Hunters in transition: Mesolithic societies of temperate Eurasia and their transition to --MORE--(96%) farming. Cambridge University Press, Cam- bridgeshire -- Cameron Laird claird@Neosoft.com (claird%Neosoft.com@uunet.uu.net) +1 713 267 7966 claird@litwin.com (claird%litwin.com@uunet.uu.net) +1 713 996 8546 End of article 732 (of 732)--what next? [npq] Article 5600 of misc.rural: Path: samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!icd.ab.com!iccgcc.decnet.ab.com!cselc19.cs.hh.ab.com!boldt Newsgroups: misc.rural Subject: Planter/Seeder recommendations wanted Message-ID: <1993Jun9.123616.10653@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com> From: boldt@cselc19.cs.hh.ab.com (Peter Boldt) Date: 9 Jun 93 12:36:16 EST Distribution: world Organization: Allen-Bradley Company, Inc. Nntp-Posting-Host: cselc19.cs.hh.ab.com Lines: 18 Does anyone own/use a planter. I have an Earthway, but it has some drawbacks. Namely, it does NOT handle round seed very well, as it gets caught behind the seed plate. So, my question is "DO you have any experience with a STANHY, NIBEX, COLE, or any other hand or small tracter type planter?" It seems that a vacum planter is the way to go, do you agree? Is it best to buy a STANHAY or NIBEX vacum seeder, or to try an put something together using a International Havester ( or some other mainstream agricultural planter ) vacum unit and openers? thanks for sharing any info you have, pete From szbehren@bullwinkle.ucdavis.edu Sun Feb 13 13:01:43 1994 Date: Fri, 11 Feb 94 22:13:48 -0500 From: szbehren@bullwinkle.ucdavis.edu Reply to: maxlife@gibbs.oit.unc.edu To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: request soapmaking info Sue -- I thought I'd sent this message yesterday, but it doesn't seem to have shown up, sooooooo . . . here I go again. Rodale's Book of Practical Formulas (Eas-to-Make, Easy-to-Use Recipes for Hundres of Everyday Activities and Tasks) edited by Paula Dreifus Bakule has a nine page section on making soap. Hope this helps! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ellen Behrens University of California, Davis elbehrens@ucdavis.edu Internship & Career Center --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From stsb@cranfield.ac.uk Sat Dec 10 21:05:16 EST 1994 Article: 2372 of sci.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-server.ncren.net!taco.cc.ncsu.edu!gatech!swrinde!pipex!uknet!news.cranfield.ac.uk!scp052.silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk!stsb From: stsb@cranfield.ac.uk (Simon Blackmore) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture Subject: Re: Crop yield mapping Date: Thu, 8 Dec 1994 16:48:40 +1000 Organization: Silsoe College, Cranfield University Lines: 47 Distribution: world Message-ID: References: <786320702snz@jegs.demon.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: scp052.silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk X-Newsreader: Trumpet for Windows [Version 1.0 Rev B] In article <786320702snz@jegs.demon.co.uk> Julian@jegs.demon.co.uk (Julian Swindell) writes: Dear All, > Our College has been collecting crop yield data for two years, >using satellite navigation techniques to locate the positions of the samples, >which are collected during the harvest. This data is being analysed in a >geographic information system (GIS) in order to create yield maps of the >fields, showing the spatial variation in the yield levels. I would be >interested in hearing from anyone who has been workng in this area, which is >often referred to as "precision farming". I am particulalry interested in >problems relating to the accuracy of the yield data, the influence of the >speed of the combine on the yield measurement and the influence of the pattern >of the harvest on the apparent distribution of the yield variations. I have just started the Precision Farming Group under the Institute of Agricultural Engineers, where (I hope) we can create a forum for discussion on yield mapping and other issues. We are hosting the inaugural meeting here at Silsoe College, Cranfield University on Wednesday 14th December at 2:00pm. All are welcome. There will be a number of people who are developing yield mapping technologies, myself included! If you cannot make the meeting then drop me an email and we can take it from there. There is another group in the States headed by Pierre Robert at the University of Minnesota. He can be contacted as PRobert@soils.umn.edu I hope to publish the proceedings of the last Precision Farming Conference on WWW in the next month or so. Watch this space. ----------------------------------------------- | Eur Ing Simon Blackmore | | Lecturer in Information Technology | | Silsoe College | | Cranfield University | | Silsoe | | Bedfordshire | | MK45 4DT | | England | | | | Direct Line: +44 (0)1525 86 3030 | | Switchboard: +44 (0)1525 86 3000 | | Fax: +44 (0)1525 86 3001 | | Email: S.Blackmore@cranfield.ac.uk | ----------------------------------------------- Subject: GPS and Prescription Agriculture Date: 21 Jan 92 14:48:09 GMT Background: Prescription agriculture is a method of farming where instead of seeding/fertilizing/spraying the same amount over an entire field, an amount appropriate for the slope and soil is applied. This can be done by mapping the field and then using the map to guide application. A key difficulty is in knowing where the tractor is on the field. The global positioning system (GPS) uses an ensemble of satellites sending coded information to triangulate the latitude, longitude, and altitude of a receiver to within a few feet. GPS receivers are down to about $1500. Question: Are there any Prescription Agriculture GPS papers in recent conference proceedings or journals? I am aware of only one project in this area and it is being done by a farmer in Indiana. From garydunn@pullman.comThu Nov 9 11:24:02 1995 Date: Wed, 8 Nov 1995 19:15:37 -0800 From: Gary Dunn To: sanet-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Property Caretaking [The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] If you, or someone you know, ever need a property caretaker, we can help. You can run a free help-wanted ad (up to 50 words) in THE CARETAKER GAZETTE. I've prepared some info below on the property caretaking field. Please let me know if I can help answer any property caretaking questions you might have. Take care, Gary Dunn, Publisher, THE CARETAKER GAZETTE. (garydunn@pullman.com) What is a caretaker? >> >>For those who are not involved in the profession, the word "caretaker" may >>have numerous meanings. But for the growing number of people who are >>dedicated to the caretaking profession and land stewardship, a caretaker is >a property caretaker: a person hired by a landowner to care for his or her >property in exchange for compensation. >> >>What is land stewardship? >> >>Land stewardship is the concept of caring for land to ensure that it >remains intact and productive for future generations. Caretakers act as land >stewards when their responsibilities include preservation and maintenance >activities. To quote Wendell Berry, author of The Unsettling of America, >"The care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all, >our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to >foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope." >> >>Is caretaking a new profession? >> >>No, it's actually a very old profession,rooted in the British tradition of >>land maintenance. In 1868 The Times of London defined a caretaker as "a >>person put in charge of a farm from which the tenant has been evicted." >>Today, that definition has been expanded to cover a multitude of >>landowner/caretaker relationships. The number and diversity of these >>relationships has increased during the past decade. As more and more >>landowners hire caretakers to watch over their property, the caretaking >>profession continues to grow in popularity. >> >>Who hires caretakers? >> >>Many different types of property owners hire caretakers. Landowners, large >>and small, individuals or institutions, can benefit by utilizing the >>services of a qualified caretaker. Farmers, ranchers, homesteaders, >estates, camps, parks, lodges, and nature preserves all employ caretakers. >> >>What skills and experience are required for caretaking? >> >>While many landowners seek experienced caretakers with specific skills >(e.g. maintenance, farming, ranching or animal husbandry) others are willing >to take on and train people with general backgrounds. As with most other >occupations, such traits as honesty, common sense, and flexibility are key >prerequisites. For caretakers who live and work alone on the property of an >absentee landowner, the ability to function independently and fulfill one's >responsibilities without daily guidance and instruction from the landowner >are important qualifications. Although a love of nature and solitude is >important, having hobbies and interests (e.g. reading, writing, painting, >photography) that can be pursued in what are often remote areas is extremely >helpful. >> >>What are the duties and responsibilities of a caretaker? >> >>The duties and responsibilities of a caretaker are as varied as the >>landowners and caretakers themselves. Caretaking can give one the >>opportunity to work in dozens of areas, among them: groundskeeping, land >>stewardship, farming, organic gardening, forestry, ranching, animal >>husbandry and fisheries. While some landowners just require a presence on >>their property, others need fences mended, snow plowed, gardens tended, >>animals cared for, and houses, roads and pastures maintained. Plumbing and >>electrical work may be part of a caretaker's duties - or the caretaker may >be responsible for hiring competent repairmen. >> >>What should one consider when applying for a caretaking position? >> >>The prudent caretaker sets out to develop a working relationship with the >>landowner, his or her prospective employer. If the landowner's goals and >>philosophies are stated in their advertisement, prospective caretakers >>should consider whether these are in harmony with their own beliefs. While >>skill and experience are important, most landowners are initially concerned >with character references. When answering an ad, a neatly prepared resume >should be accompanied by photographs of oneself (and family, if applicable) >and references. Landowners often request a personal letter, where the >prospective caretaker discusses such things as interests, goals and reasons >for desiring a caretaking position. It is helpful to be as open and honest >as possible. Information regarding any special skills or interests should >also be included. >> >>What should a landowner look for when hiring a caretaker? >> >>A detailed, well-written ad is an important first step toward finding a >>qualified caretaker. You should be honest about both the situation and >>compensation offered. The philosophy and goals of the landowner should be >>stated up-front. This can help alleviate ideological clashes or conflicts. >>In addition to the standard resume and references, landowners find it >>helpful to request a personal letter from the prospective caretaker. >> >>Are there any financial benefits for landowners who hire caretakers? >> >>Putting their property in the hands of a qualified caretaker can free >>landowners from the responsibility of day-to-day maintenance. This >>arrangement can enable them to increase their profits in the long run. A >>caretaker who lives on the property ensures that it is kept in good >>condition, secure from vandalism, theft and maintenance problems. He or she >also makes any necessary improvements or repairs so that the property always >remains in top condition. Having a qualified caretaker on one's property >gives the landowner time to pursue other interests or employment. >> >>Can caretaking provide any special opportunities for travelers? >> >>Inveterate travelers have discovered that caretaking enables them to live >>and work in a variety of interesting locales - both in the U.S. and abroad. >Positions may be for the long or short-term, seasonal or year-round. Many >newcomers to the caretaking field have been lifelong travelers. Most are >motivated by the desire to live a simple, rural life or explore another >culture in depth. Caretaking offers travelers the opportunity to become a >part of a community and experience life as the locals live it. Travelers can >caretake resort properties during off-seasons, enjoying the use of the >grounds and facilities. For travelers who are considering a move to another >geographic area, caretaking allows them to experience life in a new location >prior to spending time, money and energy relocating there. >> >>Can full or part-time RVers find employment as caretakers? >> >>Yes. Many RVers are discovering that caretaking is a challenging and >>fulfilling occupation. It enables them to take some time off the road, >>settle down for a period of time, and enjoy life in another location. It's >>an economical way to live as site and utility hookups are provided by the >>landowner. RVers are often in demand by landowners whose properties do not >>have separate housing for caretakers. Because RVers have their own housing >>with them, they require only hookups. While some campgrounds that hire >RVers as caretakers require light duties, others are simply in need of >>"site-sitters." In both situations, there is plenty of leisure time to >enjoy the property and its amenities. RVers can also find employment as >caretakers on properties of landowners who travel. In this instance, it is >important to maintain the property and make it appear occupied. Seasonal or >short-term positions permit RVers to maintain their free-wheeling lifestyle. >> >>Is caretaking suitable for retirees? >> >>Yes. In fact, many landowners specifically request "mature" or "retired" >>individuals or couples when placing their ads. Retirees bring with them a >>wealth of skills and experience that can be readily used when caretaking >>property. Landowners like the fact that many retirees have a second income. >>In exchange for caretaking responsibilities retirees are able to live >>rent-free and experience life in different geographic areas. >> >>The Caretaker Gazette publishes a caretaker profile in each issue. Here's a >>couple of condensed profiles: >> >>CARETAKER PROFILE >> >>"A Pair in Paradise . . . " - Profile of Sandra and >> Deane Maxson >>Dates of Birth: Sandra - 4/18/44 Deane - 11/3/31 >>Children: Two school-age boys at home, ages 10 and 14. >>Interests: Flower and vegetable gardening, enjoying the outdoors and, of >>course, sports. >>Quote:"We enjoy life and the early mornings are unbe- lievably great making >>the whole day illuminating." >> >>MAXSON'S PHOTO GOES HERE >>Sandra and Deane at home in the Florida tropics >> >>The Maxsons are a couple perfectly suited to each other and the lush >>semitropical ranch they caretake in south- west Florida. They are year-round >>employees on a 90,000 acre ranch which is the site of a cattle operation, >>farming, mining and hunting. There is a large hunting lodge, snuggled away >>in the midst of a forest of Telegraph Cypress on an island. Deane maintains >>each and every campsite throughout the year. He also takes care of the >>hunting blinds plus the mechanical feeders which have timers and batteries. >>The mechanical feeders are suspended from trees and need to be filled and >>checked every week. Sandra plans and organizes a number of elaborate events >>for her employer. Sandra does a lot of canning while Deane keeps up with the >>maintenance of the lodge and the citrus grove. This entails mowing the >>grounds, fertilizing, painting the decks, porches, railings, and outside >>redwood furniture. Their compensation includes a salary of $2,000 per month, >>housing, medical insurance, a two week unpaid vacation in the summer months, >>and a gratuity check in late spring after hunting season. The gratuity is >>based on the number of hunting parties that visited during that season. >>For their next caretaking position, the Maxsons are willing to relocate. >>They're interested in managing a bed and breakfast inn, a dude ranch, or >>even a farm or ranch. They don't smoke or use drugs themselves but have no >>objection to others who smoke or drink. Sandra and Deane are lucky- they're >>healthy, happy, and have found the right environment and occupation to enjoy >>life. >>CARETAKER PROFILE >> >>"A Caretaker with Many 'Bush' Stories" - A Profile of Mike Peterson >>Date of Birth: 5/15/51 >>Interests: Building sailing ship models, creative writing, reading, and TV >>production. >>Quote: "If I have a wish for mankind, it is that everyone, everywhere, could >>spend an hour in the calm, quiet evening, and be wrapped in the northern >>lights. I think peace would follow." >> >>Mike Peterson is a very versatile guy. After growing up on a farm in >>Wisconsin, spending some time in college, doing a Navy hitch, and getting >>married, he set off on the railroad to become a locomotive engineer. After >>12 years on the railroad, and a divorce, he traveled the "lower 48" for >>several years then settled in Alaska. He's been there for seven years. For >>the past five years, Mike has been the winter caretaker at Valhalla Lodge, >>located on a remote lake in western Alaska. Valhalla Lodge is one of >>Alaska's premiere fishing and hunting lodges. It was built for those who >>truly appreciate the great outdoors. People from all over the world make the >>trip to experience a real wilderness paradise. The only access to the lodge >>is by plane, using either floats in the summer or skis when the lake is >>frozen. Once Mike arrives at Valhalla Lodge, he's alone for the next seven >>months, except for Bandit, the company dog. His duties are to "be there," >>and make sure the lodge and all its belongings are still there when the >>fishing season starts the next spring. If something breaks, he fixes it. >>When it snows, he cleans the wings of the four planes parked there. Other >>than that, Mike may do nothing for long periods of time. He's paid $300 per >>month, plus a $1,000 bonus at the end of the season. Mike says "that's OK >>for a single guy with no bills." The two most common questions people ask >>Mike are, "Have you seen the movie, The Shining?" (which he has several >>times) and, "How can you stand to be out there all by yourself for so long?" >>His reply to that question is, "How can you stand to go out every morning in >>the dark, in the cold, shovel off your car, hope it starts, so you can play >>'bumper cars' to get to a job you probably do not like, where you don't >>make enough money, so you can pay rent on a place you're probably not crazy >>about anyway." On mornings like that, Mike just makes another pot of coffee, >>puts his feet up on the table, and watches all of Good Morning America on >>RATNET (Rural Alaska Television Network). As he sits at his table watching >>it get light outside, he can observe a line of caribou crossing the ice, or >>a couple of moose walking along the lake's shore. He once watched a fox dig >>up a frozen salmon that had washed up in the fall, then observed as a group >>of ravens drove off the fox and started to pick at the salmon; finally, an >>eagle dropped out of the sky and flew off with the prize. Many animals got >>fed from that one magnificent fish and the show was over in less than 15 >>minutes. It's things like this that make the long winters worthwhile for >>Mike. But the most amazing thing for Mike on those cold winter nights >>continues to be the sight of the northern lights overhead. If you have never >>seen them, try to imagine a shimmering translucent curtain in shades of >>almost fluorescent greens! At his latitude, instead of being low to the >>north, they spread like a silken veil straight overhead, from horizon to >>horizon. Even the snow covered landscape seems to pick up the colors and >>reflect them back. And the show gets even better. Like a great movie screen >>curtain being opened, this veil of light is constantly moving. As near as >>Mike can describe it, "It is like releasing a silk scarf that floats down, >>but never reaches the ground." Mike loves the caretaking life and it shows >>whenever you talk with him! >> >>MIKE'S PHOTO GOES HERE >> >>Mike's getting some timber to feed the wood stove! >> >>Copyright 1995, The Caretaker Gazette. Published since 1983, the Gazette >>is a bimonthly newsletter that helps landowners and caretakers find one >>another. Subscriptions are $24 per year. The Gazette publishes about 70 >>property caretaking job opportunities, worldwide, in each issue. Caretaker >>profiles, Letters to the Editor, and employment-wanted classified ads are >>also in each issue. The Caretaker Gazette, 2380 NE Ellis Way, Suite C-16, >>Pullman, WA 99163-5303. For any questions, or for Credit Card orders, please >>call Gary Dunn, Publisher at: (509) 332-0806. (garydunn@pullman.com) >> >>BTW, if we just survived the eighties, and we're living in the nineties, what do we call the next decade? > > From milo@scicom.alphacdc.comWed Feb 15 22:20:21 1995 Date: Sun, 29 Jan 95 15:33:11 -0800 From: Michele Lord Reply to: indknow@u.washington.edu To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Protection of Traditional Crops This article is from the twice monthly newspaper, News From Indian Country. It is published by Indian Country Communications, Inc. with offices at Rt.2 Box 2900A, Hayward, WI 54843. They may be contacted by calling (715) 634-5226; FAX (715) 634-3243. Native group asks EPA protection of traditional crops During November of 1994, the California Indian Basketweavers Association (CIBA) filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asking that changes be made in the Agency's definition of crops to extend protections to a wide variety of plants used by Native Americans for food, medicine, and religious purposes. The petition, in particular, raised registration and labeling issues as relates to 40 C.F.R. parts 156 and 170 (Worker Protection Standard) and requests that EPA: - Clarify the FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act) regulatory definitions to include a) protection for Native American crops harvested for food, food implements, medicine, commercial, cultural, and spiritual uses and b) Native American gatherer (farm worker) risks relevant to registration and labeling, and reporting pursuant to FIFRA; - Reexamine the extent to which existing registration and labeling requirements take into consideration the above uses and values and include a determination as to whether the pesticides in question are even registered for use on Native American crops; The petition piggybacks on a petition filed July 8, 1994 by a NASDA (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture), which seeks changes to certain worker protection standards. Sara Greensfelder, CIBA's executive director, said CIBA is using the NASDA proceeding to seek relief for Native American basketweavers who risk exposure to toxic herbicides when they harvest and use basketry plants currently considered "weeds" by EPA. "We're trying to take advantage of a procedure that is already underway to enter our concerns and request relief," said Greensfelder. CIBA bases its request for relief on traditional use of the land and natural resources, treaty and religious rights, the Indian trust relationship with federal agencies, EPA Indian Policy of 1984 and 1994, and Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, as well as other policies and findings. Many of the plants targeted by herbicide spraying of forests are the same plants which provide Native Americans with foods and teas, are used in baskets and regalia, or for healing, ceremonial, and other traditional purposes. People may come into contact with the poisons when gathering, processing, ingesting, or using the plants or plant products. In preparing basketry materials, the weaver usually places them in their mouth. Basketweavers have complained of numbness and other ill effects after processing materials that may have been sprayed. In addition, crops such as acorns are an important source of food for many tribes, yet oak trees and other broad-leafed plants are often doused with herbicides because they "compete" with commercially-harvested conifers. The CIBA petition asks that weavers be considered as susceptible to the deleterious effects of pesticides as farmworkers. CIBA's membership views the unregulated pesticide contamination of culturally important plants and wildlife as a district threat to Native American gatherers and the continued productive use of the materials and wildlife that constitute a high percentage of Native Americans' subsistence diet. Neither the exposed individuals nor the affected materials and wildlife are currently protected by EPA standards or regulations for pesticides. The petition states, "The EPA has consistently resisted recognizing the spiritual and cultural dimensions of environmental protection inherent in Native American relationships to the Earth. We are concerned that the issues of subsistence, spiritual and cultural uses of natural resources, being raised by members of Native American communities, are not being recognized as an environmental justice issue in EPA's interpretation of environmental and federal Indian law, including treaty rights and the federal trust responsibility, cooperative agreements, and federal policies. "The 1984 EPA Indian Policy and the 1994 Environmental Justice strategy fail to recognize that there are subsistence, spiritual and cultural dimensions to the way environmental protection is defined and implemented." The California Indian Basketweavers Association would like to hear from other traditional crop gatherers who are being impacted by pesticides. They may be reached at: CIBA, 16894 China Flats Road, Nevada City, CA 95959, phone (916) 292-0141. ~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*+ "When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully because we know the faces of our future generations are looking up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them." -Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation *~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~* Michele Lord + Alpha Institute + Tel: 303-343-4114 alphai@scicom.alphacdc.com + P.O. Box 110998 milo@scicom.alphacdc.com + Aurora CO 80042 + Fax: 303-360-9118 +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ From steved@ncatfyv.uark.edu Tue Jan 17 23:27:52 EST 1995 Article: 5098 of alt.sustainable.agriculture Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!oit-mail2news-gateway From: steved@ncatfyv.uark.edu (Steve Diver) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Re: Beneficial Nematodes and Wireworms in Turnips Date: 17 Jan 1995 18:55:47 -0000 Organization: sustag-public mailing list Lines: 36 Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: bigblue.oit.unc.edu Content-Type: text > Tory, > > Nematode-suppressing green manures and cover crops > may be your best "90s technology" alternative. > Brassicas like rapeseed and Rhaphanus like oil radish, as well > as sorghum-sudangrass all look promising in this regard. Whoops! I see where I jumped from controlling wireworms to nematode-suppressing green manures. For wireworms, crop rotation is one of the prime considerations. Wireworms tend to be a problem in root crops that follow cereal crops and in fields taken out of pastures, hay fields, and sods. Thus, don't plant a root crop in such a field until it has grown one or two sequences of a less-susceptible broadleaf crop, or a broadleaf cover crop like buckwheat. For a neat illustration on distribution of wireworm species in North America, and a summary of life cycles, etc., see "Potato Health Management" published by APS Press. In your area of Missouri, it looks like a cross-roads between three species: Northern Plains (wheat wireworm, dusky wireworm; Eastern Corn Belt and Northeast (Eastern field wireworm; the South (Corn wireworm, conodrus wireworm) Steve Diver steved@ncatfyv.uark.edu > > Does anyone have any experience/info on the use of > > beneficial nematodes for control of wireworms. This is for > > 16 acres of organic turnips. From cbenbrook@igc.apc.org Mon Apr 18 17:25:58 1994 Date: Mon, 18 Apr 1994 08:15:50 -0700 From: Charles Benbrook To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Cc: atl@igc.apc.org, cbenbrook@igc.apc.org, ccof@igc.apc.org, cmellinger@igc.apc.org, jcbloome@ucdavis.edu, liebman@uclink.berkeley.edu, mmellinger@igc.apc.org, psyltie@igc.apc.org, pweddle@igc.apc.org, tforster@igc.apc.org 4/18/94 Note to Sanet -- From: Chuck Benbrook A very important article has recently been published as a letter in the journal "Phytopathology" (Vol. 84, #3, 1994, pages 222-225), entitled "Root Camouflage and Disease Control" (by Gregory Gilbert; Jo Handelsman; Jennifer Parke). It explains a mechanism whereby certain soils can become disease suppressive. The implications are exciting, and make a great deal of sense in light of the insights emerging in the growing literature on microbial biocontrol of plant pathogens. While there has been a resurgence of interest in disease suppressive soils (actually, farming systems that render plant-soil interactions less vulnerable to yield loss caused by disease), there is little understanding of the mechanisms within soil microbial communities that give rise to observed instances in which some soils, under certain circumstances, become disease suppressive. Scientists world wide are searching for answers to what characterizes a disease suppressive from a disease supportive soil, for obvious reasons (they want to replicate via management or an input the state that gives rise to disease suppressiveness). The above letter provides a cohesive explanation for a process that may, in fact, be one of the major mechanisms of disease suppressiveness. I don't want to spoil the show or steal their punch-line, but the letter explains the differences between bacteria populations in the rhizosphere in contrast to root-free soil. Certain ubiquitous pathogens are clearly "turned on by" the exudates and other microbial activity unique to the rhizosphere. But when the microbial activity in the root-free portions of the soil profile is closer to the activity in the rhizosphere, pathogenic microorganisms seem less inclined to attack roots, hence the use of the word "camouflage" in the letters title. Any management practice that elevates general microbial activity and complexity throughout the soil profile will tend to contribute to this effect. I recommend this article to anyone interesting in the science base of disease suppressive farming systems. And congrats to the authors for breaking some real ground! Article 417 of triangle.gardens: Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!acpub.duke.edu!pdrh From: pdrh@acpub.duke.edu (Peter Doyle Higgins) Newsgroups: triangle.gardens Subject: seed starting by presprouting Date: 2 Apr 1994 12:59:08 GMT Organization: Duke University; Durham, NC; USA Lines: 24 Sender: pdrh@acpub.duke.edu Distribution: triangle Message-ID: <2njq6s$im8@news.duke.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: raphael.acpub.duke.edu Keywords: seeds, germination, presprouting I'm experimenting with presprouting, a method I read about in *Square Foot Gardening*, by Mel Bartholomew. So far, I seem to be having excellent success. The idea is that it is difficult to put seeds directly into the ground and maintain the appropriate temperature and moisture to achieve germination, yet many plants' root systems don't tolerate transplanting very well. This method is supposed to produce maximum germination under controlled conditions before transferring sprouts to the ground. You start by wetting a paper towel and wringing it out to dampness, then folding it to a size that will fit into your ziplock bag. Slide the paper towel into the bag, spread your seeds on top of it, seal the bag ad put it in a warm place - top of a refrigerator or a hot water heater. On my hot water heater, I'm getting 90-100% germination, and I've just moved these sprouts to the outdoors, where I've spaced them for their eventual size (no thinning) three seed widths below the surface in some moist seed starting mix. According to Mel, these sprouts should push through to the surface in just a few days, and be off and running. I've always hated low germination rates and thinning perfectly good plants - what a waste of seed! This seems to be an excellent solution. As Mel would say (it really is a good book to get from the library), why use high volume commercial methods for your low volume home garden? I just hope we've seen our last frost - last night, April 1 in Durham, we saw Frosty again! (1845) Mon 20 Apr 92 22:02 Re: Florida Commercial Vegetable Transplant Producers (from PennPages) FLORIDA COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE TRANSPLANT PRODUCERS Florida Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida Charles S. Vavrina Greater than 200 million total production volume: Speedling, Inc. P.O. Box 7220, (813) 645-2543 Sun City, 33570 FAX 645-1906 Vegetables, Tobacco, Ornamentals Speedling, Inc. P.O. Box 307 (904) 793-6700 Bushnell, 33513 FAX 793-3410 LaBelle Plant P.O. Box 399 (813) 675-2020 LaBelle, 33935 FAX 675-6052 Tomato, Tobacco, Pepper, Watermelon, Cantaloupe 100 to 200 million total production volume: CollierGro Hwy 29, P.O. Box 379 Immokalee, 33934 (813) 657-6141 Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Tomato, Pepper, Cabbage Plants of Ruskin P.O. Box 994 Ruskin, 33570 (813) 645-2528 Vegetables 50 to 100 million total production volume: Bonnie Plant Farm 3505 Lake Tohopekaligs Rd. St. Cloud, 32769 Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Eggplant, Lettuce, Pepper, Tomato Classie Plants Inc. P.O. Box 1653 Palmetto, 34220 (813) 723-1804 Tomato, Pepper, Cabbage, Watermelon, Broccoli, Onion, Celery Johnny Johnson Greenhouses P.O. Drawer Zero Immokalee, 33934 (813) 657-4779 Tomato, Pepper, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Lettuce, Beets Knox Nursery, Inc. 4349 N. Hiawassee Rd. Orlando, 32818 (407) 293-3721 Pepper, Tomato, Squash, Watermelon The Plant Farm 12638 Fruitville Rd. (813) 371-1179 Sarasota, 34240 (813) 371-1174 Tomato, Pepper Redi Plant #21 6-L Farm Rd. Naples, 33961 (813) 774-6030 Tomato, Pepper, Watermelon 1 to 50 million total production volume: ABC Farms, Inc. Veg. Transplant Div. 807 E. Main St. Immokalee, 33934 (813) 675-1394 Tomato, Peppers Barfield Produce P.O. Box 1089 Immokalee, 33934 (813) 657-3611 Tomato, Peppers Chastain Farms 37800 Wash. Loop Rd. Punta Gorda, 33982 (813) 639-6861 Watermelon, Cabbage A. Duda & Sons, Inc. P.O. Box 95 Lake Jem, 32745 (904) 383-6111 Celery, Carrots, Corn, Lettuce Elsberry Farms 101 Big Bend Rd. Ruskin, 33572 (813) 677-6221 Tomato, Pepper, Onion, Strawberry Harlee Farms Rt. 1, Box 437-G Myakka City, 34251 (813) 722-7747 Tomato, Watermelon Hyatt Farms 26689 E. Hwy. 60 Lake Wales, 33853 (813) 692-1361 Watermelon, Pepper, Eggplant, Tomato Jack Lee Farms Rt. 1, Box 418 E. Palatka, 32131 (904) 328-5315 Potato, Squash Long & Scott Farms P.O. Box 65 Mt. Dora, 32757 (904) 383-6900 Cabbage, Onion, Corn, Potato S. Authur Peterson of Florida 5530 W. Atlantic Ave. Delray Beach, 33484 (407) 498-3500 Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant, Cabbage Picolata Produce P.O. Drawer 200 Elkton, 32033 (904) 824-1600 Potato, Broccoli, Turnip, Pepper, Collard, Mustard, Spinach, Kale Putnam Farms Rt. 1, Box 229 San Mateo, 32187 (904) 328-4553 Cabbage, Potato Slingerland's Flower Haven 175 S. Orchard St. Ormond Beach, 32174 (904) 677-4481 Tomato, Pepper, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Tomato Superior Plant Co. Jim Myers 15000 Old Rt. 41 N. Naples, 33963 (813) 455-1560 Tomato Canal Road Greenhouse P.O. Box 1087 Palmetto, 34220 (813) 722-8697 Tomato Earl Williams Farms Rt. 3, Box 95 Graceville, 32440 (904) 638)7452 Cole Crops, Chinese Cabbage Zarella Farms P.O. Box 1139 Stuart, 34997 (407) 287-0707 Cabbage Zellwin Farms Co. P.O. Box 188 Zellwood, 32798 (407) 886-1891 Escarole, Endive, Lettuce, Napa, Cabbage, Onion, Cauliflower Less than 1 million total production volume: Benedict Farm 3605 Darby Rd. New Smyrna Beach, 32168 (904) 427-1410 Cabbage, Pepper, Kale, Lettuce, Watermelon Brown's Farm Rt. 2, Box 127 Hawthorne, 32640 (904) 475-2015 Onions, Peppers Flint Farms Rt. 2, Box 675 Arcadia, 33821 (813) 494-5277 Tomato, Watermelon, Cabbage Marion & Marvin Fussell, Jr. Rt. 2, Box 252 Webster, 33597 (904) 793-2142 Eggplant, Pepper Carlow Gutschlag Farm P.O. Box 1067 Fairfield, 32634 (904) 629-6358 Pepper, Eggplant, Tomato Hart's Plant Nursery 1404 Blair Rd. Jacksonville, 32221 (904) 781-7910 Mixture of Vegetables Chapman Lewis Farms 2930 SE 41st Pl. Ocala, 32671 (904) 694-4737 Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant Libby Nursery Rt. 1, Box 295-B Hilliard, 32046 (904) 845-3543 Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant Bruce McElroy Farms Rt. 1, Box 520 Newberry, 32669 (904) 493-1088 Muskmelon, Watermelon Morton's Greenhouses Rt. 10, Box 956 Lake City, 32055 (904) 752-9280 Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant Norris Plant Farm Rt. 1 Chipley, 32428 (904) 638-1074 Tomato, Pepper Plant Labs was (Tri-W Farms) 5720 Hamilton Bridge Rd. Milton, 32570 (904) 994-6022 Cabbage Plants Inc. of Sarasota 13011 Fruitville Rd. Sarasota, 34240 (813) 371-8998 Tomato, Pepper Eddie Roberts Farms P.O. Box 184 O'Brien, 32071 (904) 935-1416 Pepper, Eggplant Scherer's Plant Farm 2030 30th St. N. Clearwater, 34620 (813) 531-2973 Vegetables Sheffield Nursery 400 W. Ash St. (904) 584-2088 Perry, 32347 (904) 584-2914 Tomato, Pepper, Squash, Cucumber Sunshine State Growers Rt. 5, Box 941 Tallahasee, 32301 (904)421-8444 Tomato, Pepper, Squash, Eggplant Gary Zachary Farms P.O. Box 33 Bushnell, 33597 Eggplant, Pepper ---------------------------------------------------------------- Where trade names are used, no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Cooperative Extension Service is implied. Authors: M. D. Orzolek, Prof. of Vegetable Crops P. A. Ferretti, Prof. of Vegetable Crops Department of Horticulture, Penn State Janaury 1992 PENpages Number: 09401226 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Horticulture Vegetable Newsletters Michael D. Orzolek and Peter A. Ferretti Department of Horticulture Penn State University 1. Vol. 4, No. 1, 1992 (1846) Mon 20 Apr 92 22:07 Re: Environmental tips for greenhouse transplant growers (from PennPages) ENVIRONMENTAL TIPS FOR GREENHOUSE TRANSPLANT GROWERS Vegetable Views, University of Maryland, December 1991 David S. Ross A number of vegetable growers have built small film plastic greenhouses to use during the winter and spring months to start vegetable transplants needed for their summer production. While many of these ventures have proved to be successful, some have had problems and others might be able to make improvements to get better production. This article will discuss factors relating to the structure, cover, heating, ventilation, air circulation and other environmental control considerations. Growers should evaluate their greenhouses in terms of the considerations given in this paper. Structure and Cover: Simple wood frame or metal pipe frame greenhouses can be used, but they must be strong enough to withstand high winds or a heavy wet snow lead. An air-inflated double poly cover gives a 30 percent energy savings over a single cover. Air for inflating a double cover should come from the outside to reduce the condensate between the two poly covers. Air circulation for maintaining temperature uniformity may be difficult in long narrow greenhouses. Heatingthe combustion process and pollutants: Several problems can be related to the heating system. Tomato transplants are very sensitive to some combustion pollutants as growers have found out in recent winters. One major source of problems in some greenhouses is the use of unvented, direct-fired propane or kerosene space heaters. Impurities in the fuel can cause toxic combustion products. In a tight plastic greenhouse, the oxygen may eventually be consumed during the combustion process, leaving incomplete combustion products and toxic pollutants. The flame may actually go out and let the greenhouse freeze. The use of unvented heaters is risky; at some time the environmental conditions may be right for disastrous results to occur. In an emergency, clean or pure fuel and extra ventilation may be adequate precautions for short term use. In plastic greenhouses where a vented heating system is used, a proper flue must be used to achieve success. The flue should extend outside and up two feet above the peak or ridge of the greenhouse so there is a good "draw." Heated combustion gases must rise by convection to escape. A hot exhaust helps; an insulated flue pipe maintains the temperature needed to cause the exhaust gases to rise. Pollutants are largely formed at the "startup" and shutdown" of the burner. It is important that exhaust gases flow up the flue and not be forced back down and out into the growing space. Sufficient oxygen must be available for complete combustion in the heating units. A plastic greenhouse can be made very air tight. A duct from outside the greenhouse to the rear of the combustion chamber is recommended to provide the air (oxygen) needed. A pipe about the size of the flue pipe is adequate. A general rule of thumb is to provide 1 square inch of fresh air inlet for each 50,000 BTU per hour capacity of the direct-fired unit. Regular servicing of the burner, heat exchanger and air-fuel ratio adjustment to avoid incomplete combustion will reduce ethylene production and release of unburned hydrocarbon fuels. Heating and air circulation: The heating unit is controlled by a thermostat. The thermostat must be located in the interior of the greenhouse (in the air stream but not directly in the heated air discharge). Do not mount the thermostat on the outside wall of the greenhouse where the cold air near the wall will adversely affect it. Uniform air temperatures in the greenhouse help to maintain uniform plant growth. Wire the heater fan to operate continuously while the burner unit is controlled by the thermostat. Add additional fans (horizontal air flow) or a fan-perforated tube to provide continuous air circulation during the heating season. See Agricultural Engineering FACTS 170, Greenhouse Air Circulation, for specific details. Check the heater air throw distance capability to see if it is adequate to move the heated air to the far end of the greenhouse. Ventilation: Solar radiation can cause high temperatures in a greenhouse during winter months. Temperature control is needed for control of plant growth. Ventilation rates of 2 cubic feet per minute (CFM) per square foot of greenhouse floor space for minimum winter ventilation and 8 CFM per square foot of greenhouse floor space for summer ventilation should be provided. Greenhouses under 5000 cubic foot in size need up to 12 CFM per square foot of floor space for adequate ventilation. Two speed fans or small and large fans can be used to allow different rates of ventilation. Motorized inlet louvers of a slightly larger size than the fans should be provided. Keep doors and windows closed on the end of the greenhouse where exhaust fans are located while ventilation is occurring. All thermostats should be located together in a shaded box about one-third of the way across the width and down the length of the greenhouse. An aspirated box with a small fan blowing air across the thermostats is desirable. Summary: Inexpensive greenhouses can be built for growing vegetable transplants, but their success depends on the ability to control the environment properly. The functions of heating, ventilating, air circulation, and control must be adequately provided. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Where trade names are used, no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Cooperative Extension Service is implied. Authors: M. D. Orzolek, Prof. of Vegetable Crops P. A. Ferretti, Prof. of Vegetable Crops Department of Horticulture, Penn State Janaury 1992 PENpages Number: 09401226 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Horticulture Vegetable Newsletters Michael D. Orzolek and Peter A. Ferretti Department of Horticulture Penn State University 1. Vol. 4, No. 1, 1992 Reprinted without permission from the Fall, 1992 Bio-Dynamic News & Events newsletters Published by the Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Associaton, Kimberton, PA (2185) 935-7797 A Report on the Seed Growing Work at Ekkharthof Farm in Switzerland: Seed work at Ekkharthof began around the initiative of one man, Limar Randuja. Now it is in its 19th year, but Limar began seed work in 1952, long before coming to Ekkharthof. The seed catalog is actually in its 28th year. Only very gradually has the seed work expanded to a wider circle of involvement. There are now about 20 growers ranging from gardeners growing a few varieties to farmers who plant and combine a field of a variety needed in large quantities. The bulk of the varieties are still grown only at Ekkharthof. Originally the hope was to provide biodynamic seed to market growers. At the time they proved not a large or dedicated enough body of support, but there was a great interest among home gardeners, so the seed company focused on serving the latter. Most varieties are available in limited quantities and customers are restricted to home garden size portions. This is gradually changing as the company expands and a number of main crop varieties are available in commercial size lots. The enterprise at Ekkharthof is quite small by commercial standards but well beyond cottage industry scale. Gross sales are about 250,000 Swiss Franks (160, 000 U.S. dollars). 267 varieties of vegetable, herb, flower and cover crop seeds are offered. Growers receive 213 bulk retail price for their seed. One kg. is bulk size for most seed. For the last two years they have collectively decided to put 10% of this in a fund to be redistributed yearly to help cover unforeseen losses to growers or to the seed company. Prices of seed are high by American standards. The seed enterprise is combined with a market garden and with herb growing, processing and marketing. The herb business dovetails nicely with the seed company, sharing equipment, facilities and marketing. The garden covers about 12 acres and there are eight gardeners. Seed cleaning at Ekkharthof involves a combination of handwork and small scale mechanization. All of the seed cleaning can be done by hand and it is often more practical for small batches than setting up the machinery and doing the absolutely thorough cleaning of the machines that is necessary between batches. Careful hand threshing and cleaning is gentler on the seed than mechanical means and usually results in better germination and longer seed life. Timely and careful harvesting also make a big difference with seed quality and ease of cleaning. The primary equipment for hand cleaning is a set of round sieves similar in size and construction to old fashioned wood and mesh garden sieves. To handle the full range of seeds from 20 to 40 sieves of various mesh sizes are needed. One can get by with 20 sieves and one would be very well set up with 40 sieves. Sieves from a Swiss maker of sturdy high quality construction cost about $35 U.S. a piece. Sieves are used for several techniques besides screening and grading, and diameter and height of wooden hoop frame are important as well as mesh size. There are also other very effective hand seed cleaning devices that are easily constructed of wood, fabric, and cardboard. A common hand cranked fanning mill with a good set of screens is also very helpful. Power seed cleaning machinery at Ekkharthof consists of a small but versatile thresher, the Pelz Saatmeister, and an air, screen and indented drum cleaner, the Mini.Petkus made by Rober of Germany. Most batches of seed larger than 2 or 3 kg. go through these two machines. All seed to be sold is brought to at least 98% purity. Most batches require additional handwork to be brought to top market grade. Some require a great deal of handwork. There are machines that can replace the additional handwork. Ekkharthof has not felt it necessary to mechanize further with their scale of cleaning, but any substantial increase in volume or batch size would require it. The next stage of mechanization would be to add a specific gravity separator which effectively separates objects of the same size but different densities, and an endless belt cleaner that separates objects according to their ability to roll or slide down an inclined surface. This would replace the bulk of further hand cleaning for most seeds. Exceptions are damaged or moldy seeds that must be sorted out on the basis of visual appearance. And occasionally a particular weed seed will require more sophisticated or different cleaning methods or devices. Further facilities include: a 16X20' room for seed cleaning; a 14X20' room with double doors and a smooth floor for threshing; a large loft for curing and drying; a dry cellar room with dehumidifier for drying and short-term storage of threshed seed; another such room for longterm storage of seed stocks and accessions; a small room for germination tests; a large room for filling seed packets, filling orders, packaging and shipping, catalog production, record keeping, etc.; a small office; a cool greenhouse for overwintering half-hardy biennials and perennials, and cold frames for the same purpose. Small equipment includes: accurate scales; dehumidifiers, hygrometers, thermometers; drying screens and a large dryer shared with herb and food processing; a large collection of tubs and trays, cloth bags, canisters and crates; a computer for address labels, records, catalog production, etc.; and there is also all the equipment that goes with an intensive diversified 10 acre market garden, all of which contributes to the seed growing as well. Considerable shed and cellar space is devoted to storage of packaging and shipping supplies, crates, nets, fabric, plastic tunnel and greenhouse supplies, stakes, trellises, irrigation equipment, etc. All breeding work done at Ekkharthof is pretty much standard line selection. Some growers do a little breeding work and some maintain their own stock seed, while others use stock seed Ekkharthof provides. Some intensive breeding work is done, for example 26 lines from one original Brussels sprout variety, two of which are now quite distinct selected varieties. Some things are simply grown and harvested with no selection work at all. Garden cress and some of the herbs, flowers and cover crops fall into this category. Some varieties have been intensely rogued for a number of years until they reached a desirable stable condition, and will probably not be selected again unless and until they show characteristics that would warrant it. Examples are some of the beans. For some of the varieties there is ongoing breeding work and selection, but some or all of the final multiplication is done without selection. Most vegetable varieties have ongoing breeding work. Most intensive positive selection is for breeding work and stock seed, but there is some surplus that goes into the mix to be sold. Most seed sold has had at least negative selection (roguing) in its final multiplication. Seeds selected out of produce plantings are positively selected but the intensity of selection varies widely according to size of planting and number of seeds produced per plant. As a seed company with a cooperative of growers, Ekkharthof is not without its problems: Things like crop failures; seeds that come back from growers full of dirt or weed seeds; seeds damaged by combining, moisture or insects; seeds a grower has taken on but never managed to plant or forgot to harvest in time; and so on. There are safety measures like keeping reserve seed and spreading a variety among more than one grower. The cooperative of growers also becomes more experienced, dependable and professional every year. Despite these problems Ekkharthof is known as an excellent source of high quality, dependable open-pollinated organic/biodynamic seeds. Ekkharthof is large and diversified enough, and well enough organized and managed to weather these problems and still maintain its reputation. From bae@oci.utoronto.ca Thu Jun 23 23:26:18 EDT 1994 Article: 35718 of rec.gardens Newsgroups: rec.gardens Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!cs.utexas.edu!utnut!oci!bae From: bae@oci.utoronto.ca (Beverly Erlebacher) Subject: Re: Soak beans before planting? Message-ID: Sender: news@oci.utoronto.ca Organization: Ontario Cancer Institute - U of Toronto References: Date: Thu, 16 Jun 1994 20:59:12 GMT Lines: 31 In article v062mbg3@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu (Karen C Allen) writes: >My pole beans rotted in the ground (had some pretty cold nights here last >week) so I decided to plant more a couple days ago and since I had heard that >soaking them would cause faster germination I let them soak overnight first. >Well, they are in the ground but I just happened to come across some >information stating *not* to soak beans before planting (in Rodale's >Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening) although they don't say *why*. Does anyone >know why beans shouldn't be soaked and what I can expect to happen with these >beans I've planted? Should I plant more or just wait and see whether they come >up? Presoaking does help speed germination but sometimes when you soak beans in a container of water they absorb it unevenly and the cotyledons may crack, the embryo may get damaged or detached from the cotyledons, the skin may tear, etc. This is less likely if you put the beans on a wet cloth rather than immersing them. Mixing them with wet vermiculite works too. Peas seem to do ok with immersion, and I often soak and sprout them to get a jump on the season. If you want to plant your beans (too) early, or you have problems with emergence in a heavy soil, or the slugs chew out the growing point as soon as the seedling emerge, I think the best method is to plant the beans in a pot and keep them indoors until they sprout. This avoids cold soil, heavy soil and pest problems. It's an especially good method for pole beans, since you can start a whole hill in a pint food carton and transplant the whole group without injuring the roots much. Beverly Erlebacher Toronto, Ontario Canada From bae@oci.utoronto.ca Thu Jun 23 23:28:04 EDT 1994 Article: 35724 of rec.gardens Newsgroups: rec.gardens Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!cs.utexas.edu!utnut!oci!bae From: bae@oci.utoronto.ca (Beverly Erlebacher) Subject: Re: Forgot to treat bean seeds with innoculant Message-ID: Sender: news@oci.utoronto.ca Organization: Ontario Cancer Institute - U of Toronto References: <2tkd8b$333@cmcl2.NYU.EDU> Date: Thu, 16 Jun 1994 21:33:36 GMT Lines: 25 In article <2tkd8b$333@cmcl2.NYU.EDU> jeff@cns.nyu.edu writes: >This year, my planting of several varieties of bush and pole beans was done hastily >and I forgot to treat the seeds with legume innoculant before planting. The seeds have just germinated in the last few days and I wondering if there is any point to >trying to infuse some innoculant around each sprout (perhaps with a syringe and short >piece of small-diameter tubing)? Does anyone have thoughts on this or a sense >of how important it is to use innoculant. Thanks. I forgot to one year as well, and since this was a new garden, formerly lawn, I figured there might not be the right bacteria there. I just mixed up some inoculant with plenty of water (not all that easy), scratched a narrow trench next to the plants, poured the mix in and covered the trench. When I pulled up the plants after they were done, there were plenty of healthy nodules on the roots, so either it worked or the soil already had the right bacteria. Too bad I didn't do a controlled experiment: maybe you can. Tell me the results! Now that I've cycled inoculated beans and peas through most of the garden, I've stopped buying inoculant. Current wisdom is that beans are 'lazy' and don't fix much nitrogen in the good soils likely to be found in gardens, and I figure my soil is full of the right kind of bacteria now anyway. Beverly Erlebacher Toronto, Ontario Canada Date: Mon 30 March 1992 Re: Re: Esperseth -> I don't know the Latin name (it's not listed in _Hortus III_ either). -> author of the article about this plant says it's from Switzerland whe -> it's used as forage. She thinks it's related to alfalfa. Well, now, knowing the Switzerland part, I dug out my couple of German plant books... There's something that in German is called 'Esparsette', grows wild in meadows, and is a desirable forage plant. I do wonder whether that's what you're looking for... Oh, botanical name for 'Esparsette' is Onobrychys viciaefolia. Re: More Esperseth Info Following is some descriptive information about esperseth (Onobrychys viciaefolia ???) I neglected to post. "...Distinguished by small pink and blue blossoms and vetch-like pinnate leaves, this plant matures over years into massive and deep-rooted clumps. They measure as much as three-feet wide at the base, and grow over 20 inches high when in full bloom." If you're familiar with this plant please notify me by e-mail. I have a number of questions concerning espereth and its' uses. Re: Re: ESPERSETH Since you said the lady thought it was related to alfalfa, I looked a bit more closely at the listings under medicago (alfalfa family) in Sturtevant's. I found one possibility: Medicago denticulata, or bur clover, aka shanghai trefoil. It says it is native to the North temperate region of the Old World and that a fine, broadleaved variety was found to be much used by the Chinese as a winter vegetable. The name bur clover suggest a possibly sharp seed to me, and the fact of winter vegetable use suggests the possibility of a perennial. Slim associations, I know, but perhaps you could look this plant up in some of your sources and see if there are any stronger correlations. (1743) Thu 2 Apr 92 13:08 Re: Re: ESPERSETH Looked in some German plant books and found a listing for a plant called `Esparcette' in the German language. It grows wild in meadows, and is a desirable forage plant. Its' botanical name is Onobrychys viciaefolia. I looked-up O. viciaefolia in _Hortus III_ and found that is a member of the Leguminosae family. The description follows: SAINFOIN, HOLY CLOVER, ESPARCET. Perennial to 2 feet; leaflets in 6-12 pairs, oblong or linear, 1 inch long; peduncles longer than leaves, racemes (many-flowered; flowers pink, rarely white, to 1/2 inch long or more; fruit pubescent, many-toothed on 1 side, to 3/8 inch long. Temperate Eurasia. Adapted to dry soil. I think this might be what the articles author, Patricia Nell Warren, calls esperseth. She concludes her article about esperseth with the following. Hopefully, someone can answer her questions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've the following questions about esperseth. Please answer as many as you can. *In parts of the United States where there is greater summer or year-round rainfall than in Montana, would esperseth have a more tender growth, and be as palatable to cattle as it was in Switzerland? *In these rainier areas, can esperseth begin to replace commercially grown alfalfa--both as hay for dairy cattle, and as fresh forage in dairy pasture? If it can, it would be a gift to farmers in water-critical areas like California, where alfalfa farming is now under fire because it demands so much water. *Would the rugged deep-rooted plants be more resistant to close grazing and trampling by livestock than are the more fragile grasses? *Do sheep like esperseth? Goats? Horses? Llamas? Sheep and goats feast on many plants--like leafy spurge and spotted knap--that cattle shun. *In drier parts of the U.S., would esperseth provide good drought-resistant grazing for sheep and goats, who don't mind woody stems? *What about ranging poultry? Can esperseth stand up better than standard pasture to the incessant scratching and digging by ranged chickens and turkeys? Ranged poultry is an attractive alternative to "factory chicken," but it can be destructive to land, in the same way as intensive grazing by hoofed animals. *What are the possible dangers to horses, of grazing on green esperseth? Every horse-owner knows the risk of green alfalfa. *What is espereth's long-term value (since it is a slow grower) in revitalizing farmland and rangeland that is eroded and leached of nutrients? *Does esperseth have survival value for wild grazers like elk and deer? Some private-landowners are learning that their strategy for environmentally saner ranching and farming can also help support local hard-pressed wildlife. I have seen white-tail deer feasting happily on my Montana patch. Esperseth is still deep green in August, at a time when most Western grasses are cured on the stem. *What can esperseth add to our array of plants used for reclaiming strip mines and other such areas damaged by strip mines? *With its slow growth rate, does esperseth have any value as a single-season green manure? *Does esperseth--like alfalfa--have any medicinal value for humans? These and other questions about this intriguing plant deserve to be answered. For further information and the possible availability of small quantities of hand-gathered 1992 seed, interested persons can write to Patricia Nell Warren, c/o _ACRES U.S.A._ (P.O. Box 9547, Kansas City, MO 64133, U.S. of America) and letters will be forwarded. I also would like to hear from _ACRES U.S.A._ readers in Europe who know anything about esperseth history, and its uses in Europe today. Re: Re: ESPERSETH Looked up Onobrychys in Sturtevant. I only found Onobrychis crista-galli, common name Hedgehog. It was mentioned as only having ornamental use as a garden curiosity, though it "appears in some of our seedsmen's lists." It was listed as a legume, but it seems to be not quite the same thing or else I'm running into differences in nomeclature because the book dates to 1910. It's been an interesting hunt, though. Good luck on finding out more. To: Lawrence London Re: ESPERSETH I have an old (1988) catalog from J.L. HUDSON, in which there's a listing for Onobrychis sativa (=viciaefolia). If he still sells it, and a packet of seeds is only $1.00, you might want to check with him besides Ms. Warren. J.L. HUDSON, SEEDSMAN [Catalog - $1] P.O. Box 1058 Redwood City, CA 94064 Re: Re: ESPERSETH If you try O. vicaefolia (a.k.a. esperseth), let us know the results. BTW, I think (?) Peaceful Valley Farm Supply also has seed for espetseth. It's probably sold as either SAINFOIN or HOLY CLOVER. Re: Esparsette Did one more glance at my German books, and all the additional information I can come up with is: Likes dry, limestone type soils, and seems to be a desirable component of hay. I remember seeing it in Austria, in meadows with lots of wildflowers. Later on (1981 to 1986) in central Germany, I saw neither wildflowers nor esparsette. When I asked one of the local farmers why there weren't any wildflowers like there used to be, the answer was that today the meadows got fertilized, and that provided the wrong nutrient balance for the wildflowers. Re: Re: ESPERSETH The address for PVFS is as follows: PEACEFUL VALLEY FARM SUPPLY [Catalog - $2] P.O. Box 2209 [Deductable from] 110 Springhill Boulevard [1st order] Grass Valley, CA 95945 (916) 265-4769 Re: Re: ESPERSETH Re: Horticultural copyright Subject: Re: Such thing as a "Horticultural Copyright"? Date: 8 Jan 92 23:31:13 GMT >|> I have a question regarding legalities around plant propagation. Is there >|> the concept of a "horticultural copyright"? This copyright would prohibit >|> propagation of plant varieties without a formal agreement with the >|> original plantsman who produced the strain. >I think patents do this. Yes, you can patent a new hybrid plant. Are there patents for open-pollenated varieties too? Say someone spends 20 years carefully selecting the best plants of a variety of tomato until they manage to develop an improved variety? I'm sure they would want to patent it (to be the sole legal vendor). It seems to me that this would be a big issue for breeders since it's easy to propagate open-pollenated varieties by seed. 'Plant Patents' have been around since the 1930s, in the USA. The give the 'inventor' rights to all commercial propagation, if the plant is propagated asexually. New potato varieties and new daylilies can be patented. Existing varieties cannot be patented, and I believe any breeder can use the material in further creations. I think private propagation is also allowed. Historically, plants propagated by seed could not be accorded proprietary rights. This was what made hybrids so appealing to breeders. The two parents of a hybrid corn could be protected as a "trade secret", a legal status which still accords the breeder the maximum in long term proprietary rights. But hybrids of many species are not particularly appealing to consumers, so in 1970 breeders succeeded in obtaining the "Plant Variety Protection Act" (PVPA). This gives patent-like protection to sexually propagated plants, with the proviso that farmers and breeders can reproduce ti as much as they want for their own purposes. The original PVPA had an exemption for the six Cambell's soup vegetables, but by 1980 breeders were able to get an amendment that included those too. After working so hard to develop a property-rights scheme in which breeders could still use the protected material in further breeding, a new twist was added by molecular biologists and the US Patnt Office in the mid- 1980s. First they were granted "utility patents" (same as given for a mechanical invention) for microbes, then for plants, and finally for animals. This was a blow to breeders in that utility patents do not allow breeders to use each others' creations. (That might have a beneficial impact on the commercial gene pool.) So if you have purchased a plant marked "patented", it is probably something that is protected under the 1930s Plant Patent Act, and only for asexual propagation. Feel free to propagate it for yourself. However, if it is protected by a utility patent (I don't think anything much on the market is, yet), your perogative to do this may technically be restricted. (But feel free anyway :)). If you buy plant material that is marked "PVP" then you can't propagate the seed and sell it to anyone. If its a hybrid you can do as you please with the seed. The European community has somewhat different laws. Re: Soil loss through erosion (from Usenet, sci.environment) Subject: Topsoil loss Date: 24 Apr 92 20:29:43 GMT From SCIENCE's "Random Samples" department (3 April 1992, p. 28): Around the world, fertile soil is rapidly washing away or becoming dust in the wind. So goes a global assessment of soil conditions released last month by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and hailed by the Washington, D.C., think tank as the first of its kind. Said WRI president Gus Speth at a press conference releasing "Toward Sustainable Development," this "confirms our worst fears" about the degradation of arable land since World War II. The data were produced from a 3-year-study sponsored by the United Nations Environmental Program, in which hundreds of experts compared contemporary conditions with those tracked over the last 45 years. The report concludes that more than 3 billion acres of fertile land -- an area the size of China and India combined -- have been seriously degraded, mainly because of overgrazing, damaging agricultural practices, and deforestation. In the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the Ganges Valley, for example, alkalinity, salinity, and waterlogging have squeezed 29% of cropland out of production. Speth calculates that the world's nations may have to triple food production in the next 50 years to keep up with population growth. Crop rotation and other on-farm practices will remedy mild soil degradation, but national programs are needed, the report says, for large-scale soil conservation and watershed management projects. Supporting its sense of urgency, WRI printed its report early in hopes of influencing the negotiations over worldwide environmental treaties that are preceding the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June. Re: Double digging Subject: Re: Square-foot Gardening Date: 26 Jan 92 07:23:49 GMT This is a very important gardening technique. Basically it is the corner-stone to the French-intensive/Bio-dynamic methods prescribed by Alan Chadwick and applied by gardeners like John Jeavons, Mel Bartholmew?, Tom Cumbithson, etc... It is an effective technique to enrich, arreate, and improve soil, while building your raised beds, without the disruption of the natural layering that occurs in top-soils, supposedly. The double-digging technique is described in good detail in John Jeavons, 1974 Classic "How to Grow More Vegetables than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine." This is a $15.00 book that has been revised and has been in print for nearly twenty years, from Ten Speed Press. You can order Ten Speed Press' revised 192 page guide to double digging, companion planting, family garden planing, and practical compost techniques directly from the publisher: Ten Speed Press P.O. Box 7123 Berkely, California 94707 (415) 845-8414 This is by far one of the most practical and informative gardening guides, I have been exposed to. It seems like the foundation that many of today's gardening books are preaching from -- titles like "Grow Bed Gardening" and "Square-Foot Gardening". If you are really interested in Double Digging, you should find the book at a library or buy it at a book store. If you can get thorugh all the hippie b.s. about slugs and rabbits and weeds being adorable lovable garden companions, you'll understand double-digging. Althoug it is simple once you have seen it done or tried it your-self, It seems very difficult to describe correctly. John Jeavons provides clever pictures. Oh yeah, another great guide to Double-digging is "Alan Chadwick's Enchanted Garden." This is co-written by a bunny rabbit and lacks the illustrations, or complete index of seed-sources, but describes the gentle practices of raised-bed gardening. From 71042.2023@compuserve.comFri Feb 9 11:01:18 1996 Date: 09 Feb 96 05:15:28 EST From: Bill Duesing <71042.2023@compuserve.com> To: Almanac Information Server Subject: Re: Winter Nutrition Living on the Earth, February 9, 1996, Winter Nutrition Sometimes a small effort on our part can produce enormous benefits both personally and globally. For example, growing sprouts in our kitchens through the winter is an easy way to make a big difference. Sprouting seeds in jars or trays is a traditional way of producing delicious and nutritious, fresh organic vegetables in less than a week. And, eating homemade sprouts instead of west-coast lettuce is a wonderful way to "just say no" to some of the most damaging aspects of our food system. This winter, I've been growing a steady supply of a combination of alfalfa, radish and Chinese cabbage sprouts. This mix has a zesty blend of flavors, a wonderful crisp crunchiness and lots of nutritional benefits. Sprouting seeds is very easy. All we do is take advantage of their stored energy. When the warmth, moisture and air needed for germination are provided, the embryo closed in the softened seed coat comes to life. It sends out a tiny root and lifts the cotyledons which surrounded it inside the seed, up to the light as they open and turn green. We make sprouts in a wide-mouth, quart canning jar capped with a piece of flexible window screening held on with a canning band. Start with about two tablespoons of seeds. Soak them overnight in tepid water. Soaking softens the seeds and facilitates the germination process. The next morning pour out the soaking water, rinse the seeds with fresh, cool water and drain them. Repeat the rinsing and draining process two-to-four times daily. After three or four days, the little plants will be big enough to eat. As you keep rinsing and eating them, they will continue to grow. After a week to ten days the sprouts will have grown all they can using their stored energy. If they're not eaten by then, store them in the refrigerator. They are still alive, though, and appreciate an occasional rinsing to bring in fresh air and water and to remove waste products. Start a second jar before the first one is empty and you'll have a continuous harvest of this delicious food! Sprouts are a great snack. We also use them on sandwiches, with eggs and stir-frys, as well as for salads and as a garnish on soups and stews. The radish sprouts provide a pleasant tang. The cabbage sprouts are very flavorful. Members of the brassica family, cabbage and radish sprouts supply important, health-building flavonoids, antioxidants and protective enzyme inducers for our bodies. Alfalfa sprouts have a milder taste in addition to lots of vitamins and helpful enzymes. Many other seeds can be sprouted too! Grains such as wheat, rye, barley and buckwheat germinate easily, as do legumes like lentils, mung and garbanzo beans. Seeds for sunflowers, onions, fenugreek and many of the greens we grow in the garden make good sprouts. Most of the plants in those expensive mesclun salad mixes can be germinated together to provide delicious flavor. We start with fresh, organic seed from the natural food store. You can use regular garden seeds if you're certain they haven't been treated with chemicals. Although the seeds may seem expensive, two tablespoons of them grow to fill a quart jar in a week. A pound of alfalfa seeds will produce 12 gallons of sprouts. Once you get production going on the sprout farm around your kitchen sink, you'll have no reason any more to buy iceberg lettuce shipped in from western deserts. The USDA says that 92 percent of our lettuce is grown there, that 62 different chemicals are used to grow it, and that over half of the lettuce samples tested contained detectable pesticide residues. Expensive government irrigation projects water that lettuce to the severe detriment of other ecosystems. Very large west coast lettuce farms depend on low-paid immigrant labor to harvest the crop and on a large fleet of trucks to deliver their product, which is 95 percent water, all the way across the country. Growing sprouts in your kitchen may seem like a small bit of agriculture, but it is one of the most powerful steps you can take to improve the health of your family and the environment. Discover the joys of sprouting. Start some today. This is Bill Duesing, Living on the Earth C 1996, Bill Duesing, Solar Farm Education, Box 135, Stevenson, CT 06491203-888-9280, email-71042.2023@Compuserve.com Living on the Earth airs every Friday morning at 6:53 on WSHU, 91.1 FM public radio from Fairfield, Connecticut. A collection of these essays was published in 1993 as Living on the Earth- Eclectic Essays for a Sustainable and Joyful Future. Solar Farm Education works to increase local sufficiency and organic agriculture through a variety of projects including lectures, writings and a long-running school garden program in Bridgeport, and an educational farm in New Haven. Article 683 of sci.agriculture: Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!mustang.alleg.edu!news From: grubist@murr12.alleg.edu (Thomas Grubisha) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture Subject: Models for Ecological Sustainability Date: 17 Apr 1994 20:21:24 GMT Organization: Allegheny College Lines: 30 Message-ID: <2os5o4$8em@mustang.alleg.edu> Reply-To: grubist@alleg.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: murr12.alleg.edu Keywords: resilient systems/organic waste/sustainable development I am initiating a research project that seeks to develop on sustainability in ecology. The main emphasis of the project is to further research the works of John and Nancy Todd (natural system design precepts), Amory and Hunter Lovins of the Rocky Mountains Institute (resilient technological systems), and Wes and Dana Jackson (prairies as ecological farms). I find their ideas about organic waste treatment, architecture, farming, and production very interesting and extremely important for the future. I first learned of these ideas in a piece by David W. Orr on Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World. That was the first time that I had heard of some of their proposals and I wish to better educate myself so that I might better inform others as well. This reading was a handout copy of the original and there was no bibliography included. I would be extremely greatful if anyone has any information about these people, topic areas, or current news on the issues. Any further bibliographical information would be of great help to and to my project also. Thank you for your time and please address any responses to my address below or this group. T.J. Grubisha Box 1768 Allegheny College Meadville, PA 16335 USA (814) 332-2238 INTERNET: grubist@alleg.edu Subject: Sustainable Communities Urban Ecology P.O. Box 10144 Berkeley, CA 94709 15 Shattuck Square Suite 202 549-1724 The main original driving force behind it was Richard Register, who wrote book call "Eco-City Berkeley" The office sells his book, proceedings from two Eco-City conferences, and various other stuff. Re: More sustainable communities resources Subject: Sustainable Communities Urban Ecology P.O. Box 10144 Berkeley, CA 94709 15 Shattuck Square Suite 202 549-1724 The main original driving force behind it was Richard Register, who wrote book call "Eco-City Berkeley" (I think). He is still involved, but more others are as well. The office sells his book, proceedings from two Eco-City conferences, and various other stuff. Sources of info.: Sim Van der Ryn & Petere Calthorpe wrote a book entitled "Sustainable Communities: A New Design Syntesis for Cities, Suburbs and Towns". In the book, they and several other contributers, discuss the topic in Chapters like: The New Suburban Fabric, Design as if People Mattered, Local Self Reliance, Architecture and Biology... This book leads to Calthorpe's current work on the concept of "Pedestrian Pockets", which are mixed-use communities at urban densities, and that are based around regional mass transportation networks like light rail. As the name suggests, walking is actively promoted by the design and the communities are compact. Calthorpe's firm has master planned several villages, including Laguna West, a new community of 5200 people, near Sacramento, CA and he has also presented his ideas in "The Pedestrian Pocket Book: A New Suburban Design Strategy", Princeton Architectural Press, 1989. (There also was an article in the Whole Earth Review about 4 years ago, I think.) You also might contact the US Department of Transportation and ask for two publications of theirs, entitled The New Suburb and Guidelines for Transit-Sensative Land Use Design. The first provides a nice summary of recent neo-traditional community designs. On the East Coast, the Florida-based firm of Duany-Plater Zyberk has been very active in neo-traditional (sustainable?) community design and there are several books out about their work. From kirkby@castle.ed.ac.uk Thu Jan 5 21:23:37 EST 1995 Article: 370 of bionet.biology.tropical Newsgroups: bionet.biology.tropical Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!EU.net!uknet!festival!castle.ed.ac.uk!kirkby From: kirkby@castle.ed.ac.uk (C Kirkby) Subject: Termites for fertilizer (Amazonia). Message-ID: Summary: Using termites as fertilizer in shifting cultivation systems. Sender: news@festival.ed.ac.uk (remote news read deamon) Organization: Edinburgh University Date: Thu, 5 Jan 1995 15:42:52 GMT Keywords: Termites, Fertilizer, Amazonia, utilization Lines: 28 Help/opinion/information needed. I'm an ecology graduate from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and am formulating a research proposal concerning the SUSTAINABLE UTILIZATION OF TERMITES AS A SOURCE OF NUTRIENTS IN SHIFTING CULTIVATION SYSTEMS IN TROPICAL SOUTH AMERICA. Any info. on the following areas would be most useful: 1. New world/Old world examples of termite usage in farming systems. 2. Publications (title,author,journal) on neotropical termite ecology. 3. Research fellows interested in termite research. 4. Neotropical termite guides (if any)!!!???!!! 5. Methods for estimating the population size of a termite colony. 6. Nutrient value of a typical termite!! Information regarding the above and/or related topics will be most appreciated and personally acknowledged. Och ay de noo!! Chris Kirkby kirkby@castle.ed.ac.uk From mhamel@ashland.eduSun Apr 2 11:54:45 1995 Date: Sun, 2 Apr 1995 09:13:45 -0400 (EDT) From: "Matthew W. Hamel" Reply to: homestead@world.std.com To: homestead@world.std.com Cc: Homestead Mailing List Subject: Technology When we were discussing this issue a while back I remembered reading this. The author lists his qualifications for technological innovation. 1. The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces. 2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces. 3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces. 4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces. 5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body. 6. It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence, provided that he or she has the necessary tools. 7. It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible. 8. It should come from a small privately owned shop or store that will take it back for maintenance and repair. 9. It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships. Matt Hamel mhamel@ashland.edu In the Chevy Chevette of the Information Superhighway Re: UNIMOG! Subject: Re: Re: Automatics and limited slip differentials Date: 6 Dec 91 14:44:13 GMT >> A Unimog is probably the finest general utility vehicle in the world, by >> the way. Imagine a two seat jeep with a small truck bed in back, big >> foot tires, 18 forward gears and six reverse, front and rear PTOs, and a >> three point hitch. Unimogs are made by Mercedes-Benz (who else?). Contact your M-B dealer. It was over 20 years ago that I got to play with one for a few months, so my recollections are hazy. As I recall, an M-B dealer in NJ was the import agent, but I suspect any M-B dealer could get you more information on them if you press them. I don't remember prices well, and they wouldn't mean much now, but they are very expensive or very cheap, depending on your point of view. Expensive: They cost a lot more than a jeep, a small utility tractor, or a 1 ton truck. Cheap: They cost a lot less than a jeep, a small utility tractor, and a 1 ton truck combined. You have to imagine a vehicle that you can pull a bottom plow with, drop the plow at the edge of the field, and then drive home comfortably at 55 mph. With the three pt hitch and front and rear hydraulics, there is almost nothing that you can't hook up to them. Just getting one of the brochures is worth it. The stuff they put on them is amazing...dump bodies, side dump bodies, snow plows, snow blowers, fork lifts, you name it. Subject: Re: Automatics and limited slip differentials Date: 9 Dec 91 14:57:36 GMT > Unimogs are made by Mercedes-Benz [...] >There may be a use for these Do-All vehicles, but I suspect that for >less money you could buy a good 25-hp tractor _and_ a good 3/4-ton >pickup, and do a better job on the field and on the road than one of >these wheeled Swiss Army knives. I don't disagree with you entirely, but the Unimog was developed initially for European farms, which tend to be quite small by U.S. standards; it is harder for European farmers to justify the initial expense and upkeep on several different single purpose vehicles. Also, Eupropean farmers are far more meticulous about vehicle upkeep than their U.S. counterparts, and smaller, more lightly built equipment lasts longer and does more in Europe. European farm equipment, on the whole, has never done well in this country because it is, by U.S. standards, flimsily built. While the Unimog may not be the *perfect* vehicle for any single application, it is a remarkable exercise in design trade-offs. One big advantage, in my mind, for a multi-purpose vehicle on a small farm, is the reduced maintenance--only one engine to take care, one PTO, one transmission, etc. Given a motley collection of previously owned farm equipment: a small tractor, a farm truck, a pickup, and an old jeep--something is going to break down regularly, and just before you need it most. I'd rather put all that maintenance money into a single vehicle and keep it in really good condition. ================================= USDA Office for Small Agriculture ================================= Bud Kerr runs the USDA Office for Small Agriculture. Call or fax that office at 202-401-1805 to request their newsletter and publications on specialty farm enterprises. He has been there for 36 years. Article 18189 of misc.rural: Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!sunSITE!london From: london@sunSITE.unc.edu (Larry London) Newsgroups: misc.rural Subject: Re: Scythe instruction wanted... Date: 25 May 1995 03:04:49 GMT Organization: SunSITE at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Lines: 54 Distribution: usa Message-ID: <3q0s4h$1i7c@bigblue.oit.unc.edu> References: <3pt8v4$a27@brtph500.bnr.ca> NNTP-Posting-Host: calzone.oit.unc.edu In article <3pt8v4$a27@brtph500.bnr.ca>, wrote: > I've got about 3/4 acre of winter wheat which I planted late December, >intending it as pasture for sheep which I haven't got around to acquiring >yet, and want to clear it and use it for compost fodder and mulch. > > Rather than going out and buying a sickle-bar attachment for my BCS >rototiller right away, I borrowed and sharpened an old scythe, hoping I >could do the job with it. It's do-able. > I remembered reading, possibly in this group some time ago, that there >was a knack to using the scythe efficiently. After using it for about an >hour, I think I'm getting part of that knack, but would appreciate >confirmation,or hints from any expert scythe users out there in the >rural netlands. > > The only way I'm able to get this tool to cut the wheat, is to cut in areas >where the wheat is thick; if it is sparse, the stalks bend out of the way. >Is this true in general? It needs to be real sharp - use a small file on it - and keep it topped up. Maybe you're using one of the old curved snath types. The one with the straight snath and the grass&grain blade should work quire well. I've used this combination on large areas of grasses intermixed with a variety of large weeds (pigweed, lambs quarters, crabgrass, Johnson grass, Bermuda, ryegrass, & many other unidentified weeds) - heavy going at times. > I also pull the scythe back with my left hand and swing my body by rotating >to the left, as I swing the scythe from right to left. It seems that most Don't just rotate, _pull_ the blade too: rotate it and pull forward at the same time - you kind of lean forward to do this. Also, concentrating on where you're leaving the pile of cut grain (randomly piled or in a row (straight or curved [outwardly expanding arcs or parallel rows]) will help you organize your work and force you to get into an efficient rythym where all your grain gets cut cleanly and close to the ground. Resharpen the blade frequently. >of the cutting is done by the end of the blade, that part farthest from the >snaft. My right hand moves the least amount during the swing, working to >keep the scythe balanced. It cuts with the whole blade, not just the tip (you risk breaking the blade at the shank when you hit an unexpected heavy weed, stump or rock). > Anyway, if anyone has any hints or insights on how I could improve my >scythe swing (it can't be as hard as golfing, can it?) please let me know. Much easier than golfing. Article 18188 of misc.rural: Newsgroups: misc.rural Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-server.ncren.net!news.duke.edu!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!psinntp!psinntp!psinntp!psinntp!news.rlcn.rl.af.mil!rl.af.mil!smithr From: smithr@rl.af.mil (Richard A. Smith) Subject: Re: Scythe instruction wanted... Message-ID: <1995May24.143310.11604@news.rlcn.rl.af.mil> Sender: news@news.rlcn.rl.af.mil Nntp-Posting-Host: barn_swallow.pk.rl.af.mil Reply-To: smithr@rl.af.mil Organization: Rome Laboratory/BC Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 14:33:10 GMT Lines: 62 In message <3pt8v4$a27@brtph500.bnr.ca>, sawczyn@brtphaa0.bnr.ca () writes: > I've got about 3/4 acre of winter wheat which I planted late December, >intending it as pasture for sheep which I haven't got around to acquiring >yet, and want to clear it and use it for compost fodder and mulch. Somehow knowing how to use a scythe seems to be a dubious honor. Rather like being the only one in town old enough to know how to start a Model T Ford!! > Rather than going out and buying a sickle-bar attachment for my BCS >rototiller right away, I borrowed and sharpened an old scythe, hoping I >could do the job with it. After cutting that pasture you are going to vote for the BCS!! : ) > I remembered reading, possibly in this group some time ago, that there >was a knack to using the scythe efficiently. After using it for about an >hour, I think I'm getting part of that knack, but would appreciate >confirmation,or hints from any expert scythe users out there in the rural >netlands. Trying to explain the technique might be a lot harder than actually mowing with the thing. You also have to make sure that the handles are adjusted for the most comfortable fit and that the blade is sharp. Just being able to keep a sharp blade is an art form of its own. > The only way I'm able to get this tool to cut the wheat, is to cut in areas >where the wheat is thick; if it is sparse, the stalks bend out of the way. >Is this true in general? Sounds like your blade isn't sharp enough. It needs to be more like a straight razor as opposed to a sharp bread knife. You should be able to cut June grass with it. > I also pull the scythe back with my left hand and swing my body by rotating >to the left, as I swing the scythe from right to left. It seems that most >of the cutting is done by the end of the blade, that part farthest from the >snaft. My right hand moves the least amount during the swing, working to >keep the scythe balanced. I haven't got mine right here to get the fine details, but I keep both arms rather rigid. The real secret is to get the swing and the step coordinated. As the scythe comes back your weight shifts to the rear foot. As you swing the scythe forward you turn your body slightly and transfer your weight to the front foot. After you get proficient at this you will be able to move each foot forward and before you know it you are accross the field!! > Anyway, if anyone has any hints or insights on how I could improve my >scythe swing (it can't be as hard as golfing, can it?) please let me know. I can't compare it to golfing, but I think it is easier than hoeing corn or hilling potatoes. And when you have cut the grass with the scythe it should land in a neat row ( called a swath). Richard  .i ..kung-hsing-tsai.cache.cache+From jsauburn@ucdavis.edu Thu Mar 24 23:22:01 1994 Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 12:43:57 -0800 From: jsauburn@ucdavis.edu To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: QUERY: Cover Crops and Verticillium Wilt Does anyone have any information on specific cover crops and positive or negative effects on verticillium wilt? The SARE/ACE Project Summaries mention a potato project in Idaho led by Jerry Stark finding that "Sudangrass green manure grown prior to potatoes reduced Verticillium wilt by 60% and increased potato yields by as much as 30% compared with fallow treatments." Any other info? The person who asked me is considering planting olives in a cotton field that has a Verticillium problem, and he's looking for nonchemical ways to reduce the problem first. He asked specifically about cover crops, but I suppose other approaches would be of interest, too. Jill Auburn SAREP, Univ Calif jsauburn@ucdavis.edu From london@ladybird.oit.unc.edu Tue Apr 26 09:16:14 1994 Date: Thu, 21 Apr 1994 23:46:56 -0400 From: Larry London Subject: MAY 91 Wood Ashes As A Fertilizer/Lime Material MAY 91 Wood Ashes As A Fertilizer/Lime Material With the increase in use of wood stoves for home heating, questions have arisen concerning the feasibility of applying wood ashes to supply plant nutrients. The nutrient content of wood ashes is variable, but in general they contain approximately 1% phosphorus, 5% potassium, and small amounts of boron and other elements. In addition to supplying nutrients, wood ashes have neutralizing properties similar to limestone. Although the actual neutralizing value will vary depending on hardwood used, in general they have about one-half to three-fourths the neutralizing value of limestone (i.e., 20 lbs. of wood ashes = 10-15 lbs. of lime). Wood ashes may be applied to the home garden to supply the above needed plant nutrients and reduce soil acidity. Application should be made ONLY if the soil pH (acidity factor) is less than 7.0, based on a soil test. Suggested rates are 10-20 lbs. of wood ashes per 1,000 sq. ft. per year. A 10 qt. pail, filled to within 2" of the top, will contain about 5 lbs. of wood ashes so 2 to 4 pails may be used per 1,000 sq. ft. Higher rates should be avoided because of potential plant toxicity problems. The soil should be tested after two years to check for changes in pH, phosphorus and potassium levels to determine if further wood ash applications should be made. Wood ashes should not be applied in contact with germinating seeds or plant roots because of possible salt burn from the potash in the ash. To be on the safe side, wood ashes should be incorporated into the soil before planting using a rototiller or plow. One word about coal ashes - do not use them as they have no neutralizing power or significant nutrient-supplying properties. Additional Notes - The reason for the 20 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. per year maximum for wood ash application is that wood ashes may contain 1-3 or more lbs. of boron per ton so a 50 lb. per 1,000 sq. ft. application (i.e., approximately 1 ton per acre or 1-3 lbs of boron per acre) is too high for a general recommendation. Toxicity problems may develop for some crops. Wood ashes may also be applied to lawns if the chunks of charcoal are removed. Maximum rate is 15 lbs. per 1,000 square feet. If the turf is actively growing, the wood ashes should be watered in. . . . Steve Donohue