(11) Thu 23 Jun 94 22:49 By: Danny Daniel To: Cathy Mcgregor Re: fido-net connection ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:19/166.0 e0a4b7e0 @REPLY: 1:2401/114@fidonet.org 6816d8b2 Cathy Mcgregor wrote in a message to Bruce Bowman: CM> I have posted a request for information of growers or CM> researchers experience using propane flamers for insect and CM> weed control.. No response as yet. Cathy, Here on the hi plains of Texas back in the 60's "Flame" cultivators were quite popular and seemed to work well. The crops were planted on raised beds on 40 inch centers. The propane burners were hooded to direct the flame between the rows. Most of these tractor mounted flame throwers were 4 row units. While this was a sound idea economics took over the area when herbicides came on the market unfortunately. As for insect control I don't remember this being discussed. However whatever insects were on the weeds in the centers must have been destroyed... DD --- timEd 1.00 * Origin: Pride of the Plains BBS Floydada, TX 806-983-6133 (1:19/166) @PATH: 19/166 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (12) Sat 25 Jun 94 22:01 By: Harsha Godavari To: Danny Daniel Re: Fido-net Connection ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:348/206@fidonet.org 6e4295a9 DD> Here on the hi plains of Texas back in the 60's "Flame" cultivators were DD>quite popular and seemed to work well. The crops were planted on raised beds DD>40 inch centers. The propane burners were hooded to direct the flame between DD>the rows. Most of these tractor mounted flame throwers were 4 row units. Whi DD>this was a sound idea economics took over the area when herbicides came on th DD>market unfortunately. As for insect control I don't remember this being DD>discussed. However whatever insects were on the weeds in the centers must hav DD>been destroyed... Danny: I am intrigued by your mentioning of "plants on raised beds". How high were they raised and why? Regards Harsha Godavari. --- þ SLMR 2.1a #389 þ Get the facts first - you can distort them later ! --- QScan v1.066b * Origin: Muddy Waters Computer Society Inc. Wpg. Mb. (1:348/206) @PATH: 348/206 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (13) Mon 27 Jun 94 0:41 By: Danny Daniel To: Harsha Godavari Re: Fido-net Connection ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @PID: RA 2.02 21847 @MSGID: 1:19/166 53acbdaa @REPLY: 1:348/206@fidonet.org 6e4295a9 HG> Danny: HG> I am intrigued by your mentioning of "plants on HG> raised beds". HG> How high were they raised and why? The farm land here is very flat and we use a lister plow to form these beds anywhere from 6 to 12 inches high. The purpose being as we flood irrigate down these rows. It is not uncommon to have half mile long rows here. Very few fields less than 40 acres with quarter sections (160 acres) being the norm. Primary crops grown here are short staple cotton, milo, corn, wheat, and a smattering of vegtables. Our average rainfall here is around 18 inches per year making irrigation necessary. Our irrigation water comes from the Aqualia aquafier. This is a band of underground water that stretches from Nebraska to South Texas as I remember... To get this water to the surface six cylinder or V-8 engines powered by natural gas is the norm with some electric powered wells. Depth to water can vary from 200 to 450 feet. Regards DD --- * Origin: (1:19/166) @PATH: 19/166 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (14) Sat 25 Jun 94 19:06 By: Dave Skinner To: Danny Daniel Re: fido-net connection ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:105/711.0 2e0cb85c @REPLY: 1:19/166.0 e0a4b7e0 DD> Here on the hi plains of Texas back in the 60's "Flame" cultivators DD> were quite popular and seemed to work well. The crops DD> were planted on raised beds on 40 inch centers. The DD> throwers were 4 row units. While this was a sound idea DD> economics took over the area when herbicides came on DD> the market unfortunately. As for insect control I DD> don't remember this being discussed. However whatever Many grasses (and other seed crops) are flamed to kill both weed seed and bugs. Unfortionatly, many undereducated eco types are trying to stop this practice. The alternative is toxic sprays which dont work as well and have all of the normal problems. Burning also makes phosphate more available. --- Maximus/2 2.01wb * Origin: /\Oregon Desert/\(503)475-3056(v32b)/\ (1:105/711) @PATH: 105/711 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (15) Sat 25 Jun 94 8:52 By: Ed Brant To: Whomever? Re: Worm Boxes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @EID:E0D6 1CD948CE welp, I did it! Got the book from the library (Worms eat my garbage), called ATTRA and got everything they have on worms and vermi*. Built a worm box, and used the edgeings of computer paper I'd been saving for awhile for bedding. Shocked isn't the word. Had to go to GIJOES and buy (Gasp!) worm bedding. Shedded paper, 2 pounds set me back $3.00. Wet everything down (3 to 1 ratio) and dumped the two pounds of worms in. Seperated the huge balls of worms, and scattered them over the whole area. Put a cover on the bin, and this morning put in the first garbage which had been sitting in the kitchen for a week. Buried it right in the corner. In about two and a half or three months we'll see what we've got. I plan to "feed" them once per week, hopefully they'll reproduce, and we'll harvest and propagate a second box at that time. My wife wants to sell fishing worms, but that's a bit intense for me..... More interested in compost, and my plants (House/GHouse). I'm seriously thinking of trying on a *very* small scale, some hydro gardening. I got what I could from ATTRA on the subject, but it seems a bit technical for my purposes. I'll be needing a source of "feed" for the plants. And a way to airate the HOH. What I have is two hot water heater inards. My wife left all my 55 gal drums (she did the "finals" at the farm, after I came to the city) in the barn, so they're lost. Anyone have experience in this line? If I can make it work on a family scale, I may expand a bit and go just barely commercial. (enough to help family income.) Last: Need a source of NOT hybrid seeds. Something that I can save seed from, and reseed yearly. Ed Sphinx XLT/v2.0 * KLEPTOMANIA! Take something for it! ---------------------------------------- --- InterBBS 7.4 * Origin: The Landing Zone - VetLink #7, Box 13762, Portland, OR 97213 (1:105/12.0) @PATH: 105/12 360 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (16) Mon 27 Jun 94 13:15 By: Marlin Nissen To: All Re: Land available for Organic farming ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @PID: QE 2.76a+ @MSGID: 1:231/230 2E08397A Greetings I am new to this BBS stuff, so I'll seem like a compu-cluts, but here it goes. We (me, my wife, sister-in-law, and brother) have purchased property in Southern Indiana. The idea is to convert standard agriculture land to organics and move down there ourselves. Live off the land .... grow our own food etc. kindof a Helen and Scott Nearing thing. We are moving there within the next few years but are currently stuck paying for the land and our children are finishing school. Therefore we have been forced to do something with this land and as there was a traditional (chemical) farmer already signed up to the land when we bought it, he has been using it this year. **** YUK **** If there is someone out there, between Louisville area (37 mi.), Indianapolis area (110 mi.), Cinn area (90 mi.) etc. who would be interested in Organic Farming???? We could cut them a good deal while still making a little money to help make the land payment. This could benefit both of us. There is 28 acres avail. almost immediately and a total of 90 acres of tillable land, as well as 90+ acres of woods on the farm. We are also interested in sustainable living quarters and have helped build the first straw-bale home in Indiana. We would be interested in someone possibly building a place to stay on the property, if interested. ?????? Interested ???????? Signed : Ready for Ideas............... Marlin Nissen --- QuickBBS 2.76a Ovr * Origin: ORDOVICIAN OOZE * In the heart of Indiana * (1:231/230) @PATH: 231/230 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (17) Mon 27 Jun 94 17:49 By: Jim Clanton To: Cissy Re: compost ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:231/710 2E0879A6 I left this message earlier, but evidently went down with the rest. I was curious about shredded computer paper as compost on the garden, are inks O.K. etc.? If you have any info on this please let me know. Thanks! --- FreeMail/QuickBBS 2.76a Ovr * Origin: * The H.O.M.E. BBS - (317) 539-6579 * (1:231/710) @PATH: 231/710 120 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (18) Thu 7 Jul 94 13:46 By: Lawrence London To: ALL Re: TEST: bi-directional gating - SUST_AG<-->alt.sustainable.agriculture St: Local Sent ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:151/502 5e0db277 @PID: FM 2.02 This is a TEST only. Lawrence London Moderator: SUST_AG lawrence.london@f502.n151.z1.fidonet.org london@sunSITE.unc.edu --- * Origin: EARTH*Net-Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo (1:151/502) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (19) Wed 29 Jun 94 18:12 By: Doug Bashford To: all Re: Animal Protection list(1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:102/129.0 2e198758 Well, Ronnie Wright said to All on 23 Jun 94 about: Animal Protection list(1).... Dear Friends, I am in the process of assembling a national list of Animal Rights, Animal Welfare, Farm Reform, and other animal protection groups and would appreciate any input you can provide me. If you belong to any of these type groups, either national or local, or know of any of these type of groups please fill out and return the attached form. If you do not know some of the information just leave that part of the form blank. I will need at least the Name and address or the Name and phone number of the organization. Your response can be posted to the following FIDO message areas: ECONET, ECOLOGY, SIERRAN, WILDBRD, WLDLIFE, ANIMALRITE I would prefer that you send your reply to my Internet address: ronniejw@aol.com I strongly encourage you to crosspost this message to other interested forums (Compuserve, Prodigy, etc.). I hope to have this list completed within the next few months and will distribute the list as widely as possible. Ronnie Wright ------------------------------ Cut Here ----------------------------- Organization Name: Street Address: City, State, Zip: Phone: FAX: E-Mail Address: Person To Contact: History/Goals: (Date Organized, Reason, etc.) Past Achievements: Ongoing Projects: Future Plans: Membership Information: (Cost, Number of Members, Meetings, etc.) Volunteer Possibilities: -------------------------------- Cut Here ---------------------------- EXAMPLE OF COMPLETED FORM (Information Taken form the book "The Nature Directory) (by Susan D. Lanier-Graham) Organization Name: American Humane Association Street Address: 9725 E. Hampden Avenue City, State, Zip: Denver, CO 80231 Phone: (303) 695-0811 FAX: E-Mail Address: Person To Contact: Office Manager History/Goals: The American Humane Association was founded in 1877 to prevent neglect, abuse, cruelty, and exploitation in the treatment of animals. The association continues with these same goals today and works to assure that animals' well-being and interest are fully guaranteed. Past Achievements: The AHA has established the animal protection division. This division is a national federation of over 3,600 local and state animal care agencies and individuals. The division undertakes programs to prevent cruelty, neglect, and abuse of animals. Ongoing Projects: AHA works to promote quality standards for animal shelters and to reduce euthanasia rates in those shelters. The association maintains education programs for children and adults to show them the responsible way to care for pets. The motion picture industry is continually monitored to ensure that animals are treated properly. The AHA/Delta Society National Hearing Dog Resource Center coordinates and distributes information on the training of unwanted dogs for deaf and hearing- impaired people. Future Plans: The American Humane Association lobbies for legislation to prevent the abuse of pets, laboratory animals, zoo animals, farm animals, and circus and rodeo animals. Members receive legislative alerts informing them of animal welfare legislation tracked by the association. Membership Information: The AHA educates the public in the humane treatment of animals and has local members of the Animal Protection Division nationwide. --==<<< Continued next message >>>==-- -!- MsgToss 2.0d(beta) 02/21/93 ! Origin: BirdLand_Eco/Animal/Music_RBBS/Largo,FL (813)595-9239 (1:3603/350) ... "Animals have no rights." : Rush Limbaugh --- Blue Wave/Max v2.10 [NR] * Origin: ONE WORLD Los Angeles 310-372-0987 (1:102/129) @PATH: 102/129 138 2 209/209 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (20) Wed 20 Jul 94 8:04 By: Harsha Godavari To: Jim Dixon Re: Re: Seeds Tomato/e ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:348/206@fidonet.org 31068b0a Jim: What is this ,"Origin: Canadian EarthCare Foundation (604) 769-5097 "? Is this a BBS or something more? Thanks for the info. Regards Harsha Godavari --- þ SLMR 2.1a #389 þ They call this senior nightclub The Slipped DiscothŠque. --- QScan v1.067b * Origin: Muddy Waters Computer Society Inc. Wpg. Mb. (1:348/206) @PATH: 348/206 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (21) Wed 20 Jul 94 0:43 By: Don Kulha To: All Re: Renewable Energy on CD ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:125/7.0 2e2cab8a We're publishing a CDROM you might want to know about.... *SOLAR-1* Renewable Energy. ISO 9660 format, 350m/3400+ files Content: Text/graphics Home Power Magazine #1-37, Various texts, newsletters, graphics and programs on renewables; Wind, Hydro, PV's, Biofuels, hydrogen, batteries, thermal, and more (45mb). Also: A general collection of Mac and PC software (shareware, PD and demos), GIF's and texts are included. Mac Programs require macbinary conversion before use (305mb). Available Now, $29US postpaid. International Air delivery $3, CA add 7.5% sales tax. Sonoma Online, POB 7518, Santa Rosa CA 95407 Visa/MC orders please call Home Power Magazine @ (916)475-0830 For info: dkulha@crl.com, send SASE or call (707)545-7533. If we're out please leave us your fax number. Thanks...DCK --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Sonoma Online (1:125/7) @PATH: 125/7 203/530 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (22) Fri 15 Jul 94 23:20 By: Dan Whitlow To: Tom Budai Re: Re: Ants And Spiders ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:116/19@fidonet.org edcba752 -=> Quoting Tom Budai to All <=- TB> The spiders are everywhere in the yard and in the house. TB> There is both little harmless ones and huge (one inch across) ones. TB> Should I spray these little buggers? Thanks Tom; I would spray for the spiders. Use "Dursban" per label directions. Ants can probably be controlled with something less chemical. Dan (:^) ... "Yield to temptation, it may not pass your way again." - L. Long ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- QScan v1.061b * Origin: The Nashville Exchange BBS (615-383-0119) (1:116/19) @PATH: 116/19 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (23) Thu 21 Jul 94 10:19 By: Phillip Jones To: Jim Dixon Re: Acclimating tomato(e)s! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3647/14.0 e2e63001 @REPLY: 1:353/295.0 2e29e70c Jim Dixon wrote in a message to Cissy Bowman: JD> This is true. Well, I was hoeing around them today and JD> ooops! Hacked one off at ground zero. They are all doing JD> quite well but I can see that they are note very strong yet. JD> In a few years, they may even stand up to my hoeing :) Whoa!! Major paradigm shift coming. You mean that Tomato plants AREN'T ephemeral, that I can plant a tomato Patch and have the SAME plants year after year? I have never heard of this before (I confess my rookie status freely) Our winters are pretty mild, with a number of days below freezing, but very few below 20 Farenheit. We planted a bunch of Roma tomatos and are just getting ready to have our first batch from them. Yummmm. I would just love to think that the same plants will be here year after year. Phillip --- timEd-B9 * Origin: Esc1.70 - Panola SC (1:3647/14) @PATH: 3647/14 1 123/303 301 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (24) Thu 21 Jul 94 0:06 By: Don Kulha To: All Re: NEW AE CDROM ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:125/7.0 2e2df430 We're publishing a CDROM you might want to know about.... *SOLAR-1* Renewable Energy. ISO 9660 format, 350m/3400+ files Content: Text/graphics Home Power Magazine #1-37, Various texts, newsletters, graphics and programs on renewables; Wind, Hydro, PV's, Biofuels, hydrogen, batteries, thermal, and more (45mb). Also: A general collection of Mac and PC software (shareware, PD and demos), GIF's and texts are included. Mac Programs require macbinary conversion before use (305mb). Available Now, $29US postpaid. International Air delivery $3, CA add 7.5% sales tax. Sonoma Online, POB 7518, Santa Rosa CA 95407 Visa/MC orders please call Home Power Magazine @ (916)475-0830 For info: dkulha@crl.com, send SASE or call (707)545-7533. If we're out please leave us your fax number. Thanks...DCK --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Sonoma Online (1:125/7) @PATH: 125/7 203/530 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (25) Thu 21 Jul 94 7:20 By: Marlin Nissen To: Ed Brant Re: Re: Seed Sources ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @PID: QE 2.76a+ @MSGID: 1:231/230 2E278A23 Good to see someone interested in heirloom seeds. Cissy's correct about Seed Savers from what I have seen. We are trying to cut out all optional expenditures in our lives, but Seed Savers will probably remain tops on our priorities. My experience is for the quality and variety of seeds offered by people (and with starting to save your own seeds) in Seed Savers you will actually save money over say buying commercially. It's kind of a Co-op thing (my goddess doesn't sound good American Capitalistic to me!) that will put you in mail contact with people doing the same thing as you. Peace --- QuickBBS 2.76a Ovr * Origin: ORDOVICIAN OOZE * In the heart of Indiana * (1:231/230) @PATH: 231/230 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (26) Thu 21 Jul 94 7:32 By: Marlin Nissen To: Tom Budai Re: Re: Ants and Spiders ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @PID: QE 2.76a+ @MSGID: 1:231/230 2E278CF7 Tom, please don't spray !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 There's too much of that sh_t going on already. You and your household don't really need the insecticides added to our daily pollution already....... I agree try the Boric Acid (in sugar or something greasy depending on the type of ant) for the ant problem. Spiders are actually quite good, as long as you're not overrun with them. Our compromise in our old farmhouse was to sweep the ones out of the areas where we are all the time, and to allow them to flourish in deeper, darker corners and places like crawl space etc. We also try to move some we catch outdoors without destroying them as this is bad Karma (in our belief system) as all creatures are our relations and ancestors. I guess we try to create coexistence conditions that are tolerable to both us and them (exceptions in the house are things that tear it down i.e. termites). Peace --- QuickBBS 2.76a Ovr * Origin: ORDOVICIAN OOZE * In the heart of Indiana * (1:231/230) @PATH: 231/230 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (27) Sun 24 Jul 94 1:23 By: Rich Hwang To: Bruce Bowman Re: FYI ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BB>However you see it, it must be obvious that these are legitimate choices BB>worthy of at least preservation, if not consideration. Farmers choosing to BB>farm in ways that have lasted for hundreds of years sounds right to me. BB>Let's be reasonable...... BB>The War on Drugs (W.O.D.) is a Civil War.... BB> Which side are you on? BB>Relegalize and repeal prohibition, for freedom and democracy. While I didn't want to waste HD space by quoting the entire message, another great post, Bruce! I especially like the quoted tagline. We outlaw certain plants at the behest of the government? Ridiculous. -Peace- Chiron * SLMR 2.1a * Backup not found: (A)bort (R)etry (P)anic --- GrayQwkMail 2.1 --- FreeMail 1.10 alpha-3 * Origin: * The H.O.M.E. BBS - (317) 539-6579 * (1:231/710) @PATH: 231/710 2880 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (28) Sun 24 Jul 94 9:08 By: Bruce Bowman To: Rich Hwang Re: FYI ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:231/710 2E2B97F7 In a message to Bruce Bowman <07-24-94 01:23> Rich Hwang wrote: RH> While I didn't want to waste HD space by quoting the entire RH> message, another great post, Bruce! I especially like the RH> quoted tagline. We outlaw certain plants at the behest of RH> the government? Ridiculous. It was a cross-post from the InterNet mailing list, which should be gated into here in a few days. I'm afraid I cannot take the credit -- or the blame -- for its content! --- FreeMail/QuickBBS 2.76a Ovr * Origin: * The H.O.M.E. BBS - (317) 539-6579 * (1:231/710) @PATH: 231/710 2880 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (29) Thu 21 Jul 94 17:22 By: Jim Dixon To: Harsha Godavari Re: Re: Seeds Tomato/e ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:353/295.0 2e2f0326 @REPLY: 1:348/206@fidonet.org 31068b0a Hello Harsha HG> What is this ,"Origin: Canadian EarthCare Foundation (604) 769-5097 "? HG> Is this a BBS or something more? Thanks for the info. For the public, it is a BBS/Library. We monitor and search out environmental information, stats, data, reports, analysis or whatever that is relative to the environmental community. Users are welcome to log in and key word search by word/s and/or phrase/s most of the information stored on our system. We also maintain a library of PC files that environmentally related such as ozone, farming, weather, climate modeling programs. These are more designed for the professionals in mind. We also carry many of the FidoNet echos, environmental newsletters, and publish press releases for most groups and industry. Our system differs from most in that if for example you queried the EPA or NISTI databases for glyphosate, you would get small summaries of the product. If you queried our system, you would get the lab reports. In short, the data we try to provide is as accurate and from the source as possible. This lets the user read the information and make a decision based on the facts,not a brief summary. The biggest issue in our province right now is forestry. What we try to do is to provide the hard data; forest inventory, watershed inventory, water quality and the such relative to the issue. The same data that is used by government when they base their decisions on land use, forest permits and the like is provided for the user. I hope this helps answer your question. Jim --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Canadian EarthCare Foundation (604) 769-5097 (1:353/295) @PATH: 353/295 211 210 250 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (30) Thu 28 Jul 94 11:36 By: Jim Dixon To: Phillip Jones Re: Acclimating tomato(e)s! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:353/295.0 2e37ec94 @REPLY: 1:3647/14.0 e2e63001 Hello Phillip, PJ> Jim Dixon wrote in a message to Cissy Bowman: JD> This is true. Well, I was hoeing around them today and JD> ooops! Hacked one off at ground zero. They are all doing JD> quite well but I can see that they are note very strong yet. JD> In a few years, they may even stand up to my hoeing :) PJ> Whoa!! Major paradigm shift coming. You mean that Tomato plants AREN'T PJ> ephemeral, that I can plant a tomato Patch and have PJ> the SAME plants year after year? I have never heard of PJ> this before (I confess my rookie status freely) Not sure what your question is asking, but what I was meaning is that I will use the seeds from several saved tomatoes and re-use them the following year (growing season.) PJ> Our winters are pretty mild, with a number of days PJ> below freezing, but very few below 20 Farenheit. Our summers last from about mid-April to mid-September tho I have pulled tomatoes in late October. Then winter settles in. PJ> We planted a bunch of Roma tomatos and are just PJ> getting ready to have our first batch from them. PJ> Yummmm. I would just love to think that the same PJ> plants will be here year after year. I am sure they will be if you re-use seeds. The seeds I was given by Cissy are acclimated to a different climate. Each years use of the new seeds should improve their ability to withstand local climatic changes,mean temperatures etc. This is our first year planting the seeds from Cissy and the plants are struggling along. I hope that in 4 or 5 yeears that they will produce more and become more hardy to our climate... and my hoeing :) Jim --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Canadian EarthCare Foundation (604) 769-5097 (1:353/295) @PATH: 353/295 211 210 250 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (31) Tue 26 Jul 94 20:47 By: Mark Mathis To: All Re: info ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @PID: RA 2.01 @MSGID: 1:124/7013 53d413d2 @PID: Message processed by GTag v1.05 just wanted to find people that use this message area --- FMail 0.96â * Origin: -=RabbitLand II=- Dallas 1-214-681-6393 (1:124/7013) @PATH: 124/7013 7028 1 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (32) Thu 28 Jul 94 12:50 By: John Mudge To: All Re: Survival Homesteads ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:352/111 2e380c36 @PID: GED 2.41 ===================================================================== ======== * Forwarded by John Mudge (1:352/111) * Area : SURVIVAL_ORIENTED (Survnet: SURVIVAL_ORIENTED TOPICS) * From : John Mudge, 9:2500/0 (Thursday July 28 1994 12:06) * To : Dave Paxton * Subj : Survival Homesteads ===================================================================== ======== Hello Dave! Sunday July 24 1994, Dave Paxton writes to Larry Gowdy: LG>> What size homestead would you recommend for a secluded survival LG>> spot? I tend to think 40 acres is minimum for an area where you don't DP> This is a difficult question to answere. It mostly depends on what you DP> are expecting to happen. If you are expecting a monitary collapse then DP> 40 acres is a good size. If you DP> are expecting a massive civil upriseing 40 acres might be too much to DP> guard, 5 acres might be good. If you are expecting a military take over DP> or dictatorship then 1 acre could suffice and it should enclude DP> fortification and concealability. DP> I personally lean twords 5 acres. It is enough to etch our a living if DP> you have to and is easily handeled by One man or a small family. On the DP> one acre you can have a small, well fortified, easily concealed fall DP> back location, just in case you need it. LG>> have access to a river or national park on one side (I hate being boxed LG>> in), but with a river or lake or such on one side, it almost seems a LG>> waste to have more than maybe 10 to 20 acres. The little spot we have DP> A bordering lake or river could make it possible to live on an acre or DP> less. With a fair portion of you food comeing from the lake or river. LG>> right now is just 6 acres, about perfect for two people without much of LG>> anything better to do than sit around watching the weather roll by, but LG>> still a tad too small to get the number of trees planted we need. DP> I like the idea of haveing enough room for apple trees, peach trees, DP> pair trees, cherry trees, and plum trees. All of which are available in DP> miniture sizes if the land is tight. Rather than planting "grove style" DP> you can plant sporadicly on the property and intermingle speices with DP> the natural growth to the point that they are not noticeable to the DP> untrained eye from a distance. I think I have covered my theories with you before on this question, but I believe it was prior to Larry joining us. I believe that the amount of land a person needs varies significantly depending on the area of the country you are in. In Larry's area, the Texas Panhandle, the native vegetation consists of prickly pear cactus an isolated mesquite trees for the most part. Although a couple of rivers flow through that area, the water table is quite low and irrigation is a necessity. I would tend toward recommending 40 acres for a small family. In my area the land is extremely productive and for the most part has no agricultural chemical residue. 5 acres here is quite adequate. A good method of assessing land needs would be to determine the sustainable level of annual biomass production and insert that into a formula that took into account food and firewood needs...plus an initial amount needed for construction materials. I do not have any real numbers to suggest, but will post this in SUST_AG echo to see if someone can come up with such a formula. John Mudge -+- # Origin: -->point MUDGE bbs * V.32b * Shelton, WA USA<-- (9:2500/0) ===================================================================== ======== Hello All! Anyone have any comments, additions, real info, etc? Thanks! John Mudge --- FMail/386 0.98a * Origin: -->point MUDGE bbs * V.32b * Shelton, WA USA<-- (1:352/111) @PATH: 352/111 3 138/1 103 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (33) Sat 30 Jul 94 9:18 By: Paul Maser To: All Re: Arial Wells ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:213/830@fidonet.org 7f09fd08 Does anyone have any knowledge in the construction and efficiency of arial wells? I would appreciate all input. Thanks; Paul --- FidoPCB v1.4 [ff097/x] * Origin: InterComm - 702-359-2666 - (1:213/830) @PATH: 213/830 213 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (34) Sat 30 Jul 94 18:50 By: Bob Batson To: Cissy Bowman Re: Tomato Question ---------------------------------------------------------------------- What do you know about the tomato problem known as GREYWALL? On practically all my tomatoes that I've harvested, the fleshy part of the fruit wall is pock-marked with clumps of greyish-white spots. I'm sure this what's called greywall, but I can find no reason or cure. --- DLG Pro v1.0/PDQMail v2.54 * Origin: AUGKC Kansas City Is an Amiga Town! (1:280/322) @PATH: 280/322 1 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (35) Sat 30 Jul 94 14:28 By: John Mudge To: Jim Dixon Re: Survival Homestead Issues ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:352/111 2e3ac609 @PID: GED 2.41 ===================================================================== ======== * Forwarded by John Mudge (1:352/111) * Area : SURVIVAL_ORIENTED (Survnet: SURVIVAL_ORIENTED TOPICS) * From : John Mudge, 9:2500/0 (Saturday July 30 1994 14:19) * To : Dave Paxton * Subj : Survival Homestead Issues ===================================================================== ======== Hello Dave! Thursday July 28 1994, Dave Paxton writes to Larry Gowdy: LG>> up with a year or so ago? Its supposed to be similar to a birch I LG>> believe, it'll grow around 10' or more a year, can be planted very LG>> close, and is disease resistant. I have info on it somewhere, but LG>> haven't heard of how its doing. DP> I haven't even heard about it. If you or John come up with any info let DP> us all know. 10' a year would make firewood a good crop. James River Paper Company has an experimental plantation of poplars that grow to full size in about 10 years. They are genetic clones. Their plantation is near Vancouver, WA. I will stop there next time through and get more info...including sources and prices. Also, MacMillan-Bloedel of British Columbia has farms of genetically cloned spruce trees as an experimental pulpwood crop. Jim Dixon at Canadian Earthcare Foundation may well have info on the subject. He maintains databases of environmental information and is interested in sustainable agriculture. John Mudge -+- # Origin: -->point MUDGE bbs * V.32b * Shelton, WA USA<-- (9:2500/0) ===================================================================== ======== Hello Jim! Can you provide further info? Or can anyone else? John Mudge --- FMail/386 0.98a * Origin: -->point MUDGE bbs * V.32b * Shelton, WA USA<-- (1:352/111) @PATH: 352/111 3 138/1 103 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (36) Thu 4 Aug 94 0:53 By: Rich Hwang To: Marlin Nissen Re: Ants and Spiders ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MN>Tom, please don't spray !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 MN>There's too much of that sh_t going on already. You and your household don' MN>really need the insecticides added to our daily pollution already....... MN>We also try to move some we catch outdoors without destroying them as this MN>is bad Karma (in our belief system) as all creatures are our relations and MN>ancestors. I guess we try to create coexistence conditions that are MN>tolerable to both us and them (exceptions in the house are things that tear MN>it down i.e. termites). Catch & Release, eh? I like it! Here's a tip for those bumblebees, large spiders, etc. that occasionally blunder into the house. We use a wide-mouthed glass to trap the critter(s) against windows or other smooth, flat surfaces, Slide stiff paper (old Xmas cards) between the glass & window, trapping it in the glass. Release outside. Also a great educational exercise for those with little kids around, allowing 'em to observe the critters under glass for a while while asking endless questions . Marlin, I applaud your efforts. Kharma. Yup. -Peace- Chiron * SLMR 2.1a * My reality check just bounced. --- FreeMail/GrayQwkMail 2.1 * Origin: * The H.O.M.E. BBS - (317) 539-6579 * (1:231/710) @PATH: 231/710 2880 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (37) Sun 4 Dec 94 17:27 By: Lawrence London To: ALL Re: test message St: Local Sent ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/1.502 a9117120 @PID: FM 2.02 test message Lawrence London 1:3641/1.502 --- * Origin: EARTH*Net-Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo (1:3641/1.502) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (38) Wed 30 Nov 94 9:30 By: Mr. Nice Guy To: All Re: Re: Profiting from the Chaff ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a987 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: rcanders@nyx.cs.du.edu (Mr. Nice Guy) @Subject: Re: Profiting from the Chaff Date: 30 Nov 1994 09:30:56 -0700 @Sender: rcanders@nyx10.cs.du.edu @Message-Id: <6stskidpPrFG073yn@nyx.cs.du.edu> In article <3bb3n2$e1s@quartz.ucs.ualberta.ca>, sherwood@fenris.space.ualberta.ca (System Administrator) wrote: >A while ago I mentioned this topic and recieved a request for futher >information. I've since lost the request, but found the article. > > >Reprinted from Alberta Report 19 April 1993 > >Subhead: "A new on-farm plant turns manure and straw into ethanol, >fertilizer, and feed. > > On the Dalum feedlot south of Drumheller, nothing goes to waste. >At full production this spring, some 250 bushels of farm-grown barley >straw will be fed each day into a distillation plat, emerging 12 hours I believe that the reporter made a mistake about the barley straw. I general straw is cellulose and it would be very unlikely for it to ferment. Also straw is usually measured by the ton rather than the bushel. It is possible that the system uses barley grain, which is measured by the bushel and will ferment nicely to produce ethanol. The 12 hour for production of ethanol sounds too short. It is an interesting system for producing ethanol from grain and using the byproducts to feed cattle. >later as 500 gallons of ethanol, fuel, plus a high protein mash that >will feed the operation's 500 cattle. Manure from the cattle will be >sent through an aerobic digester, producing methane to power the plant >and adjacent ypdroponic greenhouse, and a high grade fertilizer to be >spread on the fields. In two years of trials, the integrated operation >has proven a wonder of efficiency. Now it's sponsor - the Kelowna B.C. >based Farm Energy Corp. (FEC) hopes to market it thoughout the west. > > At the project's heart is a new ammonia extraction process that >uses straw rather than high grade grain to produce ethanol. Theis makes I find this hard to believe. To the best of my knowledge the stalk of grain is cellulose and they are claming they have a system than can convert it to alcohal and protein. I am getting the imperssion that this is too good to be true. >ethanol production viable even for small farms, says FEC preseident Rod >McCallum. The company, traded on the Alberta Stock Exchange, acquired >the Dalum feedlot in 1991 for field tests partly funded by the National >Research Council. Given the encouraging results, Mr. McCallum says FEC >now expects to have 40 plants operating in the U.S. and western Canada >by Christmas. > > [Note, if they have, I've not heard of it...] > > Farmers must invest $175,000 to build the external 175' by 165' >structurre that houses the distillation machinery and confinement barns >for 500 cattle. FEC will install and maintain the machinery which it >will lease for $8000 a month, and collect a 10% royalty on net cattle >and ethanol sales. Mr. McCallum says the complete system can boost a >farmers profits by $480,000 per year. > > The chief selling point is the ethanol itself. Markets for the >high-octane, low-polluting fuel have grown as governments increase >restrictions on hydrocarbons. Gasoline powered vehicles can use up to >20% ethanol without modification. Racing cars run on pure ethanol. >Ethanol is also used to make solvents, antifreeze, soap, and cosmetics. > > FEC says it expects to sell ethanol to NASCAR race cars this >summer and is also negotiation with oil companies looking for a supply >of the fuel. South of the border, [U.S.-Canada border] ethanol fetches >US$1.25 a gallon. Several Canadian provinces offer subsidies of up to 45 >cents a gallon for ethanol, but Mr. McCallum says FEC's plants are >viable without them. Large ethanol refineries require expensive >equipment and are too big to take full advantage of agricultural >integration, which he says is the key to FEC's provits. > > By brewing ethanol from straw, he explains, farmers can get >value out of hail or frost damaged crops. and the nutrient-rich beer-like >mash created in the distillation process provides cheap feed for >livestock. "I've seen cattle ignore a barrel of water to go for the >spent beer," he says. "It keeps cows contented." This looks like what they are calling straw is the whole plant, rather than combine the grain they cut the whold plant and ferment it. > > By process the manure, feed lots can power the plant and sell any >excess to the electricity grid. The scentless fertilizer can be spread >on their fields or sold. And the attached greenhouse, which can range >in size from a kitchen plot to a market garden could also be a source of >profit. > > Mr. McCallum says the plants would also encourage rural >development by providing employment for a full time manager and four >part time workers. While tests continue at Dalum, he's delighted by the >early response. "With only word of mouth advertising, we've already had >a lot of interest." > > >-- >=> Sherwood Botsford sherwood@space.ualberta.ca <= >=> University of Alberta Lab Manager, Space Physics Group <= >=> tel:403 492-3713 fax: 403 492-4256 <= -- Rod Anderson rcanders@nyx.cs.du.edu (Mr. Nice Guy) Don't be so hard on Willie, wouldn't you cheat on Hillary too ? --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Univers (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (39) Wed 30 Nov 94 16:52 By: Changhe Chen To: All Re: please remove from list ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a98d @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: BSEN047@UNLVM.UNL.EDU (Changhe Chen) @Subject: please remove from list Date: 30 Nov 1994 16:52:28 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9411301418.AA23006@wolf.ces.ncsu.edu> This account will expire soon. Please remove it from this list. Thanks. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (40) Wed 30 Nov 94 17:08 By: Mike Fitzner To: All Re: ANNOUNCE: SAN Showcase ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a98f @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: MFITZNER@cite.esusda.gov (Mike Fitzner) @Subject: ANNOUNCE: SAN Showcase Date: 30 Nov 1994 17:08:26 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Reply-To: mfitzner@esusda.gov ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Tue, 29 Nov 1994 19:35:41 -0500 (EST) From: Gabriel Hegyes For Release: Immediately Sustainable Ag. Network to Release Resource Guide BELTSVILLE, Md. - A new, expanded guide to organizations and their sustainable agriculture publications is now available from the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN). The third edition of The Showcase of Sustainable Agriculture Information and Educational Materials, will be available December 1. The 100-page booklet provides information about hundreds of publications and educational materials that are readily useful to farmers who want to stay profitable while protecting the environment. "We put the SAN Showcase together by asking all kind of organizations to tell us what they had to share on sustainable agriculture _ especially information that helps farmers put it all together into a system that works," says SAN committee member Jill Auburn, associate director of the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP). The result was a collection of free and moderately priced newsletters, brochures, reports, handbooks, videos and even computer programs and data bases. "A lot of these materials can't be found very easily elsewhere," Auburn adds. "Many of them are not in the academic literature, or databases." National in scope, The Showcase is arranged alphabetically by organization. Each of the 400 entries includes information about the publisher, author, availability and price, in addition to providing a short description of the publication. The Showcase includes four indexes, allowing you to search by author, title, contributor and subject. The Showcase was compiled by members of SAN, with support from the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. SAN is a consortium of people from universities, government, business and non-profit organizations dedicated to exchanging information about sustainable agriculture. SAN compiles and helps disseminate information, but does not "filter" or judge it. SARE is a competitive grants program that provides funding for projects that promote agriculture that is environmentally sound, economically viable and sustains rural communities. To order The Showcase SEND A CHECK OR PURCHASE ORDER FOR $4.95 TO: Sustainable Agriculture Publications, 10 Hills Building, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405-0082. PRICE INCLUDES POSTAGE AND HANDLING. ALLOW FOUR WEEKS FOR DELIVERY. FOR INFORMATION ABOUT RUSH ORDERS AND BULK ORDER DISCOUNTS CALL 802-656-0471, or email to: bholtzma@moose.uvm.edu For more information about SARE, SAN and other SAN publications call Gabriel Hegyes at 301-504-6475, or 202-401-4640. FAX: 301-504-6409. Email: ghegyes@nalusda.gov --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Extensi (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (41) Tue 29 Nov 94 20:57 By: PANNA InfoPubs To: All Re: PANUPS: U.S. EPA Starts Special Rev ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a999 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: PANNA InfoPubs @Subject: PANUPS: U.S. EPA Starts Special Rev @Message-Id: Date: Tue, 29 Nov 1994 20:57:18 -0800 (PST) >From: PANNA InfoPubs ===================================== P A N U P S *** Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service ===================================== U.S. EPA Starts Special Review of Triazine Pesticides November 29, 1994 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 10, 1994, that it has begun a Special Review of three of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S. -- atrazine, cyanazine and simazine -- because of concerns that they may present serious health risks. Between 90-120 million pounds of these herbicides, known collectively as triazines, are applied to U.S. crops each year. The EPA cited concerns that long-term exposure to these pesticides in food and drinking water may pose a risk of cancer to the U.S. population. The Special Review will examine the risks and benefits of the pesticides, estimate the costs of shifting to alternatives, and determine whether the pesticides should be canceled, further restricted or allowed to be used as before. In the November press release, the EPA stated that recently- published human epidemiological studies provide "conflicting but, in some cases, suggestive evidence" that exposure to environmental toxins such as pesticides may contribute to the increasing rates of breast cancer in U.S. women. The press release further states that "while EPA does not have information which supports a link between exposure to the triazine herbicides and human breast cancer, the Agency cannot dismiss the possibility that such an association could exist." According to "Tap Water Blues," a report released recently by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), more than 14 million people in the U.S. routinely drink water that is contaminated with five major agricultural herbicides, including the triazine pesticides. The authors of "Tap Water Blues" argue that the triazines can cause cancer in animals and may pose other health risks as well, especially to infants and children. Because of these risks, the EWG and PSR demanded that the U.S. EPA and U.S. Department of Agriculture phase-out the use of triazines within two years. (See PANUPS, Nov. 10, 1994.) The triazine pesticides being reviewed by the EPA are primarily used as pre-emergent herbicides on field corn, but are also used on sorghum as well as other crops. The EPA has taken actions previously to restrict use of triazine products. In 1990, for example, use of atrazine was restricted to certified applicators (except for certain home turf products), application rates were reduced, protective clothing for agricultural workers was added as a label requirement, and application near wells was prohibited. Ciba-Geigy of Greensboro, N.C. is the principal registrant and manufacturer of atrazine (first registered in 1959) and simazine (first registered in 1957). Du Pont Agricultural Products of Wilmington, Delaware and Ciba-Geigy are principal registrants of cyanazine (registered in 1971 under the trade name Bladex). Sources: U.S. EPA Press Release, November 10, 1994: "EPA Begins Special Review of Triazine Pesticides"; Wall Street Journal, November 11, 1994; Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, November 16, 1994. Contact: Environmental Working Group, 1718 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 600, Washington DC 20009; phone (202) 667- 6982; fax (202) 232-2592; email ewg@igx.apc.org. =========================================================== | 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 | =========================================================== --- * Origin: Psychotronic BBS (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (42) Wed 30 Nov 94 2:10 By: PANNA InfoPubs To: All Re: PANUPS: Online Resource Pointer #11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a99c @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: PANNA InfoPubs @Subject: PANUPS: Online Resource Pointer #11 @Message-Id: Date: Wed, 30 Nov 1994 02:10:40 -0800 (PST) >From: PANNA InfoPubs ===================================== P A N U P S *** Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service ===================================== Online Resource Pointer #11 November 29, 1994 For copies of the following resources, please contact the appropriate publishers or organizations directly. *** *Enough is Enough: The Hellraiser's Guide to Community Activism, 1994.* Diane MacEachern. Step-by-step instructions on the key aspects of activism including how to position an issue, develop a strategy, build an organization, raise money, attract the media and impress a politician. Includes successes stories of ordinary citizens who undertook campaigns and used community-based techniques to promote their causes. 407 pp. US$10. Vanguard Communications, 1835 K Street NW, Suite 805, Washington, D.C. 20006; phone (202) 331-4323; fax (202) 331-9420. *Agriculture Now or Damage Control Later?, 1994.* International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Addresses the need to increase food security and the growing neglect of the agricultural sector by international donors and developing countries. English and French. 42 pp. IRDC Books, P.O. Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1G 3H9; phone (613) 236-6163 (ext. 2087); fax (613) 563-0815. *Options to Methyl Bromide for the Control of Soil-Borne Diseases and Pests in California with Reference to the Netherlands, 1994.* Adolf L. Braun and David M. Supkoff. Examines the use of methyl bromide in the Netherlands in greenhouse production of strawberries, vegetables, and cut flowers. Describes that country's decision to phase out methyl bromide for soil fumigation usage because of concern for public safety and air and groundwater quality, and it's decision to adopt new pesticide policies and farming systems. 52 pp. Pest Management Analysis and Planning Program, California EPA, Dept. of Pesticide Regulation, Environmental Monitoring and Pest Management Branch, 1020 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. *Science and Institution: Building Efforts in Africa, 1994.* Bo Bengtsson. Proceedings of the 24th Annual Research Conference of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) held in Duduville, Nairobi May 9-12, 1994. Focuses on remarks of Prof. Bengtsson, ICIPE's Guest Speaker at this conference and former Chairman of the ICIPE's Governing Council, which highlight the early history of ICIPE and its development in African agricultural research. 21 pp. ICIPE Science Press, The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, P.O. Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya. *Agriculture and the Policy Environment: Tanzania and Kenya, 1993.* David Bevan, et. al. Study shows how macroeconomic and trade policies, not simply producer prices, are largely responsible for the very different performances of the agricultural sectors in these two East African countries. 103 pp. OECD Publications and Information Centre, 2001 L Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036-4910; phone (202) 785-6323; fax (202) 785-0350. *Beyond Farmer First: Rural People's Knowledge, Agricultural Research and Extension Practice, 1994.* Ian Scoones and John Thompson (eds.). Details of field agricultural research and extension from collaborating institutions in Africa, Asia and Latin America presented at a workshop at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex in October 1992. The book consists of contributions representing the disciplines of agronomy, agricultural science, anthropology, ecology, entomology, forestry, geography, management science, pedagogy, sociology and others. 228 pp. UK$14.95. IT Publications, 103-105 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4HH, U.K.; phone (0171) 436-9761; fax (0171) 436 2013; email: itdgcru@gn.apc.org. *Diversity.* This quarterly news journal covers the issues pertinent to the international genetic resources community including scientists, policymakers, executives, activists and administrators who are working to conserve and use the world's genetic resources. Explores the issues of breeders' rights, biotechnology, farmers' rights, intellectual property rights, plant research and related themes. Annual subscription dues vary from US$35 North America and US$50 outside North America for government, non-profit and individuals; all others are US$55 North America and US$70 outside North America. DIVERSITY, 4905 Del Ray Avenue, Suite 401, Bethesda, MD 20814; phone (301) 907-9350; fax (301) 907- 9328. *Handle With Care: Children and Environmental Carcinogens, 1994.* Lawrie Mott, Farrel Vance, and Jennifer Curtis. A call to action for the federal government to revise existing safety standards to take into account children's unique exposure to carcinogens present in air, food and water. Report utilizes the list of 392 carcinogens published under California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) including ten carcinogenic pesticides listed by the State of California. 50 pp. US$7.50 (plus $1.45 shipping and handling per copy). NRDC Publications, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011. *Agriculture + Rural Development.* This new bi-annual journal draws from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation's (CTA) collection of German articles on tropical agriculture and rural development. The first issue, Volume 1(1)/1994 focuses on declining aid to agriculture, rural development, and food security. English and French. DLG-Verlags-GmbH, Eschborner LandstraBe 122, 60489 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. *Status of Internationally-Recruited Women in the International Agricultural Research Centers of the CGIAR: A Quantitative Perspective, 1992.* Deborah Merrill-Sands and Pammi Sachdeva. Analyzes the status of internationally- recruited women in the 16 international agricultural research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the key areas affecting participation of women professionals: recruitment, retention and advancement. 45 pp. CGIAR Secretariat, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20433; phone (202) 473-4502; fax (202) 473-3112. *Ceres.* A bi-monthly magazine on development by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) addresses the current issues in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, nutrition and sustainable development. US$24 for a one year subscription. Ceres, Distribution and Sales selection (FAO), Via delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy; Fax (39-6) 52256167. 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.igc.apc.org | | =========================================================== --- * Origin: Psychotronic BBS (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (43) Thu 1 Dec 94 3:15 By: Lawrence F. London, Jr. To: All Re: Re: Farming with Hedgerows (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a9a8 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu (Lawrence F. London, Jr.) @Subject: Re: Farming with Hedgerows (fwd) Date: 1 Dec 1994 03:15:52 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 30 Nov 94 17:01 EST >From: lc97 Subject: Re: Farming with Hedgerows (fwd) Yes, I would like to receive a copy of the draft on hedgerows you have put together. You can either send to my email address LC97@umail.umd.edu or my work address: Wye Research and Education Center, Univ. of MD, P.O. Box 169, Queenstown, MD 21658. Thank you. Leslie Cooperband --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (44) Mon 21 Nov 94 22:37 By: Jim Chen To: All Re: Theory and praxis, part 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a9b5 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: chenx064@maroon.tc.umn.edu (Jim Chen) @Subject: Theory and praxis, part 1 Date: 21 Nov 1994 22:37:58 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <64260.chenx064@maroon.tc.umn.edu> In response to Brian Carlson's inquiry on the following debate topic: "Whereas many Agricultural Chemicals (Pesticides and Fertilizers) degrade water quality and are hazardous to consumers, therefore environmental taxes should be imposed on these chemicals." I think that the most useful point of departure, at least with respect to the economic theory of pollution taxation, is to identify the feasibility of imposing a "Pigovian" tax -- i.e., a direct tax on the harm itself. See generally Arthur C. Pigou, The Economics of Welfare (4th ed. 1932). Most taxes in practice are not strictly Pigovian in that they target a workable surrogate for the pollution itself (which often eludes easy measurement and/or detection). See generally Thomas A. Barthold, Issues in the Design of Environmental Excise Taxes, 8 J. Econ. Perspectives 133 (1994) (a very good source). For example, a Pigovian tax on auto exhaust would assess a charge per cubic meter of CO (or any other pollutant du jour). That tax would perfectly reflect the social cost of each marginal cubic meter of CO. But because we can't stick a cheap, reliable CO meter on every car (and can't trust drivers not to disable the meters!), we rely on two principal alternatives to the Pigovian auto exhaust tax: (1) gasoline excise taxes and (2) fleet-wide "CAFE" [corporate average fuel efficiency] standards imposed on automobile manufacturers. I think you'll have no trouble drawing the appropriate analogies to farm chemicals. Farmer Meade has made a very powerful point regarding the regressive food taxation effect of a proposed tax on farm chemicals. The trouble arises because we have different discount rates, levels of risk aversion, and levels of wealth. Witness the traditional debate over fuel excise taxes whenever they are proposed as revenue measures. A Pigovian retort goes something like this: redistribution by *failing* to tax the pollution-related externalities of gas use is no good deed at all, because all that happens is that past patterns of polluting behavior become exacerbated, and the poor will continue to absorb an ever larger share of the harm. Marxist and pseudo-Marxist economists frequently make the same argument, but they offend many by calling the populist argument against taxation the product of a "false consciousness." It's like the practice of using the word "praxis" -- you score huge points with tenure-and-promotion gurus in university circles, but only at the expense of broader acceptance. (See, for example, the subject heading to this post!) Another problems with economic incentives aimed at reducing pollution is a direct outgrowth of the imprecision inherent in non-Pigovian taxes. People forced to pay an extra nickel on each gallon of gas won't necessarily reduce their total automotive travel. They may just as easily buy more fuel-efficient cars that achieve an illusory level of parsimoniousness by dispensing with heavy, fuel-consuming pollution control equipment! This effect has been documented in the related context of "negawatt acquisition programs" (NAPs) for electric utilities. See Bernard S. Black & Richard J. Pierce, Jr., The Choice Between Markets and Central Planning in Regulating the U.S. Electricity Industry, 93 Colum. L. Rev. 1339, 1354-85 (1993). Why is this relevant? NAPs are subsidies for forgone generating capacity and are therefore properly conceptualized as "negative" non-Pigovian taxes on pollution related to the generation of electricity. This entire set of concerns is in fact an outgrowth of the general theory of second best, an economic critique of any and all imperfect regulatory measures. See, e.g., R.G. Lipsey & Kelvin Lancaster, The General Theory of Second Best, 24 Rev. Econ. Stud. 11 (1956); F.M. Scherer & David Ross, Industrial Market Structure and Market Performance 36-38 (3d ed. 1990). I hope this information helps. Incidentally, I would love to see what conclusions the debaters reach. Best wishes, Jim Chen Associate Professor of Law University of Minnesota Law School 229 19th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 voice: (612) 625-4839 fax: (612) 625-2011 --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (45) Mon 21 Nov 94 22:49 By: Jim Chen To: All Re: Theory and praxis, part 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a9b7 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: chenx064@maroon.tc.umn.edu (Jim Chen) @Subject: Theory and praxis, part 2 Date: 21 Nov 1994 22:49:01 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <65895.chenx064@maroon.tc.umn.edu> Re Clayton Rye's response to my recent post (for which, incidentally, I am quite grateful): Three points you made, all worthy of further notice and discussion -- 1. "grateful for my wife's job in town" 2. "cheap food and revolution" 2. "nationalization or deregulation" 1. Perhaps inadvertently, you hit upon some truths about rural economies today. Rural development does not depend on farm incomes; most farm households draw the bulk of their disposable income from off-farm employment. Small farms rely overwhelmingly on off-farm income; medium- sized farms reflect an almost perfect balance between farm and off-farm income. See Bruce Gardner, Demythologizing Farm Income, Choices, 1st Q. 1993, at 22, 23. Off-farm income, given the structure and traditional dynamics of farm family relationships, is female income. Massive human exodus and the attending sociological catastrophe have usually occurred in response to the elimination of "female" labor opportunities rather than "male" labor opportunities. Lowell, Mass., typified this phenomenon in the years so poignantly depicted in Theodore Dreiser's novel, An American Tragedy; Herman, Minn., with its recent and arguably humiliating plea for women, any women, willing to move to the more distant corners of this state shows how live the issue remains today. Female labor in rural America, as it is in the rest of the economy, largely rests on the health of the "FIRE" industries: *F*inance, *I*nsurance, *R*eal *E*state. As such, a rural development strategy that focuses exclusively or even primarily on agriculture is likely to fail. "Sustainable agriculture" as a sociological exercise -- as opposed to its distinct ecological objectives -- doesn't work, won't work, and (quite frankly) shouldn't work. (Please excuse the sweeping generalizations: this is Internet, after all, not a peer-reviewed professional journal, and I am thoroughly aware of the difference.) 2. Cheap food and revolution: Yup, food ought to be cheap, consistent with the fully internalized social cost of production. I thought that was the one constant that tied this newsgroup together. Geez -- who could be a proponent of _un_sustainable agriculture? But maybe not, if cheap, properly priced food means lower farm incomes, especially for operators of small to medium multi-generational farms. It does seem awfully fashionable to trash policies that reduce commodity prices -- precisely because too many agriculturalists treat maximized farm incomes rather than social welfare in its broadest sense as the economic norm we should be seeking. 3. Nationalization or deregulation? Well, in theory either system would be preferable to a mangled regulatory agenda. Nationalization in practice, however, has left the former republics of the Soviet Union in the grotesque position of being simultaneously the world's largest producers of wheat and the world's largest *importers*. That's right, Mother Russia can't even feed herself, not after seventy-five years of collectivization and state ownership. All other things being equal, I'd opt for complete repeal of the 1949 Agriculture Act and the battery of statutes delivering water and grazing subsidies to the farming West. Again, I realize that this is an oversimplified portrayal of the legislative situation. I also admit that, politics being what they are, I had better formulate some fallback recommendations on the carnival that will be Farm Bill '95 under the supervision of Speaker Newt and Leader Bob. Time to go back to work on slamming the latest five-year plan for American agriculture. See you all later on the 'net. Best regards, Jim Chen Associate Professor of Law University of Minnesota Law School 229 19th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 voice: (612) 625-4839 fax: (612) 625-2011 --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (46) Mon 21 Nov 94 22:49 By: Ray Dobert To: All Re: "Biotech and Sustainable Ag: A Bibliography" AVAILABLE ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a9b8 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: rdobert@nalusda.gov (Ray Dobert) @Subject: "Biotech and Sustainable Ag: A Bibliography" AVAILABLE Date: 21 Nov 1994 22:49:15 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII The following publication is now available from the Biotechnology and Alternative Farming Systems Information Centers (NAL/USDA). BIOTECHNOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: A BIBLIOGRAPHY A range of crops and agricultural products have been modified using the molecular tools of biotechnology will likely be utilized in U.S. agricultural systems in the near future. At the same time, an increasing number of farmers are adopting sustainable cultural practices. Are these two developments compatible? Over the past decade a body of literature has accumulated addressing this question. This Special Reference Brief (SRB 94-13), prepared jointly by the Biotechnology Information Center and the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center of the USDA's National Agricultural Library, contains citations and keywords to 127 books, reports, magazine and journal articles that focus on this issue. It provides an introduction to the debate surrounding the use of biotechnology in sustainable farming systems. While not an exhaustive search of the literature, its purpose is to serve as a foundation upon which to build a continuing dialogue. The scope of literature covered is broad, and includes the impact of biotechnology on technical deployment of alternative control methods, e.g. biocontrol and integrated pest management (IPM), as well as the cultural and sociological issues surrounding the changes that this new technology might bring to agriculture. Agriculture is a global enterprise, so many of the articles focus on the international arena and role of biotechnology in sustainable development in developing countries. Several bibliographic databases, including AGRICOLA and CAB Abstracts, were used to locate appropriate citations. This publication is now available from the Biotechnology Information Center or the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center. To receive a copy by mail please send a self-addressed label to one of the addresses below. The bibliography is also available at the NAL gopher at: gopher.nalusda.gov, OR via WWW at http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/AgrEnv/Biotech Look under Information Centers/Biotech Info Center/Bibliographies. If you have any questions or require further information, please contact: Biotechnology Information Center National Agricultural Library, Fourth Floor 10301 Baltimore Blvd. Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2351, USA. 301-504-5947 301-504-7098 fax biotech@nalusda.gov Alternative Farming Systems Information Center National Agricultural Library, Fourth Floor 10301 Baltimore Blvd. Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2351, USA. 301-504-6559 301-504-6409 fax nalasfic@nalusda.gov --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (47) Mon 21 Nov 94 23:52 By: Ron Karnik To: All Re: Re: Round-Up Residue? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a9c3 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: karnik@col.hp.com (Ron Karnik) @Subject: Re: Round-Up Residue? Date: 21 Nov 1994 23:52:47 GMT @Message-Id: <3arbsf$bet@nonews.col.hp.com> Dave Gardner (Dave.Gardner@f105.n137.z1.fidonet.org) wrote: : > If you are refering to ExtoxNet data, it is very lack in information. : > It summarizes nicely from the point of view of a University funded by : > agri-chem manufacturers. Even the ext offices do not provide "all the : > toxicological information" relative to glyphosates. Even the IRPTC : > database lacks updated information. Field studies, not lab studies, : > but where glyphosates have been used in natural surroundings : > contradict much of the data housed on glyphosates by both the IRPTC, : > Extox, and EPA. Another item missing from the data is that inert : > ingredients are _not_ listed and one ingredient found was to be : > dioxane. Monsanto removed dioxane when the Canadian EarthCare Society : > took Monsanto to court. This was removed from the glphosate products : > used in B.C. I don't know if they removed it from U.S. glyphosate : > products. : > : > Jim : Well heck, why don't we just ban all herbicides and go back to good old : hand pulling of weeds. I wonder just how many people got crippled with carpal tunnel,back problems or etc' doing this? Ten gallons of water with 12oz. of round-up and a 60ft. boom at 7.5mph = 54 1/2 acre per hour. One days spraying can save a lot of man-days of labor, which mother nature seldom gives to a farmer. Storing a sprayer is easier then housing and transporting people. Also the sprayer eats less. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]HP Colo (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (48) Thu 1 Dec 94 3:47 By: Joel B Gruver To: All Re: Romanian agriculture ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a9d9 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: jbgFC@hamp.hampshire.edu (Joel B Gruver) @Subject: Romanian agriculture Date: 1 Dec 1994 03:47:41 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII I need to find out current information on agriculture in Romania. Where can I find detailed information on Romanian vegetable production methods ? Has anyone recently visited Romanian vegetable farms ? Joel Gruver jgruver@hamp.hampshire.edu --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (49) Thu 1 Dec 94 7:03 By: almanac-admin To: All Re: sanet-mg Usage ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a9e9 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: almanac-admin@ces.ncsu.edu @Subject: sanet-mg Usage Date: 1 Dec 1994 07:03:28 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <199412010502.AAA17328@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu> Following is a periodic notice regarding the use of the sanet-mg mailing group. Please review this important information regarding the proper use of the mailing group. To unsubscribe from sanet-mg, send the following command to almanac@ces.ncsu.edu: unsubscribe sanet-mg Almanac is the NC Cooperative Extension Service's information server. It handles all mailing groups. Almanac commands *should not* be sent to the mailing group. Doing so sends the command to everyone who is subscribed to the mailing group. If you wish to subscribe a colleague to sanet-mg, send the following commands to almanac@ces.ncsu.edu: set address colleagues_full_email_address subscribe sanet-mg Almanac also keeps an archive of the articles that have been posted to sanet-mg. To receive a catalog of archived articles, send the following command to almanac@ces.ncsu.edu: send sanet-mg catalog sanet-mg is a "forum" mailing group; to submit an article, simply send your message to sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu. If you have general questions about the mailing groups or Almanac, mail to almanac-help@ces.ncsu.edu. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (50) Thu 1 Dec 94 8:28 By: Joel B Gruver To: All Re: Graduate studies in sust. agriculture ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006a9ed @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: jbgFC@hamp.hampshire.edu (Joel B Gruver) @Subject: Graduate studies in sust. agriculture Date: 1 Dec 1994 08:28:48 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII I would appreciate any information on the sust.ag. programs at land grant universities in the following states: North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Alabama, West Virginia, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio and South Carolina. Joel Gruver jgruver@hamp.hampshire.edu --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (51) Thu 1 Dec 94 14:03 By: James Meade To: All Re: Re: Graduate studies in sust. agriculture ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa0b @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: jnmeade@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu (James Meade) @Subject: Re: Graduate studies in sust. agriculture Date: 1 Dec 1994 14:03:51 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Joel, Although you didn't include Iowa State, their Leopold Center is very active in sustainable agriculture. You can now telnet directly to EXNET as they have dropped their previous subscription fee. Sign in as guest. No password. If you dont' get a shout anywhere else, talk to drexner@iastate.edu, who is the ISU advisor to Practical Farmers of Iowa, a determinably sustainable organization. Jim - Farmer - Iowa City, IA, jnmeade@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (52) Thu 1 Dec 94 10:30 By: AGPR To: All Re: Seeking Latin American Correspondents ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa1d @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: agpr@aol.com (AGPR) @Subject: Seeking Latin American Correspondents Date: 1 Dec 1994 10:30:17 -0500 @Sender: news@newsbf01.news.aol.com @Message-Id: <3bkq69$rb1@newsbf01.news.aol.com> I am seeking professional food/agriculture/science journalists/writers/photograhers based in Latin America to join our worldwide network of same. We have some immediate freelance assignment possibilities, and are always looking for good story ideas from this part of the world, too. If you would like to be considered please e-mail a copy of your resume and a current writing sample in English to: Warren E. Clark AGPR@aol.com --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]America (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (53) Thu 1 Dec 94 16:46 By: Jerry DeWitt To: All Re: CRP Land Use ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa2e @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: x1dewitt@exnet.iastate.edu (Jerry DeWitt) @Subject: CRP Land Use Date: 1 Dec 1994 16:46:55 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011306.AA02269@exnet.iastate.edu> @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Does anyone have information concerning the use (or planned use) of CRP ground for dairy operations? Apparently there may be interest in this at Wisconsin. Any details would be appreciated...thanks. Jerry DeWitt Ext Specialist-Sustainable Ag Iowa State University x1dewitt@exnet.iastate.edu --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (54) Thu 1 Dec 94 18:31 By: Lawrence F. London, Jr. To: All Re: issue paper text (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa3c @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:29:11 @3641/223 6797 01/06 ++++++++++ From: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu (Lawrence F. London, Jr.) @Subject: issue paper text (fwd) Date: 1 Dec 1994 18:31:14 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 30 Nov 1994 19:55:23 -0800 >From: Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup) To: Multiple recipients of list SUSTAG-L Subject: issue paper text (fwd) [This paper on some social/economic issues in sustainable ag should be of considerable interest. To get a hard copy, email to rats@cats.ucsc.edu or to the postal address at the end. Comments and discussion should be sent to sustag@beta.tricity.wsu.edu as the senior author is on our list. TH] ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 29 Nov 1994 11:35:55 -0800 >From: rats@cats.ucsc.edu To: thodges@beta Cc: rats@cats.ucsc.edu Subject: issue paper text Tom, Let's see if it works this time! I'm looking forward to the discussions in this network that you've set up. Patricia Dear Colleague, We are sending via electonic mail the text of the fourth paper in our "Sustainability in the Balance" series, The Human Face of Sustainable Agriculture: Adding People to the Environmental Agenda. In this paper we highlight critical human and social justice issues we believe must be addressed along with environmental issues in the movement toward sustainable agriculture. In this paper we have provided facts and references on topics critical to, yet not sufficiently addressed in, sustainable agriculture. These include: * the relationship between food distribution and production * inequitable income distribution in U.S. agriculture * inadequate working, living, and health conditions for food and agriculture workers * the continuing concentration of resources and power in the U.S. food system * the under-representation of women and ethnic minorities in employment, research, and decision making in the U.S. food system * the absence of social perspectives in agricultural research priorities and policy making Examples of organizations and programs which recognize and address these important social issues are also described. We hope that the information in this paper will be useful to you in your work. Our aim is to stimulate thought, discussion, and action on how the welfare of all people in food and agriculture can be included along with environmental and family farm issues as priorities for sustainable agriculture. Facts and citations may be cited freely as long as this paper is referenced as the source. We are interested in making this information available to as many people and groups as possible. Please circulate this paper to your Editor if your organization has a newsletter. If you would like to order the printed version (with photographs and charts), additional copies, or previous papers in the series, or would like to make address changes, please see the form appended at the end of the text. We welcome your comments and suggestions on the issues discussed in this paper. With warm regards, Patricia Allen Debra Van Dusen Senior Analyst Assistant Analyst (408) 459-4243 (408) 459-2741 e-mail: rats@cats.ucsc.edu e-mail: deb@zzyx.ucsc.edu --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- ----- Please note: numbers at the ends of lines refer to endnotes following the text INTRODUCTION High production levels and economic efficiency have long been hallmarks of the U.S. food and agriculture system. In recent years, however, the costs of these achievements have commanded more and more attention as new instances of environmental and social problems related to agriculture have come to the forefront all across the country. For many years now, sustainable agriculturalists have worked to address these problems, primarily through developing environmentally sound production techniques. The enormity of this task has so far eclipsed equally important social issues in sustainable agriculture. This paper is intended to shed light on the dimensions of the social problems we face in working toward sustainability and to highlight some of the ways people have begun to address these problems.1 Although sustainable agriculture issues are absolutely global in scope, this paper focuses primarily on the United States. A Social Context for Sustainable Agriculture The U.S. Congress defines sustainable agriculture to include a commitment to "satisfy human food and fiber needs" and to "enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole."2 In order to truly accomplish this we must begin with basic social questions. Perhaps the most fundamental is Who and what do we want to sustain? That is, which people and what structures are being sustained in our current system and which people and what structures do we want to sustain in our vision of the future? Until we directly address these questions we cannot possibly know if our efforts toward sustainability are moving us closer to or farther from our goals. Achieving sustainability requires recognizing that social systems--no less than farm systems--are dynamic products of human choices, definitions, priorities, and uses. Agriculture today, as throughout history, is socially organized, the outcome of relationships among Resolving agricultural problems begins with the recognition that human decisions and actions have created our food and agriculture system. Social relationships such as those embedded in agricultural and economic systems often appear external, immutable, and eternal to us. This illusion can sabotage our efforts to develop sustainable systems. Yet, as pointed out by the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, sustainable agriculture proponents must work to "understand, first, the interrelationships of environmental and social degradation in the conventional agricultural system, and second, the relationship of social sustainability to other dimensions of agricultural sustainability."3 Integral to developing these understandings are questions such as: * Who benefits under the present system, who does not, and why or why not? * What types of social and economic structures are most conducive to sustainability at local, regional, national, and international levels? * Which social patterns, values, or cultural traditions have enhanced or limited sustainability? In the following sections we explore the degree to which agriculture benefits society as a whole. We begin with the premise that sustainability problems arise not only from how humans have treated the environment, but also from how people have treated each other. The scope of social issues in food and agriculture is vast; here we include: food distribution, control and concentration, income distribution, labor conditions, power and decision making, and research priorities. Food Distribution Issues In sustainable agriculture our tendency to focus on farm-level production and organic food marketing threatens to obscure consideration of how food must be equitably distributed once it has been produced. That feeding the world cannot be accomplished simply by producing enough has been well proven. Although conventional agriculture has done an excellent job of growing plenty of food, millions of people do not get enough to eat. Worldwide, at least 500 million people, mostly women and children, are chronically undernourished and many more do not have the right kinds of food for a healthy, active life.4 In a world which produces enough food to feed everyone, 40,000 people die every day of hunger and hunger-related causes.5 Although hunger is concentrated in the rural areas of impoverished countries, the problem is not just overseas. In the U.S., 30 million people suffer chronic undercon-sumption of adequate nutrients.6 Almost half of the hungry are children. In California--the wealthiest state in the worldUs wealthiest nation--1.4 million children are hungry or at risk of hunger.7 Children go hungry even in Cali-forniaUs Central Valley, a showcase of modern agricultural productivity. U.S. hunger also has a clear racial dimension--76% of the hungry are people of color.8 Proponents of chemical-intensive agriculture often criticize sustainable agriculture on the grounds that it ignores hunger problems. Although this criticism is leveled at production capacity rather than the more central issues of distribution, it nonetheless illustrates that sustainable agriculture needs to better address the task of making food accessible to everyone. With organic food prices estimated to be 25% to 50% higher than those for conventionally grown food,9 the decision to buy sustainably grown food may not currently be an option for many. In the U.S., poor people often pay higher prices for their food and spend a higher percentage of their incomes on food than do middle-income people. A study conducted in Los Angeles found that a low-income family spends 36% of its annual income on food as compared to 12% for a middle-income family.10 Sustainable agriculture must address problems of hunger and poverty if sustainably produced food is to be more than a privilege for the relatively affluent. Control and Concentration in Food and Agriculture The demise of the family farm has long been a concern within sustainable agriculture. It becomes harder and harder for many to make a living in agriculture as ownership of resources and control of decision making becomes concentrated among fewer and fewer people. The American food and agriculture system has become highly concentrated in both production and marketing, and the trend continues. Nearly half of U.S. land is farmland, over one billion acres.11 Only 4% of --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (55) Thu 1 Dec 94 13:31 By: Lawrence F. London, Jr. To: All Re: 02:issue paper text (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa3e @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:29:11 @3641/223 6797 02/06 ++++++++++ From: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu (Lawrence F. London, Jr.) @Subject: issue paper text (fwd) Date: 1 Dec 1994 18:31:14 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII landowners hold 47% of this farmland.12 In California, the nationUs largest agricultural producer, 3% of California farms control 60% of the market.13 Nationwide the figures are similar--7% of American farms received 60% of the net cash farm income in 1992.14 One study estimates that about 50,000 of the largest farms in the U.S. will account for 75% of agricultural production by the year 2000.15 Related to concentration of farming is concentration of marketing. In the U.S. two companies control 50% of grain exports; three companies slaughter nearly 80% of beef, four companies control nearly 85% of the cold cereal market and four companies mill nearly 60% of the flour.16 There is also a long-term trend toward larger and fewer grocery stores across the U.S.17 Supermarkets now dominate grocery retailing, accounting for 4 out of every 5 dollars spent in retail food stores.18 Ownership and control in U.S. agriculture also have distinct gender and racial biases. Of those who control U.S. farmland, only 4% are women.19 Women tend to own smaller farms--the average size of property held by men is one-third larger than that held by women.20 And although African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans have always provided much of the farm labor in U.S. agriculture, they are much less likely than European Americans to be farm operators. Although they comprise nearly 25% of the population,21 nonwhites operate a mere 2% of the farms in the U.S.22 Even in California, an ethnically diverse state where 43% of the population is nonwhite,23 less than 7% of farm operators are nonwhite.24 In contrast, CaliforniaUs farm labor force is composed almost exlcusively of ethnic minorities.25 These levels of concentration and types of discrimination have enormous implications for who has power in agriculture and who does not, for whose voices will be heard and whose will be silenced, and for who will make the policies that determine the food system for all Americans. Income Distribution in U.S. Agriculture Throughout the U.S., inequality in income distribution is growing. From 1973 to 1992, the average real income of the top one-fifth of U.S. families rose 19% while for the lowest one-fifth it fell by 12%.26 Uneven income distribution is also prevalent in the food and agriculture system--among rural citizens, between farmers and farm workers, among farmers, and between farmers and consumers. The economic picture in much of rural America is bleak, where wages are often too low to keep many families out of poverty. This is particularly true for ethnic minorities. In 1987, 57% of rural Hispanics and over 60% of rural Blacks earned below the poverty level for a family of four, while the rate for whites was lower at 40%.27 Irrespective of ethnicity, women are at an economic disadvantage to men in the rural work force. Worldwide, womenUs wages in agriculture are consistently lower than menUs, sometimes as little as 63% of the male wage for comparable work.28 In the U.S., despite two decades of affirmative action, rural women earn significantly less than rural men. In 1987 less than a third of rural men workers, but more than half of women workers had incomes below the poverty line for a family of four even though they worked the equivalent of a year-round, full-time job.29 One group most affected by this disparity is children. Today one-fourth of all rural American children live in poverty, 75% in a household with at least one working adult.30 Rural poverty does not necessarily mean farm poverty, however. Although farm household income has historically been lower than that of nonfarm households in the U.S., this is no longer generally the case. In 1990, compared to all U.S. households, farm operator households had annual incomes $1,604 higher, had $13,320 less in expenditures, and had $319,664 more net worth.31 Although farmers on the whole are better off economically than nonfarmers, these average figures mask significant differences among farmers. For example, of the 7% of U.S. farm operators who are financially vulnerable, almost half are small-scale farmers.32 The economic well-being of farm laborers, however, is uniformly dire. Throughout the world many of those living in the worst poverty are agricultural workers, and U.S. workers are no exception. Half of U.S. farm worker families have incomes below the poverty level, with the median family income between $7,500 and $10,000 a year.33 This is particularly striking in that it is the 1.5% of U.S. farms with the highest sales that employ over half of the farm labor.34 It is ironic that in California, the nationUs largest agricultural producer, some of the richest agricultural areas are home to some of the poorest people in the entire United States.35 In fact, increases in income from agriculture are associated with increasing levels of poverty.36 Of the ten Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States with the highest proportion of residents on welfare, six are in CaliforniaUs agriculturally rich Central Valley.37 The welfare recipients are not farm workers--less than 1% of farm workers obtain support from public assistance.38 U.S. agricultural subsidies, originally established to stabilize and improve farmer incomes, have contributed to uneven income distributions. Since support programs link benefits to acreage historically under production, the primary beneficiaries of these programs are large land-owners. In 1992, 68% of U.S. government farm payments went to the wealthiest 19% of agricultural producers.39 Not only do farm programs disproportionately benefit larger farmers, they contain no provisions for farm worker incomes.40 While it is estimated that fewer than 500,000 households benefit from farm programs, those who pay are everyone else who pays both higher taxes and higher food prices that result from these programs.41 In 1986 government payments were sufficient to pay an equivalent of $42,000 to each commercial farm while the U.S. median family income was more than $14,000 lower than this figure.42 Between 1982 and 1988 higher food prices resulting from restricted supplies generated by farm programs cost U.S. consumers between $5 and $10 billion in indirect costs.43 It has been estimated that farm subsidies cost $400 or more per family.44 To justify this type of taxpayer support for agriculture, farm programs need to be targeted toward goals that benefit society as a whole, such as sustaining the resource base and increasing diversity in the food and agriculture sector. Labor Conditions in Food and Agriculture Workers in the U.S. food and agriculture industry--whether in the field or factory--not only receive low wages, they endure difficult, often dangerous working conditions. Few have received the benefits of profitable and abundant U.S. agriculture. U.S. farm workers do a large share of the work in agriculture. In California, for example, there are 18 farm workers for each farmer. Hired farm workers perform at least 80% of all the farm work in the State, for which they earn an average annual income of $3,000.45 One-third of U.S. farm laborers work in fields without drinking water, hand washing facilities or toilets.46 And at the end of the workday many farm workers do not have a home to go to. The only national data on farm worker housing show that in 1980, housing was available for only about one third of the estimated 1.2 million migrant farm workers who needed it.47 In California (the only state that has any data on occupational illness and injury rates for agricultural workers), farm workersU illness and injury rate is the highest of any occupation. 48 Many in sustainable agriculture have been concerned about pesticide residues in our food and water supplies. For those who work in the fields, pesticide exposure is even more direct, causing poisonings, reproductive problems, and death. A study of migrant children working on farms in New York state found that over 40% of farm worker children interviewed had worked in fields still wet with pesticides, and 40% had been sprayed while in the fields.49 Although there is no national system for tracking pesticide poisonings, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that each year hired farm workers suffer up to 300,000 acute illnesses and injuries from exposure to pesticides.50 This continues to be the case because older pesticides have been replaced by those that are less persistent in the environment and foods but more acutely toxic for workers.51 Much of the work in the food and agriculture industry is in factories rather than on farms. Working conditions in food processing vary, but workers in produce and meat processing industries are often poorly paid, seasonally terminated, have no benefits, and work under miserable conditions. In the 1980s, Iowa meat packing industry wages decreased regularly and in 1989 49% of Iowa meat packing workers suffered work-related injuries or illnesses.52 At a North Carolina chicken plant 25 workers were killed when they could not escape a fire because fire exits were locked to prevent workers from stealing chicken. A U.S. congressman summed up the situation, saying that this was an industry that decided to subsidize its profits "with the broken lives, limbs, lacerations, and decapitations of their workers."53 While the adoption of sustainable agriculture practices is likely to reduce worker exposure to toxic chemicals, there is little evidence that other problems such as low wages or poor housing will be resolved. The same alternative agriculture studies which detail natural phenomena such as plant/insect interactions tend to ignore human/human interactions, treating --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (56) Thu 1 Dec 94 18:31 By: Lawrence F. London, Jr. To: All Re: 03:issue paper text (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa3f @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:29:11 @3641/223 6797 03/06 ++++++++++ From: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu (Lawrence F. London, Jr.) @Subject: issue paper text (fwd) Date: 1 Dec 1994 18:31:14 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII farm workers as just another cost of production,54 and overlooking workers in other aspects of the food and agriculture system. Distribution of Power and Decision Making in U.S. Agriculture Our current food and agriculture system is the result of the social structures, institutions, and processes which determine who makes decisions in food and agriculture and in whose interests these decisions are made. Historically, U.S. agricultural policy makers, business and farm-group leaders, researchers, and educators have been predominantly affluent European-American men. Women and people of color, who do much of the work in agriculture and represent a disproportionate percentage of the rural poor, are conspicuously absent in key agricultural decision-making positions. Skewed decision making is endemic to the federal legislature, which sets food and agricultural policy priorities. Only 11% of those in the House of Representatives and 7% of senators are women, most of them recently elected and thus the most junior and least powerful members of Congress.55 There are no Latinos or Native Americans and only one African American among the 100 members of the U.S. Senate. Of the 18 members of the powerful Senate Committee on Agriculture there are no women, no African Americans, and no Latinos. Government agencies related to agriculture have similarly homogenous gender and racial compositions. No other federal agency ranks lower in hiring and promoting minorities than the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and 98% of the local officials who run powerful USDA county and state committees are European-American men.56 In 1992, 89% of senior-level USDA employees were white and 82% were male.57 Rates for senior executives are even higher.58 The Congressional QuarterlyUs 1993 listing of agricultural agencies shows that 90% of those in powerful positions such as director, administrative officer, assistant secretary, and chairperson are men. In CaliforniaUs agriculture and resource state agencies, 15% of the professional-level employees are women and 23% are ethnic minorities.59 Other key decision makers in U.S. agriculture are researchers, who are central to shaping the direction of agriculture. Only a small proportion of these scientists are women or ethnic minorities, although their representation is increasing. In 1976, less than 1% of agricultural scientists were women and the agricultural sciences had the highest percentage of whites--98.6%--of all scientific fields in the United States.60 Ten years later, 7% of agricultural scientists were women (compared to 18% of all U.S. scientists) and 3% were African American, Native American, or Hispanic (the same percentage as for all scientists).61 The situation in private industry does not seem to be any better, particularly regarding women in management. According to a 1989 report, out of eleven major industries agriculture was the industry least likely to employ women as managers, executives, or administrators.62 Women employed in these positions made up less than 1% of the total managerial force in the agricultural industry.63 And, even though the number of women-owned businesses in agriculture has almost doubled since 1980, only one business sector (the transportation, communication, and utilities sector), had fewer women-owned businesses than agriculture. Individual perspectives, which arise out of differences in class, race, and gender experiences, play a pivotal role in what decision makers see as problems and solutions. Inevitably, decision-making groups which represent only a narrow range of perspectives can only address a narrow range of issues and possibilities. In order to achieve sustainability, agricultural instutions will need to become democratic, redressing long-standing inequities in who makes decisions in food and agriculture. Research Priorities in Food and Agriculture The research approaches we use in food and agriculture determine how problems are defined, how solutions are derived, which options are considered available, and what types of changes are likely to take place. This research is considered so important that U.S. taxpayers have funded agricultural research for more than a century. Although the stated goal of this research is to "assure an ample, safe, and nutritious food supply at reasonable cost, while maintaining a sustainable production system,"64 public funding for agricultural research has traditionally been focused on increasing production. Less attention has been paid to the environmental or social concerns of sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture advocates point out that sustainability has yet to become a serious priority in the U.S. agricultural research system. According to a 1993 self-review by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, only about 1% of its research budget was for sustainable agriculture research.65 While there is little resemblance between funding levels for conventional and sustainable agriculture research, there is considerable resemblance between the research priority areas of the two. Both conventional and sustainable agriculture research focus almost exclusively on technical production issues with very little attention to social issues. Support for social science research in agriculture, which has always been very limited, has actually declined over the past decade.66 In 1987 only 1% of USDA research was for projects in sociology or anthropology.67 A review of 1993 USDA research grants shows no increase in these areas.68 Similarly, in the federal Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and in most university research, virtually all research funds for sustainable agriculture are spent on production-oriented projects. Agricultural research has clearly been dominated by production and technical disciplines. This imbalance is exacerbated by isolation since there is little interchange between social scientists and scientists in other agricultural fields.69 Unfortunately, most U.S. sustainable agriculture programs have reproduced this structure, locating their work in the traditional agricultural research arenas. Locating sustainable agriculture research almost exclusively within these areas has resulted in a sense that sustainability problems can best be addressed through technological, economistic approaches and leaves unexamined the degree to which environmental problems have deep social roots. Yet if sustainable agriculture is about improving the food and agriculture system, it requires enlarging our sights far beyond the farm and beyond our local communities to include ownership and employment patterns; government services and policies; and how products are distributed, consumed, and traded. If we do not expand our approach, we place ourselves at great risk of unintentionally reproducing the social and environmental problems of our present agricultural system. The USDA now recognizes that the issues of rural America are largely social, economic, and cultural and as such "cannot successfully be addressed solely with the knowledge generated by the biological or agricultural sciences."70 Some of the regional SARE programs are actively working to integrate social and quality of life issues into their research and education program.71 The complexity of factors involved in sustainability requires diverse perspectives and approaches to sustainable food and agriculture theory and practice. Political ecology is an example of an approach which combines the study of ecological factors and processes with political economic structures and systems. Interdisciplinary work such as this can help us to formulate more holistic research questions. For example, research questions in pest management might include: What will be the effect on farm worker health, wages, and working conditions? Will the price of the product to the consumer change? How can policies be changed to encourage adoption of the technologies? Addressing social issues such as food distribution, control of resources, and labor conditions requires a significant increase in sustainability funding along with a redirection of current funding toward the broader social aspects of food and agriculture. It clearly also requires expanding the number of sustainable agriculture researchers trained in the social sciences. HOW HAVE WE BEGUN TO ADDRESS SOCIAL ISSUES? Within the U.S. there are a number of programs and organizations which recognize that sustainable agriculture is incomplete as a production model alone, and that social problems and solutions should and can be addressed within the framework of a sustainable food system. Although there is no one project that comprehensively addresses the issues highlighted in this paper, many are beginning to focus on one or more of the issue areas. Mentioned here are efforts that grapple with problems such as how to provide everyone with access to nutritious food, how to develop better conditions for farm workers, and ways to improve the gender and ethnicity balance of agricultural decision makers. Food Policy: Feeding People As a First Priority Throughout North America, organizations known as food policy councils begin with the assumption that nutritious food is a basic right of all citizens and that governments and community groups should take active roles in planning for and ensuring food security.72 Food policy councils have worked to stop the flight of supermarkets from the inner city; encouraged community gardens and farmersU markets in cities; lobbied for better food assistance programs, low-income housing, and decent wages for low-income residents; and supported the use of sustainable production practices and organic farming. Most also have active --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (57) Thu 1 Dec 94 18:31 By: Lawrence F. London, Jr. To: All Re: 04:issue paper text (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa40 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:29:11 @3641/223 6797 04/06 ++++++++++ From: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu (Lawrence F. London, Jr.) @Subject: issue paper text (fwd) Date: 1 Dec 1994 18:31:14 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII educational components wherein they have developed and distributed educational materials on nutritional, environmental, and food system issues; sponsored discussion meetings on hunger issues; studied food access problems; and increased outreach for available nutrition programs. Food policy councils have evolved either as community-based nonprofits or as advisory bodies within local government. In some cases, nonprofits and governmental groups work together, providing a powerful partnership. CanadaUs Toronto Food Policy Council is a collaborative effort of Toronto city government and citizens. Together they have developed a food policy for the city which establishes the right of all residents to adequate, nutritious food, and pro-motes food production and distribution systems that are equitable, nutritionally excellent, and environmentally sound. This Council frames food security as a basic health issue. In this view, alleviating hunger is necessary to ensure public health, and is seen not only as a socially just objective but an economically sound one as well. Food and Jobs for Those without Homes The Homeless Garden Project of Santa Cruz, California is a model program which brings together sustainable food growing practices and assistance for homeless people on a 2.5-acre garden located within the city. Now in its fourth year, the Project produces organic flowers and vegetables for fresh market and for the 130 members of its community-supported agriculture program. In addition to a host of volunteers, a handful of staff, and a supervisorial team of formerly homeless individuals, the Project employs 15 homeless men and women for up to 30 hours per week. Plans are underway to expand the number of paid positions to 22 and a nine- month, hands-on job training program is being developed. Working in the garden provides an important focus for those who otherwise must cope with a life-sapping sense of displacement, and enables many homeless people to make constructive changes in their lives. One of the ProjectUs most important benefits is the community forum it provides for homeless and "housed" people to come together in ways which open dialogue and build understanding. New Opportunities for Farm Workers The Rural Development Center (RDC) is an agricultural training and resource center which offers classes and an opportunity for practical education to farm workers and low-income people in CaliforniaUs Salinas Valley. The RDC promotes self reliance by helping people gain skills and experience to pursue dignified, productive, and ecologically sound work. RDCUs Small Farm Education Program is a six-month intensive course covering small farm production, marketing and small business management, organic certification, and English and math skills for agricultural applications. The Community Gardening Program, which uses organic methods to raise food for families and the community, emphasizes the needs and priorities of women, children, and youth. The RDC also maintains a library and resource center which provide information on sustainable agriculture and community-based education and development. Diversifying the Dialogue on Sustainability and Policy The new Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture is working toward fundamental reforms in federal food and agriculture policy. Recognizing the piecemeal and inequitable process which heretofore has determined national agricultural policy, the Campaign actively seeks to diversify the people and interests which will contribute to the formation of the 1995 Farm Bill. Women and ethnic minorities play significant roles in the Campaign, which is composed of hundreds of grassroots and national organizations and includes representation of family farmers, environmentalists, farm workers, consumers, and animal protection advocates.73 By including those who have previously had little or no voice in national agricultural policy, the Campaign orients its approach to sustainability to include social as well as environmental goals. In addition to conservation-oriented policy options, the Campaign supports those focused on social justice, such as ending discrimination against minority farmers and improving wages and working conditions for farm workers. Integrating Women into Agricultural Decision Making At a time when the agricultural work force, particularly in transportation and distribution, is mostly male, an innovative company in San Francisco is working to change that. Veritable Vegetable, the oldest U.S. distributor of organic produce and a company which actively promotes sustainable agriculture, uses a form of participatory management in which all workers have input into decision making. The success of this business shows womenUs competence in areas of the agricultural work force from which they have been excluded. Women are hired for every aspect of distribution, including loading produce, driving trucks, and management. By advocating gender equity, this group hopes to bring new awareness of these issues to farmers, store owners, and other individuals throughout the chain of agricultural relations.74 A Broad-Based Coalition of Sustainability Organizations The California Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (CASA) is a new coalition created through the assistance of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. The development of CASA is based on the recognition that redirecting agricultural policy and practice onto a more sustainable path can only be accomplished if diverse groups find ways to work together constructively. The goal of CASA, which brings together nonprofit and university groups, is to "build food and agriculture systems that provide everyone with sufficient, healthy food; create just and humane social relations; and promote communities suited to the constraints of their TnaturalU environments." CASA is working toward analysis of the obstacles to sustainability and community-based actions to create a sustainable and equitable food and agriculture system. A FINAL NOTE As we work toward sustainability, which and whose needs we decide to address and which social structures we decide to sustain will determine our future food and agriculture system. The priorities we choose will carry important implications not only for the environment, but for the lives of people occupying different positions within the food and agriculture system. Many people will continue to suffer degradation in the shadow of a sustainability vision focused on the environment unless we expand our vision to include all people. We need to focus on interactions not only between people and the environment but also among people in different jobs, cultures, and socio-economic positions. Unless we do, our efforts to conserve and replenish the agricultural resource base are likely to falter, and many of our societyUs children will continue to go hungry--a condition no one would choose to sustain. NOTES 1 For a more theoretical approach to social issues in sustainable agriculture see Patricia Allen, Food for the Future: Conditions and Contradictions of Sustainability, (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1993). 2 Paul F. OUConnell, "Sustainable Agriculture," in Agriculture and the Environment: The 1991 Yearbook of Agriculture, edited by Deborah Takiff Smith (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1991), 176. 3 Cheryl Miller, Issues in Sustainable Agriculture: What Are the Next Steps?, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute Bulletin no. 2, report on a symposium held in June 1991 (East Troy, WI: MFAI Inc, 1992), 6-7. 4 United Nations World Food Council, "The Global State of Hunger and Malnutrition: 1990 Report," Sixteenth Ministerial Session held in Bangkok, Thailand (United Nations, 10 April 1990, photocopied), 1. 5 James Gustave Speth, "A New U.S. Program for International Development and the Global Environment," Issues and Ideas, World Resources Institute (March 1992): 2. 6 John Cook and J. Larry Brown, "30 Million Hungry Americans," Analysis prepared for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Hunger (Medford, MA: Center on Hunger, Poverty and Nutrition Policy, Tufts University, 1992). 7 Laurie True, "Hunger in the Balance: The Impact of the Proposed AFDC Cuts on Childhood Hunger in California," California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (San Francisco, CA: CRLA, March 1992, photocopied), 2. 8 Richard A. Hoehn, "United States," in Hunger 1992: Second Annual Report on the State of World Hunger (Washington, D.C.: Bread for the World Institute on Hunger and Development, 1991), 158. 9 Telephone interview with Desmond Jolly, Agricultural Economist, University of California, Davis, May 4, 1994. 10 Linda Ashman et al., Seeds of Change: Strategies for Food Security for the Inner City, prepared for the Southern California Interfaith Hunger Coalition (Los Angeles: Interfaith Hunger Coalition, 1993), exec. sum. 11 U.S. Department of Agriculture, A Profile of Female Farmers in America, prepared for the Economic Research Service by Judith Z. Kalbacher, Rural Development Research Report no. 45 (Herndon, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, January 1985), 3. 12 U.S. Bureau of Census, 1987 Census of Agriculture, Vol. 3, Related Surveys, Part 2, Agricultural Economics and Land Ownership Survey 1988, Change Sheet, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office), table 66, p. 225. 13 U.S. Bureau of Census, 1987 Census of Agriculture, Market Value of Agricultural Products Sold 1987, 1982, and 1978, Geographic Area Series, Part 5: California State and County Data (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office), table 2, p. 9. 14 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture and Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, Economic Indicators of the Farm --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (58) Thu 1 Dec 94 18:31 By: Lawrence F. London, Jr. To: All Re: 05:issue paper text (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa41 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:29:11 @3641/223 6797 05/06 ++++++++++ From: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu (Lawrence F. London, Jr.) @Subject: issue paper text (fwd) Date: 1 Dec 1994 18:31:14 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sector: National Financial Summary 1992, ECIFS 12-1 (Herndon, VA: U.S.D.A., January 1994), calculated from table 49. 15 U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Technology, Public Policy, and the Changing Structure of American Agriculture, OTA-F-285 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, March 1986), 91. 16 A.V. Krebs, "AmericaUs New TCentrally PlannedU Food Economy," Prairie Journal, Prairie Fire Rural Action (Des Moines, IA: Summmer 1992) :6-7. 17 Bruce W. Marion, The Organization and Performance of the U.S. Food System, (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1986), 295. 18 Frederick E. Geithman and Bruce Marion, "Testing for Market Power in Supermarket Prices: A Review of the Kaufman-Handy/ERS Study," in Competitive Strategy Analysis in the Food System, edited by Ronald W. Cotterill (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1993), 253. 19 U.S. Department of Agriculture, A Profile of Female Farmers in America, prepared for the Economic Research Service by Judith Z. Kalbacher, Rural Development Research Report no. 45 (Herndon, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, January 1985), 3. 20 U.S. Bureau of Census, Agricultural Economics and Land Ownership Survey, 1988. Also cited in Anne B.W. Effland , Denise M. Rogers, and Valerie Grimm, "Women as Agricultural Landowners: What Do We Know About Them?" Agricultural History 67, no. 2 (Spring 1985): 245. 21 U.S. Bureau of Census, 1990 Census of Population, United States Summary, table 3, Race and Hispanic Origin: 1990 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office), 3. 22 U.S. Bureau of Census, 1987 Census of Agriculture, Tenure and Characteristics of Operator and Type of Organization for All Farms and Farms Operated by Black and Other Races: 1987, 1982, and 1978, Geographic Area Series, Part 5: California State and County Data (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office), table 16, p. 20. 23 U.S. Bureau of Census, 1990 Census of Population, California, table 3, Race and Hispanic Origin: 1990, (Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office), 25. 24 U.S. Bureau of Census, 1987 Census of Agriculture, Summary by Market Value of Agricultural Products Sold: 1987, Geographic Area Series, Part 5: California State and County Data (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office), table 52, p. 112. 25 Susan Peck, California Farm Worker Housing, Working Group on Farm Labor and Rural Poverty, Working Paper #6, California Institute for Rural Studies (Davis, CA: CIRS, February 1989), 2. 26 Economic Report of the President, Transmitted to the Congress February 1994 (Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 1994), 115. 27 Lucy Gorham, "The Growing Problem of Low Earnings in Rural Areas," in Rural Poverty in America, edited by Cynthia M. Duncan (New York: Auburn House, 1992), 26. 28 International Labor Office, Yearbook of Labor Statistics, "Wages in Agriculture," (Geneva: International Labor Office, 1988), 891-898. Also cited in Linda Schmittroth, ed., Statistical Record of Women Worldwide, 1st ed. (Detroit/London: Gale Research Inc., 1991), table 441, p. 368. 29 Lucy Gorham, "The Growing Problem of Low Earnings in Rural Areas," in Rural Poverty in America, edited by Cynthia M. Duncan (New York: Auburn House, 1992), 25. 30 William P. OUHare, The Rise in Poverty in Rural America, Population Trends and Public Policy Series ISSN: 0736-7716, no. 15 (Washington D.C.: Population Ref. Bureau, July 1988), 1. 31 U.S. Department of Agriculture, The Economic Well-Being of Farm Operator Households, 1988-90, prepared for the Economic Research Service by Mary C. Ahearn, Janet E. Perry, and Hisham S. El-Osta, Agricultural Economic Report no. 666 (Herndon, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, January 1993), calculated from table, p. 8. 32 U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1990 Agricultural Chartbook (Washington, D.C.: Economic Research Service, April 1990), 6. 33 U.S. General Accounting Office, Hired Farmworkers: Health and Well- Being at Risk, Human Resources Division, report no. 92-46 (Washington, D.C.: GAO, February 1992), 25. 34 Doris P. Slesinger and Max J. Pfeffer, "Migrant Farm Workers," in Rural Poverty in America, edited by Cynthia M. Duncan (New York: Auburn House, 1992), 143. 35 Kai Siedenburg, "The Community Alliance with Family Farmers: Linking Agriculture with Social Justice and the Environment," Gaining Ground, 2, no. 1 (Winter 1994): 8. 36 Dean MacCannell, "Industrial Agriculture and Rural Community Degredation [sic]," in Agriculture and Community Change in the U.S., edited by Louis E. Swanson (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1988), 50. 37 Don Villarejo, "Environmental Effects of Living and Working In Agricultural Areas of California: Social and Economic Factors," in Health Concerns of Living and Working in Agricultural California, report of a conference held at the University of California at Davis (Davis, CA: Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, 1990), 23. 38 Don Villarejo, "Environmental Effects of Living and Working In Agricultural Areas of California: Social and Economic Factors," in Health Concerns of Living and Working in Agricultural California, report of a conference held at the University of California at Davis (Davis, CA: Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, 1990), 22. 39 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture and Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, Economic Indicators of the Farm Sector: National Financial Summary 1992, ECIFS 12-1 (Herndon, VA: U.S.D.A., January 1994), calculated from table 49. 40 Doris P. Slesinger and Max J. Pfeffer, "Migrant Farm Workers," in Rural Poverty in America, edited by Cynthia M. Duncan (New York: Auburn House, 1992), 139. 41 Clifton B. Luttrell, The High Cost of Farm Welfare (Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 1989), 120. 42 Economic Report of the President, Transmitted to the Congress January 1987 (Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 1987), 152. 43 Paul Faeth et al., Paying the Farm Bill: U.S. Agricultural Policy and the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture, World Resources Institute. (Washington, D.C.: WRI, 1991), 1. 44 Clifton B. Luttrell, The High Cost of Farm Welfare (Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 1989), ix. 45 Don Villarejo, "Environmental Effects of Living and Working In Agricultural Areas of California: Social and Economic Factors," in Health Concerns of Living and Working in Agricultural California, report of a conference held at the University of California at Davis (Davis, CA: Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, 1990), 20. 46 U.S. General Accounting Office, Hired Farmworkers: Health and Well- Being at Risk, Human Resources Division (HRD), report no. 92-46 (Washington, D.C.: GAO, February 1992), 18. 47 U.S. General Accounting Office, Hired Farmworkers: Health and Well- Being at Risk, Human Resources Division (HRD), report no. 92-46 (Washington, D.C.: GAO, February 1992), 28. 48 Dr. Marion Moses, testimony prepared for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Hearings on Amendments to the Federal Insecticide Fungicide Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) on 30 July, 1987, (San Francisco, CA: Pesticide Education Center), 3. 49 U.S. General Accounting Office, Hired Farmworkers: Health and Well- Being at Risk, Human Resources Division (HRD), report no. 92-46 (Washington, D.C.: GAO, February 1992), 13. 50 U.S. General Accounting Office, Hired Farmworkers: Health and Well- Being at Risk, Human Resources Division (HRD), report no. 92-46 (Washington, D.C.: GAO, February 1992), 3. 51 For example, parathion, one of the pesticides used today in place of DDT, is much more toxic to humans. Although parathion breaks down more quickly in the environment than older chemicals like DDT, it releases a chemical which is fifty-five times more toxic than the parent chemical when absorbed by human skin. For more on this subject see Robert F. Wasserstrom and Richard Wiles, Field Duty: U.S. Farmworkers and Pesticide Safety, World Resources Institute Study no. 3 (Washington, D.C.: WRI, July 1985), 1-3. 52 U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Subcommittee on Nutrition and Investigations. Hearing on Economic Concentration in the Meatpacking Industry. 101st Congress, 2nd session (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 20 July 1990), 5. 53 U.S. Congress, Hearing on H.R. 3160, House Committee on Education and Labor, Comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Reform Act, and the Fire at the Imperial Food Products Plant in Hamlet, North Carolina, (statement made by Rep. George Miller-CA)102nd Cong., 1st sess. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 12 September 1991), 16. 54 See, for example, the report published by the Committee on the Role of Alternative Farming Methods in Modern Production Agriculture, Board on Agriculture, National Research Council, Alternative Agriculture (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1989). 55 Jennifer Dunn, Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, 51, no. 3 (16 January 1993): S146. 56 "Inside the USDA, itUs a white male bastion," Headline in The Kansas City Star, 8-14 December 1991. 57 U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Statistical Analysis and Services Division, Federal Civilian Workforce Statistics: Demographic Profile of the Federal Workforce, PSO-OWI-5 (Washington, D.C.: Office of Personnel Management, 30 September 1992), calculated from tables on pages 80 and 104. 58 Permission to publish the specific data was withheld. 59 Suzanne Vaupel, Minorities and Women in California Agriculture, University of California Agricultural Issues Center Paper no. 88-2, (Davis, CA: UC Agricultural Issues Center, January 1988), 42. 60 Lawrence Busch and William B. Lacy, Science, Agriculture, and the --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (59) Thu 1 Dec 94 18:31 By: Lawrence F. London, Jr. To: All Re: 06:issue paper text (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa42 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:29:11 @3641/223 6797 06/06 ++++++++++ From: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu (Lawrence F. London, Jr.) @Subject: issue paper text (fwd) Date: 1 Dec 1994 18:31:14 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Politics of Research (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1983), 51. 61 National Science Foundation, Profiles--Agricultural Science: Human Resources and Funding, NSF 89-319, (Washington, D.C.: NSF, 1989), 19, 27. 62 U.S. Department of Labor, WomenUs Bureau, Facts on Working Women, report no. 89-4 (Washington, D.C.: Govt. Printing Office, December 1989), 5. Also cited in Linda Schmittroth, ed., Statistical Record of Women Worldwide, 1st ed. (Detroit/London: Gale Research Inc., 1991), table 540, p. 445. 63 U.S. Department of Labor, WomenUs Bureau, Facts on Working Women, report no. 89-5 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, December 1989). Also cited in Linda Schmittroth, ed., Statistical Record of Women Worldwide, 1st ed. (Detroit/London: Gale Research Inc., 1991), table 58, p. 40. 64 U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, An Assessment of the United States Food and Agricultural Research System, OTA-F-155 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, December 1981), 21. 65 Elizabeth Bird, "Reviewing Commitments to Sustainable Agriculture Research," Consortium News, Consortium for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, Center for Rural Affairs, no. 1 (1994): 3-4. 66 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dynamics of the Research Investment: Issues and Trends in the Agricultural Research System (Washington, D.C.: Cooperative State Research Service, July 1993), 47. 67 National Science Foundation, Profiles--Agricultural Science: Human Resources and Funding, NSF 89-319, (Washington, D.C.: NSF, 1989), calculated from tables 32 and 34, pp. 144, 147. 68 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Competitively Awarded Research and Education Grants: Fiscal Year 1993 (Washington, D.C.: Office of Grants and Program Systems, Cooperative State Research Service, January 1994). 69 Lawrence Busch and William B. Lacy, Science, Agriculture, and the Politics of Research, (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1983), 102. 70 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dynamics of the Research Investment: Issues and Trends in the Agricultural Research System, (Washington, D.C.: Cooperative State Research Service, July 1993), 48. 71 Elizabeth Bird, Center for Rural Affairs. Telephone conversation, July 25, 1994. 72 All information for section on food councils from: Linda Ashman et al., Seeds of Change: Strategies for Food Security for the Inner City, report prepared for the Southern California Interfaith Hunger Coalition (Los Angeles: SCIHC), 273-294. 73 National Sustainable Agriculture Coordinating Council, "The Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, Working Toward a New Direction in Federal Farm and Food Policy" (Goshen, NY: NSACC, n.d.), 1-9. 74 Gabriela E. Sosa, "Women and the Sustainable Agriculture Movement," Environmental Studies Thesis (Santa Cruz, CA: University of California, 1992). --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- ------- ---- TO ORDER ADDITIONAL ISSUE PAPERSJ---- If you would like to order additional copies of this paper or previous papers in the series, contact: Sustainability in the Balance Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 USA (408) 459-4140 voice, (408) 459-2799 fax _____ Raising Fundamental Issues* Patricia Allen and Debra Van Dusen _____ Expanding the Definition of Sustainable Agriculture Patricia Allen, Debra Van Dusen, Jackelyn Lundy, and Stephen Gliessman _____ What Do We Want to Sustain? Developing a Comprehensive Vision of Sustainable Agriculture Patricia Allen and Carolyn Sachs _____ The Human Face of Sustainable Agriculture: Adding People to the Environmental Agenda Patricia Allen * Supplies of printed copies are exhausted, but photocopies are available at cost, 50" each. Up to 10 copies each may be ordered free; additional copies are 50" each. Checks or money orders should be made payable to U.C. Regents. ---- FOR ADDRESS CHANGES ---- If you've received this paper in lieu of the person to whom it was addressed and would like to receive future information yourself, have this label removed from our mailing list, or add a colleague to our list, please complete and return the form below. __ Addressee unknown or moved; please remove from your mailing list __ Addressee moved; new address below __ Please put my name on your mailing list __ Please put my colleague on your mailing list Name: Title: Department: Organization: Street address/P.O. Box: City: State/Province: Zip Code: Country: Phone: Fax: Email: Please mail to: Debra Van Dusen CASFS University of California Santa Cruz, CA 95064 --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (60) Thu 1 Dec 94 18:39 By: Lawrence F. London, Jr. To: All Re: Sustainable Ag Programs (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa44 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu (Lawrence F. London, Jr.) @Subject: Sustainable Ag Programs (fwd) Date: 1 Dec 1994 18:39:48 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 05:37:35 -0800 >From: Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup) To: Multiple recipients of list SUSTAG-L Subject: Sustainable Ag Programs (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 08:04:54 EST >From: Gary Kazmer To: SUSTAG@beta Subject: Sustainable Ag Programs Tom: Hope it's OK to use the list address for this message, but I didn't know your personal e-mail address. I was recently visited by a potential student who was interested in locating a sustainable ag program (4 year, 2 year, alternative approach; all possibilities welcome). The College here at UConn does not offer such a program, but I thought you might be able to provide some helpful information in that regard. This individual had one year at Trinity College here in CT, and then when west to work with a CSA group in Colorado where she ran their small dairy operation for 1 year. Although I only spoke with her for an hour or so, she seems quite interested in sustainable ag as much as a lifestyle as an academic discipline. She wants to be more knowledgable and effective in producing food for community consumption. Any ideas where she might be able to pursue this interest? TIA Gary Kazmer Associate Professor of Animal Science --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (61) Thu 1 Dec 94 19:02 By: Director, Agricultural Experiment S To: All Re: Unsubscribe ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa46 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: AGRESCH@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (Director, Agricultural Experiment Stns.) @Subject: Unsubscribe Date: 1 Dec 1994 19:02:42 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <941201.103140.EST.AGRESCH@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU> Unsubscribe - Diana Jerkins agresch@uga.cc.uga.edu --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (62) Thu 1 Dec 94 22:35 By: Mike Fitzner To: All Re: IPM Coordinator Position at Michigan State University ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa89 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: MFITZNER@cite.esusda.gov (Mike Fitzner) @Subject: IPM Coordinator Position at Michigan State University Date: 1 Dec 1994 22:35:11 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Reply-To: mfitzner@esusda.gov ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Thu, 01 Dec 94 15:03 EST From: "Alice.Ellis" <22620PR2@msu.edu> Subject: IPM Coordinator Position at Michigan State University POSITION DESCRIPTION - INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY. This is a tenure-track faculty position jointly funded by MSU Extension (MSUE), Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES), Michigan Department of Agriculture and several growers associations. The individual will hold a 75% appointment in MSUE and 25% in MAES. The MAES appointment relates to the research coordination role of the position and does not carry expectations of the development of an individual research program in IPM. RESPONSIBILITIES: The responsibilities are to provide leadership for the development, coordination and implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) programs in Michigan. Michigan's agriculture has a strong minor crop pesticide component and it is essential that the Coordinator be capable of developing effective IPM programs in this area. Specific responsibilities include: Facilitate the development and implementation of statewide IPM extension and research programs in Michigan; Represent MSU on IPM issues at the state and national levels; Identify and solicit additional national, state and private sector funding for IPM activities; Coordinate and foster MAES research programs in IPM; Coordinate a USDA Special Research Grant in Improved Fruit Production Systems; Provide program direction and feedback into the evaluation of MSUE IPM district and area agents; Supervise a half-time Extension Associate on tasks related to: (a) Coordination of the development of IPM educational materials and programs; (b) Responsibility for Crop Advisory Team conference calls and newsletters; (c) Production of an IPM Newsletter; (d) Preparation of the MSU IPM annual report. Supervise a full-time Program Associate in fruit and vegetable IPM; Chair the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources IPM Task Force. The position is designed to interface with various MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources activities such as the Pest Diagnostic Laboratories, Crop Advisory Teams, Extension Bulletin reviews, the IPM Task Force and the Pesticide Education Coordinator. REPORTING: The IPM Coordinator will report to the Director of the Pesticide Research Center, and, through this position, to the Directors of MSUE and MAES. The Coordinator will also act as a faculty member in a tenure department. The Coordinator will consult regularly with an advisory committee consisting of representatives of the above units plus representatives from Michigan Department of Agriculture and grower groups (IPM Alliance) who are helping to support the position. EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A PhD is required with specialization in a pest science or agricultural/horticultural production discipline. The candidate must have strong experience and education in IPM. Prior experience in developing and maintaining IPM programs at the state level is desirable. Skills in both verbal and written communication will be important. Familiarity with Extension programs and approaches is also important. RANK: Assistant/Associate Professor (tenure-track). SALARY: Commensurate with current appointments in CANR at the Assistant/Associate Professor level. APPLICATIONS: Interested candidates should submit a letter of application, a current resume, a statement of past relevant experience in IPM, and the names of three people who will write letters of recommendation by the closing date to: Dr. Mark E. Whalon, Search Committee Chair, Pesticide Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1311. Tel: (517) 353-9430. FAX: (517) 353-5598. DEADLINE: Closing date for applications is January 15, 1995 or until a suitable canddiate is found. MSU is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution. Handicappers have the right to request and receive reasonable accommodation. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Extensi (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (63) Thu 1 Dec 94 17:10 By: AGPR To: All Re: Re: Romanian agriculture ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa8c @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: agpr@aol.com (AGPR) @Subject: Re: Romanian agriculture Date: 1 Dec 1994 17:10:57 -0500 @Sender: news@newsbf01.news.aol.com @Message-Id: <3blhlh$3gn@newsbf01.news.aol.com> In article , jbgFC@hamp.hampshire.edu (Joel B Gruver) writes: You may wish to check with the editor of American Vegetable Grower magazine. She may have some Romanian connections for you... Laurie Moses Editor American Vegetable Grower 37733 Euclid Ave Willoughby, OH 44094 tel: 216-942-2000 fax: 216-975-3447 Regards, Warren E. Clark President Clark Consulting International, Inc. 14N921 Lac Du Beatrice West Dundee, IL 60118-3115 Internet: AGPR@aol.com --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]America (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (64) Thu 1 Dec 94 23:08 By: MBURKE To: All Re: nafta (commerce dept) data ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aa91 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: MBURKE@MAINE.MAINE.EDU @Subject: nafta (commerce dept) data Date: 1 Dec 1994 23:08:13 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: ...I was not able to get this into any of these IGC conferences ("no write access"): 1. trade.news 2. dev.foodfirst 3. nacla.report 4. igc.netnews thought you might have some use for this information. signed...melvin burke, a very recent peacenetter. (feel free to pass this along as necessary...) "NAFTA FACTS": FIRST NAFTA RESULTS SHOW JOB LOSSES FOR AMERICANS THE OFFICIAL NUMBERS DON'T ADD UP The public has recently been misinformed by the Department of Commerce and media reports that distort the facts. The official Department of Commerce trade data for the first six months of NAFTA reveal a net loss of more than 21,000 jobs for American workers, and not their bogus claim of a 100,000 net job gain in their six month report on NAFTA (released August 18, 1994), NAFTA Facts: Summary of Trade Trends Under NAFTA: January-June, 1994. The major daily newspapers never bothered to check the Department's own numbers and arithmetic. They uncritically accepted and promulgated these new "Nafta Facts". Included among them were: The Los Angeles Times, "NAFTA--Glad We Met Ya", Aug. 20,1994 (lead editorial); the Washington Post, two articles by Hobart Rowen and Peter Behr, Aug. 21, 1994; and a Wall Street Journal article by Patrick Lucey, ambassador to Mexico, Aug. 30,1994. If you perform the proper calculations from the data in the Department of Commerce report, you will see that the U.S. balance of trade deficit with our NAFTA partners in the first six months of 1994 worsened by about $1.1 billion. That is to say that growth in our imports from NAFTA partners out-paced growth in our exports to them by $1.1 billion. How 100,000 new jobs were created by a worsening balance of trade deficit is a mystery not explained by the Commerce Department or by the press. The reason is that they simply got it wrong. The "trade-employment multiplier" calculated by pro-NAFTA economist Gary Hufbauer and Jeffery Schott is 19,600 American jobs (increase or decrease) for each $1 billion change (increase or decrease) in the balance of trade with our NAFTA trading partners. Thus, the deterioration in the U.S. trade balance with Mexico and Canada of $1.1 billion during the first six months of the agreement resulted in the loss of 21,560 jobs. ----------------------------------------------------------------- U.S.NAFTA Balance of Trade Summary Jan-June, 1993 vs. Jan-June, 1994 ($ Billions) United States 1993 1994 Change Exports to Canada 50.8 55.6 4.8 Exports to Mexico 20.9 24.5 3.6 Exports to NAFTA 71.7 80.1 8.4 Imports from Canada 55.9 61.4 5.5 Imports from Mexico 19.4 23.4 4.0 Imports from NAFTA 75.3 84.8 9.5 Balance of Trade -3.6 -4.7 -1.1 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Source: "Summary of Trade Trends Under NAFTA: Jan.-Jun., 1994", U.S. Department of Commerce, 8/18/94. On October 28, 1994, The Wall Street Journal published a twelve page review of NAFTA. The section included two articles of interest, one by NAFTA's renowned econometrician Hufbauer who was curiously silent about the Commerce 100,000 job gain and another by Jeff Faux, a NAFTA opponent, who correctly reported a net loss of more than 20,000 American jobs. Had the Department of Commerce, the press, and pro-NAFTA "economists" properly fulfilled their civic and professional duties, their headlines would have read, "First NAFTA Results Show Job Losses for Americans." It appears that we are a long way from the promised 170,000 new jobs to be created by NAFTA by 1995. Already, we can hear the "sucking sound" (Ross Perot). --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (65) Fri 2 Dec 94 1:21 By: Gabriel Hegyes To: All Re: CALENDAR: National Ag Ecosystem M (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aaad @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: ghegyes@nalusda.gov (Gabriel Hegyes) @Subject: CALENDAR: National Ag Ecosystem M (fwd) Date: 2 Dec 1994 01:21:45 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 30 Nov 1994 19:37:02 U >From: Jim Simon To: Multiple recipients of list NEWCROPS Subject: FWD>National Ag Ecosystem M Mail*Link(r) SMTP FWD>National Ag Ecosystem Manag We just received this annoucement and thought it may be of interest to those working in NEW CROPS. Jim S. -------------------------------------- Date: 11/27/94 9:35 PM >From: Chris Johannsen A National Agricultural Ecosystem Management Conference has been announced for the New Orleans, LA on December 12-15, 1995. The Conference is co-sponsored by the Conservation Technology Information Center, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A Wetland Management Workshop will precede the Conference with details on the Workshop to be released later. The intent of the Conference is to look at the inputs that are utilized by agriculture management and the resulting impact on the environment in a comprehensive manner. The main purpose is to put state of the art technology and information into a usable format so that local and state program managers, agrichemical dealers, consultants, farm managers and others can develop local initiative from the information presented. Abstracts are due January 15, 1995. Send the abstract on a single spaced 8 1/2 x 11" page and include name, title, affiliation, mailing address, telephone number and fax number. Accepted abstracts will be notified by February 15, 1995. Final papers for the Conference Proceedings will be need to be submitted by May 1, 1995. Published Proceedings will be distributed at the conference. All communications including abstracts should be sent to L.T. Kirschner, Program Chair, CTIC, 1220 Potter Dr., Room 170, West Lafayette, IN 47906-1383. Phone: (317) 494-9555, Fax: (317) 494-5969. --Chris J. Johannsen Interim Director Environmental Sciences and Engineering Institute 1158 ENTM Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1158 317-494-7054, johannsn@iies.ecn.purdue.edu ------------------ RFC822 Header Follows ------------------ Received: by hort.purdue.edu with SMTP;27 Nov 1994 21:35:42 U Received: from iies.ecn.purdue.edu (iies.ecn.purdue.edu [128.46.129.92]) by hermes.ecn.purdue.edu (8.6.9/3.5davy) with ESMTP id VAA18325; Sun, 27 Nov 1994 21:17:21 -0500 Received: from [128.210.64.210] (larsmac9.lars.purdue.edu [128.210.64.210]) by iies.ecn.purdue.edu (8.6.9/3.5davy) with SMTP id VAA17390; Sun, 27 Nov 1994 21:17:17 -0500 Message-Id: <199411280217.VAA17390@iies.ecn.purdue.edu> Date: Sun, 27 Nov 1994 21:17:17 -0500 >From: Chris Johannsen X-Sender: johannsn@iies.ecn.purdue.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: environment_mg@ecn.purdue.edu Subject: National Ag Ecosystem Management Conference --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (66) Thu 1 Dec 94 20:15 By: JMH2001 To: All Re: EAST NC SMALL DIVERSE FARM PLAN ?s ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aab2 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: jmh2001@aol.com (JMH2001) @Subject: EAST NC SMALL DIVERSE FARM PLAN ?s Date: 1 Dec 1994 20:15:06 -0500 @Sender: news@newsbf01.news.aol.com @Message-Id: <3blseq$5je@newsbf01.news.aol.com> I am 4-7 years from returning to NC. I have a 38 acre tract located on a four lane highway with a population of 75,000 within 30 miles. The property is located in a summer vacation/resort area. The land is high and wet. It can be easily drained. I intend to log the property this year. I will clearcut approximately 80% of the tract. I am exploring options for how to use the profit from the sale of the timber; pond digging, replanting of trees, field clearing and improving drainage are all possible options. My goal is to develop a "farm" based on some of the principles outlined in the book written by Doctor Booker T. Whatley, "How to Make $100,000 Farming 25 Acres". Products and services I would like to consider providing are; products such as crayfish, fire wood, sawn wood, blueberries, strawberries; value added products such as bird houses and rustic furniture; and finally services such as horse boarding, lawn care and tree trimming. Thank-you for your comments and suggestions, Jim Hamrick --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]America (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (67) Fri 2 Dec 94 1:27 By: dg26 To: All Re: kenaf ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aab3 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: David_L_GREENE@umail.umd.edu (dg26) @Subject: kenaf Date: 2 Dec 1994 01:27:36 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011942.AA16262@umailsrv1.UMD.EDU> Where would I find information for the production and marketing of kenaf? I would appreciate hearing from anyone on this. My email address is dg26@umd.edu and my snail mail address is David Greene, 700 Agriculture Center, Westminster, MD 21157. Phone (410) 848-4611 Thanks for your help, David --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (68) Fri 2 Dec 94 1:29 By: Gabriel Hegyes To: All Re: NCCES gopher and www sites (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aab4 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: ghegyes@nalusda.gov (Gabriel Hegyes) @Subject: NCCES gopher and www sites (fwd) Date: 2 Dec 1994 01:29:33 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Please note the changed addresses for North Carolina State University. As many of you know, SAN's databases and the sanet-mg archives are located at this site. ------------------ Gabriel A. Hegyes Sustainable Agriculture Network ghegyes@nalusda.gov ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 14:04:07 -0500 >From: Ray Kimsey To: extech-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: NCCES gopher and www sites Just a reminder. The NCCES gopher and web servers are now at gopher.ces.ncsu.edu and www.ces.ncsu.edu, respectively. Twosocks will have a pointer to these sites for a short while. -- Ray Kimsey Ray_Kimsey@ncsu.edu "Selfishness has never been admired..." Phone: 919.515.2983 C.S. Lewis Fax: 919.515.3777 --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (69) Fri 2 Dec 94 1:30 By: Russ Wetherill To: All Re: Unsubscribe ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aab5 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: wetheril@ccantares.wcupa.edu (Russ Wetherill) @Subject: Unsubscribe Date: 2 Dec 1994 01:30:46 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII UNSUBSCRIBE --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (70) Fri 2 Dec 94 3:04 By: Rick Exner To: All Re: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aad7 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:31:40 @3641/223 6952 01/11 ++++++++++ From: dnexner@iastate.edu (Rick Exner) @Subject: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:04:21 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011822.AA03635@iastate.edu> THE PRACTICAL FARMER QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF PRACTICAL FARMERS OF IOWA VOL 9, #3, FALL 1994 I N T H I S I S S U E 4-5 Annual Mtg Agenda & Workshops 5 Sustainable Ag. Achievement Award 6 PFI Membership Renewal 6 Shared Visions News Updates on Shared Visions Groups Description of New Materials IFS Hub Network Visits Iowa IFS Visit Eldora Group Clark Bredahl Talk to IFS in Greenfield 7 Flora Joins Rural Dev. Center 7 Group Updates 9 Materials Development 11 IFS Networking Conference 11 Farmers Meet, Share Concerns Rebecca Peterson 13 Community Presentation Clark BreDahl 16 Notes and Notices IPM Cooperators Sought CRP and Communities Mtg. Soil Health Conference IFGA Annual Meeting Large-Scale Hog Meeting 1995 Farm Bill Meeting Grazing Workshop Forestry Meeting New ICM Video Available ICM Conference PFI Summer Camp Completed 19 VISION 2020 Ann M. Schultz and Bill Silag 19 PFI Profiles: Mark and Connie Tjelmeland Gary Huber 22 A Visit to the Swedish Hog System Dan Wilson 22 PFI Sustainable Projects 1995 26 Buying Iowa-Grown Food Kamyar Enshayan 28 Unnecessary Fertilization Alfred M. Blackmer 29 Conserving Communities Wendell Berry 32 Footprints of a Grass Farmer Tom Frantzen 33 From the Kitchen Marj Stonecypher 33 PFI Membership Application Form 34 PFI Board of Directors and Staff Listing INTERNET READERS PLEASE NOTE: The text of this newletter as well as associated graphics files can be obtained through FTP with the username "anonymous.dnexner". To do so, your prompts and responses would be as follows (note that the computer name has recently changed from "vincent1" to "isum"): (the computer): (you): ftp isum.iastate.edu isum.iastate.edu username(): anonymous.dnexner isum.iastate.edu password (): enter your email address ftp> get filename ftp> quit This issue of the newsletter will reside in a subdirectory of the "anonymous" directory named "nlet9_3.txt". You can also list the files in the directories and perform other ftp functions. If you would like to leave a comment, there is a subdirectory for that purpose called "incoming," (or you can send us mail at dnexner@iastate.edu). A "lcd incoming" should get you there. Graphics accompanying the newsletter will be in encapsulated postscript (.eps filename extension), or some bitmapped format (.pcx, .tif, et cetera), or perhaps the metafile format (.cgm, wmf extensions). The bitmapped graphics take more bytes than, say, a metafile format would, but at present our software doesn't create the latter format with much accuracy. CELEBRATE PFI S TEN YEARS JAN. 6-8! Don t look now, but it s going to be a decade since Practical Farmers of Iowa came into being. On January 6-8, the annual PFI get-together will both celebrate the accomplishments of those ten years and look to the future. There will be presentations from nationally known figures, an old-time community dance, child care and youth activities, posters from PFI members, workshops, and more! Please pre-register by December 1 to secure your place in the anniversary festivities (see form on page 3). National Figures to Participate Some old friends will be returning to share their views and information. Featured speaker for the weekend is Wendell Berry, a writer of books and poetry that touch on agriculture, rural culture and values. His books include What Are People For?, The Unsettling of America, and many works of poetry and fiction (see page 29). His poems appeared in the first issue of this newsletter, in 1986. Wendell Berry farms near Port Elizabeth, Kentucky, with his wife Tanya, and he teaches at the University of Kentucky. He agreed to return to Iowa at the invitation of PFI members Richard and Sharon Thompson, who have known Berry for some years. His formal talk is to be on Conserving Communities. Along with rural sociologist Cornelia Flora, Wendell Berry will also take part in a workshop on sustainable rural communities, and he will be part of the ecumenical service Sunday morning. Paul Johnson is Chief of the United States Soil Conservation Service (soon to be the Natural Resources Conservation Service). Before taking that post he farmed and served in the Iowa House of Representatives, where he was instrumental in developing the consensus that led to passage of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act of 1987. That legislation has been a model nationally for its emphasis on research, education, and voluntary approaches to water quality. Johnson has been a PFI member since 1990. Mr. Johnson believes one of the most important challenges of our time is to learn to live in harmony with the land. Paul Johnson will give the Saturday morning address. He will also lead a morning workshop on the future of the Conservation Reserve Program, and he will sit in on Dr. Doug Karlen s afternoon workshop on soil quality. Alan Henning is a grazing consultant who, with his wife Gerardine, runs a 120-acre demonstration dairy farm near Madison, Wisconsin. Henning, who is originally from Illinois, learned the art of controlled grazing before it gained popularity in this country. After studying grass-based dairying in New Zealand, Asia, Russia, and Europe under a Fulbright Grant, Alan Henning farmed in New Zealand for sixteen years. In 1988 Henning returned to the United States to promote grassland farming and low-cost ideas through on-farm consulting. Henning has done work for several PFI farmers in northeast Iowa and was featured at the 1993 field day of Lynn and Linda Stock, near Waukon. His presentation is Creating Healthy Pastures. He will also lead the controlled grazing workshop. A Group Effort This PFI annual meeting is more ambitious than anything we ve undertaken before. It is only possible because of the wide membership involvement in planning and organization. There are people working on publicity, posters, youth activities, the dance, preregistration, and the ecumenical service, to name a few. Contact Donna Bauer (712-563-4084) if you want to lend a hand with the anniversary celebration. Donna has graciously agreed to serve as planning coordinator. Call for Camcorders Speaking of assistance, maybe you can help us record the talks and workshops. Videos of last year s featured speaker have been popular, and we would like to record all of this year s sessions if possible. If you have a camcorder and tripod that you would be willing to bring to the winter meeting, please give Donna a call. PFI Scrapbook Invites Contributions Do you have a PFI memory you would be willing to share? Over lunch on Saturday, we d like to show a few slides that recall the early days and development of Practical Farmers of Iowa. If you have a print photograph, we can have it made into a projection slide. Please contact Rick Exner (2104 Agronmy Hall, ISU, Ames, IA, 50011, 515-294-1923). A Family Affair! PFI is making this an event for every member of the family. Workshops include topics of broad interest. On Saturday, child care and youth activities will be provided for infant through high school. (When you preregister for youth activities you will receive more information on options for different ages.) On Saturday evening, the Pretty Good Band will play for a community dance, with caller Mary Jo Brearley teaching each dance. The Sunday morning ecumenical service will provide a space for everyone to join together before hitting the road Posters This year there will be an expanded poster session that will bring in PFI cooperators, Sustainable Projects participants, young people, and any other PFI member who has something to share. There will be a special hour for viewing posters and talking to poster presenters. If you would like to bring a poster, contact Gayle Olson (319-257-6967). Sustainable Agriculture Achievement Award This recognition has been awarded annually since 1989 to someone whose work has advanced the cause of profitable, environmentally-sound farming in Iowa. Past recipients have been Alfred Blackmer ( 89), John Pesek ( 90), Jerry DeWitt ( 91), Larry Kallem ( 92), and Richard Cruse ( 93). The Sustainable Ag Achievement Award was conceived as a way for PFI to honor those outside of the organization not as a way for the organization to pat itself on the back. However, as the tenth anniversary of PFI s founding approaches, the board of directors has unanimously made an exception to this policy in order to recognize the two people who, more than anyone else, deserve credit for Practical Farmers of Iowa and the farmer-based sustainable agriculture movement that we have in this state. Richard and Sharon Thompson, of Boone, will be the 1994 recipients of the Sustainable Agriculture Achievement Award. They served on the provisional board of directors of PFI, which met in their home. Dick was the organization s first president, and he now serves as treasurer and Executive Vice President. Please Pre-register by December 1! This is the most ambitious meeting we have ever organized, so we need to have a good idea who s coming. To make it easier on the PFI volunteers and save you time (and money) --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (71) Thu 1 Dec 94 22:04 By: Rick Exner To: All Re: 02:Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aad9 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:31:40 @3641/223 6952 02/11 ++++++++++ From: dnexner@iastate.edu (Rick Exner) @Subject: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:04:21 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011822.AA03635@iastate.edu> at the door, please send in your pre-registration before December 1! WEEKEND AGENDA Place: Ames, Starlite Village Best Western, 13th & Dayton Rd. FRIDAY (January 6) Evening: (Check-in) 7:00 Reception, grazing videos Saturday (January 7) 7:30 Registration Opens 8:30 9:15: Welcome by PFI President Vic Madsen 9:15 9:30: Sustainable Ag Achievement Award 9:30 10:30: Paul Johnson, Morning Address 10:30 11:00: Break 11:00 12:00: Workshops (select one) 12:00 1:30: Lunch and Retrospective 1:30 2:30: Alan Henning 2:30 3:30: Posters and Displays 3:30 5:00: Workshops (select one) 5:00 6:00: Break 6:00 7:00: Dinner 7:00 8:00: Wendell Berry, Featured Speaker 8:30 10:30: Community Dance SUNDAY (January 8) 8:30 10:00: Brunch on Your Own 10:00 11:00: Ecumenical Service 11:00 12:00: Business Meeting WORKSHOP SCHEDULE A Decade of CRP: Paul Johnson (moderator: Ron Rosmann) As the first Conservation Reserve Program contracts approach expiration, questions surround the program. How was it good? How was it harmful? Will it be continued in some form? As Chief of the SCS, Johnson oversees the agency that administers the CRP. He will share his insights and discuss with participants their own experiences. Sustainable Communities: Wendell Berry, Cornelia Flora (moderator: Gary Huber) How do communities build on their strengths to make a future? What are Iowans doing to strengthen their community through the Shared Visions program? Wendell Berry is a national voice for rural life. Cornelia Flora is a rural sociologist who has helped place the issue of community viability into the context of sustainable agriculture (see page 6). Gary Huber is PFI project director for Shared Visions: Farming for Better Communities. Cropping Systems for Integrated Farming: Mohammed Ghaffarzadeh, Rick Cruse (moderator: Rick Exner) Mo Ghaffarzadeh and Rick Cruse have been among the Midwest s most visible researchers, conducting on-farm research into berseem clover, narrow strip intercropping, and other technologies that reward the management and skills of Iowa producers. Come join them for a cutting edge, update and offer your own experiences and discoveries. Transition to Sustainable Farming Systems: Women s Experiences Regina Striegel, Irene Frantzen, Pam Cowles, Sheryl Wilson (moderator: Margaret Smith) What different roles do women assume when families make changes to alternative farming systems? How do these changes affect family relationships, personal stress levels, women s involvement in the farming operation, and interactions within the community? Controlled Grazing: Alan Henning (moderator: Tom Frantzen) Grazing can benefit almost any kind of stock. Alan Henning says whatever your livestock, the principles of good grazing are much the same. Come and discuss the ins and outs of putting pasture to work. Alternative Pork Production Systems: Dave Stender, Dan Wilson (moderator: Vic Madsen) Dave Stender is an Extension swine field specialist in northwest Iowa. His comments appeared recently in National Hog Farmer Magazine. Dan Wilson is a PFI member who pasture farrows in O Brien County. In September he travelled to Sweden to learn about low-stress confinement systems used there (see page 22). Soil Quality: Doug Karlen (moderator: Jeff Olson) The term soil quality is heard a good deal, but what do we really mean by it? What do we know about the benefits of soil microbial life, earthworms, and tilth, and how can we manage to achieve those benefits? Dr. Doug Karlen is a soil scientist with the USDA National Soil Tilth Laboratory who has worked on studies comparing farming systems including one that involved PFI members Dick and Sharon Thompson. He will describe what the Tilth Lab is learning about soil quality. PLEASE PRE-REGISTER BY DECEMBER 1! (please print) Name __________________________________________ Address ________________________________ City _________________________ State ______ Zip ______________ Phone ____________________ Pre-registration Fee: $5.00 per person or $10.00 per family =__________ (Registration at the door will be $10.00 per person & $15.00 per family.) Annual Membership Fee: $10.00 per person or family =__________ (There will be the usual $10 door charge for nonmembers and PFI memberships not current.) Please pay in advance for the meals you wish to eat at the Starlite Best Western Motel: Adults Children Sat. Noon Buffet _________ x $7.00 + _________ x $4.00 =__________ Sat. Pork Dinner _________ x $12.00 + _________ x $8.00 =__________ (Children under three eat free.) Check enclosed for Total =__________ Send this form to: Sharon Thompson, 2035 190th St., Boone, IA, 50036. For more information call: Sharon Thompson (515) 432-1560, or Rick Exner or Gary Huber (515) 294-1923. Motel Reservations (by Dec. 15): Starlite Village, Ames (515) 232-9260 or (800) 903-0009. (Request PFI group rate.) Check if interested in bringing a poster or display illustrating a sustainable agriculture idea or project: _________ If you will be bringing childen or are just interested in helping with youth activities or daycare, see the following: YOUTH ACTIVITIES REGISTRATION FORM Ages Infant through High School * Youth Activities on Saturday, Jan. 7 include:Farm Safety, Field Trips, Swimming, Craft and Activity Tables, Games, Snacks, Pizza Party, Youth Poster Presentations and Roundtable Talks, Skits, and Movies. * Child care will be provided for infants and toddlers on Saturday, 8:00 am 5:00 pm. We will send you more information about the youth activities and poster exhibit. Name and ages of youth: ____________________________________________________________ Name, address, and phone number of parents: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ _________ I would like to help with youth activities and/or child care. (You need not be a parent yourself to help.) _________ I will be bringing a poster or display for the youth exhibit. PFI FALL MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL! You will soon receive a letter from the President! Vic Madsen, PFI president, will be inviting PFI members to update their membership information and, if necessary, renew. Why is that information important? Well, did you get a look at the new PFI Member Directory? It s our newest networking tool for those who choose to take part 36 pages of who s doing what in sustainable farming. The contents come from the Membership Agreement and Information forms returned by PFI members. PFI still costs just $10 for a year s membership, or $25 for three years. Three years is a good renewal option for those of us who tend to be forgetful. But even if Vic s letter says you re current, you can still send in the information form and tell us to put you down for the next member directory. Don t forget! SHARED VISIONS This section of the newsletter includes: * updates on Shared Visions groups; * a description of Shared Visions materials; * a report on the Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) networking conference held in Iowa this summer; * an article on a visit by IFS conference participants to the Eldora area; and * a transcript of a talk by Clark BreDahl during a visit by IFS conference participants to Greenfield. GROUP UPDATES (Internet readers, see also graphics file svioamap.pcx) AG2020 Group (Poweshiek County) During meetings last February and March, the AG2020 group identified these areas of interest: 1) helping beginning farmers, 2) developing farm-community relationships, and 3) incorporating livestock into farming systems using alternative practices, such as rotational grazing. The group also identified the 46,646 acres in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in Poweshiek County as an opportunity to bring these areas of intrest together in a project. A goal for the group, subsequently noted in a letter to CRP owners, is to build a system in which Poweshiek CRP owners, new farmers, current farmers, and town and business people can work together to further the use of this land for pasture, hay, livestock, and organic crops, and to further the service and marketing of these products. This letter was sent in advance of a survey that was funded as a first step for the group s project. Of the 511 surveys sent to owners of CRP land in Poweshiek County, 356 were returned for a response rate of 70 percent. Sixty-three percent of respondents want information on alternative uses of their CRP land, and 9 percent, or 30 respondents, were interested in talking with beginning farmers. Survey responses provided information on the status of facilities needed to support livestock on CRP land in the county. For example, 71 percent have water sources on their CRP land, while 66 percent have livestock fences and 20 percent have useable livestock buildings. The group will use these data, other information from the survey, and input from resource persons to determine next steps. One possibility is to bring retired, soon to be retired, and non-farming landowners together with beginning or expanding small farmers to explore mutually beneficial options for the use of this land. Ag Committee, Davis County Development Corporation The Davis County group, which formed as an agriculture --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (72) Fri 2 Dec 94 3:04 By: Rick Exner To: All Re: 03:Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aada @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:31:40 @3641/223 6952 03/11 ++++++++++ From: dnexner@iastate.edu (Rick Exner) @Subject: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:04:21 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011822.AA03635@iastate.edu> committee of the Davis County Development Corporation, submitted a project application to the PFI board at the end of July. The application described educational initiatives to be conducted throughout the year: 1) sponsoring speakers on livestock production at the second annual Fall Classic Round-Up at the Davis County Fairgrounds in Bloomfield; 2) coordinating speakers and farm tours with the local high school vocational agriculture program; and 3) conducting a farmer mentoring program. The board reviewed the application at their September meeting and decided not to fund the project as submitted. The board recommended that the project be more focused and that the application specify the kinds of farming systems and practices to be encouraged. The group plans to meet with Shared Visions staff after harvest to consider the board s recommendations and determine next steps. Grundy-Hardin County Group The PFI board approved the Grundy-Hardin County group's project application for a community-based beginning farmer initiative in July. The group has begun developing the operational details of their initiative. The group has shifted its focus from finding owners of land who are interested in making their land available to a beginner to developing a process that will help insure the success of the beginners, thus increasing the comfort level of owners of land so that it is easier for them to become involved. Insuring the success of beginners requires careful selection and screening of candidates. Development plans for beginners will identify needed skills and outline steps to acquire these skills. Part of the process will involve documentating beginners resources and experiences for use during the matching process. Where a beginner is in terms of resources and experiences will affect the possible arrangements, ranging from working as hired help to entering into some kind of agreement to buy land. A multi-step matching process will involve identifying the goals of both parties, assessing compatibility on a personal level, and developing an agreeable business plan. Farming practices that will generate adequate income while keeping input costs under control will be detailed. Another component of the matching process may involve a mechanism to insure on-going communication between participants occurs so that matches proceed smoothly. Once these processs have been outlined, the group will approach others in the community for input in order to: 1) further refine the process; 2) get others in the community involved; and, 3) identify resources in the community that can be mobilized for the initiative. This step will be part of a Community Awareness Campaign. The group will next put their work into action through a Pilot Operation to prove the initiative in a real-life situation. Documenting the experience will allow for necessary adjustments in the initiative. These adjustments will help insure the achievement of the ultimate goal of the group the establishment of a system of opportunities and supports for beginning farmers that will become a normal part of the area s economic and social vitality. Neely-Kinyon Farm Project Committee (Adair County) The Neely-Kinyon Farm Project Committee was accepted into Shared Visions at the April 9 PFI board meeting. The group has initially been involved as a cooperator in the on-farm research network. The group will move from the Shared Visions on-farm research network into the community groups network at the end of this year s growing season. | SHARED VISIONS MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT Tamara Pfantz is currently assisting Shared Visions while a search is being conducted for a Community Groups Coordinator. Tamara has been developing three sets of materials a Program Manual, a Facilitator s Guide to Group and Project Development, and a Project Planning Workbook to further the implementation of Shared Visions. The Program Manual is a compendium of information about Shared Visions. Tamara has also developed flow charts for the Program Manual to clarify the processes involved, including the one on the top of the next page (Internet readers: graphics file proglink.pcx) titled, Shared Visions Program Linkages. Note that the lines connecting various groups and individuals in this chart are not lines of authority, as is typically the case with organizational charts, but represent linkages. At the top are the three collaborating organizations. Connected to PFI is the Shared Visions Advisory Council, which provides input on program operations and makes recommendations to the PFI Board on selecting groups and group projects. Arrows from each collaborating organization point to the Implementation Team, which is where the main work of the collaboration takes place. Immediately below the three collaborators and the Implementation Team are program staff. Gary Huber works half-time for PFI as the Program Director. Rick Exner works full-time for ISU Extension as the Farming Systems Coordinator. The Community Group Coordinator is a full-time position with ISU Extension for which a search is being conducted. Tamara Pfantz will begin work as the Program Evaluator when the Community Groups Coordinator position is filled, with this being a quarter-time position. Immediately below program staff are two large boxes representing the two networks being supported through Shared Visions. One represents the On-Farm Research Network, which has been the foundation of PFI almost since its inception. The fifteen boxes here represent the fifteen cooperators being supported through Shared Visions. The other large box represents the Community Groups Network, which is new. The four boxes at the top represent the groups now involved in Shared Visions, and the two sets of six boxes represent the sets of groups that are planned for 1995 and 1996. Finally, the boxes at the bottom left of the chart represent ISU Extension Field Specialists and County Extension Education Directors. ISU Extension is contributing important support to Shared Visions, both with leadershipat the state level and with the staff time of Extension Field Staff. This support, as well as that being given by the Leopold Center, demonstrate the commitment these collaborators have made to Shared Visions. | SHARED VISIONS HOSTS NETWORKING CONFERENCE Earlier this year the W.K. Kellogg Foundation added nine projects to those that were funded through the Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) Initiative last year (Internet readers: see graphic file svnation.wmf). Three to four representatives from each of these 18 projects participated in a networking conference held in Ames during the first week of August. Networking conferences occur twice a year to encourage mutual learning and the development of strategies and skills for use in each of our projects. The conference last summer in Montana focused on developing leadership skills. The conference in Washington, D.C., last February focused on policy issues. This summer s conference focused on community building. Participants used a variety of techniques to explore community. Michael Cotter, a story teller and farmer from Austin, Minnesota, helped the group understand the importance of telling stories in exploring community. His input led into an exercise where participants told stories of their experiences with community. Another powerful exercise involved letting people of different voices talk among themselves about what it was like to be a part of that voice while the rest of the participants listened. Learning about what people faced by virtue of who they were helped understanding the importance of diversity for healthy community. Participants also visited the Dick and Sharon Thompson farm to learn about doing on-farm research and about developing relationships between non-profit groups and land-grant universities. They next divided into three separate groups to visit Shared Visions communities Greenfield, the Eldora area, and Poweshiek County to learn more about the efforts of these groups at community building. The Greenfield visit began with a breakfast and a discussion among local leaders about farming and rural communities. The group also visited the Greenfield square and the Neely-Kinyon Research Farm. The Eldora area visit involved a stop at the Hardin County courthouse, a breakfast and discussion at a rural church in the area, and a visit to the Glen Draper farm. (See the following article for a description of this visit.) The Poweshiek County visit included a stop at a local CRP demonstration site, a breakfast at a local Bed & Breakfast business, and a visit to the Russ Hughes farm. | FARMERS MEET, SHARE CONCERNS by Rebecca Peterson (Editors note: The following article is reprinted with permission from the Saturday, August 6, 1994 edition of the Iowa Falls Times-Citizen.) Farmers from the southeast to the northwest, and everywhere in between, have just one concern in mind: to be good stewards of the land, feed the nation and earn a decent living. Thursday, three dozen of them ate breakfast at the Ivestor Church in rural Eldora, findin out just how alike farmers are no matter what they produce. Afterwards, they drew their chairs in a circle and discussed shared concerns about trends in agriculture. It seems the Arkansas rice growers are just as worried as Iowans about the increasing age of the average farmer (over 50 in both states). The sweet corn and green bean farmers in Oregon are afraid corporate farming will lay waste to small towns. The Kentucky dairy and tobacco farmers aren t sure they can earn a decent living any more producing traditional --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (73) Fri 2 Dec 94 3:04 By: Rick Exner To: All Re: 04:Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aadb @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:31:40 @3641/223 6952 04/11 ++++++++++ From: dnexner@iastate.edu (Rick Exner) @Subject: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:04:21 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011822.AA03635@iastate.edu> products. There were cattle ranchers from Washington, trout producers from North Carolina and winegrape growers from California as well, all trying to do something about the state of agriculture in the breadbasket of the world. They were three dozen farmers, representing 18 agriculture groups which recently received W.K. Kellogg Foundation grants, joined by representatives of the Kellogg Foundation from Battle Creek Mich. Other farmers from the Chesapeake Bay area of Massachusetts, Ohio, Montana, Nebraska, and Georgia came, too. They were among those who traveled to Ames to attend the Kellogg Foundation s Building Community conference. As a side-trip, one third of the conference-goers came to Hardin County to share discussion, and also to hear more about a group of Hardin County farmers and ag professionals who won a Kellogg grant themselves. Farmers from around the country were struck by the numbers presented to them by Hardin County Extension Director Jim Johnson. Between 1987 and 1992 the number of Hardin County farms in the 260-499 acre range in size decreased from 265 to 206. While large farms increased in numbers, the overall number of farms here declined from 1,065 to 986. Just as alarming, the number of farmers who list farming as their primary source of income dropped by more than 10 percent in just five years. These farmers from the mountains and clay soils of other regions of the nation had thought that Iowa and the cornbelt represented the pinnacle of successful agriculture. They were surprised to learn that the family farm is indeed threatened here and beginning farmers find it nearly impossible to find the capital for the huge start-up costs associated with farming. While there are government programs that offer financial assistance to beginning farmers, a handful of Hardin County farmers are trying to do more. The goal of the group is to, first, develop a handbook for new farmers that covers everything a newcomer needs to know to be financially successful. Secondly, the group will try to match young farmers with established farmers who might be willing to share equipment in exchange for labor, or who might sell a farm on contract, for example. The group offered suggestions and took notes on the points they might take home to their own organizations. One final point farmers from around the country agreed upon local ownership and preservation of family-farm lifestyle is a community issue. It is a cause that all economic development interests, merchants and residents must join if they wish to preserve the small-town way of life, representatives said. And when they left, these varied farmers left gifts representative of their farms apples from the 1994 Washington crop, rice from Arkansas, cherries and blueberries from Michigan, Georgia pecans and mayhaw jelly, smoked brown trout from North Carolina and wheat from Montana. Perhaps they took home a better understanding of the common threads among U.S. farmers. Location of Integrated Farming Systems Projects: 1. Arkansas - Grantee: Arkansas Land & Farm Development Corporation 2. California (California Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture) - Grantee: University of California-Santa Cruz 3. Kansas (The Heartland Network) - Grantee: Kansas Rural Center 4. Montana/Idaho (Ag Options Network) - Grantee: Alternative Energy Resources Organization 5. Pennsylvania (Regional Infrastructure for Sustaining Agriculture) - Grantee: Rodale Institute Research Center 6. Iowa (Shared Visions: Farming for Better Communities) - Grantee: Practical Farmers of Iowa 7. Minnesota (Stewardship Farming Program) - Grantee: Land Stewardship Project 8. Ohio (The Darby Project) - Grantee: The Nature Conservancy 9. Wisconsin (Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial) - Grantee: The University of Wisconsin 10. Nebraska - Grantee: Center for Rural Affairs 11. Maryland (Future Harvest: Farming for Profit and Sustainability) - Grantee: Cheasapeake Bay Foundation 12. Massachusetts (Conneticut River Valley Community Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture) - Grantee: Hampshire College 13. Kentucky (Kentucky Leadership for Agricultural and Environmental Sustainability) - Grantee: Community Farm Alliance 14. North Carolina - Grantee: North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers 15. Oregon (Marketing and Production Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture) - Grantee: Oregon State University 16. Michigan (Michigan Integrated Food and Farming Systems) - Grantee: Michigan Agricultural Stewardship Association 17. Georgia (The Southwest Georgia Alternative Agriculture Project) - Grantee: University of Georgia 18. Washington (A Holistic Decision-Making Model for the Development of Sustainable Crop/Livestock and Natural Resource Systems) - Grantee: Washinton State University SHARED VISIONS COMMUNITY WORKSHOP PRESENTATION GREENFIELD, IOWA AUGUST 4, 1994 Clark BreDahl (Editors' note: This is text from a presntation by Clark BreDahl during the visit to Greenfield. Clark farms and is on the Neely-Kinyon Farm Project Committee.) To share a vision, each of us must first have a vision of our own; a vision of where we would like our business to be a few years hence; a vision of what we would like our community to look like, and a perspective as to where our community will fit into the grand scheme of things years down the road. Finally, after we have planted those visions clearly in our minds, we need a plan as to how we will achieve our goals....Without a plan, our visions will never become realities. >From an agricultural perspective, life has perhaps changed more in the past twenty years than it did in the previous two hundred of our nation s existence. And though technology has been frequently mentioned as the culprit, I think it has to be viewed as a two-edged sword that can either help or hinder us. One thing is certain. Technology will not go away. If we do not use it, others will. The key is getting technology and research to solve problems for us, rather than create new ones. It follows then that to come up with the right answers, we must first ask the right questions. That is where a Shared Visions approach can help. When I survey the changes that have occurred in farming since I came back to the area in 1974, I don t notice the technological or mechanical differences nearly as much as I do the structural changes. When we talk about ninety percent of all fresh vegetables consumed in the United States now being grown in the San Juaquin Valley of California, rather than on scattered farms throughout each state in the Union, that is a fundamental, structural change of overwhelming proportions. When we talk about chicken surpassing pork and beef to become the most popular meat in the U.S., and six huge conglomerates producing seventy-five percent of all consumption and controlling all facets of production and processing from hatch to retail meat counter that is fundamental. When we talk about California taking over as the leading dairy producing state, and over 50 percent of all dairy production in this country now coming from herds of five hundred head or more that s fundamental. How many farmers in Adair County still raise chickens? How many farmers in Adair County still milk cows? And how many of you came from farm homes like mine where forty years ago the egg check and cream check used to provide the lion s share of our family s spending money? That s fundamental change. How many times in recent years have you heard someone say, Somebody s going to farm the land and raise the livestock...What difference does it make who it is? To me it makes all the difference in the world regarding the quality of life we in rural Iowa will have. For us, people and prosperity may be inseparable. I think we will not have one without the other. If I am still a farmer 20 years from now perhaps by some stroke of luck even a wealthy farmer but my wife has to drive thirty miles for groceries, sixty miles to buy parts for my tractor, twenty miles to the nearest church or school, seventy-five miles to the nearest doctor, hospital or movie theater, or five miles down the road to the nearest neighbor s house, then our own personal financial success will have been a mighty hollow victory. If at that time the local retirement home is the largest employer in town, as it is already in some, we will know we have probably passed the point of no return as a viable economic community. Our federal government has struggled for fifty years to implement policies to aid in the conservation of our soil and water resources. And regardless of how effective you think those programs have been, it seems to me they hve continually overlooked the most obvious solution the pride involved in maintaining families on the land. I continually marvel that where there is a plan to hand the land down from generation to the next, there is also a plan, usually well implemented, to hand the land down in as good or better shape than it was received. I heard it once said that, the difference between family farms and corporate agriculture is that corporations don t have grandkids! It s a simplistic definition, but it s a profound impact statement. No question about it, our most valuable crop or resource is not our corn, beans, hogs or cattle, or even our rich fertile soil. It is our young people. And unfortunately they are also our biggest export. We raise bright kids around here. We have good schools, dedicated teachers; parents, friends and churches who teach real values, and communities where a strong work ethic is ingrained early as --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (74) Fri 2 Dec 94 3:04 By: Rick Exner To: All Re: 05:Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aadc @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:31:40 @3641/223 6952 05/11 ++++++++++ From: dnexner@iastate.edu (Rick Exner) @Subject: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:04:21 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011822.AA03635@iastate.edu> part of our heritage. Talk about producing a product the market wants....The big cities gobble up our best and brightest as fast as we can ship them out and usually pay a handsome premium for quality! I m convinced some of those young people would like to stay or return to this area s farms and small business communities. Many, I think, would even take a substantial pay cut to do it. But when you tell a young couple that in addition, they are going to have to each hold down two full time jobs (as some economists have suggested as a route to get into farming), the city usually wins the competition hands down. Environmental concerns and interest from outside as well as within farming about sustainable agriculture could have a tremendous impact on the survival of family farms and rural communities. I think we need to make our plans accordingly. What started out as low input farming didn t stay that way very long. People came to quickly realize there is no such thing as low input farming. The best we can do is substitute inputs: labor for capital, management for capital, marketing skills for production volume. The list could be lengthy. The exciting part is that there are countless ways we can foster economic growth and efficiency on family farms and in small communities without investing millions of dollars at a time to do it. Maybe it shows my conservative streak, but I like that approach much better than the more common corporate philosophy these days of substituting capital for virtually every other tool in the production chain. I am very excited about the prospects for research, education and demonstration at both the Neely and Armstrong farms here in southwest Iowa. We have strong individual and community support, combined with Iowa State University s technology and strong financial commitment. These farms and their accompanying facilities will be powerful tools to give us all the right answers. Hopefully a powerful vision for the future of this area s farms and communities will first help us ask all the right questions. | CORNELIA FLORA JOINS RURAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER Cornelia Flora is the new Director of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, located at Iowa State University. This is one of four such centers and covers the twelve North Central states. Previously she was head of the Sociology Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, a University Distinguished Professor at Kansas State University, and a program officer for the Ford Foundation. She has consulted for the Northwest Area Foundation s sustainable agriculture initiative, in which PFI has been involved the last five years. As past president of the Rural Sociological Society, she is author and editor of a number of recent books, including Rural Communities: Legacy and Change, Rural Policies for the 1990s, and Sustainable Agriculture in Temperate Zones. Flora was instrumental in developing the 13-part PBS video course on rural America and was also part of the course team for the PBS series Americas, which focused on Latin America. She is currently chair of the Technical Committee of the Sustainable Agricultural and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Project. She has published over 150 book chapters and articles, primarily on rural development in the United States and developing countries, is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and serves as the American Sociological Society s liaison to that orgnization. Her current research addresses alternative strategies of community development and the relation of those strategies to different forms of community organization and leadership. Cornelia Flora will take part in the workshop on sustainable communities at the PFI winter meeting. The mission of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) is to encourage rural development research and education programs to improve the social and economic well-being of rural people in the 12-state north central region of the U.S. The NCRCRD also provides leadership by identifying, developing, and supporting programs on the vanguard of emerging issues. | NOTES AND NOTICES IPM Cooperators Sought If you re bugged by bugs, then take note. As reported in the summer newsletter, PFI will cary out on-farm research and demonstration of Integrated Pest Management in corn and alfalfa. There are still openings for cooperators in this project. Contact Rick Exner at 515-294-1923. Conference Set for Dec. 2-3: The CRP and the Future of Iowa Communities Farmers and other rural citizens who are concerned about the future of their communities will be gathering in southwest Iowa for a two-day grassroots conference this December. The conference, entitled: The Conservation Reserve Program and The Future of Rural Communities, is being sponsored by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) and Southwestern Community College (SWCC). It will be held on the campus of SWCC in Creston, IA (the northwest part of town) on Friday and Saturday, December 2 and 3, 1994. The public is encouraged to attend. In addition to attending workshops on farm practices and government policies, participants in the conference will have the opportunity to give input on the 1995 Farm Bill, President Clinton s Ag Summit, and The National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture during an open-microphone session on Friday evening. Several of the conference workshops will be about practical alternatives for highly erodible land, such as that enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. They include: Rotational Grazing, Low-input Cropping Systems, Organic Farming, and government farm programs that enable farmers to start a crop rotation without losing program benefits. The conference will also feature workshops on Sustainable Start-Up Strategies for Beginning Farmers, Future Legislation Regarding Corporate Hog Facilities, Family Farm Loan Programs, and Policy Recommendations for Government Agencies. The workshop speakers and panelists represent a variety of organizations, networks, and institutions. For more information about the conferece, including a brochure, registration materials, and a list of featured speakers, people can contact Iowa CCI at (515) 266-5213. Conference fees for those who register by November 23rd are $6 per person and $10 per family. After November 23rd, the fees are $10 per person and $15 per family. Soil Health Conference Set Soil Health: The Basis of Current and Future Production is the title of a Conference to be held December 6-7, in Decatur, Illinois. Researchers and farmers will address a variety of topics and issues in presentations and panel discussions. The program is designed to help participants understand the challenges of measuring soil health and the practical opportunities for improving soil health. Keynote speakers are Tom Frantzen, past president of Practical Farmers of Iowa, and Pete Nowak, professor in the Department of Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin Madison and a soil and water conservation specialist. Jim Kinsella, an Illinois no-till farmer will speak at the Tuesday dinner. Other presenters include microbiologist John Doran, inventor of the soil health test kit, and earthworm researcher Eileen Kladivko. The conference will conclude with a demonstration and discussion of the soil health test kit on Wednesday afternoon. Registration is requested by November 18. Cost is $45 per person until the 18th, and $65 thereafter. To register, send your check to: Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, ISAN, P.O. Box 410, Greenview, IL 62642 (217-968-5512). You must make your own arrangements for overnight accommodations. The conference will take place at the Holiday Inn Conference Hotel, U.S. Route 36 West & Wycles Rd., Decatur, IL 62522 (217-422-8800). IFGC Annual Meeting November 29 in Des Moines The annual meeting of the Iowa Forage & Grasslands Council will be November 29, 1994, at the Crystal Inn in Des Moines, which is located directly across from the airport on Fleur Drive. Some presentation titles include Early Challenges of Short Duration Grazing and Preventing Livestock Losses to Predators. The registration fee is $15. For more information call Joan O Brien at 1-800-383-1682. November 30 Conference on Large-Scale Hog Production in Des Moines The Church Land Project is sponsoring a conference titled Community, Church, and Large-Scale Hog Production: Theology and Resolution of Hog Production Conflicts in Rural Communities in Des Moines on November 30, 1994. The conference is intended to give pastors, church workers, and others tools to address the issue of intensive hog production constructively. Limited space is available. The registration fee is $9 until November 18, which includes meals, and $15 at the door, which does not include meals. For information call Joe Dever at 515-270-2634. December 7 Conference on 1995 Farm Bill in Mason City Changes and Choices for Agriculture and Rural Communities: Impacts of the 1995 Farm Bill will be held Wednesday, December 7, 1994, at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) in Mason City. Speakers include: Bob Nsh, USDA Under Secretary for Community/Rural Development; Marty Strange, Center for Rural Affairs; Merlin Plagge, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; Ann Robinson, Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group. Sponsors include the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), ISU Extension, and the ISU Outreach Center on the NIACC campus. Registration fee is $35 through November 28 and $40 thereafter. For questions about the program agenda, call Judith Gildner (515-294-6257) or Rich --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (75) Fri 2 Dec 94 3:04 By: Rick Exner To: All Re: 06:Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aadd @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:31:40 @3641/223 6952 06/11 ++++++++++ From: dnexner@iastate.edu (Rick Exner) @Subject: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:04:21 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011822.AA03635@iastate.edu> Pirog (515-294-1854). For questions about registration, call the NIACC registration desk (515-421-4358). January 11 Grazing Workshop Set for Dordt College in Sioux Center Dordt College is the location of a grazing workshop to be held January 11, 1995. Ben Bartlett, a district dairy/livestock specialist for Michigan State University, will be the keynote speaker and will discuss his experiences with grazing management in Michigan s upper peninsula. There will be a $15 registration fee. For more information call Joel DeJong at 712-276-2157. January 17 Forestry Meeting for Farmers in Ames The Iowa Association of Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioners, in cooperation with a variety of agencies and organizations, will sponsor a forestry shortcourse for farmers on January 17, 1995, titled Alternative Opportunities for Farmers: Opening New Markets. The shortcourse, which will be held in the Scheman Building at the Iowa State Center in Ames, will feature a variety of concurrent sessions and keynote presentations. Registration fee is $28 through January 10 and $35 thereafter. For program information, call Eldon Weber (515-294-0893). For registration information, call Deb Schmidt (515-294-5961). New ISU Video on Integrated Crop Management Available A new 18-minute video on Integrated Crop Management (ICM) is available from Iowa State University. The video provides an overview of ICM and is aimed at producers, crop consultants, and agribusiness retailers. Although the video is free, there is a shipping charge of $2.19 for in-state orders and $2.85 for out-of-state orders. Send a check with orders to ISU Extension Distribution Center, 119 Printing and Publication Building, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011-3171. Two-Day ICM Conference Set for Ames An Integrated Crop Management (ICM) conference is set for Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 in the Scheman Building at the Iowa State Center in Ames. The general session will focus on site specific management. Workshops will cover results of innovative research and provide hands-on laboratory sessions. Audiences are agribusiness personnel, crop consultants, soil conservationists, farm managers, agronomists, and persons interested in crop production and protection. Sponsors are Iowa State University Extension and the departments of Agronomy, Entomology, Plant Pathology, and Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering. Fees, which include refreshments and lunch for both days, are $100 if postmarked by November 18 and $110 thereafter. For information call Elaine Hall (515-294-6329). Ponds, Prairies, and PFI Summer Camp a Success Twenty-four youth and six parents attended the three-day Ponds, Prairies and PFI camp at the Iowa 4-H Education and Natural Resources Center in August. Comments from boththe parents and the youth were positive. For example, one adult noted, Even as a farmer, I learned things I never learned in school about agriculture and how things are interrelated. Most of the young people simply noted, It was fun. Special thanks to Shelly Gradwell, Molly Havlik, Mike Abbas, and Dan Brouse for making the camp a success. | VISION 2020 Ann M. Schultz and Bill Silag (Editors note: Ann Schultz is Project Coordinator and Bill Silag is Associate Coordinator of VISION 2020, which is part of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation s Food Systems Professions Education Initiative.) VISION 2020 started over a year ago when Kellogg challenged all universities with Colleges of Agricultures to accept their request for proposals for creating a new vision for Food Systems Professions Education (FSPE). Each proposal had to include a design for the visioning process and a partner institution. Iowa State University established a partnership with the Iowa Community Colleges and their partnership was ultimately selected to receive the grant, as well as eleven other land-grant institutions. Practical Farmers of Iowa was asked to become involved with the project as an external member. Maria Vakulskas Rosmann, as a representative of PFI, attended a symposium in Bloomington, MN, where all twelve institutions met to discuss the project. A Steering Committee made up of twenty members, including Mark Tjelmeland of PFI, will act as an advisory board and a link to their representative groups. Mark farms near McCallsburg in central Iowa. (See the PFI Profile that follows.) VISION 2020 is designing a visioning process and encourages all interested entities to participate in this process. In order to be a valid vision, we need your help and support. Opportunities to help include forums at each of Iowa s fifteen community colleges from 7:00 to 9:30 pm on Monday, January 9, 1995, as well as a focus group interview of PFI members that will occur sometime next February. We will be working with the PFI leadership to facilitate your involvement in these forums and the focus group interview. Also, you can contact Ann Schultz or Bill Silag directly for more information by writing to VISION 2020 at 1126 Agronomy Hall, ISU, Ames, IA, 50011, or by calling 515-294-2092. | PFI PROFILES: MARK, CONNIE AND JOHNNY TJELMELAND Gary Huber The first thing that comes to mind is Johnny, Mark Tjelmeland said, glancing to the bright, happy toddler playing on the kitchen floor. I wonder what the future will hold for him and other kids. Mark s thoughts of children were in response to a question about why he is involved with VISION 2020, a project aimed at planning an education system to prepare people for the food systems of the next century. (See the previous article.) Mark and Connie Tjelmeland clearly feel that family is an important part of the farming life they have chosen. A whole lot of life s lessons can be learned by working alongside mom and dad on the farm, Connie noted. For example, our chickens are a good teaching tool, she continued. They re safe for children to be around, and when Johnny is with me when I take care of them, there are so many things he learns about. Johnny s fondness for the chickens was obvious as we walked around yard. Mine, he noted with the innocence of a two-year-old as he pointed to the hens near the fenceline. Connie continued, For example, he is learning to count. As I pick eggs I count them out loud, and he repeats after me, six, two, four . The chickens are also a nice way to teach a child about working together as a family, as well as about appreciating animals. Mark and Connie farm 600 acres of row crops near McCallsburg, which is about 20 miles northeast of Ames. They have been PFI members since the group started ten years ago, though Mark noted, We re not nearly as far along as a lot of the PFI farmers. Our biggest success, Mark continued, and the thing we are most proud of is our efforts at nitrogen management. We ve been using the late spring nitrate test ever since it came out. We put on half about 70 pounds pre-plant with the herbicide, and we use the test to see if we need to sidedress. In the seven years they ve used the test, twice no additional nitrogen was needed and twice the nitrogen they applied pre-plant was essentially gone, meaning they needed to sidedress at a full rate. It works both ways, Mark noted. In wet years it tells you if you need to up your sidedress rates, and in dry years it tells you if you don t need any additional nitrogen. As a check, the Tjelmeland s have put on additional nitrogen even though the test said none was needed, and they were unable to find any yield differences. I have a major degree if confidence in the test, Mark continued, and it has lots of potential, but it is way underutilized. Other row crop practices are fairly typical of Iowa farmers. Tillage involves chisel plowing or disking depending on the field, using a pre-plant herbicide for grass control, and banding or broadcasting for broadleaf weeds depending on the situation. Mark and Connie also have 20 acres in CRP, and their long-term plans for this land are not as typical. A small area near their buildings was bid into CRP under the wetlands provisions, and here they want to restore a wetland. One tile through the pothole has already been plugged. They have since identified another, which they plan to replace with solid tile. The hoped-for result would be a nice, easily observable wildlife area. An additional hope of Connie s, which probably is an outgrowth of her work in environmental education, is to see the wetland used for educational purposes for local young people. An appreciation for the environment and the importance of creating wildlife habitat should be encouraged in young people she noted, as well as an understanding of why it is important not to use every square inch of land for production. The Tjelmelands other CRP land is in switchgrass, and for this Mark and Connie are thinking about grazing options. They ve bought some holstein steers to get some experience with cattle, and their goal is to maintain these CRP acres in forage through grazing. As Mark noted, With all the enjoyment we ve had out of these CRP acres, we d like to try to maintain some of that diversity. The Tjelmelands have added diversity to their operation this year with 100 laying hens. They are selling eggs to local customers, and they are giving some thought to marketing eggs on a wider basis, taking advantage of the fact that their chickens are free-range and are not fed antibiotics. They ve done some investigating of USDA requirements for marketing through area retail outlets. However, Connie noted, We need to see if there is a market that would --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (76) Fri 2 Dec 94 3:04 By: Rick Exner To: All Re: 07:Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aade @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:31:40 @3641/223 6952 07/11 ++++++++++ From: dnexner@iastate.edu (Rick Exner) @Subject: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:04:21 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011822.AA03635@iastate.edu> support the extra work required. Connie and Mark, like a lot of Iowa farmers, are uncertain about the future of raising hogs. They typically buy feeder pigs twice a year in early March and again in July or August and finish them out. For the group they have now, they figured they needed $36 per hundredweight to get a $7 return to labor and management per head. Right now it doesn t look like they ll recover their costs. They aren t sure what they ll do next spring, though Mark notes that the facilities they have can be used fo something else if buying feeder pigs doesn t pencil out. Mark and Connie both pointed to the key role their parents have played in helping them get established in farming, as well as the continuing role they play. They noted that there were five adults involved in the harvest this fall Mark and Connie, Mark s mom and dad, and Connie s mom. There is something about having all those people involved that is pleasing, Connie explained. Mark continued by noting, Intergenerational farming is a real valuable asset, but it s often lost because of difficulties in working out relationships. Mark noted how he and his dad had gone to a seminar on intergenerational farming where the speaker told how time and again former students would come to talk, sometimes nearly in tears, about how they had gone home to farm, but things didn t work out. The speaker went on to note the importance of realistic expectations involving matters such as shared management and meshing the new knowledge of the sons or daughters into the practices of the operation. Careful listening was also stressed as a key need for successful intergenerational farming. We and our parents have taken what he said to heart, Mark noted, and it has really been a help. The Tjelmeland s recognize this is a time of transition for farming, but they find many pleasures in their chosen way of life. Farming will probably never be real profitable, Mark noted, but benefits like the enjoyment of nature and the environment make up for some of what it lacks in terms of money. Mark and Connie also feel strongly about being engaged in efforts to try to shape a better future for the next generation of farmers. The university has an important role in helping enhance some of the better aspects of life in rural Iowa, added Mark in response to why he is involved in VISION 2020. | A VISIT TO THE SWEDISH HOG SYSTEM Dan Wilson, Paullina (Editors note: Brothers Dan and Colin Wilson and their wives Lorna and Carla farm in O Brien County, in northwest Iowa, where they raise hogs using both pasture farrowing and some confinement.) On Sept. 19, 1994, nine farmers and university personnel from Iowa and Minnesota, along with our tour organizer, Marlene Halverson, flew out of Minneapolis on our way to Stockholm, Sweden. Why were we going to Sweden? First of all we were going to see what the Vstgtamodel hog system was all about. We were also going to see what the Swedish hog industry as a whole looked like after not being able to use feed grade antibiotics or growth promotants since 1986. Sweden also has much stricter animal rights and environmental laws than we have in this country. So what is the Vstgtamodel system? This system is commonly referred to as the family pen. There are two versions of the system: the Ljungstrm version and the Thorstensson version. In the Thorstensson version, sows farrow in temporary wooden pens that are about 6 ft. by 8 ft. and 4 ft. high, with a door in the short side. The pen doors have thresholds that are aout 14 inches high, with a roller on top to protect the sow s udder. These pens are set up along the outside walls of the nursery rooms. These rooms provide 70 to 80 square feet of floor space per sow and litter (family). In each room there are 8 to 16 families. We did see one farm where they had 22 sows per room, which was too many sows in one group, so they had divided the room into an area for 10 families and an area for 12 families. Even numbers of sows seem to work better than odd numbers per group. The sows are introduced to the farrowing boxes (pens) about five days before they are to farrow. When the sows are first introduced to the boxes, the boxes are the only area of the room that has been bedded. The boxes are bedded quite deeply by our standards, eight to ten inches of straw to start with. Along one side of the room there is a five-foot-wide raised platform where the sow feeders and a creep for the pigs is located. When all sows in one room have farrowed, the en-tire pen is bedded. The farrowing period per room should never be longer than one week. When the pigs are ten to fourteen days old, or when the pigs start to jump out of the boxes, the boxes are removed and the families have access to the entire room. Each room receives one or two (depending on room size) 800 lb. round bales of straw per week until the pigs are removed from the room. No manure is removed from the room until the room is cleaned between groups. Each room is operated on an all-in\all-out basis. The sows stay with their pigs for five to six weeks, at which time the pigs are weaned. When the pigs are weaned, the sows are removed and the pigs stay where they are until they reach 50 lbs. One of the ladies whose farm we visited told us it is very easy to wean pigs in this system; you simply let the sow feeders go empty, and when the sows get hungry you open the door, sprinkle some feed in the walkway, the sows come out after the feed, and the pigs stay where they are a very easy way to move sows. In the Ljungstrm version, the farrowing takes place in a separate room, where the sows farrow in permanent pens or farrowing stalls. The families are then moved into the family rooms when the pigs are about 14 days old. Where the sows farrow is the only difference between the two versions; other than that they are identical. Most gestating sows in Sweden are housed in large, deep-bedded pens because gestation stalls are outlawed. In the family pen system all sows and boars are also kept in deep-bedded pens, with anywhere from eight to 35 sows per pen. There are different parities of sows kept in the same pen. This is done on purpose, because the Swedes feel the older sows teach the younger ones the ways of the system. Along one side of the sow pens there are feeding stalls; all of the gestating sows that we saw were fed in stalls. That is a brief description of the physical layout of the facilities. Now let me give you some personal observations and opinions about the family pen system. There were several things that really caught my attention when I first walked into each of the different buildings. In the Thorstensson version the first thing that impressed me was how quiet it was. There were no rattling gates and no fan noise (the fans were in the attic so there would be no noise). The only sounds that you heard were sows talking to their pigs and the occasional sound of a sow eating at the feeder or drinking. In all the buildings the hogs seemed very contented and very thrifty. All of the sows were very tame. I walked into one of the family rooms, and an old sow walked up to me and leaned against me. She wanted to have her ears scratched. We saw very little fighting in the sow pens, even though there were eighth parity sows and second parity sows in the same pen. There also was very little dust in any of the buildings. But the thing that really caught your attention was that there was NO SMELL in any of the buildings. Ask anyone that was there, and they will agree there was no smell. We went from the hog barns into a restaurant no shower in between and no one could tell were we had been. So can this system he used in the U.S.? I think so, if you do some adapting. First of all, we cannot spend as much on building costs as the Swedes do because we do not have the profit margins that they have. The place where I think this system will work the best is where you have older buildings that can be remodeled. We saw two older dairy barns where this system fit in nicely and was working well. If you are going to build new, you are going to have to be very creative in keeping your building as inexpensive as possible (hoop houses might work for everything from farrowing to finishing). The gestating part of the system would probably be where you could use the most creativity in building design and pen layout. Planning the pens so more than one group of sows could use each feeding stall would be one way to cut expense. Another hurdle that has to be crossed is the whole area of where do you get enough bedding. In Sweden they figure two tons of straw per sow per year in a feeder pig-producing operation. In the Midwest we can probably substitute cornstalks or maybe paper. If you live in an area where there are lots of small grains grown, straw is no problem. It may even be beneficial for all of our farms if we just planned on growing more small grains. So why even try to make the family pen system work in this country? Because if you can make it work you have a system that is VERY FRIENDLY to the herdsman, the pig, the environment, the neighbors, and, hopefully, your pocket book. If this article raises more questions than it answers, come to the PFI annual meeting, where there will be a panel discussion on alternative methods of raising hogs. The family pen system will be presented as one of the options. | PFI SUSTAINABLE PROJECTS 1995 TO FUND GOOD IDEAS Good ideas are seldom in short supply on PFI farms, but sometimes they need a little nudge to turn them into reality. That is where PFI Sustainable Projects is designed --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (77) Fri 2 Dec 94 3:04 By: Rick Exner To: All Re: 08:Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aadf @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:31:40 @3641/223 6952 08/11 ++++++++++ From: dnexner@iastate.edu (Rick Exner) @Subject: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:04:21 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011822.AA03635@iastate.edu> to help. The program makes small grants to Iowans with ideas ideas for projects, educational efforts, on-farm trials, and so on. About the only thing off limits in the program is major input and equipment purchases (see guidelines on the application form, opposite). Sustainable Projects will accept proposals until Feb. 1, 1995. (You won t get a reminder before then, so put this application form somewhere handy!) A committee of PFI members and ISU collaborators will review these proposals and determine by March 1 which ones will be accepted. Since 1990, Sustainable Projects has approved 34 project proposals from Iowans. In 1994, seven projects were accepted, for a total of $3,150. Here are the 1994 projects: * Dan Specht, McGregor Prairie Legume Nursery * John and Rosie Wurpts, Ogden Biological vs. Conventional Fertilizer * Dordt College, Sioux Center Controlled Grazing vs. Feedlot * Richard and Sharon Thompson, Boone Night Planting to Reduce Weeds * Steve Hopkins and Sarah Andreasen, Decorah Intensive Rotational Grazing Study * Jeff and Gayle Olson, Winfield Management Intensive Grazing in Narrow Strip Intercropping * Jim Green, Riceville Community Schools Corn Population and Soybean Tillage Comparisons SUSTAINABLE PROJECTS 1995 PROPOSAL FORM PRACTICAL FARMERS OF IOWA Sustainable Projects is designed to help citizens of Iowa carry out activities that focus on agriculture and the environment. Sustainable agriculture has been described as preserving the soil and water resources as well as the people involved in agriculture. What could a Sustainable Project be? Maybe you want to undertake an on-farm trial like those used by the farmer cooperators in Practical Farmers of Iowa. Maybe you would like to create a specific program for the local school or FFA that teaches about the relationship of farming to the environment. Perhaps you are part of a group that needs some support to have an educational booth at the county fair. Maybe you could use some funding to bring your community leaders together on a related issue. Be creative! Proposals for up to several hundred dollars will be accepted. (PFI cooperators, for example, receive up to $400 for an on-farm trial.) It is legitimate to include in the proposal payment for your own time. Itemize labor and other costs in the budget you submit. Large equipment purchases will not be funded; however, equipment leasing may be used in proposals to defray equipment costs. In return for funding your Sustainable Project, we ask that you agree to share both the results and the process that you went through carrying out the project. That will help us to build on past experience and share the successes of the program. A credible feedback, or reporting plan is one of the criteria on which proposals will be evaluated! Plan on sharing your project with a poster or display at the PFI annual meeting. Projects will be chosen by a committee consisting of PFI members and board representatives, the PFI coordinators, and representatives of ISU and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Proposals for 1995 are due by Feb. 1. Committee decisions will be announced by March 1. Project reimbursement will be made upon receipt of a final report. Please return this proposal form to: Practical Farmers of Iowa, 2104 Agronomy Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011. Name of Project ___________________________________________ Name Submitting ____________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________________ Zip Code _________________________ Telephone _______________________________ Please print or type. Use additional paper if needed. Please include an itemized budget. Please describe the problem that this project will address and why there is a need for the project. Please describe what you will do in the planned project. Be specific. How will you communicate to the public about the project? What kind of reporting to Sustainable Projects will you carry out? What is the amount of money you need to carry out the proposed project? Please itemize. | THE IMPORTANCE OF BUYING IOWA-GROWN FOOD Kamyar Enshayan, Cedar Falls (Editors note: Kamyar Enshayan, a PFI member, teaches at the University of Northern Iowa.) I remember my childhood years in a small town in northern Iran, I rode my bicycle to the market two or three times a week to buy food for our family. Almost all of the produce and other food sold at the market were locally-grown, in-season, and very delicious. The money spent on food circulated in the community and supported local farmers and other local businesses. Until a few years ago, when I worked as a farm apprentice at a vegetable farm in Maine, I used to think that our food choices were limited to what was shipped in from distant places. I now know that it is possible to grow a wide variety of fruit, vegetables, and other food right here in Iowa, even with minimal or no need for agrochemicals, >From mid-May to early November, Iowa farmers markets offer a vast array of fresh food: asparagus, peas, lettuce, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, maple syrup, and all kinds of flower and vegetable seedlings early in the season to pumpkins, winter squash, apples and a fall crop of greens in late October. The variety, freshness, nutritional quality and taste of these fresh-picked, locally grown foods cannot be matched. There is no substitute for locally grown food. Artificially cheap, subsidized oil has made it possible for us to ignore our local food economy in favor of shipped-in food. Students who take my class at University of Northern Iowa keep track of what they eat and where it comes from. They quickly discover that very little of what they eat comes from Iowa. An average food item served in our homes in Iowa has travelled some 2,000 miles, by-passing the local food economy. When we buy locally grown food, we support our local and regional farms, farmers, and rural communities. Our food dollars are circulated in our region. Let s asume that some 50,000 households in Blackhawk County and surrounding counties decided to spend $20 (of their weekly $70 grocery expenditure) buying locally grown food. That would be $1,000,000 every week poured into the local economy, supporting farmers, businesses and communities. That is $1,000,000 which does not leak out of northeast Iowa and instead circulates in our local economy every week. In addition, if hospitals, churches, colleges, restaurants and other institutional food buyers make a point of buying Iowa-grown food as much possible, we will have even more wealth and support for our local food economy. At a time when our communities are reduced to accepting various forms of gambling (including assembly-line hog factories) as economic development, keeping our food dollars in our community seems far more attractive and logical than bingo. There are many ways that we Iowans can support and strengthen our regional food economy: * As much as you can, buy locally-grown food at our many farmers markets. * Get to know some of your local farmers and buy eggs, meat, and produce directly from them. * When possible, you may wish to buy larger quantities of fresh produce from farmers markets for canning or freezing and enjoy them in winter months. If you can, grow a garden to develop a connection to soil and plants and to nurture your spirit while growing fresh produce of your own. But what sort-of Iowa-grown food could we eat here in winter months? A partial list of fresh, Iowa-grown food for October through April could include: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and a host of other root crops, dry beans, onions, garlic, dried fruit, dried herbs, chickens, pork, beef, lamb, wheat, eggs, milk, cheese, . . . a modest list indeed. Needless to say, home canning and freezing can extend the season for regionally grown food. Re-establishment of small-scale, local canneries can help us strengthen our regional food economy by allowing farmers and home gardeners to market their products beyond the growing season. When we support regional food production, we in a direct way encourage a more diversified form of agriculture which is not entirely dependent on corn, soybeans and hogs with their vulnerable markets controlled by absentee corporations. A diversified agriculture that produces a wide variety of food (not just feed) is a practical necessity for our region. It would be good for Iowa, good for our health, good for our land and our communities, and therefore good for our economy. | UNNECESSARY FERTILIZATION: A SILENT DRAIN OF DOLLARS FROM FARM COMMUNITIES Alfred M. Blackmer (Editors note: This article by ISU professor of agronomy Fred Blackmer continues our series on the study coordinated by the Northwest Area Foundation. Blackmer s team did much of the on-farm data collection for the Iowa component of the project. This essay will appear in a book summarizing the study results, Planting the Future: Developing an Agriculture That Sustains Land and Community (ISU Press, $14.95, available after January). Recent agronomic studies in Iowa showthat most corn producers could increase their profits by applying less commercial fertilizer. The studies utilized new soil and plant tissue tests calibrated to objectively determine the extent to which nutrient availability exceeds crop needs. Surveys of randomly selected fields have documented the frequency and magnitude of the problem. About half of the cornfields sampled had soil nitrate concentrations greater than twice those needed to attain maximum yields. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (78) Fri 2 Dec 94 3:04 By: Rick Exner To: All Re: 09:Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aae0 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:31:40 @3641/223 6952 09/11 ++++++++++ From: dnexner@iastate.edu (Rick Exner) @Subject: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:04:21 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011822.AA03635@iastate.edu> Integration of the new soil and tissue tests into on-farm experiments revealed that farmers tend to apply commercial fertilizer in situations where none is needed. Most farmers are surprised to learn that it is not profitable to apply commercially prepared nitrogen fertilizers for corn grown after alfalfa or to soils receiving normal applications of animal manures. Implementation of the new tests into production agriculture would enable Iowa corn producers to increase their profits while reducing inputs of nitrogen fertilizers by at least $100 million per year. No change in cropping systems would be required. Inputs of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers could be reduced by tens of millions of dollars per year in Iowa alone. It could be argued that the savings on fertilizer are relatively unimportant, especially if farmers must pay the costs for the soil and tissue tests. However, dollars spent for local consulting services tend to remain and circulate in farm communities. Dollars spent for fertilizer materials tend to flow from farm communities to large corporations outside of farm communities. The new soil and tissue tests should promote changes in farming systems, as farmers gain the ability to determine fertilizer needs in alternative systems on their fields. For example, farmers who learn that manured cornfields require little or no commercial fertilizer may reconsider the merits of integrating crop and animal production. Perhaps the most important information provided by studies with the new tests is that farmers do not know the amounts of fertilizer needed on their fields. Without diagnostic tools like the new soil and tissue tests, farmers have no reasonable means of detecting when unnecessary fertilizers are applied. Unnecessary fertilization cannot be seen or heard by farmers. Current perceptions concerning fertilizer needs are the product of several decades of cooperation between government and industry to develop new fertilizers and promote their use. These programs have been very effective and have greatly increased the amounts of fertilizer used. The potential beneficial effects of fertilizers on farm productivity and profitability have been widely touted. Relatively little effort has been directed toward evaluating the extent of unnecessary fertilization or assessing its costs to farm communities. Widespread concern about environmental pollution has generated support for publicly funded programs to improve fertilization practices. These programs have helped farmers recognize the problems caused by inefficient fertilization practices. Much of the effort, however, has been directed toward developing and promoting products that can be sold to farmers. Examples include chemical additives designed to inhibit transformations of the fertilizer in soils. Use of these products often increases the cost of crop production and accelerates the flow of dollars from farm communities. Many local fertilizer dealers and consultants in Iowa have demonstrated great willingness to offer the new soil and tissue tests as a service to their customers. Recent reports indicate that average rates of nitrogen fertilization in Iowa have decreased by 19% during the past few years. However, most farmers still prefer to pay for extra fertilizer rather than for the tests. The large corporations that manufacture fertilizers have shown little interest in developing or promoting such tests. The results of the studies point to a clear need for redirecting publicly funded programs toward developing and promoting tools that enable better management decisions on farms. Although itis extremely difficult for farmers and small businesses to develop and promote new technologies that effectively reduce sales of fertilizers and chemicals, they can utilize and advance these new technologies after they are developed and accepted. The flow of information and technologies made available to farmers clearly has great impact on how dollars flow through farms and farm communities. Continued lack of public funding for programs that target unnecessary fertilization will undoubtedly result in a continuing silent drain of dollars from farm communities. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Blackmer, A. M., T. F. Morris, and G. D. Binford. 1992. Predicting N [nitrogen] fertilizer needs for corn in humid regions: Advances in Iowa. In Predicting N fertilizer needs in humid regions, ed. B.R. Bock and K.R. Kelley. Bulletin V226. National Fertilizer and Environmental Research Center, Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals, AL 35660. | CONSERVING COMMUNITIES Wendell Berry (Editors note: The following is from a talk entitled Conserving Communities, given by Wendell Berry at the 1994 campout at Seed Savers Exchange, in Decorah. We reprint it here with their kind permission. The entire address appears in the Seed Savers 1994 Harvest Edition.) . . . the old opposition of country and city, which was never useful, is now more useless than ever. It is, in fact, damaging to everybody involved, as is the opposition of producers and consumers. These are not differences but divisions divisions that ought not to exist because they are to a considerable extent artificial, trumped up for the sake of illegitimate advantages. The so-called urban economy has been just as hard on urban communities as it has been on rural ones. These conventional affiliations are now meaningless, useful only to those in a position to profit from public bewilderment. A new political scheme of opposed parties, however, is beginning to take form. This is essentially a two-party system, and it divides over the fundamental issue of community. One of these parties holds that community has no value, the other holds that it does. One is the party of the global economy; the other I would call simply the party of local community. The global party is large, though not populous, immensely powerful and wealthy, self-aware, purposeful and tightly organized. The community party is only now becoming aware of itself, it is widely scattered, highly diverse, small though potentially numerous, weak though latently powerful, and poor though by no means without resources. We know pretty well the makeup of the party of the global economy, but who are the members of the party of local community? They are people who take a generous and neighborly view of self-preservation; they do not believe that they can survive and flourish by the rule of dog-eat-dog; they do not believe that they can succeed by defeating or destroying or using up everything but themselves. They want to preserve the precious things of nature and of human culture, and pass them on to their children. They want the world s fields and forests to be productive; they do not want them to be destroyed for the sake of production. They know you cannot be a democrat (small d) or a conservationist and at the same time a proponent of the supranational corporate economy. They believe they know from their experience that the neighborhood, the local community, is the proper place and reference of responsible life and work. They see that no commonwealth or community of interest can be defined by greed. They know that things connect that farming, for example, is connected to nature, and food to farming, and heath to food and they want to preserve the connections. They know that a healthy local community cannot be replaced by a market or an entertainment industry or an information highway. They know that, contrary to all the unmeaning and unmeant political talk about job creation, work ought not to be merely a bone thrown to the otherwise unemployed. They know that work ought to be necessary it ought to be good, it ought to be satisfying and dignifying to the people who do it, and genuinely useful and pleasing to the people for whom it is done. The party of local community, then, is a real party with a real platform and an agenda of real and doable work. And it has, we might add, a respectable history in the hundreds of efforts, over several decades, to preserve local nature or local health or to sell local products to local consumers. Now such efforts appear to be coming into their own, attracting interest and energy in a way they have not done before. People are seeing more clearly all the time the connections between conservation and economics. They are seeing that a community s health is largely determined by the way it makes its living. The natural membership of the community party consists of small farmers, ranchers and market gardeners, worried consumers, owners and employees of small shops, stores and other small businesses, community banks, self-employed people, religious people and conservationists. The aims of this party really are only two: the preservation of ecological diversity and integrity, and the renewal, on sound cultural and ecological principles, of local economies and local communities. And now we must ask how a sustainable local community (which is to say a sustainable local economy) might function. I am going to suggest a set of rules that I think such a community would have to follow. And I hasten to say that I do not understand these rules as predictions; I am not interested in foretelling the future. If these rules have any validity, that is because they apply now. Supposing that the members of a local community wanted their community to cohere, to flourish, and to last, they would: (1) Always ask of any proposed change or innovation: What, will this do to our community? How will this affect our common wealth? (2) Always include local nature the land, the water, the air, the native creatures within the membership of --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (79) Fri 2 Dec 94 3:04 By: Rick Exner To: All Re: 10:Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aae1 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:31:40 @3641/223 6952 10/11 ++++++++++ From: dnexner@iastate.edu (Rick Exner) @Subject: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:04:21 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011822.AA03635@iastate.edu> the community. (3) Always ask how local needs might be supplied from local sources, including the mutual help of neighbors. (4) Always supply local needs FIRST, and only then think of exporting products. (5) The community must understand the ultimate unsoundness of the industrial doctrine of labor saving if that implies poor work, unemployment, or any kind of pollution or contamination. (6) If it is not to be merely a colony of the national or the global economy, the community must develop properly scaled value-adding industries for local products. (7) It must also develop small-scale industries and businesses to support the local farm and/or forest economy. (8) It must strive to produce as much of its own energy as possible. (9) It must strive to increase earnings (in whatever form) within the community, and decrease expenditures outside the community. (10) Money paid into the local economy should circulate within the community for as long as possible before it is paid out. (11) If it is to last, a community must be able to afford to invest in itself it must maintain its properties, keep itself clean (without dirtying some other place), care for its old people, teach its children. (12) The old and the young must take care of one another. The young must learn from the old, not necessarily and not always in school. There must be no institutionalized child care and homes for the aged. The community knows and remembers itself by the assciation of old and young. (13) Costs now conventionally hidden or externalized must be accounted for. Whenever possible they must be debited against monetary income. (14) Community members must look into the possible uses of local currency, community-funded loan programs, systems of barter, and the like. (15) They should always be aware of the economic value of neighborliness as help, insurance, and so on. They must realize that in our time the costs of living are greatly increased by the loss of neighborhood, leaving people to face their calamities alone. (16) A rural community should always be acquainted with, and complexly connected with, community-minded people in nearby towns and cities. (17) A sustainable rural economy will be dependent on urban consumers loyal to local products. Therefore, we are talking about an economy that will always be more coop- erative than competitive. These rules are derived from western political and religious traditions, from the promptings of ecologists and certain agriculturists, and from common sense. They may seem radical, but only because the modern, national and global economies have been formed in almost perfect disregard of community and ecological interests. A community economy is not an economy in which well-placed persons can make a killing. It is not a killer economy. It is an economy whose aim is generosity and a well distributed and safeguarded abundance. If it seems unusual for modern people to hope and work for such an economy, then we must remind ourselves that a willingness to put the good of the community ahead of profit is hardly unprecedented among community business people and local banks. | FOOTPRINTS OF A GRASS FARMER Thinking About the Weak Link Tom Frantzen, Alta Vista In my last Footprints article, the value of using a positive mental attitude in developing a sustainable agriculture was highlighted. This positive attitude enables us to vision a sustainable farm as a tract of land that captures the energy of the sun and somehow converts it into saleable products in a lasting fashion. This concept can become a valuable management tool for farmers. When sunlight falls upon our rich soil, plants grow. Whether these plants are traditional crops, like corn and soybeans, forages, woody crops, or even weeds, this growing process is energy conversion. (Internet readers: see graphic sunchain.wmf) Two important points should be kept in mind. One is that the sun is our only truly sustainable energy form. The other is that when the sun falls upon bare soil during the growing season, energy is lost forever. Energy conversion from the sunlight is the first link in the solar chain. This chain can eventually lead to a saleable product. Upon reaching a certain stage of maturity, plants are ready for us to harvest them. Forage plants can be converted directly into meat or milk production by the animal. Grain crops are usually mechanically harvested, then either fed to livestock (product conversion) or sold as a cash crop. Efficient conversion of bulk plant growth into a saleable product is the central link in any profitable fam. Marketing is the third link in this process. Our best efforts to grow and convert bulk grains and forages into saleable products fall short when we cannot market this production at enough of a profit to sustain our families. In addition to our family financial needs, enough profit must be generated to allow for reinvestment. These connected chain links now form a complete production circle. A more detailed explanation of this concept can be found in Alan Savory s Holistic Resource Management (Island Press, 1988). We can observe our farming activities and measure their performance with this concept. How can we use this model to develop the sustainable agriculture that we want on our farms? We can begin by examining our farm s sunlight-to-reinvestment chain for its weak link. Any chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Investments of our capital and our labor must be directed towards this weakest link once it has been uncovered. For example, an investment to grow higher yielding crops would do little good if these crops were not efficiently converted into a product that can be sold. Here the weak link would be product conversion. On our farm, the weak link has been converting grown crops into products. We identified this characteristic of our operation shortly after completing the basic course in Holistic Resource Management (HRM) three years ago. To address this weak link, we improved feed efficiency with better swine genetics, reduced processing cost be eliminating the grinding of sow feed, and began routine weight checks of growing pigs to track their performance. Co-mingled, planned grazing of purchased stocker cattle with the gestating sow herd also improved the conversion of existing forages into livestock product. Attention to this weak link improved the financial performance of our farm. However, a basic principle of HRM is that a weak link can shift. During the past months, there is little doubt in my mind that it has definitely shifted to marketing. We are currently directing our resources to address this situation. My next column will detail this more. | FROM THE KITCHEN Marj Stonecypher, Floyd, Iowa Beans are harvested and now we are full swing into harvesting our corn. Tony is hauling corn for me, so I can give you all a couple of my busy farm wife recipes. CHICKEN or SIRLOIN STEAK CASSEROLE 1 can chicken noodle soup 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can Swanson Chicken or 1 to 1 1/2 cup left-over chicken 1 cup evaporated milk or cream 2 cups chow mein noodles For sirloin steak I use 1 1/2 cup of baked or grilled sirlon steak in place of chicken and 1 can cream of mushroom soup in place of cream of chicken. Mix all together and put on casserole. Sprinkle with desired melted butter mix in seasoned bread crumbs. Bake 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until set in center. Microwave: CRAZY MIXED UP CAKE 1 1/3 cup flour 1 cup sugar 3 Tbsp. cocoa 1 tsp. soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. vanilla 1/4 cup oil 1 Tbsp. vinegar 3/4 cup water or coffee Sift dry ingredients into round baking dish. Make 3 holes. Pour vanilla in one, oil in one and vinegar in third. Pour water or coffee overall. Stir very well with fork till blended. Smooth batter higher toward outside edges (I place a shot glass in the center to conduct the heat more evenly). Bake on half power 4-5 minutes, then full power 2-3 minutes or till top springs back when touched. (time depends on the power of your microwave). Serve plain, dust with powered sugar, whip cream or a la mode. Have a safe harvest. Take a break, go to the house for meals. We do. | PFI MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION AND RENEWAL FORM Name _______________________________________ Address ______________________________________ City _________________________________________ County ______________________________________ State _________________________________________ Zip Code ____________________________________ Phone # _________________________________________ This is a _____ new membership _____ renewal Do you derive a significant part of your income directly from farming in Iowa? _____ yes _____ no Please enclose check or money order ($10 for one year, $25 for three years) payable to "Practical Farmers of Iowa" and mail to: Practical Farmers of Iowa 2035 190th St. Boone, IA 50036 CORRESPONDENCE Correspondence to the PFI directors' addresses is always welcome. Member contributions to the Practical Farmer are also welcome and will be reviewed by the PFI board of directors. District 1 (Northwest): Paul Mugge, 6190 470th St., Sutherland, 51058. (712) 446-2414. District 2 (North Central): Raymond Stonecypher, 1321 March Ave., Floyd, IA, 50435-8058. (515) 398-2417. District 3 (Northeast): Laura Krouse, 1346 Springville Rd., Mt. Vernon, IA 52314. (319) 895-6924. District 4 (Southwest): Vic Madsen, PFI President, 2186 --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (80) Fri 2 Dec 94 3:04 By: Rick Exner To: All Re: 11:Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aae2 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 04 Dec 94 14:31:40 @3641/223 6952 11/11 ++++++++++ From: dnexner@iastate.edu (Rick Exner) @Subject: Practical Farmers of Iowa newsletter, fall 1994 Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:04:21 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412011822.AA03635@iastate.edu> Goldfinch Ave., Audubon, 50025. (712) 563-3044. District 5 (Southeast): Jeff Olson, PFI Vice President, 2273 140th St., Winfield, 52659. (319) 257-6967. Associate board member for District 2: Don Davidson, RR 1, Box 133, Grundy Center, 50638. (319) 824-6347. Associate board member for District 3: Walter Ebert, RR 1, Box 104, Plainfield, 50666. (319) 276-4444. Associate board member for District 5: David Lubben, RR 3, Box 128, Monticello, IA 52310. (319) 465-4717. PFI Executive Vice President & Treasurer: Dick Thompson, 2035 190th St., Boone, 50036. (515) 432-1560. Coordinators: Rick Exner, Gary Huber, Room 2104, Agronomy Hall, ISU, Ames, Iowa, 50011. (515) 294-1923.Internet: dnexner@iastate.edu x1ghuber@exnet.iastate.edu Public Relations Coordinator: Maria Vakulskas Rosmann, 1222 Ironwood Rd., Harlan, 51537. (712) 627-4653. | --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (81) Fri 2 Dec 94 3:17 By: Larry London To: All Re: Pollution of air and Groundwater in NC causing Cancer Deaths: HELP! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aae5 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: london@sunsite.unc.edu (Larry London) @Subject: Pollution of air and Groundwater in NC causing Cancer Deaths: HELP! Date: 2 Dec 1994 03:17:17 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412020258.AA26935@sunsite.oit.unc.edu> ------- start of forwarded message ------- >From: pawcreek@aol.com (PawCreek) Newsgroups: sci.bio.ecology Subject: Pollution of air and Groundwater in NC causing Cancer Deaths: HELP! Date: 30 Nov 1994 02:10:02 -0500 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Lines: 62 In our small town of Paw Creek, North Carolina (a suburb of Charlotte), there have been over 150 toxin-related cancer cases in the last year and a half -- that we know of. The toxic substances causing these cancers are all emanating from twelve major oil companies operating in the Charlotte area, via leaking pipelines, illegal dumping, and poorly maintained storage facilities. It is estimated that in the last thirty years, over 600,000 gallons of fuel have leaked into the soil and water table in our area, not to mention the benzene and chlorinated solvents polluting our air. Our community has banded together in an effort to force local and state government to wake up and make the oil companies clean up their act and stop the deadly pollution. We have been largely ignored. In spite of several third-party scientific investigations into the matter, showing excess levels of many carcinogens present in our air and water, our local and state officials sem to be unable to admit there is even a problem, much less be willing to solve it. Our battle to win the attention of our elected officials has turned into a battle of attrition - whoever drops out last wins. Meanwhile, people are dying. We desperately need your help. We know the power of the Net; we would like our apathetic authorities to know it too. Please take a moment to call or fax our Governor's office in our behalf -- every little bit helps. Governor Jim Hunt phone - (919)-733-4240 fax - (919)733-2120 Anthony Petty (aide to Governor Hunt) 1-800-662-7952 Also, if you would like more information regarding our situation, or have any helpful hints we can use to "fight City Hall", please write or call us at Paw Creek Environmental Health and Safety Committee P.O. Box 571 Paw Creek, NC 28130-0571 (704)393-9300 or email us: PawCreek@aol.com Thank You for Your Help, The Paw Creek Environmental Health & Safety Committee ------- end of forwarded message ------- --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]SunSITE (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (82) Fri 2 Dec 94 4:20 By: Vera Top To: All Re: Subscribing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aaf0 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: vtop@unixg.ubc.ca (Vera Top) @Subject: Subscribing Date: 2 Dec 1994 04:20:51 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII subscribe sanet-mg --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (83) Fri 2 Dec 94 6:14 By: Allen Dick 546-2588 To: All Re: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ab01 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: dicka@cuug.ab.ca (Allen Dick 546-2588) @Subject: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL @Message-Id: Date: Fri, 2 Dec 1994 06:14:35 GMT Colorado HIP (cohip@Cygnus.COM) wrote: : Do other countries grow hemp for fiber? : Canada, England, France, Hungary, Spain, China, : Czechoslovakia, and many other countries in the European : Community and elsewhere already grow industrial hemp as a fiber : crop. Soon, the U.S. will be importing hemp products from these : countries at the expense of American farmers! I don't think so. Anyone who is growing hemp here (Canada) isn't growing it for fibre :-) Is the rest of this post any more truthful/accurate/well-researched than this 'fact'? There *may* be some research plots somewhere, but I'm sure there are no commercial growers here. This is not to say that the idea isn't fascinating. It does grow really well in Western Canada. Before it was outlawed, I understand people would grow temporary hedges of it. What is the truth? -- W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Calgary (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (84) Sat 3 Dec 94 0:26 By: Cathy Mcgregor To: All Re: organic farming ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ac73 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @Subject: organic farming From: cathy.mcgregor@onlinesys.com (Cathy Mcgregor) @Message-Id: Date: Sat, 3 Dec 94 00:26:00 -0500 just wondering what your speciality is as an organic farmer.where do you farm? we try to have a whole farm approach.(vegetables,herbs,grains,poultry goats etc etc )We live in canada where we experience the BIG CHILL for a few months each year. we are trying to be sustainable all year round .ALWAYS looking for ideas to give cash flow through the winter --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Online (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (85) Fri 25 Nov 94 13:19 By: James Meade To: All Re: Re: Round-Up Residue? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ac87 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: jnmeade@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu (James Meade) @Subject: Re: Round-Up Residue? Date: 25 Nov 1994 13:19:35 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Dave, Interesting statistic. Please follow up with data on whether the same crop was grown on the acres referred to, whether there was an increase in yield, and if so, how much, whether there were any differences in insects (like a new species or mutations), whether new pesiticides were developed that were effective as opposed to old types that didn't affect the target pest, the price of hand-weeding in the "old days" versus hand weeding now, etc. etc. I know hand weeding is probably better from some esthetic viewpoint, and keep looking down the road for a gang of people who crave the fulfillment gained only by hand-weeding to come and purify my acres with their payment being only the deep satisfaction of cracking carapaces between the nails of their thumb and forefinger. Don't forget to hand-pick the weevils from the flour this Thanksgiving. > SInce 1930, our per-acre pesticide consumption has risen by 30 times and > our crop losses to pests have *risen* 8% > --- --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (86) Fri 25 Nov 94 14:48 By: Sal Schettino To: All Re: Re: Round-Up Residue? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ac88 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: sals@rain.org (Sal Schettino) @Subject: Re: Round-Up Residue? Date: 25 Nov 1994 14:48:35 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII On Thu, 24 Nov 1994, James Meade wrote: > Dave, > > Interesting statistic. Please follow up with data on whether the same > crop was grown on the acres referred to, whether there was an increase in > yield, and if so, how much, whether there were any differences in insects > (like a new species or mutations), whether new pesiticides were developed > that were effective as opposed to old types that didn't affect the target > pest, the price of hand-weeding in the "old days" versus hand weeding > now, etc. etc. I know hand weeding is probably better from some esthetic > viewpoint, and keep looking down the road for a gang of people who crave > the fulfillment gained only by hand-weeding to come and purify my acres > with their payment being only the deep satisfaction of cracking carapaces > between the nails of their thumb and forefinger. Don't forget somethings you can tell fast somethings take time to manafest. People always say I drink it and it didnot hurt me and then 10 yr. later and after drinking a lot, stuff happens. Some things come quick some things linger. If I had a choice between birth defects and cancer and weeds I would pick weeds everytime. There is ethics and there is money. > Don't forget to hand-pick the weevils from the flour this Thanksgiving. If you tried to hand pick the chemicals in the flour than you would think hand=picking the weevils would be easy. At least you can hand pick the weeviels better weevils than cancer. > > SInce 1930, our per-acre pesticide consumption has risen by 30 times and > > our crop losses to pests have *risen* 8% > > --- > > Sal Schettino,Organic Farmer,don't panic eat organic,sals@rain.org or check out my homepage: http://www.rain.org/~sals/my.html --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (87) Fri 25 Nov 94 15:21 By: Sal Schettino To: All Re: Re: Round-Up Residue? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ac8a @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: sals@rain.org (Sal Schettino) @Subject: Re: Round-Up Residue? Date: 25 Nov 1994 15:21:07 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII The thing I don't understand is why a farmer would want to risk his own and his workers and his kids life. I welcome these comments because I want to know all I can about what this and that may do to me if I use it and what it may do to others and what its doing to the earth.. Keep the information commming. We were talking the other day about how pesticide makers may have to move somewhere else and make their poison. Little by little people are getting wise and more and more poison is being taking off the U.S. market. Now if they just use the poison in other countries think of the good deal we get. Poison their water and their soil and their people and just import the food here. That way the herbicides will be in there water and their soil will stay there, only the food comes here. Naw they wouldn't do that would they? You think all these trade deals that are going on make it easy to send the poison to other places where you just pay off the right people and you can use anything there and only the little bit that stays on the food comes back here. You think that if the EPA puts to much pressure on people that make bad chemicals they will just move across the border or to another land where labor is cheeper probably and they can use and make all the poison they want.They can make it there and use it there and send the food here and look how we will save . It would be cheeper than trying to clean our water up and our soil and our air . Let them have the doctor bills and clean up bills. By( them) I mean country dumb enough to let these people get away with this kind of wickness. Just thought I would put out a different spin on that one. You all know how this spin doctor thing works. I heard in some countries they spray so much chemicals it takes the paint right off the houses. On 21 Nov 1994, Jim Dixon wrote: > > contradict much of the data housed on glyphosates by both the IRPTC,> Extox, > and EPA. Another item missing from the data is that inert > ingredients are > _not_ listed and one ingredient found was to be > dioxane. Monsanto removed > dioxane when the Canadian EarthCare Society > took Monsanto to court. This was > removed from the glphosate products > used in B.C. I don't know if they removed > it from U.S. glyphosate > products. > > > > Jim > DG> Well heck, why don't we just ban all herbicides and go back to good old > DG> hand pulling of weeds. > > Who said anything about banning them? If you want to a cynuical old coot and > blow things out of un-informed proportions, do it in the flame echos. I'm noty > interested in seeing more than 10 million synthetic chemicals pourded into my > system without rhyme or reason except to provide employment for some chemical > engineers. > If you were more informed, instead of blasting out such dribble, you might > examine each chemical on it's own basis instead of being silly and suggesting > that one OK chem means they are al ok. > There is such a thing as weed control without chemicals and even tho chemicals > may keep a few employed, remember that te use of chemicals has not rid the > country of weeds, that not one insect has been erradicated nor has the use > improved quantity. It only improved quality in that people will now feel > compelled to buy a aprayed apple without scabs verses a healthier product with > a blemish. Oh yes, and sprays do keep the Cancer doctors and researchers in the > black. > > Goodbye > Jim > > Sal Schettino,Organic Farmer,don't panic eat organic,sals@rain.org or check out my homepage: http://www.rain.org/~sals/my.html --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (88) Sun 4 Dec 94 13:15 By: James Meade To: All Re: Re: Ag Journalists Out There ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006acc3 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: jnmeade@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu (James Meade) @Subject: Re: Ag Journalists Out There Date: 4 Dec 1994 13:15:56 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Mr Clark, Does inclusion in your catalog of ag journalists have anything to do with your operation of an ag journalism agency? I see you and your writers are getting active online, and wondered if this is a recruiting technique? Jim - Farmer - Iowa City, IA, jnmeade@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu On 2 Dec 1994, AGPR wrote: > In article <37m3ss$evo@umd5.umd.edu>, varner@yorick.umd.edu (Mark Varner) > writes: > > There's still time to be included in the international agricultural > communicator's e-mail directory... > > Please e-mail a bit about your interests to AGPR@aol.com if you would like > to be included in the directory...and receive a copy. > > --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (89) Fri 2 Dec 94 19:34 By: PANNA InfoPubs To: All Re: PANUPS: MIC Still Stored in Virgini ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006accc @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: PANNA InfoPubs @Subject: PANUPS: MIC Still Stored in Virgini @Message-Id: Date: Fri, 02 Dec 1994 19:34:29 -0800 (PST) >From: PANNA InfoPubs ===================================== P A N U P S *** Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service ===================================== Ten Years After Bhopal, Large Quantities of MIC Still Stored in West Virginia December 2, 1994 Ten years after the Bhopal disaster, Rhone-Poulenc's pesticide plant in Institute, West Virginia, continues to stockpile large quantities of methyl isocyanate (MIC), one of the gases released in Bhopal. Storage of this chemical poses an unnecessarily large danger to the residents of the surrounding Kanawah Valley. MIC, one of many "intermediates" used in pesticide production, is a flammable and highly reactive chemical which is extremely toxic by any form of contact. According to a report released last week by two U.S. environmental organizations, the Good Neighbor Project for Sustainable Industries (GNP) and the Environmental Careers Organization (ECO), R-P continues these practices despite available technologies that would eliminate the need for such storage. A local citizens organization, People Concerned About Methyl Isocyanate (PCMIC), commissioned the report. Rhone-Poulenc (R-P) purchased the Institute plant from the Union Carbide corporation two years after a similar Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India released a cloud of MIC around midnight on December 2, 1984, killing as many as 4,000 people and injuring hundreds of thousands more. Injuries ranged from temporary lung, eye and skin irritations and lesions to impaired lung function, loss of vision, gastro-intestinal problems, menstrual problems, weakened immune systems, anxiety and unrelieved depression. Today and tomorrow, events will be held throughout the world to commemorate the Bhopal disaster and to highlight the continuing struggle of the survivors for adequate health care and compensation. The R-P plant in West Virginia is one of the last plants in the world, possibly the very last, to continue to store large quantities of MIC. The author of the study, Milton Lapkin, Ph.D., stated, "After Bhopal, many corporations that formerly stockpiled MIC found safer ways of making products -- eliminating either the storage or the utilization of MIC. However, the R-P Institute plant continues to routinely store over 125,000 pounds of MIC, and has a rated capacity to store up to 240,000 pounds of the chemical." (Approximately 80,000 pounds of MIC were released in Bhopal.) According to Sanford Lewis, Director of the Good Neighbor Project, R-P's top officials have told him that they have never conducted a complete evaluation of the options for eliminating bulk MIC storage. Lewis notes that "While many chemical plants have installed various safety mechanisms since 1984, a lesson from Bhopal is that safety devices can fail. Several safety devices failed in the 1984 India incident, allowing the deadly cloud's escape. Safety systems have also failed several times at the Institute plant, in one case resulting in the hospitalization of 135 neighbors and workers." According to Lewis, the best solution is the inherently safe one -- avoiding storage of these highly dangerous materials entirely. Because of continuing safety questions and a 1993 explosion at the R-P plant, an alliance of neighbors, college professors and labor unions has been seeking permission to conduct a comprehensive safety audit of the plant. People Concerned About MIC asked Rhone-Poulenc in June to cooperate with Dr. Lapkin in his assessment. However, to date the company has neither allowed a site visit nor provided him with the in-depth information needed for a full review. With the release of this interim report, the group once again calls on the company to improve the safety of the Kanawah Valley. People Concerned About MIC secured the services the Good Neighbor Project for Sustainable Industries (GNP) and the Environmental Careers Organization (ECO), to asses MIC reduction opportunities. GNP aids neighbors and workers to oversee pollution prevention, toxics use reduction and plant safety by providing strategic and technical support throughout the U.S. ECO has a program tapping retired engineers and chemists to provide technical assistance to citizens' groups on toxics use reduction. Together the national organizations contracted with Dr. Lapkin, a chemist who has worked for chemical companies for 35 years, to undertake the inventory reduction evaluation. Source: GNP press release, November 28, 1994; Global Pesticide Campaigner, December 1994; The Ecologist, September/October 1994. Contact: The Good Neighbor Project for Sustainable Industries, P.O. Box 79225, Waverly, MA 02179 U.S.; phone (617) 489-3686/ (617) 489-2482; email sanlewis@igc.apc.org. For an automatic electronic flyer on The Good Neighbor Project you can send a message to goodneighbor- info@econet.apc.org. For a copy of the report, send US$5.00 to GNP. The Bhopal Disaster -- The Tenth Anniversary December 2 and 3, 1994, mark the ten year anniversary of the Bhopal Disaster. The December issue of the Global Pesticide Campaigner focuses on the disaster and what has happened since -- both in India and around the world. Articles include: -- The Bhopal Tragedy: Ten Years After by Joshua Karliner -- Where Does the Circle Begin? The Global Dangers of Pesticide Plants by Angus Wright -- The Disaster at ANNAVERSA, Cordoba, Mexico by Jorge de Leon Rodriquez -- and a report on the International Medical Commission on Bhopal. The lead article, The Bhopal Tragedy: Ten Years After, is available online. Contact paninfopubs@igc.apc.org to receive a copy or to obtain information on how to receive a hardcopy of the Global Pesticide Campaigner =========================================================== | PANNA | for standard information | | Phone:(415) 541-9140 | about PANNA send a short | | Fax:(415) 541-9253 | email message to | | email: panna@econet.apc.org | panna-info@econet.apc.org | | gopher: gopher.econet.apc.org| | | ___ | | To subscribe to PANUPS send email to MAJORDOMO@igc.apc.org| | with the following text on one line: subscribe panups | | To unsubscibe send the following: unsubscribe panups | =========================================================== --- * Origin: Psychotronic BBS (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (90) Sun 4 Dec 94 19:29 By: Adriana C. Bruggeman To: All Re: Re: PANUPS: MIC Still Stored in Virgini ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006acd5 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: jeaan@vtaix.cc.vt.edu (Adriana C. Bruggeman) @Subject: Re: PANUPS: MIC Still Stored in Virgini Date: 4 Dec 1994 19:29:22 GMT @Message-Id: <3bt5aj$dj2@solaris.cc.vt.edu> PANNA InfoPubs (paninfopubs@igc.apc.org) wrote: : >From: PANNA InfoPubs : Ten Years After Bhopal, Large Quantities of MIC Still Stored : in West Virginia [snip] Hello! How come the subject of this posting says: "MIC Still Stored in Virgini" This doesn't really cover the story, which is about MIC in West Virginia. Thank you for your attention. Jeaan -- """"""""" Jeaan Bruggeman """"""""""""""""""" \ / """"""""" Dept. Biological Systems Engineering \ - / Virginia Tech ( X ) Blacksburg, VA 24061-0303 /| |\ USA / / \ \ U U jeaan@vtaix.cc.vt.edu / \ \|/ \|/ """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" """ --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Virgini (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (91) Sun 4 Dec 94 21:50 By: bmccubbin To: All Re: Ontario Land Trusts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ace1 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: bmccubbin@ivory.trentu.ca @Subject: Ontario Land Trusts @Message-Id: <1994Dec4.215029.25053@blaze.trentu.ca> @Sender: news@blaze.trentu.ca (USENET News System) @Reply-To: bmccubbin@ivory.trentu.ca Date: Sun, 4 Dec 1994 21:50:29 GMT Can Ontario lands held in trust be expropriated? What is a conservation easement, and how so these affect land trusts? Also requesting any information available on "the Condominium Act" Thank you. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Trent U (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (92) Sun 4 Dec 94 19:28 By: lcalhoun To: All Re: tomatoes and disease ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ad11 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: lcalhoun@utkvx.utk.edu @Subject: tomatoes and disease Date: Sun, 4 Dec 94 19:28:16 GMT @Message-Id: <3bu4t5$40p@martha.utk.edu> Hello. I need some help with an assignment in my Crop Physiology and Ecology course. We are to post an agriculturally-related question to the internet and report on the responses we've received. My question is also interest-related, so any help would be doubly appreciated. Does anyone have information to share on the disease resistance of tomatoes to Fusarium oxysporum? Anything even remotely related will be helpful, but my main concentration looks at the mechanisms of the resistance. Phytoalexins (as controversial as these may be) or hypersensitive response, are these involved? Thank you for your time. Lori Calhoun The University of Tennessee, @ Knoxville Department of Plant and Soil Science lcalhoun@utkvx.utk.edu --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Univers (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (93) Mon 5 Dec 94 0:50 By: Pollinator To: All Re: Re: Talloy Trees Info Wanted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ad1a @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: pollinator@aol.com (Pollinator) @Subject: Re: Talloy Trees Info Wanted Date: 5 Dec 1994 00:50:36 -0500 @Sender: news@newsbf01.news.aol.com @Message-Id: <3bu9nc$qoh@newsbf01.news.aol.com> In article <3bp5ed$qhp@gaia.ucs.orst.edu>, davisd@ucs.orst.edu (David M. Davis - Public Safety) writes: >I am looking for info about some trees I think are called Talloy Trees. They produce a berry very rich in oil. I saw these on the program Invention on the Discovery Channel and have been unable to locate any furthur citations. Seeds, nursery stock, growing tips or experiences, I'm looking for it all. I am thinking of using the berries for a fule crop for pellet stoves. I suspect you are referring to Chinese tallow, which is a common wild shrub along the Gulf Coast and up the Atlantic Coast to about Myrtle Beach. Nurseries in these coastal states might have it. It is an important feed plant for bees, blooming in June here, which is after spring nectar sources are finished. Sometimes it is called "popcorn tree" I've heard that the seeds have so much oil that they will burn for a long time. Pollinator@aol.com Eastern Pollinator Newsletter, PO Box 1215, Hemingway, SC 29554 Dave Green --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]America (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (94) Sun 4 Dec 94 2:34 By: Gil Hardwick To: All Re: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ad25 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @Message-Id: <257@landmark.DIALix.oz.au> @Reply-To: gil@landmark.DIALix.oz.au (Gil Hardwick) From: gil@landmark.DIALix.oz.au (Gil Hardwick) Date: Sun, 04 Dec 1994 02:34:09 GMT @Subject: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL In article <3bqb02$ij0@ixnews1.ix.netcom.com>, Kenneth Umbach (KWU@ix.netcom.com) writes: >Well, the thing that has struck me here in Sacramento, California, is >that folks who occasionally set up a demonstration on our Capitol steps >on behalf of hemp do so from a 60's-era psychedelic VW van that looks as >though it got lost en route to a Grateful Dead concert. They kill their >case right there. I doubt that _anyone_ seeing that hippie van, >plastered with acid-head art and bumper stickers, is persuaded that the >hemp advocates are _really_ focused on making paper and rope! > >Too bad, if there is significant truth to the assertions about hemp >being a potentially viable, valuable, commercial, non-drug-related crop. Same here in Oz. Pity, really . . . --- * Origin: Psychotronic BBS (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (96) Sun 4 Dec 94 7:23 By: Steve Wotherspoon To: All Re: Magnets ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 3:640/217@FidoNet a9071798 @PID: FM 2.2c.mL OC0002F9 @TID: FastEcho 1.41/g 15019 Hi Folks, Does anyone have any clues regarding the benefits of magnets on horticulture or broad acre farming? We've finished our research into subsurface irrigation and cotton. We're now heading into magnetics. Initial findings are fantastic. We've found we can kill algae at the pump site! Anyway, we're in exploration more again. Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers Steve # Origin: P.O.D.S. Queensland 61-7-398-5334 (3:640/217) @GPTH: 640/217 382/502 @GATE: 1:382/502.0@fidonet 2ee1ce08 * Origin: FidoNet <-> PODNet EchoGate! (1:382/502.0) @PATH: 382/502 91 90 92 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (97) Fri 2 Dec 94 19:48 By: Jim Dixon To: Lawrence London Re: Anyone reading posts from alt.sustainable agriculture in SUST_AG St: Rcvd ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:353/295.0 2edfdc80 @REPLY: 1:3641/207 100be593 Hello Lawrence...long time no chat.... LL> Re: Anyone reading posts from alt.sustainable.agriculture in SUST_AG? LL> Cissy Bowman, John Hartman and others: If I count as an "other", some are. I did see Tracy Aquilla's stuff with alt.sus... headers. I have received UUCP mail from alt.sus in a message from a prized user in this echo to which I replied through InterNet. That person had said they had read my note about glyphosates in alt.sus. Now I'm confused as to how my response here made it to alt.sus and back again to me on InterNet.... LL> Is alt.sustainable.agriculture getting through to you here in SUST_AG? LL> london@sunSITE.unc.edu Only the one Lawrence, but it seems others have seen more? Ask Tracy, I think she may be in a better position to answer. Jim --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Canadian EarthCare Foundation (604) 769-5097 (1:353/295) @PATH: 353/295 211 210 251 250 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (98) Thu 1 Dec 94 18:30 By: Cissy Bowman To: Lawrence London Re: Re: Anyone reading posts from alt.sustainable agriculture in SUST_AG St: Rcvd ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:231/710 2ED77EB2 No, it is still not getting here. I need to talk to you--what time is good to call? --- QuickBBS 2.80 Ovr (Zeta-1) * Origin: * The H.O.M.E. BBS - (317) 539-6579 * (1:231/710) @PATH: 231/710 2880 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (109) Mon 5 Dec 94 10:53 By: Eric Bosveld To: All Re: Cl toxicity ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ae34 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @Subject: Cl toxicity @Message-Id: <1994Dec5.105317.169@ac> From: ebosveld@pam.nsac.ns.ca (Eric Bosveld) Date: 5 Dec 94 10:53:17 AST Does anyone out there have some good information or references on the tolerance of crop plants to Cl from KCl fertilizers? Of particular interest, is the tolerance of spring seeded small grains, corn and forages such as alfalfa, red clover, white clover, orchardgrass, timothy, meadow fescue and smooth bromegrass. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Your Or (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (110) Sat 3 Dec 94 5:34 By: David R. Smith To: All Re: Re: kenaf ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ae4e @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: af017@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (David R. Smith) @Subject: Re: kenaf @Message-Id: @Sender: af017@freenet.carleton.ca (David R. Smith) Date: Sat, 3 Dec 1994 05:34:05 GMT The USDA library, which I believe is not too far from you in Maryland, has a number of recent pamphlets and booklets on kenaf research and production. cheers David Smith --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]The Nat (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (111) Mon 5 Dec 94 19:14 By: Mike Fitzner To: All Re: CSREES Update: Selected Items ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ae52 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: MFITZNER@cite.esusda.gov (Mike Fitzner) @Subject: CSREES Update: Selected Items Date: 5 Dec 1994 19:14:18 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Reply-To: mfitzner@esusda.gov ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- To: usda.cdev@esusda.gov From: "JODI HORIGAN OF CIT" Organization: Extension Service, USDA Date: Fri, 2 Dec 1994 15:56:54 EDT From the Office of the Acting Administrator, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250. William D. Carlson, Acting Administrator ....................................wcarlson@morrill.esusda.gov Editorial Staff: Jodi Horigan .......................................jhorigan@esusda.gov Fennie Tolver .....................................ftolver@morrill.esusda.gov Judy Rude .......................................jrude@esusda.gov ***************************************************************** UPDATE ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Western Sustainable Ag Training Program Underway ================================================ The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program in the Western U.S. recently awarded nearly a half million dollars in educational grants to several universities and non-profit organizations. The grants announcment introduces a federally-legislated "train the trainers" effort to instruct Cooperative Extension Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service) personnel and others in sustainable agriculture concepts and practices. The mission of the SARE program, authorized by Congress in the 1990 Farm Bill, is to expand knowledge and adoption of food production, farming and ranching practices that are environmentally sound, economically viable and socially acceptable. The Western region SARE program is coordinated by soil scientist V. PHILIP RASMUSSEN and hosted by Utah State University. "One goal of this grants program is to train Extension advisors and other professionals, but the end users are really farmers and ranchers," says A.J. DYE, CSREES program leader for this $2.96 million national effort. The competitive research grants portion of SARE, known as Chapter 1, has been funded since 1988. The new educational training effort, most often called Chapter 3, received funding for the first time in the 1994 federal fiscal year. Both grants programs are administered by USDA's newly combined Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (formerly the separate Cooperative State Research Service and the Extension Service). In addition to awarded grants, every State Cooperative Extension Service now receives financial support to create educational strategies for training personnel in sustainable agriculture. For a listing of grant awards and selection, request document "SARE" from jhorigan@esusda.gov. Auburn Named to SARE Training Post ================================== SARE Coordinator V. PHILIP RASMUSSEN announced recently that JILL AUBURN, Ph.D., University of California, will act as coordinator for SARE training. Auburn will organize the annual educational grants cycle and link training projects with similar state, federal and private outreach efforts. Auburn was a founding member of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), a national information-gathering and electronic networking initiative of the national SARE program and has been involved and interested in sustainable agriculture for fifteen years. Auburn completed her doctorate at the University of California, Davis. In addition to her new appointment, Auburn will continue to act as associate director of the University of California's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP). New Calls for Proposals Released ================================ In one of her first duties as training coordinator, JILL AUBURN initiated the Chapter 3 grants cycle for the current federal fiscal year. A Call for Proposals for educational and professional development training projects was released this month; proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. PST on January 10, 1995. For information or a grant application, contact Auburn at (916) 757-3278 or -7556. A Call for Proposals for research and education grants through the Chapter 1 program was also released. The SARE host institution office at Utah State University should be contacted for questions or an application at (801) 797-2230. Proposals for Chapter 1 grants are due by 5:00 p.m. MST on November 29, 1994. State-by-State Strategic Planning ================================= In addition to the starting this year's training grants cycle, state-by-state educational strategic planning is also continuing. All interested groups, organizations and persons interested in participating in the process are encouraged to contact their State Extension Sustainable Agriculture Leader. For a listing of these leaders, request "SARE LIST" from jhorigan@esusda.gov. UPDATE ON TECHNOLOGY Alternative Pest Control Facility Named For Pioneer Pathologist =============================================================== A $5-million controlled environment plant growth facility and laboratory complex under construction at the University of Arkansas will be named for HARRY R. ROSEN, a pioneer plant pathologist and breeder of disease-resistant plants. The Harry R. Rosen Center for Alternative Pest Control will be used for plant sciences teaching and research by the College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Rosen, UA faculty member from 1918 to 1958, was named "Arkansas Man of the Year in Agriculture" in 1953 by the Progressive Farmer magazine for his research on wheat and oats, which included developing disease-resistant and winter-hardy varieties. His pioneering research was instrumental in establishing the breeding of disease-resistant crop varieties as the most economical and environmentally sound plant disease control measure. Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for the Oklahoma Food and Agricultural Products Processing Center ======================================================== Groundbreaking for the new Oklahoma Food and Agricultural Products Processing Center for Research and Technology was held November 12, 1994. The new facility will provide support for and stimulate the expansion of Oklahoma's value-added processing industry. It has been estimated that a 50 percent increase in Oklahoma's food-processing industry could create almost 25,000 new jobs in food processing and allied industries. The Center will contain offices, laboratories, and a pilot plant area. The pilot plant will be one of the Center's largest components. This area will have the flexibility to address needs relating to any commodity produced in Oklahoma, or any commodity that has the potential for in-state production. Estimated completion of the Center is December 1996. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Extensi (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (112) Mon 5 Dec 94 18:00 By: Ilana Wilner To: All Re: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ae54 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: iwilner@calumet.yorku.ca (Ilana Wilner) @Subject: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL @Message-Id: @Sender: news@newshub.ccs.yorku.ca (USENET News System) Date: Mon, 5 Dec 1994 18:00:17 GMT In article Allen Dick wrote: > Anyone who is growing hemp here (Canada) isn't growing it for fibre :-) > There *may* be some research plots somewhere, but I'm sure there are no > commercial growers here. Actually, Allen, there is one commercial grower in Canada. Joe Strobel farms hemp near Tillsonberg, Ontario. After much preparation and government permission (and intervention), Joe got his first crop off this summer. According to what I have heard, it was quite successful. Hopefully this case is not an isolated incident and other farmers will seriously consider this 'new' crop. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Faculty (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (113) Mon 5 Dec 94 20:29 By: Beth Holtzman To: All Re: Re: kenaf ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ae5f @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: bholtzma@moose.uvm.edu (Beth Holtzman) @Subject: Re: kenaf Date: 5 Dec 1994 20:29:51 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412051700.AA173933@moose.uvm.edu> @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" There is a project at the University of Delaware that is working on the integration of kenaf into broiler and beef production. They should have some production and marketing information. Try contacting Thomas H. Williams, Extension Specialist Department of Ag. Engineering University of Delaware 058 Townsend Hall Newark, DE 19717-1303 Phone: 302-831-2468 FAX: 302-831-3651 email: thomas.williams@mvs.udel.edu Good luck! At 2:42 PM 12/1/94 -0500, dg26 wrote: >Where would I find information for the production and marketing of kenaf? > >I would appreciate hearing from anyone on this. My email address is >dg26@umd.edu and my snail mail address is David Greene, 700 Agriculture >Center, Westminster, MD 21157. Phone (410) 848-4611 > >Thanks for your help, >David ************************************ Beth Holtzman Northeast Region SARE/ACE Programs Phone: 802-656-0554 Fax: 802-656-4656 e-mail: bholtzma@moose.uvm.edu ************************************ --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (114) Mon 5 Dec 94 20:10 By: Ernie Malaga To: All Re: Need phone/fax number ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006ae79 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: emalaga@cts.com (Ernie Malaga) @Subject: Need phone/fax number Date: Mon, 5 Dec 1994 20:10:51 GMT @Message-Id: @Sender: news@crash.cts.com (news subsystem) Hi! My brother in law needs to get in touch with an institution he believes is called "Association of Agricultors of the USA" (or something to that effect--he only knows its Spanish translation). He believes it is located in or near Chicago, IL. Can anyone help? Thanks. Please reply by E-Mail. -EM Ernie A. Malaga emalaga@cts.com --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]/etc/or (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (115) Mon 5 Dec 94 20:51 By: Tracy Aquilla To: All Re: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aea8 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: aquilla@salus.med.uvm.edu (Tracy Aquilla) @Subject: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL @Message-Id: @Sender: news@emba.uvm.edu Date: Mon, 5 Dec 1994 20:51:47 GMT In Article <257@landmark.DIALix.oz.au>, gil@landmark.DIALix.oz.au (Gil Hardwick) wrote: > >In article <3bqb02$ij0@ixnews1.ix.netcom.com>, Kenneth Umbach (KWU@ix.netcom.com) writes: > >>Well, the thing that has struck me here in Sacramento, California, is >>that folks who occasionally set up a demonstration on our Capitol steps >>on behalf of hemp do so from a 60's-era psychedelic VW van that looks as >>though it got lost en route to a Grateful Dead concert. They kill their >>case right there. I doubt that _anyone_ seeing that hippie van, >>plastered with acid-head art and bumper stickers, is persuaded that the >>hemp advocates are _really_ focused on making paper and rope! >> >>Too bad, if there is significant truth to the assertions about hemp >>being a potentially viable, valuable, commercial, non-drug-related crop. > >Same here in Oz. Pity, really . . . > > > What's really a pitty is that you people would dismiss someone's opinion based on the appearance of the vehicle they drive! Tracy --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]EMBA Co (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (116) Tue 6 Dec 94 3:04 By: James VanBokkelen To: All Re: Re: Ontario Land Trusts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aed0 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: jbvb@elf.com (James VanBokkelen) @Subject: Re: Ontario Land Trusts Date: 6 Dec 1994 03:04:18 GMT @Message-Id: <3c0kbi$crg@satisfied.elf.com> bmccubbin@ivory.trentu.ca writes: >Can Ontario lands held in trust be expropriated? Unfamiliar with Canadian law, but in the US there's no way I know of to fend off Eminent Domain, short of proving that it is an important piece of habitat for an Endangered Species. You could try documenting special values (view, habitat, corridor, etc.) to try to get the price up enough so the project will go elsewhere, but that's all I can think of. >What is a conservation easement, and how so these affect land trusts? If you hold land in fee simple, you can do anything with it that law allows. If you grant someone else an easement, that gives them the absolute right to use your land in some specific way (run a power line over it, cross it to get to their own property, whatever). Once granted, the easement runs with the deed; you can sell the property but the next owner is bound too. In the US a landowner can grant some other entity an easement on the land which prevents the landowner from using it as anything but open space, timber land, agricultural land, etc. Typically, this easement is granted to a local or regional conservation organization (frequently a land trust), but sometimes to an arm of the town, county or state. The grantee is responsible for "monitoring" the easement - checking to make sure that you or subsequent owners don't violate it. Thus, many conservation organizations don't simply universally accept everything that is offered to them - either it must be valuable for some specific reason, or you may be asked to throw in some money to put in trust to cover the cost of monitoring. -- James B. VanBokkelen Far Acres Farm jbvb@{vax.ftp.com, asylum.sf.ca.us} South Hampton, NH --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Elf Com (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (117) Mon 5 Dec 94 15:56 By: 'What A Long Strange Trip It's Been To: All Re: 'Testing mail to news gateway' ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aed6 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: walstib@andronix.org ('What A Long Strange Trip It's Been') @Subject: 'Testing mail to news gateway' Date: 5 Dec 1994 15:56:55 -0500 @Sender: daemon@cs.yale.edu @Message-Id: <9412052054.AA08571@cs.du.edu> @Reply-To: walstib@andronix.org Testing mail to news gateway; please ignore... =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= *=*=*=* What_A_Long_Strange_Trip_It's_Been:_A_Hippy's_History_Of_The_60's_And _Beyond (C) 1989 and 1994 By Lewis Sanders ISBN 0-9643083-0-4 Autographed copies free of charge -- Dealer and Quantity Discounts Available Still Steaming Press, c/o 637 South Broadway B-317, Boulder, Colorado, 80303 =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= *=*=*=* --> For excerpts, reviews, & details, email 'walstib-info@andronix.org'! <-- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Yale CS (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (118) Tue 6 Dec 94 4:30 By: Lawrence F. London, Jr. To: All Re: Pig email list (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aedd @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu (Lawrence F. London, Jr.) @Subject: Pig email list (fwd) Date: 6 Dec 1994 04:30:53 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 5 Dec 1994 10:48:55 -0800 >From: Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup) To: Multiple recipients of list SUSTAG-L Subject: Pig email list The last issue of ag/Innovator magazine (800-808-2828) has a note about pigfarm, a new email list for hog issues. To join, send to listserv@ist01.ferris.edu subscribe pigfarm Your Name TH moderator --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (119) Tue 6 Dec 94 5:21 By: Larry London To: All Re: EAST NC SMALL DIVERSE FARM PLAN ?s (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aee7 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: london@sunsite.unc.edu (Larry London) @Subject: EAST NC SMALL DIVERSE FARM PLAN ?s (fwd) Date: 6 Dec 1994 05:21:47 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412060443.AA24682@sunsite.oit.unc.edu> ------- start of forwarded message ------- >From: jmh2001@aol.com (JMH2001) Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: EAST NC SMALL DIVERSE FARM PLAN ?s Date: 1 Dec 1994 20:15:06 -0500 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) I am 4-7 years from returning to NC. I have a 38 acre tract located on a four lane highway with a population of 75,000 within 30 miles. The property is located in a summer vacation/resort area. The land is high and wet. It can be easily drained. I intend to log the property this year. I will clearcut approximately 80% of the tract. I am exploring options for how to use the profit from the sale of the timber; pond digging, replanting of trees, field clearing and improving drainage are all possible options. My goal is to develop a "farm" based on some of the principles outlined in the book written by Doctor Booker T. Whatley, "How to Make $100,000 Farming 25 Acres". Products and services I would like to consider providing are; products such as crayfish, fire wood, sawn wood, blueberries, strawberries; value added products such as bird houses and rustic furniture; and finally services such as horse boarding, lawn care and tree trimming. Thank-you for your comments and suggestions, Jim Hamrick ------- end of forwarded message ------- --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]SunSITE (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (120) Tue 6 Dec 94 6:09 By: Eric D Nash To: All Re: composting paperboard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006aef0 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: ednS94@hamp.hampshire.edu (Eric D Nash) @Subject: composting paperboard Date: 6 Dec 1994 06:09:48 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Reply-To: Eric D Nash @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII I'm looking for information (bibliographical or your personal experiences/research) regarding toxcicity of brightly dyed cardborad boxes (eg.cereal, pasta, or shoe boxes) as compost bulking agents. They are currently non-recycleable in our area and we would like to keep them out of the landfill. We at the Hampshire College Farm Center currently compost most of the food wastes generated on campus (1300 students) and are considering expanding our composting operation to include shredded paperboard and non-recycleable corrugated cardboard. Specific areas of interest include heavy metals or other toxics in dyes or other paperboard constituents, and their fate in finished compost (is organic immobilization a reality?). Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (121) Tue 6 Dec 94 7:50 By: "Carl H. Hovermale" To: All Re: Re: Talloy Trees Info Wanted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006af1f @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: "Carl H. Hovermale" @Subject: Re: Talloy Trees Info Wanted Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 07:50:14 -0600 @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII @In-Reply-To: <3bp5ed$qhp@gaia.ucs.orst.edu> tallow or popcorn trees grow wild down in south Mississippi.if you want seed I might be able fo gather up a couple of pounds. I amunsure when the seed is produced by the trees. carl Hovermale ca1@aac.msstate.edu On 3 Dec 1994, David M. Davis - Public Safety wrote: > Hi All, > > I am looking for info about some trees I think are called Talloy Trees. > They produce a berry very rich in oil. I saw these on the program Invention > on the Discovery Channel and have been unable to locate any furthur > citations. Seeds, nursery stock, growing tips or experiences, I'm looking > for it all. I am thinking of using the berries for a fule crop for > pellet stoves. > > Thanks in advance. > David Davis > davisd@ucs.orst.edu > > > --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Mississ (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (122) Tue 6 Dec 94 7:57 By: "Carl H. Hovermale" To: All Re: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006af20 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: "Carl H. Hovermale" @Subject: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 07:57:24 -0600 @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII @In-Reply-To: It appears to me that hemp is not required since we have started growing kenaf in mississippi. It looks a lot like hemp and has been mistaken for it but it does not have the active ingredient. If you want fiber try kenaf. carl ca1@aac.msstate.edu On Mon, 5 Dec 1994, Tracy Aquilla wrote: > In Article <257@landmark.DIALix.oz.au>, gil@landmark.DIALix.oz.au (Gil > Hardwick) wrote: > > > >In article <3bqb02$ij0@ixnews1.ix.netcom.com>, Kenneth Umbach > (KWU@ix.netcom.com) writes: > > > >>Well, the thing that has struck me here in Sacramento, California, is > >>that folks who occasionally set up a demonstration on our Capitol steps > >>on behalf of hemp do so from a 60's-era psychedelic VW van that looks as > >>though it got lost en route to a Grateful Dead concert. They kill their > >>case right there. I doubt that _anyone_ seeing that hippie van, > >>plastered with acid-head art and bumper stickers, is persuaded that the > >>hemp advocates are _really_ focused on making paper and rope! > >> > >>Too bad, if there is significant truth to the assertions about hemp > >>being a potentially viable, valuable, commercial, non-drug-related crop. > > > >Same here in Oz. Pity, really . . . > > > > > > > > What's really a pitty is that you people would dismiss someone's opinion > based on the appearance of the vehicle they drive! > Tracy > > --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Mississ (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (123) Tue 6 Dec 94 5:30 By: sawelch To: All Re: Tropics: Cassava and Waste Composting ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006af30 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: sawelch@utkvx.utk.edu @Subject: Tropics: Cassava and Waste Composting Date: Tue, 6 Dec 94 05:30:09 GMT @Message-Id: <3c1sht$qkc@martha.utk.edu> Greetings SA Subscribers I am currently working on an assignment that involves a proposed tropical sustainable system for cassava. I am finding a lack of background information on this crop and would like to hear from any and all that have insight on the following three questions. 1. Is there published research on the effect of lowered soil temperature on partitioning, that is, increased yield such as we see with potato? 2. Has anyone heard of improved cassava cultivars that respond positively to nutrient rich soil without going completely vegetative. 3. Are there any safe systems for the composting of human waste for use as cropping mulch? If so, how long does it take at a location with 85c daily averages year round? I appreciate your leads and ideas. Please post responses or send them directly to SAWELCH@utkvx.utk.edu Thank you, Steve Welch, Knoxville TN --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Univers (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (132) Tue 6 Dec 94 13:24 By: Kim Vanlandingham To: All Re: Test Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:375/65.0 8770BF53 @TID: WILDMAIL!/WC v4.11 94-0267 This is a test! --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.11 * Origin: WILDMAIL! v4 - Rewriting the Book on Mail Tossing! (1:375/65.0) @PATH: 375/65 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (133) Wed 7 Dec 94 9:37 By: South Country Community Assoc. To: Allen Dick 546-2588 Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @PID: RA 2.02 80118 @MSGID: 1:358/1 54841fec @REPLY: 1:3641/223 0006ab01 @TID: GE 1.1+ Now, i'm no expert but as far as i know, there is but one commercial hemp grower in eastern canada but he is so tightly regulated that he can hardly justify growing. i believe he is farming approx. 45 acres, but again i'm no expert. --- * Origin: The TERMINAL BBS Lethbridge, AB, CAN [403]327-9731 (1:358/1) @PATH: 358/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (174) Wed 7 Dec 94 3:18 By: Doreen Clancy To: All Re: Tire Houses ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:353/385.0 2ee5296c Did someone in this echo ask about houses made from tires recently? There's a story in a local paper about them being built here in Canada. I'll save the story for awhile in case anyone wishes info. ... OFFLINE 1.51 --- Maximus/2 2.02 * Origin: William's, Vernon B.C. (604)549-2409 24hrs free access (1:353/385) @PATH: 353/385 680 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (175) Fri 9 Dec 94 9:00 By: Environment Arkansas! To: All Re: Carbofuran Alternatives? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3821/16.0 87738C34 @TID: WILDMAIL!/WC v4.10 93-0244 Please respond to: >INTERNET:ncap@igc.apc.org Thank you. Cordially, David Dickerson EcoNet/IGC Networks ----- /* Written 5:03 PM Nov 28, 1994 by ncap in igc:haz.pesticides */ /* ---------- "Rice Water Weevil Alternatives" ---------- */ November 28, 1994 To: All Sustainable Agriculture Activists From: Norma Grier, Executive Director Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides P.O. Box 1393 Eugene, OR 97440 503-344-5044 E-mail address: >INTERNET:ncap@igc.apc.org The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, along with four other organizations, is working to block attempts to continue uses of the insecticide carbofuran in the United States. Through this year, granular formulations of carbofuran have been permitted in rice fields to control rice water weevil. Key to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's deliberation over whether to extend this use is whether alternatives to carbofuran exist. Some research has been done to determine if there are resistant varieties of rice (or at least varieties that tolerate weevil populations). Research with early planting dates and water management also shows promise, although these cultural management techniques have not been used on commercial-scale operations. We have found no one working on biologically-intensive management strategies (i.e. predators, parasites, pathogens) in the United States. We would appreciate it if anyone could direct us to resource people and examples of this type of rice water weevil control. Please e-mail us information on name, address, phone, e-mail addressof individuals that you think can help us. Send it to >INTERNET:ncap@igc.apc.org. Thank you very much. +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | The above story is cross-posted from EcoNet, a member network of | | the Association for Progressive Communications (APC). To retrieve | | EcoNet's on-line brochure, please send an empty e-mail message to | | >INTERNET:econet-info@igc.apc.org. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ * QMPro 1.53 * The truth, however, is not pertinent to the issue. --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.10 * Origin: Environment Arkansas! Little Rock (501) 562-7969 (1:3821/16.0) @PATH: 3821/16 399/10 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (176) Fri 9 Dec 94 8:45 By: Environment Arkansas! To: All Re: Family Farm In Jeopardy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3821/16.0 87738C35 @TID: WILDMAIL!/WC v4.10 93-0244 GOODYEAR SURVEY SHOWS FAMILY FARM IN JEOPARDY SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Dec. 5, -/E-Wire/-- Family farming continues to be in jeopardy, according to more than 80 percent of land and water conservationists who concluded a program here Sunday sponsored by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: GT) and National Association of Conservation Districts. The conservationists, of whom 75 percent are working farmers, responded to a survey conducted by Goodyear and cited the growth of corporate farming, urban development and government regulations as the three top issues that will cause the number of U.S. family farms to decrease by the year 2010. The conservationists also indicated they may be looking for help from the new U.S. Congress and have some advice for the legislators. Respondents recommended that federal legislators approach rule-making in a bi-partisan manner, focus on the economy and regulate less. Survey participants also were asked to list by importance each individual's state environmental issues. Respondents indicated water quality protection as the top concern, scoring 87 of 100 points, followed by soil erosion with a score of 79. Other issues listed in descending order of importance included sustainable agriculture scoring 52 points, and wetlands protection at 39 points. "The conservationists that were surveyed are acutely aware of key environmental issues facing our nation and impacting the American farmer. Conservation districts want to work with our policy makers to save natural resources," said Jerry Digerness, president of NACD. "Uniting diverse interests in a common effort will help solve environmental problems facing our urban and rural communities." Surveys were completed by 42 of 57 representatives from award-winning conservation districts throughout the United States who attended the 47th annual Conservation Awards Program, a Goodyear/NACD summit conference for the nation's leading conservationists last week. Goodyear has funded the program since 1947. -0- 12/5/94 /CONTACT: Skip Scherer of Goodyear, 216-796-4045/ (GT) * QMPro 1.53 * One good turn gets all the blankets. --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.10 * Origin: Environment Arkansas! Little Rock (501) 562-7969 (1:3821/16.0) @PATH: 3821/16 399/10 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (177) Fri 9 Dec 94 8:46 By: Environment Arkansas! To: All Re: Farmers Want Relief ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3821/16.0 87738C36 @TID: WILDMAIL!/WC v4.10 93-0244 1995 OFFERS FARMERS HOPE FOR REGULATORY RELIEF ANAHEIM, Calif., Dec. 5, -/E-Wire/-- Results of the November election bode well for California farmers' efforts to reform costly and contentious environmental regulations, according to the president of the California Farm Bureau Federation. Bob L. Vice, an avocado and citrus grower from Fallbrook, told 600 Farm Bureau members attending the federation's 76th annual meeting in Anaheim today that the Republican majority in Congress should produce long-sought reforms in environmentallaws. "We believe this change will be beneficial to agriculture," said Vice. "The environment is right to restore some common sense to federal regulations that have turned the tables on property rights, sound science and progress." A high Farm Bureau priority is reform of the federal Endangered Species Act. Vice said federal agencies' rigid application of the act has inflamed public opinion against it. He said a farmer rally in Fresno this year to protest the government's prosecution of a Kern County farmer charged with violating the law showed that people are outraged. "They are fed up with command and control government, and they're not going to take it anymore. More people understand that it is not possible to save every last rat, bug and snake in the grass. It is not wise to throw people off the land and out of work. In fact, it's downright stupid," Vice said. "It is fiscally irresponsible to hand government a blank check and let bureaucrats run roughshod over our personal freedoms." Vice said political changes should buttress Farm Bureau's efforts to develop a market-oriented 1995 Farm Bill, reform the Clean Water Act and the nation's pesticide laws. Trade and water issues also were cited by Vice as crucial to California agriculture's future. A pending announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on water quality standards for the San Francisco Bay-Delta could severely affect farmers' water supplies as more water is allocated to delta fish. Vice said the announcement, coupled with existing federal restrictions on agricultural water availability, could mean severe economic and social consequences in rural areas. "As farmland is idled, unemployment rises, farm real estate values plummet, farm credit becomes scarce and rural economies wither," Vice said. "It is our hope to help formulate standards that will minimize the potential impact to farmers and ranchers and yet convince EPA to defer to the state standards." He said the solution to the state's water problems lies in the development of new water supplies and in requiring local governments to prove a water supply exists prior to approving new demands for water. "We cannot approve new demands for water without a proven and adequate water supply. If we do, agriculture will bear the brunt of the new urban growth," he said. On the subject of trade, Vice said California farmers must explore new opportunities to sell agricultural goods to capitalize on the North American Free Trade Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. "International trade is the salvation of our industry. That's why we took such a strong interest in passing NAFTA and GATT," said Vice. "If we are going to survive and thrive as a major exporting state, we have to aggressively pursue new markets." Vice said an important market that California farmers should not ignore is China. He said between 80-100 million Chinese have incomes sufficient to purchase imported food products, an export market larger than Mexico. His address concluded with remarks on the development of the Agricultural Network, a public outreach and education program. Vice said farm groups first need to assess ongoing efforts that commodity groups currently conduct to determine how the new program can best communicate with non-farmers. -0- 12/5/94 /CONTACT: Clark Biggs or Bob Krauter of the California Farm Bureau Federation, 714-490-2908 (news room), or 916-924-4060 (office)/ * QMPro 1.53 * ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI. --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.10 * Origin: Environment Arkansas! Little Rock (501) 562-7969 (1:3821/16.0) @PATH: 3821/16 399/10 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (178) Sat 3 Dec 94 11:54 By: Dave Paxton To: Jim Warren Re: Re: Chinese ant chalk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:369/3 876E8C2C JW> BK> We're pretty fastidious about not leaving foodstuff out that might be JW> BK> attracting to them. Haveing lived in Fl. since before the average house could afford A.C. I can remember the ways we use to keep ants out of things. Our kitchen tabel and dinning table sat in small bowls or cans at each leg. These were kept about half full with water. Some people used real nice decorative bowls but we all knew what they were for. We use to also dust the bottoms of cabinates, inside the area behind and under drawers with borax . Almost all houses down here back then were wood and were on piers or pileings with a crawl space underneith. This crawl space was dusted and the piers were circled and dusted on top of with either chloridane or borax. JW>This is our most reliable option as well except that they seem attracted to JW>bare kitchen sink and other VISIBLY clean "mystery spots" on counters or wal JW>I have tried various chemicals and spices as deterrents all to no avail. JW>Imported "ant chalk" from china is the only thing that I have tried that see JW>to work and with which I feel safe. I get it in a little "ethnic" market. JW>I don't know what is in it as it has only a few words of English on the pack JW>declaring it "safe for human and animal" and the chinese clerks seem unable JW>translate beyond "insect powder". I looks just like ordinary white chalk, JW>however. For all I know, that is what it is! But when I chalk a line of th JW>stuff around an area to be protected It does seem to scare the ants away. JW>Maybe they are "grossed out" with some hideous ant stench. Maybe It is all JW>my imagination but, if so, it is a placebo effect worthy of the National JW>Enquirer. Maybe it is a product of chinese chemical warfare and the ants ar JW>the only beings in my house with an awareness of the danger! If you can fin JW>store selling this kind of (possible) contraband and you are as reckless or JW>desperate as I, you might give it a try. Where I shop it is 59 cents for a JW>short piece of this chalk. This is interesting. I will have to check some of the herbal shops and see if anyone knows anything about this stuff. Big Dave * SLMR 2.1a * If Ella Fitzgerald married Darth Vader = Ella Vader --- WM v3.11/92-0203 * Origin: Daybreak Mail System - *V32/28.8* - 305-452-5227 (1:369/3.0) @PATH: 369/3 101 74 32 135/52 94 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (181) Wed 7 Dec 94 12:44 By: JAMES ROWE To: ANDERSON, EARL Re: Re: Fruit and Vegetable C ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @EID:6AB8 F5876580 -=> Quoting Anderson, Earl to All <=- AE> From: anderson@elmo.rff.org (Anderson, Earl) AE> Date: 6 Oct 1994 15:19:11 -0000 AE> Hello: AE> My name is James Earl Anderson and I am a Policy Analyst for the AE> National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, a nonprofit, AE> independent reseach institution in Washington, DC. I am interested in AE> getting CROP PRODUCTION BUDGETS for as many FRUIT AND VEGETABLE crops AE> in as many regions of the country as possible. Please send any AE> information you have or references for published information. Thank AE> you very much for your assistance. AE> James Earl Anderson AE> Policy Analyst AE> National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy AE> 1616 P Street, NW, Suite 435 AE> Washington, DC 20036 AE> phone: (202) 328-5048, Fax: (202) 939-3460, e-mail: anderson@rff.org Hey hi there. I don't know if you have seen any of my posts concerning indoor farming, but I am really trying to get this project going. I think it would be very useful to compare the information you have requested and use that as a basis for a guesstimate of what sort of production we could expect from indo agriculture. I think it is safe to say that for most vegetables, we could expe a yield of 25 times that of outdoor farming. I am trying to find information cost per acre as well, because I think that once the equipement is in place, i will be much less expensive to run indoor farming. ... Catch the Blue Wave! ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- GOMail v2.0s Beta [94-0367] * Origin: Enviro-Link BBS, Rochester, NY (716) 359-0008 (1:2613/208) @PATH: 2613/208 5 270/101 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (182) Wed 7 Dec 94 12:53 By: JAMES ROWE To: CISSY BOWMAN Re: Re: [PANUPS] 40.000 US Fa ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @EID:7CA7 F58766A0 -=> Quoting Cissy Bowman to "carl H. Hovermale" <=- CB> In a message to All <09-28-94 11:22> "Carl H. Hovermale" wrote: "H> it appears to me that in order to farm you must have a profit. I "H> don't "H> think that farmers should live in poverty to feed the elitist "H> environmentalists CB> Farmers do need to have a profit. There are many elitists who are not CB> environmentalists. Why should farmers live in poverty to feed anyone? CB> It has always amazed me what people will pay for totally useless CB> stuff, yet they gripe about the cost of food. Why should those who are in already in poverty go hungry, due to the fact that the government pays the farmers to destroy food? Another of the right wing lies is that people who are in poverty chose to be that way. I broke my back on the job. I was in the process of improving my life, working for my piece of the American Dream. Now I am being forced to mo from my home, because my landlord doesn't feel like getting the permit he need to rent his property. This is the second time this year I have been forced to move, and neither time has it been my fault. ... America: If you want to be treated with respect, go somewhere else. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- GOMail v2.0s Beta [94-0367] * Origin: Enviro-Link BBS, Rochester, NY (716) 359-0008 (1:2613/208) @PATH: 2613/208 5 270/101 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (195) Tue 6 Dec 94 13:47 By: William Robert Goodman To: All Re: Re: Chinese ant chalk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b255 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: wgoodman@acenet.auburn.edu (William Robert Goodman) @Subject: Re: Chinese ant chalk @Message-Id: @Sender: news@acenet.auburn.edu Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 13:47:57 GMT In <82a_9412011111@psybbs.durham.nc.us> Jim.Warren@125-33.psybbs.durham.nc.us (Jim Warren) writes: >I have tried various chemicals and spices as deterrents all to no avail. >Imported "ant chalk" from china is the only thing that I have tried that seems >to work and with which I feel safe. I get it in a little "ethnic" market. >I don't know what is in it as it has only a few words of English on the package >declaring it "safe for human and animal" and the chinese clerks seem unable to >translate beyond "insect powder". I looks just like ordinary white chalk, >however. For all I know, that is what it is! But when I chalk a line of this >stuff around an area to be protected It does seem to scare the ants away. its probably DDT or Chlordane in a chalk carrier (;-> actually probably not. probably some organic repellant, since it doesn't kill them, just chases them off. But it does bring up an interesting question....Shouldn't EPA have a label on this stuff if it is sold in the US? It's obviously an agricultural chemical of some sort..... anybody know? bob --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Alabama (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (196) Tue 6 Dec 94 16:10 By: Robert Kluson BIO To: All Re: Re: wood chip-digesting fungi and ground nuts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b25c @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: kluson@chuma.cas.usf.edu (Robert Kluson BIO) @Subject: Re: wood chip-digesting fungi and ground nuts Date: 6 Dec 1994 16:10:05 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Greetings, Joel. Sorry for the delay in sharing my information on your request below. Nevertheless, I think that you would be very interested in the following references: 1) Solbraa, K., M.D. Sant, A.R. Selmer-Olsen, and H.R. Gislerod. 1983. Composting soft and hardwood barks. BioCycle, Vol. July/August:44-48,59. 2) Hoitink, H.A.J., E.B. Nelson, and D.T. Gordon. 1982. Composted bark controls soil pathogens of plants. Ohio Report 67(1):7-10. 3) Wood Products for Fertilizer. 1945. Bulletine No. 7, NE Wood Utilization Council, New Haven, Conn. 4) Composting section of the Appropriate Technology Microfiche Library, Volunteers in Asia, Stanford, CA, 1-800-648-8043. Their information describes some very interesting successes in East Africa with applying sawdust to field soils as a fertilizer! I too had questions of possible nitrogen immobilization but I suppose their successess can partially be explained by research such as the following: 5) Hill, N.M, and D.G. Patriquin. 1990. Evidence for the involvement of Azospirillum brasilense and Helicomyces roseus in the aerobic nitrogen-fixing/celluloytic system from sugarcane litter. Soil Biol. Biochem. 22(3):313-319. Joel, I noticed that someone did suggest using the references from Paul Staments for specific fungal inoculants, and I agree wholeheartedly on that. He probably is one of our most kowledgeable resources persons on this subject. If you are interested too in more ideas about results from microbial screening trials on woody substrates, check out the following reference: 6) Kirk, T.K., T. Higuchi, H.M. Chang (eds.). 1980. Lignin Biodegradation: Microbiology, Chemistry and Potential Applications. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. Good luck on your trials. I too feel that wood-based compost is an under-utilized resource. I would be very interested in hearing about your experiences. Later... On Sun, 27 Nov 1994, Joel B Gruver wrote: > I have 2 info requests. > First, I have access to large volumes of roughly > chipped hardwood limbs with a small amount of foliage and coniferous > limbs mixed in. (These materials were chipped by a road maintenance crew.) > Black cherry is probably the dominant hardwood constituent. > I am looking for a method of accelerating the decomposition of > these materials so that I can use them as a soil amendment. I am > wondering if there is a species of fungi that I can innoculate or > encourage to accelerate the break down of such high lignin materials. > Where can I find good information on the biochemistry of fungal digestion of > high ligno-cellulosic materials ? Is there an edible species of mushroom > that I can culture on this material ? > > Where can I find information on the cultivation of the wild edible > plant (Apios americana, common name: ground nut) ? Who is researching the > economic potential of this plant ? Where can I obtain seeds, cuttings... of > groundnuts selected for desirable traits ? > > Joel Gruver > Hampshire College Farm Center > (413) 582-5348 > jgruver@hamp.hampshire.edu > --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (197) Tue 6 Dec 94 23:03 By: Gabriel Hegyes To: All Re: NEWS: AANEWS, December, 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b2d5 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 12 Dec 94 13:35:16 @3641/223 8998 01/02 ++++++++++ From: ghegyes@nalusda.gov (Gabriel Hegyes) @Subject: NEWS: AANEWS, December, 1994 Date: 6 Dec 1994 23:03:40 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII 2 ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE NEWS December, 1994 Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture 9200 Edmonston Road, #117 Greenbelt, MD 20770 (301) 441-8777 Table of Contents What Will be the Impact of the New GOP Congress? 1 Wallace Institute President's Council Named 2 Incorporating Beef Cattle Can Cut Input Costs 3 Position 3 EPA To Review Three Pesticides 3 Number of U.S. Farms Lowest Since Civil War 4 Organic Agriculture in Australia Featured in Magazine 4 Resources 4 Upcoming Events 5 WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT OF THE NEW GOP CONGRESS ON SUSTAINABLE AG? With Republicans posed to take control next month of both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate for the first time since 1954, the sustainable agriculture community is assessing the impact of the leadership change on federal sustainable agriculture programs, next year's reauthorization of the Farm Bill, and pesticide reform. Republicans will now chair all Congressional committees. The new chairmen are expected to be: House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Pat Roberts (R-KS); House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Thomas Bliley (R-VA); Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN); Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK). But beyond personnel changes, the new leadership will influence programs as well. Here are some views about what to expect: The Des Moines Register: "American agriculture lost some of its most powerful supporters in the Republican congressional landslide and now must seek a new farm bill from a more urban Congress that includes some major foes of farm programs....In the new GOP-controlled House, the likely majority leader will be Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, and the Budget Committee likely will be chaired by Rep. John Kasich of Ohio. Armey has sought to eliminate farm programs, and Kasich has tried to cut agriculture spending." Webster Agricultural Letter: "[Rep. Pat] Roberts is betting that farmers in general will not actively oppose modest spending cuts if they can see it as a tradeoff for a Republican reversal of some of the environmental regulation that requires conservation compliance with farm programs or seeks to protect wetlands or endangered species. It's a given that the new majority will raise insurmountable roadblocks to Clinton Administration attempts to tighten regulation of agricultural chemicals." Richmond Times-Dispatch: "[Rep. Thomas] Bliley wants to pay attention to...enacting safe drinking water legislation, improving food safety laws, and fairly regulating 'orphan drugs' developed to treat rare diseases....On reforming food safety laws, Bliley helped draft a proposal preferred by industry....A bill offered by Bliley, Rep. Richard Lehman (D-CA), and Rep. J. Roy Rowland (D-GA) contained less rigorous standards for pesticides added to food. Critics contended it wouldn't protect children from pesticides and would do nothing to reduce pesticide use or phase out the most hazardous pesticides." Farm Aid News: "The results of the mid-term elections are expected to steer the 1995 farm bill in a more conservative direction than many family farmers and sustainable agriculture advocates are demanding....Some of this new Congressional leadership is expected to favor more cuts in farm program spending, fewer-than-anticipated environmentally-friendly farm programs, and less federal involvement altogether in agriculture....Republicans offered in their 'Contract With America' during this year's election to reduce taxes through cuts in entitlement spending, including agriculture....Possible agriculture program cuts proposed in the Contract include $830 million from Agriculture Research Service projects, $600 million from resource conservation, $500 million from Extension, and $420 million from FmHA farm loan programs." Energy and Environmental Study Institute: "Environmentalists said that defeat of several powerful farm-state Democrats, including House Speaker Tom Foley (D-WA), weakens support for farm subsidies, making conservation programs more likely to be the focus of future federal agriculture programs....Sam White, vice president for legislative affairs at the American Crop Protection Association, said pesticide legislation is likely to be attached to the 1995 farm bill." MEMBERS OF WALLACE INSTITUTE'S PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL NAMED Michael Heller, President of the Wallace Institute, has announced the members of the 1994-1995 President's Council, formed four years ago to provide guidance and support for Wallace Institute activities in promoting a more sustainable agricultural system in the United States and abroad. Members are: Dr. Jill Shore Auburn, University of California, Davis; Dr. Charles Benbrook, Benbrook Consulting Services; Norman A. Berg, Washington Representative, Soil and Water Conservation Society; Hon. Bob Bergland, Roseau, MN; Hon. George E. Brown, Jr., U.S. House of Representatives; Ron Ellermeier, farmer, Glenvil, NE; Robert Gray, Resource Management Consultants; Ralph Grossi, President, American Farmland Trust; Dr. R. Jim Hildreth, Elmhurst, IL; Ms. Dana Jackson, Land Stewardship Project; Dr. Dennis R. Keeney, Director, Leopold Center, Iowa State University; Hon. Patrick J. Leahy, U.S. Senate; Dan Martin, Director, World Environment and Resources Program, MacArthur Foundation; Dr. Ned S. Raun, Stillwater, OK; Ronald L. Rosmann, farmer, Harlan, IA; R. Neil Sampson, Executive Vice President, American Forestry Association; Edward Sills, Pleasant Grove Farms, CA; Dr. David G. Topel, Dean, College of Agriculture and Director of Experiment Station, Iowa State University; and Dr. Stephen Viederman, President, Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation. INCORPORATING BEEF CATTLE CAN REDUCE INPUT COSTS Input costs can be dramatically reduced without greatly reducing output by incorporating beef cattle into cropping systems, according to researchers at the University of Nebraska. With funding from the SARE program, they are working to develop economical, forage-based, low-input-cost beef growing finishing systems to enhance the environment. Because forages and manure can reduce input costs and reduce soil erosion in cropping systems, and because cattle utilize forages, researchers propose that input costs can be reduced by maximizing use of forages and grazing, while minimizing harvesting of forages, and use of purchased supplemental feed and grains. In this project, year-round beef production systems are being compared, using cattle from weaning to market via fall stalk grazing, winter feeding, summer grazing, and feedlot finishing; biological and economic analyses are also being done. The effects of cattle grazing corn stalks on a ridge tillage system and conservation requirements, and a ridge tillage system on cattle grazing stalks, will be studied in a 100-acre corn field, which will be divided into three conventional and three ridge till areas. Each area will be grazed with calves being used in the systems research. For more information, contact Dr. Terry Klopfenstein, Project Coordinator, Professor, Ruminant Nutrition, Animals Science Department, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68503- 0908; (402) 472-6443. POSITION Prairie Crossing, a conservation community, seeks an organic farm manager for its community-supported garden and farm; experience managing an organic or biodynamic farm required; contact Farm Manager Position, 18202 W. Casey Rd., Grayslake, IL 60030; (708) 549-8996; FAX, (708) 549-0742. EPA TO REVIEW HEALTH RISKS OF THREE PESTICIDES, REGULATE PLANT- PESTICIDES The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun a special review of three pesticides: atrazine, cyanazine, and simazine, "triazines" which are used to control broad leaf weeds and some grasses, primarily as pre-emergent pesticides. It is also proposing a number of actions to regulate certain pesticidal substances, designated "plant-pesticides," genetically introduced into plants for the purpose of protecting the plants against pests and diseases. In announcing the review of the three triazines, EPA said it is "concerned that long-term exposure to these pesticides in food and in drinking water may pose a risk of cancer to the general U.S. population." Field corn accounts for about 80 percent of the use of the three pesticides, with sorghum accounting for another 9 percent. The review could result in use restrictions or even cancellation of the pesticides if health data warrant such action. By proposing regulations to address plant-pesticides, EPA is addressing the ability to deliberately introduce into plants characteristics that give plants the ability to produce pesticide substances from many sources, including bacteria, insects, viruses, animals, or other plants. The regulations will focus on those plant-pesticides posing new exposures and having the greatest need to be evaluated for potential adverse effects. NUMBER OF U.S. FARMS IS LOWEST SINCE CIVIL WAR, CENSUS BUREAU FINDS The number of American farms has fallen to less than two million for the first time since before the Civil War, the Census Bureau said last month. The number of farms, 1,925,300, is the lowest since 1850. Although the number of farms and the amount of farm acreage dropped between 1987 and 1992, the value of crop --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (198) Tue 6 Dec 94 18:03 By: Gabriel Hegyes To: All Re: 02:NEWS: AANEWS, December, 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b2d7 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 12 Dec 94 13:35:16 @3641/223 8998 02/02 ++++++++++ From: ghegyes@nalusda.gov (Gabriel Hegyes) @Subject: NEWS: AANEWS, December, 1994 Date: 6 Dec 1994 23:03:40 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII sales increased by 28 percent. Total farm acreage decreased to 282 million acres in 1992 from 296 million acres in 1987. "Experts in the agricultural economy say the abiding long-term trend has led to increased consolidation of agricultural holdings into fewer and fewer hands," according to The New York Times. ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN AUSTRALIA FEATURED IN IFOAM MAGAZINE Organic agriculture in Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea is featured in Ecology and Farming, the international magazine of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Stories examine organic agriculture's producers, profitability, research, promoting organizations in Australia and New Zealand, and organic coffee production in Papua New Guinea. For more information, contact Ecology and Farming, Sue Stolton, Equilibrium Consultants, 23 Bath Buildings, Montpelier, Bristol BS65PT, UK. RESOURCES The Agricultural Technology and Family Farm Institute, a unit of the University of Wisconsin, has public education materials, research reports, and a publications listing to help new farmers enter and retiring farmers to exit from farming; it has also formed the Wisconsin Farm Entry-Exit Coalition; for information, contact Brad Barham, (608) 265-2908, or Steve Stevenson, (608) 262-5202, ATFFI, 1450 Linden Drive, #146, UW- Madison, Madison, WI 53706. "From the Ground Up," a 30-minute educational video and teachers' guide, is $85 from Green & Growing, 507-63 Albert Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3B 1G4; (204) 957-1092. "Blowin' in the Wind: How Much Soil Did the CRP Save?," an analysis of the Conservation Reserve Program, is $8 from Environmental Working Group, 1718 Connecticut Ave., NW, #600, Washington, D.C. 20009; (202) 667-6982. "Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture: A Bibliography," SRB 94-13, is available from Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, National Agricultural Library, 10301 Baltimore Blvd., Beltsville, MD 20705-2351. 1994 National Organic Directory is $34.95 plus $5 shipping (plus $2.60 sales tax for California residents) from Community Alliance with Family Farmers, P.O. Box 464, Davis, CA 95617; (916) 756-8518 or (800) 852-3832. UPCOMING EVENTS January 10-12, 1995, the 1995 California Chapter, American Society of Agronomy, Annual Meeting will be held in Visalia, CA; contact Shannon Mueller, Fresno County Farm Advisor; (209) 488- 3285. January 13-15, 1995, the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group will host its 4th Annual Conference and Trade Show in Gulf Shores, AL; contact Keith Richards, PO Box 324, Elkins, AR 72727, (501) 292-3714. January 14, 1995, "Gifts of Good Soil," the 6th Annual Southern Plains Conference, will be held in Amarillo, TX; contact Darryl Birkenfeld, Southern Plains Conference, PO Box 5644, Amarillo, TX 79117; (806) 364-1551. January 16-18, 1995, "Achieving Global Human Security," the 1995 International Development Conference, will be held in Washington, D.C.; contact Kathy Morrell & Associates, Inc., PO Box 11276, Alexandria, VA 22312; (703) 642-3628. January 23-25, 1995, the 1995 Conference on Sustainable Agriculture, sponsored by The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, will be held in Washington, D.C.; contact Jon Hiler, Membership & Community Services, ASAE, 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659; (616) 428-6327; e-mail hiler@asae.org or hilerj@aol.com January 24-25, 1995, the 16th Annual Eastern Iowa Conservation Tillage Show, sponsored by the USDA Soil Conservation Service, will be held in Cedar Rapids, IA; contact C.W. Lawrence, Jones County Soil Conservationist, 405 East Main St., Anamosa, IA 52205; (319) 462-3196. January 25-28, 1995, "Seeds of Sustainability -- Planting Our Future," the 15th Annual Ecological Farming Conference, will be held at the Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA; contact Committee for Sustainable Agriculture, PO Box 838, San Martin, CA 95046; (408) 778-7366. January 25-29, 1995, "Maintaining Clear Vision on Agriculture's Information Highway," the annual meeting of the National Alliance of I ndependent Crop Consultants, will be held in San Diego, CA; contact NAICC, 5050 Poplar Ave., #2218, Memphis, TN 38157; (901) 683-9466. January 27-29, 1995, the 14th winter conference of the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society will be held in Aberdeen, S.D.; contact the Society, HC 5 Box 104, Langdon, ND 58249; (710) 256-2424. January 27-28, 1995, "Organic Agriculture: Growing the Network," the 14th annual Organic Agriculture Conference, will be held at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada; contact Hugh Martin, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, (519) 631-4700, or Tomas Nimmo, Canadian Organic Growers, (705) 444-0923. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (199) Tue 6 Dec 94 23:04 By: Beth Holtzman To: All Re: Northeast SARE Seeks Proposals ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b2d9 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: bholtzma@moose.uvm.edu (Beth Holtzman) @Subject: Northeast SARE Seeks Proposals Date: 6 Dec 1994 23:04:08 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412061954.AA49410@moose.uvm.edu> @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Dear Sanet-mg readers, Attached is a news release concerning the Northeast Region's Competitive Grants programs. Please feel free to post, reproduce, and pass (in print or electronically) to colleagues and friends. Thanks much! Beth Holtzman Communications Specialist Northeast Region SARE Program N E W S R E L E A S E December 7, 1994 For Release: Immediately Contact: Beth Holtzman, 802-656-0554 Northeast Region Sustainable Agriculture Program Issues Calls for Proposals The Northeast Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program seeks proposals for research, education and training projects that support production and marketing practices that are environmentally sound, economically viable and enhance quality of life for farmers and rural communities. More than $1.5 million will be awarded in 1995 through the three competitive grants initiatives administered through the Northeast SARE program. Applications are due in January 1995. All funding decisions will be released in April 1995. SARE seeks proposals for RESEARCH and EDUCATION projects that address on-farm marketing and value added opportunities; enhancing soil/root interactions and health; integrating weed and disease-management systems; sustainable agriculture in urbanizing environments; fish and wildlife habitat; ornamental horticulture and turf production systems; nutrient budgeting, management and recycling; and analyzing and enhancing animal, crop and farm system health. APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 13, 1995. SARE seeks proposals for FARMER-INITIATED, FARMER-MANAGED projects that clearly define a problem or obstacle to more sustainable farming and propose innovative, specific, potential solutions. The problem or issue may be in any food production, horticultural or farm forestry area. APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 20, 1995. SARE seeks proposals for state and regional TRAINING programs through which EXTENSION personnel, and other agricultural professionals will learn about sustainable agricultural concepts and techniques and in turn educate agricultural producers and rural and urban people about sustainable agriculture. APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 27, 1995. The Northeast Region includes Conn., Del., Mass., Md., Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington D.C. For more information about any of these competitive grants programs, or to obtain a Call for Proposal or application form please contact Merideth Simpson at 802-656-0471 (voice), 802-656-4656 (FAX) or email msimpson@moose.uvm.edu. ************************************ Beth Holtzman Northeast Region SARE/ACE Programs Phone: 802-656-0554 Fax: 802-656-4656 e-mail: bholtzma@moose.uvm.edu ************************************ --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (200) Tue 6 Dec 94 23:41 By: Pam Murray To: All Re: Nov-Dec CSAS Newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b2f0 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 12 Dec 94 13:35:18 @3641/223 9025 01/03 ++++++++++ From: CSAS001@UNLVM.UNL.EDU (Pam Murray) @Subject: Nov-Dec CSAS Newsletter Date: 6 Dec 1994 23:41:24 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412062003.AA29076@wolf.ces.ncsu.edu> November-December 1994 CSAS Newsletter The Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems (CSAS) in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) is an interdisciplinary center formed in 1991 for the purpose of bringing together people and resources to promote an agriculture that is efficient, competitive, profitable, environmentally and socially sustainable for the indefinite future. Electronic versions of the CSAS bimonthly newsletter are sent to SANET, PENPages, and the internal IANRNEWS 10-14 days before those on our mailing list receive their hard copy. They are also available along with other sustainable ag information on the gopher: IANRVM.UNL.EDU. (Note: The electronic version is not sent to individual e-mail addresses.) To be added to the "hard copy" newsletter mailing list, or for questions or comments, contact the newsletter editor, Pam Murray, Coordinator, Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, 221 Keim Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0949, 402-472-2056, fax -4104, e-mail csas001@unlvm.unl.edu. * * * CONTENTS: HEIDI CARTER IS NEW EDUCATION COORDINATOR DIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE SYSTEMS IN THE SEMINAR SPOTLIGHT NEBRASKA AG IMPACT PROJECT SET TO BEGIN PRIVATE EXTENSION SYSTEM IN ARGENTINA CUBAN AGRICULTURE REORIENTS TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY EPA CONDUCTS SPECIAL REVIEW OF TRIAZINES CRITERIA FOR JUDGING RELEVANCY OF RESEARCH TO SUSTAINABLE AG CALIFORNIA PASSES BIOS BILL RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES RESOURCE GUIDE ON SUSTAINABLE AG MATERIALS BIOTECHNOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: A BIBLIOGRAPHY RESOURCES DID YOU KNOW... COMING EVENTS HEIDI CARTER IS NEW EDUCATION COORDINATOR We are pleased to announce that Heidi Carter has joined our CSAS staff as Education Coordinator. Heidi comes to us with several years of experience developing materials and disseminating information about sustainable agriculture. She held a similar position with the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and was one of the original technical specialists for USDA's ATTRA program. Heidi has a M.S. degree in range science from Texas A&M and a B.S. degree in biology from Eastern Montana College. Her on-farm experience includes working on low-input cattle and sheep ranches. The Education Coordinator position is initially funded by a grant from the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program to conduct regional training in sustainable agriculture techniques and systems. Heidi will be working with Drs. Chuck Francis (Nebraska), Clive Edwards (Ohio), George Bird (Michigan), and key contacts in all 12 states to coordinate the training projects in the North Central Region. Heidi can be reached by contacting the CSAS office. DIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE SYSTEMS Evaluating the Role of Diversity in Designing a Sustainable Agriculture was the theme of a symposium at the November American Society of Agronomy annual meetings in Seattle. Following a hierarchical framework based on scale, the topics at the symposium ranged from diversity in micro-organisms and soil fauna to agroecosystems at the bioregional scale. Ann Kennedy (ARS/USDA, Pullman, WA) discussed microbial diversity and how this could contribute to sustainable agroecosystems. Agricultural and natural ecosystems have different levels of soil community diversity, a topic explored by Deborah Neher (Horticulture, North Carolina State U.). Richard Cruse (Iowa State U.) described his research with farmers on spatially diverse cropping systems, and how this related to sustainability in the long term. At the farm scale level, Leisa Huyck (Humboldt State U., Arcata, CA) and Chuck Francis (U. of Nebraska) described a process for designing a diverse farmscape. Diversity in human activity in communities and the rural/urban interface were evaluated by Lorna Butler and Coleen DePhelps (Washington State U.). Richard Olson (U. of Nebraska) described the potential importance of diversity in landscapes and watersheds. Finally, a team led by Mike Burkart (ARS/USDA, Ames, IA) illustrated the use of GIS techniques to describe diversity at the bioregional level. These presentations will be published by the ASA in a symposium proceedings edited by Olson, Francis, and Steve Kaffka (UC-Davis). The publication is partially supported by a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to the CSAS. Submitted by Chuck Francis IN THE SEMINAR SPOTLIGHT Joel Salatin, Polyface, Inc., Swoope, VA, Nov. 28. The name of the Salatin organic family farming operation reflects one of Joel's philosophies: diversity. This "Farm of Many Faces" counts among its enterprises cows, pigs, chickens, rabbits, vegetables and firewood. Joel's grandfather was a charter subscriber to "Organic Gardening and Farming" magazine. As he states in his book, "Pastured Poultry Profits" (see Resources): "I am the privileged third generation to continue the principles based on the belief that God created the Earth and established humanity as its steward, to nurture, protect and embellish. This philosophy precludes the use of toxic chemicals, debasing substances, and erosive practices, and instills instead an insatiable thirst for agricultural truth. The truth manifests itself in natural principles of plant and animal life. The farm should capitalize on these laws rather than fight against them." An example of looking to nature is Joel's use of chickens and hogs as composting machines. Four days after rotationally grazing the cows, chickens are allowed in that section to eat the flies and break up the cow patties. Beginning in January the cows eat hay in a shed where they remain clean and dry and use less energy. Corn is periodically added to the ever-deepening bedding. When the cows return to pasture in the spring, hogs are brought in to root through the bedding for the corn, composting the material in the process. These "pigerators" save on labor and fuel. Joel's slide presentation included many such examples of complementary operations. In addition to looking to nature for answers and using a systems approach in which diverse enterprises complement each other, additional themes running through his presentation included using on-farm inputs as much as possible (he makes extensive use of composting), and reducing risk by increasing the percentage of income from on-farm processing and direct marketing. The four main risks faced by farmers are weather, pests, disease and price. For a farm to stabilize its income, it needs to be insulated as much as possible from those risks. Diversity and selling valued-added products directly to the consumer are ways to accomplish that. Chickens, rabbits and firewood are processed on the farm. Joel saw his profits increase 10-fold, from $300 to $3,000 per acre, when he switched from selling trees on the stump to selling firewood. He bartered for the use of a neighbor's machine to process the trees. Joel does no advertising; he relies on free samples and then word of mouth. Since all of his customers (approximately 400) come to his farm for their products, he saves on labor, transportation and packaging costs. Joel's visit was cosponsored by the Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Center for Grassland Studies, and Nebraska Cooperative Extension. A video of the presentation is available for viewing or check-out in the CSAS office. NEBRASKA AG IMPACT PROJECT SET TO BEGIN The Nebraska Ag IMPACT project is reaching out to Nebraska farmers, ranchers and community members to design projects that will improve their farms, communities and environment. The IMPACT project will support farmers and ranchers in learning about and experimenting with sustainable farming systems through a statewide network of community- based projects. The project plans to support at least one group in each of the five extension districts in Nebraska. Groups selected to participate in the project will develop goals for their farms and communities, and will formulate a plan to implement one or more projects drawn from these goals. Projects can include on-farm research, demonstration and education efforts. Groups will receive small grants and technical assistance to support activities and project development. One of the main barriers to adoption of sustainable farming systems is the absence of community support for individuals who adopt sustainable practices. Group interaction and farmer-to-farmer networking can be an effective way for people to learn about and experiment with sustainable agriculture in a supportive community environment. The IMPACT project offers both producers and non-farm community members an opportunity to discover, modify, adopt and promote sustainable practices while benefitting the environment and supporting rural communities. Priority will be given to groups that are farmer/rancher organized and driven, include both farm and non-farm members, involve Extension Educators and other technical information providers (like NRCS and the NRDs), and plan for activities that address innovative aspects of sustainable agriculture at the community level. Groups that include the needs of beginning farmers/ranchers will receive additional support. Project staff from the Center for Rural Affairs (CRA), the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society (NSAS), and the University of Nebraska Extension Service will be available to help groups plan for activities and prepare funding proposals and applications. Staff members can also help interested individuals locate prospective group members. For application forms or additional information, call Wyatt Fraas at CRA --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (201) Tue 6 Dec 94 18:41 By: Pam Murray To: All Re: 02:Nov-Dec CSAS Newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b2f2 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 12 Dec 94 13:35:18 @3641/223 9025 02/03 ++++++++++ From: CSAS001@UNLVM.UNL.EDU (Pam Murray) @Subject: Nov-Dec CSAS Newsletter Date: 6 Dec 1994 23:41:24 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412062003.AA29076@wolf.ces.ncsu.edu> (402-254-6893) or Cris Carusi at NSAS (402-254-2289). Source: NSAS Newsletter, Fall 1994 PRIVATE EXTENSION SYSTEM IN ARGENTINA Can you imagine farmers paying $500 to $700 per month to belong to a private extension system? There are currently over 1400 farmers in Argentina who buy into this approach in exchange for access to their own professional crop and animal production advisor, a monthly meeting with other farmers, and publications from their national organization. The Argentinian Association of Regional Groups for Agricultural Experimentation (known locally by the acronym AACREA) is an organization founded by farmers some 27 years ago following a model from France. CSAS director Chuck Francis recently spent two weeks visiting farms and farm families in Argentina and also presented a paper on future sustainable systems at the organization's annual symposium. The heart of the movement is the farmer group, six to ten farmers who meet once each month on one of the farms and do a complete assessment of agronomic, livestock, and economic practices. The owner gives a short presentation, the group takes a one- to two-hour tour of most fields and pastures with the agronomist advisor, and everyone comes together for an extended evaluation of what was observed. No one pulls punches during this lively interchange, as farmers challenge their host on everything from rates of fertilizer or herbicide application to how many people are really needed to efficiently and economically run the livestock enterprise. The critics know the business; they are involved in the same activities. The farmers who provide critiques are also honest and forthright, since they know the group will be evaluating their own operations within a few months. It is this frank interchange that gives people constructive criticism on how to improve their productivity and profitability. Francis was surprised not only by the detailed sharing of production and financial information, but also with the level of environmental concern. One farmer was looking across a field of soybean residue that had about a 1% slope, and lamented the degree of erosion that had occurred after the last rain. "I'll have to change row direction and try to cross the contour in this field next season," he commented. This unique service may be demonstrated to farmers in Nebraska and Iowa in the near future if funds can be identified to bring several farmers and their agronomist advisors here to discuss the system. Submitted by Chuck Francis CUBAN AGRICULTURE REORIENTS TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY During a recent ten-day stay in Cuba, I gained a glimpse of the massive changes underway in the agricultural sector. These changes have been brought about largely by the collapse of economic relations with Eastern Europe in the late 1980s. For several decades Cuban agriculture had been based on the Soviet model of large State-owned and managed farms, heavily reliant upon fossil fuel and agrichemicals. We visited several research institutions, production units (UBPCs), and cooperatives. The most striking impression I have of these visits is the widespread commitment to the common purpose of making Cuban agriculture maximally self-reliant. The methods being advanced to achieve this coincide with many of those advocated by proponents of sustainable agriculture. Current research efforts have several major aims: (1) to find substitutes for agrichemicals in achieving crop protection; (2) to maintain and improve soil quality while maintaining crop production; (3) to reduce fuel needs of the agricultural sector, and (4) to make negligible any impediments to implementation of research findings. Simultaneously, major reorganization of agricultural production has been occurring over the past few years. These include the virtual dissolution of the State-farms and the formation of UBPCs having a relatively high degree of autonomy (e.g. have their own relations with banks). Also, true cooperatives of private farmers have existed for some time, and these are being further encouraged. Among the incentives recently implemented are open food markets, at which prices received by producers are many times that received for produce sold to the State. In early 1995 I will be making several presentations about the trip. If you're interested in attending, please give me a call (402-472-9563) in early January. Also, the organization (Global Exchange) that arranged this trip is organizing a farmer-to-farmer trip to Cuba in February. If you've never been there, I recommend this as a way to be introduced to Cuban agriculture and to gain access to people who might otherwise be impossible to meet. There are perfectly legal ways to get around U.S. government restrictions on travel to the island. Global Exchange's telephone number is 1-800-497-1994. Submitted by Chris Teo-Sherrell EPA CONDUCTS SPECIAL REVIEW OF TRIAZINES The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in November that it has begun a Special Review of three of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S.: atrazine, cyanazine and simazine (known collectively as triazines). These pesticides are primarily used on corn, but are also used on sorghum and other crops. The Special Review will examine the risks and benefits of the pesticides, estimate the costs of shifting to alternatives, and determine whether the pesticides should be canceled, further restricted, or allowed to be used as before. CRITERIA FOR JUDGING RELEVANCY OF RESEARCH TO SUSTAINABLE AG In order to comply with the 1990 Farm Bill mandate to USDA to support research and extension in sustainable ag, a new evaluation system is being tested in several universities. To explore the impact of basic research on sustainable ag, an October workshop in Raleigh addressed four topics that are integral to the management of research in the near term and for developing the vision and strategic plan for ag research in the long term: (1) clarification of criteria that can be used to judge the relevancy of research to sustainable ag, (2) defining high priority research areas, (3) identifying current programmatic and infrastructure impediments or opportunities for new research critical to the development or modification of farming systems that will advance sustainable ag, and (4) how the ag research community can address goals given in the Farm Bill definition of sustainable ag by conducting professionally rewarding research and implementing sustainable ag systems. Implicit in these discussions was the problem of how continuous long-term funding could be obtained to conduct the research needed to achieve sustainable ag production. The workshop included people from 18 professional societies. Source: AGRONOMY NEWS, Dec. 1994. CALIFORNIA PASSES BIOS BILL In late September, the California legislature passed a bill that calls for a reduction in the use of chemicals in agriculture. Also included in the bill is a provision that calls for the integration of biological controls in agriculture. Known as BIOS, the law provides funding for up to five pilot projects focusing on the different commodities produced in the state. Farmers will receive technical assistance and financial incentives to replace synthetic chemicals with biological controls. The law also has the support of the California Farm Bureau Federation. The bill was modeled after the Community Alliance with Family Farmers' BIOS projects, which have producers and ext extension working together on biological controls. Primary Source: "BIOS Bill Passes--New Era for Ag Begins!" AGRARIAN ADVOCATE, Oct/Nov 1994. Secondary Source: Sustainable Agriculture Week, Nov. 9, 1994, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES The Heartland Center for Leadership Development in Lincoln, NE is pleased to announce the creation of a rural community development resource library in cooperation with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Architecture Library. The Collection, which is being made possible through a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, will contain high-quality rural community development resource materials funded by the Kellogg Foundation and other key sponsors of rural programs. For the first time these materials will be housed in a distinct resource library and made accessible to aid new programs in all parts of North America. The library will begin operations in early 1995. The grant also provides the Heartland Center with support to develop a training and technical assistance program for organizations that want to start or refine their own rural community materials or curricula. In addition to technical assistance, the Heartland Center expects to sponsor annual training seminars for programs that want to send representatives to Lincoln to learn more about how to develop programs for rural communities. The Heartland Center is currently collecting materials for inclusion in the resource library. Materials from your program or another you nominate may be eligible. If you have any questions or would like to nominate materials, please contact Mike Grimm or Vicki Luther at the Heartland Center, 941 "O" Street, Suite 920, Lincoln NE 68508, 1- 800-927-1115, ext. 805, mgrimm@unlinfo.unl.edu (or) vluther@nde4.nde.state.ne.us. RESOURCE GUIDE ON SUSTAINABLE AG MATERIALS The third edition of "The Showcase of Sustainable Agriculture Information and Educational Materials" is a 100-page booklet containing information about publications and educational materials useful to farmers who want to stay profitable while protecting the environment. The Showcase was compiled by members of the Sustainable Agriculture --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (202) Tue 6 Dec 94 23:41 By: Pam Murray To: All Re: 03:Nov-Dec CSAS Newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b2f3 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 12 Dec 94 13:35:18 @3641/223 9025 03/03 ++++++++++ From: CSAS001@UNLVM.UNL.EDU (Pam Murray) @Subject: Nov-Dec CSAS Newsletter Date: 6 Dec 1994 23:41:24 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412062003.AA29076@wolf.ces.ncsu.edu> Network (SAN), with support from the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. SAN is a consortium of people from universities, government, business and non-profit organizations dedicated to exchanging information about sustainable agriculture. SARE is a competitive grants program that provides funding for projects that promote agriculture that is environmentally sound, economically viable and sustains rural communities. (See Resources to order.) BIOTECHNOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: A BIBLIOGRAPHY Many crops and agricultural products have been modified using the molecular tools of biotechnology. At the same time, an increasing number of farmers are adopting sustainable cultural practices. Are these two developments compatible? Over the past decade a body of literature has accumulated addressing this question. This Special Reference Brief (SRB 94-13), prepared jointly by the Biotechnology Information Center and the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center of the USDA's National Agricultural Library, contains citations and keywords to 127 books, reports, magazine and journal articles that focus on this issue. It provides an introduction to the debate surrounding the use of biotechnology in sustainable farming systems. (See Resources to order.) RESOURCES "Pastured Poultry Manual" by Joel Salatin, $15 (video also available), PolyFace, Inc., Rt 1, Box 281, Swoope, VA 24479, 703-885-3590. (Editor's Note: The Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture has a project relating to free-ranging chickens and has worked with people interested in composting (even dead broilers), PO Box 588, Poteau, OK 74953, 918-647-9123.) "Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture: A Bibliography," National Agricultural Library, Fourth Floor, 10301 Baltimore Blvd., Beltsville, MD 20705-2351, 301-504-5947. Also available via: gopher.nalusda.gov. "The Showcase of Sustainable Agriculture Information and Educational Materials," $4.95 from Sustainable Agriculture Publications, 10 Hills Building, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405-0082. "Tap Water Blues," report by Environmental Working Group on drinking water supplies contanimated with agricultural herbicides, $43, EWG, 1718 Connecticut Ave., NW, #600, Washington, DC 20009, 202-667-6982. "The Future Use of Conservation Reserve Program Acres: A National Survey of Farm Owners and Operators," $19.50 ($15 for members), Soil and Water Conservation Society, 7515 Ankeny Road, Ankeny, IA 50021, 1-800-843- 7645, ext. 19. "Biological Control: A Natural Alternative," 26-minute video produced by USDA suitable for classroom and extension meetings, $50, National Audio Visual Center, 8700 Edgeworth Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743-3701, 301-763-1896. "Midwest Biological Control News," $12 annual subscription, Dept. of Entomology, U. of Wisconsin, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706. "Suppliers of Beneficial Organisms in North America," 30-page booklet includes listings for 120 different beneficial organisms under 13 different categories, free from the Department of Pesticide Regulation, Environmental Monitoring and Pest Management Branch, 1020 N Street, Room 161, Sacramento, CA 95814-5604, 916-324-4100. "Sustainable Agriculture in the American Midwest: Lessons from the Past Prospects for the Future," by Gregory McIsaac and William R. Edwards (eds.), $32.95, U. of Illinois Press, Hamden Post Office 4856, Baltimore, MD 21211, 410-516-6927. "Community Supported Agriculture on the Urban Fringe: Case Study and Survey," $5, Rodale Institute Research Center, 611 Siegfriedale Rd, Kutztown, PA 19530. "Harvest of Devastation: The Industrialization of Agriculture and its Human and Environmental Consequences," by E.G. Vallianatos, $11.50 (+ $3.50 shipping), The Apex Press, 777 United Nations Plaza, Suite 3C, New York, NY 10017. PANNA (Pesticide Action Network North America) maintains a gopher containing a database, news items, reports, lists of resources and information from other organizations dealing with pesticide and sustainable agriculture issues; host = gopher.econet.apc.org. EcoNet's Pesticide and Sustainable Ag Desk maintains a gopher containing materials from both national and international activist and NGOs; host = gopher.igc.apc.org. Paper series, "Sustainability in the Balance," includes the following: "Raising Fundamental Issues," "Expanding the Definition of Sustainable Agriculture," "What Do We Want to Sustain? Developing a Comprehensive Vision of Sustainable Agriculture," and "The Human Face of Sustainable Agriculture: Adding People," free, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, U. of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, 408- 459-4140, rats@cats.ucsc.edu. DID YOU KNOW... Iowa currently accounts for 25% of U.S. pork production. A report by the Environmental Working Group in October stated over 14 million people, primarily in the Corn Belt, are drinking tap water contaminated with cancer causing herbicides. Supporting those findings was another report made in June at an American Water Works Association meeting which put the figure at 19 million. The latter report was made by a Kansas City engineering firm which analyzed EPA data. A national crop survey by the Conservation Technology Information Center finds that no-till planting increased by 4.2 million acres and deep-till plowing increased by 3.5 million acres last year in the U.S. EPA calls soil loss into streams and lakes the number one cause of water pollution in the U.S. According to a survey by the Soil and Water Conservation Society, farmers nationwide plan to return 63% of the acreage now in CRP to crop production. The manufacturer of BST estimates that 7% of U.S. farmers are using the hormone. A recent GAO report stated: "The use of unapproved chemicals (in food production/processing) has become a routine practice." The League of Conservation Voters gave the 1994 Congress its worst environmental ratings in 25 years. Declining hog and corn prices pushed the index of prices received by farmers to a six-year low in November. A North Carolina State U. poultry specialist found that storing aflatoxin-contaminated corn with ammonia-laden litter from poultry houses gets rid of the contamination--making it possible to use the combined litter and corn for cattle feed. COMING EVENTS Contact CSAS office for more information: Jan. 23-25 -- 1995 Conference on Sustainable Agriculture, sponsored by The Council for Agricultural and Science Technology, Washington, DC. Jan. 28 -- Nebraska Sustainable Ag. Society (NSAS) Western Area Conference, Ogallala, NE. Feb. 2-5 -- North American Farmers Direct Marketing Conference, Knoxville, TN. Feb. 14-15 -- Nebraska Vegetable Conference, Columbus, NE. Feb. 16-17 -- Sustainable Ag Directors Workshop, Lincoln, NE. Feb. 23-24 -- International Conference on Nitrogen and Water, Everett, WA. Feb. 24-25 -- 2nd National Conference for Beginning Farmers, Columbia, MO. Feb. 25 -- NSAS annual meeting, Columbus, NE. Mar. 3 -- Leopold Center annual conference, Ames, IA. Mar. 17-18 -- Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Agriculture: The Art of Marketing, Kearney, NE. May 8-10 - Planning for a Sustainable Future: The Case of the North American Great Plains, Lincoln, NE. (See Sep-Oct CSAS newsletter for details.) Pam Murray, Coordinator Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Center for Grassland Studies U. of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68583-0949 V: 402-472-2056 F: -4104 --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (203) Wed 7 Dec 94 0:00 By: Selma Troyanowski To: All Re: request for sustainable ag info ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b2f4 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: TROYAN@macc.wisc.edu (Selma Troyanowski) @Subject: request for sustainable ag info Date: 7 Dec 1994 00:00:05 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <24120615132544@vms2.macc.wisc.edu> Joel, RE: Request for Sustainable Ag materials: Here is what I have so far: Please inquire at the National Ag Library re: training and degree opportunities in sustainable ag. They have a publication entitled: Educational and Training Opportunities in SA, 6th edition. It is quite comprehensive. Available free from the following: NAL Alternative Farming Systems Information Center USDA, NAL, Room 111, 10301 Baltimore Blvd., Beltsville, MD 20705-2351. Another source: Sustainable Ag Network's SA Directory of Expertise, available from Sustainable Ag Publications, Hills Bldg., Room 12, U of VT, Burlington, VT 05405-0082. Also, if you want to receive the packet of information that we at CIAS (Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems), UW-Madison, Madison, WI send out to prospective graduate students, please provide me with a mailing address. This packet is too bulky for email. You may email your address to: TROYAN@MACC.WISC.EDU OR PHONE ME @608-262-5200. Leave message on my voice mail if I am not at my desk. Thanking you for your interest, Selma Troyanoski, CIAS Secretary --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (204) Wed 7 Dec 94 0:24 By: Stefan Alexei Lasiewski To: All Re: Re: Chinese ant chalk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b2f6 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: gangriel@cats.ucsc.edu (Stefan Alexei Lasiewski) @Subject: Re: Chinese ant chalk Date: 7 Dec 1994 00:24:18 GMT @Message-Id: <3c2vbi$8vh@darkstar.UCSC.EDU> In article , William Robert Goodman wrote: >In <82a_9412011111@psybbs.durham.nc.us> Jim.Warren@125-33.psybbs.durham.nc.us (Jim Warren) writes: > >>I have tried various chemicals and spices as deterrents all to no avail. >>Imported "ant chalk" from china is the only thing that I have tried that seems >>to work and with which I feel safe. I get it in a little "ethnic" market. >>I don't know what is in it as it has only a few words of English on the package >>declaring it "safe for human and animal" and the chinese clerks seem unable to >>translate beyond "insect powder". I looks just like ordinary white chalk, >>however. For all I know, that is what it is! But when I chalk a line of this >>stuff around an area to be protected It does seem to scare the ants away. > > >its probably DDT or Chlordane in a chalk carrier (;-> > >actually probably not. probably some organic repellant, since it doesn't >kill them, just chases them off. But it does bring up an interesting >question....Shouldn't EPA have a label on this stuff if it is sold in the >US? It's obviously an agricultural chemical of some sort..... > >anybody know? > > >bob Isn't borax a white chalky powder? I know ants dislike borax (as do many insects) as it covers what ever pheremones they leave behind. I was told borax only works in an aqueous solution, but I could be wrong. Hmmmm... --Stefan o , . .:/ ,,///;, ,;/ FeEd . @{{{{{{{{{/// YoUr ){{{{{{{{{{\\\ HeAd... ''\\\\\'" ';\ --Grace Slick '^ --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Univers (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (205) Mon 28 Nov 94 16:25 By: Mike Stringfellow To: All Re: Unsubscribe ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b30f @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: exumfss@exu.ericsson.se (Mike Stringfellow) @Subject: Unsubscribe Date: 28 Nov 1994 16:25:24 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <199411281359.HAA00277@s10b22.exu.ericsson.se> Unsubscribe --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (206) Tue 6 Dec 94 19:19 By: "Kirk Job Sluder" To: All Re: Re: tomatoes and disease ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b31a @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: "Kirk Job Sluder" @Subject: Re: tomatoes and disease @Message-Id: <1994Dec6.191945.7791@news.cs.indiana.edu> @Reply-To: csluder@indiana.edu Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 19:19:38 -0500 In article <3bu4t5$40p@martha.utk.edu>, wrote: >Hello. I need some help with an assignment in my Crop Physiology and Ecology >course. We are to post an agriculturally-related question to the internet and >report on the responses we've received. My question is also interest-related, >so any help would be doubly appreciated. Does anyone have information to share >on the disease resistance of tomatoes to Fusarium oxysporum? Anything even >remotely related will be helpful, but my main concentration looks at the >mechanisms of the resistance. Phytoalexins (as controversial as these may be) >or hypersensitive response, are these involved? Thank you for your time. Ok, I can only post as an undergraduate who has spent the past semester working on a plant pathology project. If you want REAL detail you probably should talk to professors in the Plant Pathology department on your own campus. Hypersensitive response appears to be a very basic way of how plants deal with pathogens. However the mechanisms behind hypersensitive response and resistance are still not clear. (Resistance genes are difficult to isolate and clone for various reasons.) Basically the cells surrounding the infection die. As part of this, phytoalexins are produced. There are more questions than answers as to how this happens. What is known is that resistance works on a gene for gene basis. In other words, each virulence gene in a pathogen is counteracted by a single resistance gene in the host. This is different from animal resistance in which resistance is produced by recombination of a suite of genes with a common functional base. >Lori Calhoun >The University of Tennessee, @ Knoxville >Department of Plant and Soil Science >lcalhoun@utkvx.utk.edu -- KirK csluder@indiana.edu csluder@kiwi.cs.indiana.edu Kirk Job Sluder --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]House o (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (207) Wed 7 Dec 94 2:21 By: Gigi DiGiacomo To: All Re: Farm Aid News 12-6-94 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b325 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 12 Dec 94 13:35:48 @3641/223 9078 01/02 ++++++++++ From: gdigiacomo@igc.apc.org (Gigi DiGiacomo) @Subject: Farm Aid News 12-6-94 Date: 7 Dec 1994 02:21:49 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <199412062334.PAA21997@igc.apc.org> _________________________________________________________ FARM AID NEWS Volume 2, Number 24 Tuesday, December 6,1994 _________________________________________________________ Headlines: -Lame Duck Congress Ratifies GATT -Uruguay Round Sets Ag in New Direction -Consequences of New GATT Negative for Farmers, Consumers, Environment -Crafting Sustainable Farm Programs Nearly Impossible _________________________________________________________ LAME DUCK CONGRESS RATIFIES GATT Members of the 103rd Congress returned last week for a special lame-duck session to pass implementing legislation for the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. President Clinton prepared and submitted the 4,004-page GATT implementing legislation to Congress September 27. For a variety of political reasons, Clinton postponed the vote on GATT until after Thanksgiving; entrusting what he called a Rhistoric vote for American workers, farmers and familiesS to nearly 100 lame-duck members of Congress who will not return to implement the agreement next year. Despite a wide array of opposition to the trade accord over potential negative implications for agriculture and the environment, the House of Representatives voted in favor of the accord November 29 followed by the Senate December 1. Some nations will begin implementing the Uruguay Round January 1, when the World Trade Organization replaces GATT. Others who have not yet approved the accord will have until 1997 to do so. Of the 123 GATT contracting parties, fewer than 45 have ratified the trade pact. Many of the US.' key agriculture trading partners and competitors are among those who have yet to approve implementation of the Uruguay Round. Australia, Japan, South Korea, India and the European Union, for example, are still in the process of considering adoption of the accord. Much national debate in these countries over agriculture and other issues has stalled their ratification processes. The GATT Uruguay Round is expected to directly affect family farmers around the world. In the United States mandated imports, cuts in farm programs and restrictions on environmental farm incentives will seriously limit the arena within which Congress can negotiate sustainable farm bills. _________________________________________________________ URUGUAY ROUND SETS AG IN NEW DIRECTION The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade has historically supported countries' rights to craft food production systems that support national needs and demands. When GATT was signed into effect in 1947 by 25 member countries domestic agriculture laws were specifically protected by the international body. Today, however, more than 120 contracting parties belong to GATT and participate in the trade negotiation process largely focused on, among other issues, dismantling domestic agricultural provisions. The Uruguay Round took more than seven years to draft amid controversy, particularly over agricultural tariffication provisions. The final terms of the Uruguay Round mandate serious changes in U.S. farm laws and limit the future ability of our country to craft sustainable farm legislation. _________________________________________________________ CONSEQUENCES OF NEW GATT NEGATIVE FOR FARMERS, CONSUMERS, ENVIRONMENT The United States is not required to make many immediate farm program changes to satisfy new GATT rules. However, by approving the GATT Uruguay Round, Congress committed the United States to uphold the following future conditions and changes in U.S. farm laws: Mandated Imports and the Elimination of Import Control Laws. The GATT final text mandates minimum imports of 5 percent of domestic consumption for every farm commodity. For items where the U.S. currently imports less than 5 percent, such as dairy products, peanuts, soybeans and in some years wheat, 3 percent must first be imported and then raised to 5 percent within 6 years. For example, under the new GATT the United States will be required to import roughly 5 billion pounds worth of dairy products per year, which could displace 5-10,000 small to medium-sized U.S. dairy farmers. Import control laws which protect farmers from low priced imports subsidized below farmers' cost of production are banned. Existing U.S. import control laws, like Section 22 and the Meat Import Act, must be converted to tariffs and reduced by 36 percent over the next 6 years. Farm Program Cuts. Domestic farm programs were divided into two categories under GATT - those that are not subject to GATT mandated cuts and those that must be reduced or eliminated. The first set which remains untouched by GATT regulations includes, research; extension; some conservation programs; and direct government payments like deficiency payments. The second set of farm programs which must be reduced by 20 percent from a 1986- 90 base period over the next 6 years includes all programs which stabilize farm prices and reduce direct costs. Despite promises made by outgoing Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, CCC loan rates are eligible for cuts under the GATT. Not only are these programs set for 20 percent cuts, they are also bound against increases regardless of future increases in farmers' input costs, health care premiums, taxes and environmental mandates. This prohibition makes it nearly impossible to overcome the chronic negative economic conditions facing most family farmers. Export Dumping. GATT states that budgetary outlays for direct export subsidies must be reduced by 36 percent over six years. In addition, the quantity of goods to which these subsidies can be applied must be reduced by 21 percent compared to the 1986-90 reference period. However, because GATT members agreed to use 1986-1990 as the reference period, the final agreement has permitted an overall increase in both the percentage of export dumping for some crops and in the quantity of some commodities that can be dumped. Therefore, countries, like the U.S. and EU will be able to continue dumping subsidized commodities on the market and to continue to force down international and domestic prices below farmers' costs of production. Harmonization of Domestic Food Safety Laws. Federal and state food safety standards that are more strict than global standards will be open to GATT challenge as trade barriers if applied to imported food. This process of setting ceilings on food safety regulations is called harmonization. This means that food safety standards applied to imported foods will be under downward pressure towards generally less stringent international standards. Although domestically produced foods will still be required to meet local, state and federal government standards, there will be significant pressure to lower these standards to the weaker international levels to avoid placing U.S. farmers at a competitive disadvantage. _________________________________________________________ CRAFTING SUSTAINABLE FARM PROGRAMS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE Overall, the most serious consequence of the GATT Final Act for U.S. producers is its impact on the U.S. farm movement toward economic, environmental and social sustainability. There are a number of specific provisions within the agreement that work against current efforts to encourage farmers to farm in more environmentally sustainable ways. First, in Annex 2 of the GATT text, local, state or federal governments are specifically prohibited from providing economic incentives to encourage farmers to adopt environmentally sound production techniques. Second, the lower farm prices and resulting lower farm income resulting from GATT will make it much more difficult for farmers to move toward more sustainable practices. Lower farm prices have traditionally resulted in: %increased land under cultivation; %cultivated land farmed with more chemical intensity to increase yields; %organic producers encounter more difficulty in market; %agricultural land is more rapidly converted to industrial and commercial uses; %families owning their land are forced out and replaced by absentee/corporate owners; and %diversified livestock producers are replaced by large-scale feedlots. Third, The GATT Final Act specifically allows for the replacement of domestic farm programs with GATT-legal "decoupled" government payments. Family farmers have traditionally opposed this type of farm subsidy which they call "welfare payments." Past and current decoupling proposals in the United States call for a 30 percent cut in CCC loan rates and the elimination of set-asides and other supply management-type programs. The National Farmers Union and National Family Farm Coalition are working with Citizens Trade Campaign to monitor the impacts of GATT on family farmers, rural economies, the environment, consumer food prices and food quality. These groups will continue working with Congress and the Administration to create viable economic and environmental opportunities through the 1995 farm bill and in drafting yearly budget acts and by pressuring GATT members when they reconvene in 5 years to revisit agriculture provisions. _________________________________________________________ Sources: "Tokyo Move on Uruguay Round," FINANCIAL TIMES, December 2, 1994; Frances Williams, "GATT Criticizes Canada's High Farm Trade Tariffs," FINANCIAL TIMES, November 23, 1994; Mark Ritchie, "Final Agriculture Text of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade," IATP, December, 1993; "National Farmers Union President Reacts to GATT Vote," NFU NEWS RELEASE, December 1, 1994; "U.S. Leads GATT Ratification Rush," FINANCIAL --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (208) Tue 6 Dec 94 21:21 By: Gigi DiGiacomo To: All Re: 02:Farm Aid News 12-6-94 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b327 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @SPLIT: 12 Dec 94 13:35:48 @3641/223 9078 02/02 ++++++++++ From: gdigiacomo@igc.apc.org (Gigi DiGiacomo) @Subject: Farm Aid News 12-6-94 Date: 7 Dec 1994 02:21:49 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <199412062334.PAA21997@igc.apc.org> TIMES, December 6, 1994; Kevin Watkins, "Agriculture and Farm Trade in the GATT," CAP BRIEFING, March, 1989. _________________________________________________________ We welcome comments and suggestions: contact Harry Smith at FARM AID, (617) 354-2922. We encourage the reproduction of FARM AID NEWS. Produced by The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) for FARM AID. Editors: Gigi DiGiacomo and Harry Smith. For information on other agriculture bulletins, contact IATP: (612) 379-5980. _________________________________________________________ --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (209) Wed 7 Dec 94 3:55 By: walstib To: All Re: cmsg cancel <9412052054.AA08571@cs.du.edu> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b32f @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: walstib@andronix.org @Subject: cmsg cancel <9412052054.AA08571@cs.du.edu> Date: 07 Dec 1994 03:55:37 GMT @Message-Id: @Sender: cancelmoose@nvg.unit.no @Reply-To: na48985@anon.penet.fi This spam has been cancelled. An explanation of this action has been posted to news.admin.misc. Please read that message if you have any questions. Feel free to contact me at the Reply-To address if you have any further questions. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Whatsam (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (210) Wed 7 Dec 94 4:47 By: CrisCarusi To: All Re: job announcement ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b338 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: CrisCarusi@aol.com @Subject: job announcement Date: 7 Dec 1994 04:47:10 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <941206213606_7491037@aol.com> The University of Nebraska is seeking applicants for a full-time Agricultural Research Technician II, Position Number 43492. This position is responsible for alternative crops work and fulfulling a subcontract agreement with the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society to develop alternative crops and low input cropping systems, on-farm research projects and test plots, and assist in writing grant proposals, data summaries and publications, and a sustainable ag newsletter. An Associate's degree and three years of experience in an agricultural field are required. Continuation of the position beyond 18 months is dependent on securing additional grant funding. Starting salary is $19,165 per year. Send letter, resume, three letters of recommendation and transcripts to Dr. David D. Baltensperger, UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center, 4502 Avenue I, Scottsbluff, NE 69361. Closing date: January 3, 1995, or until a suitable candidate is hired. The University of Nebraska is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (211) Wed 7 Dec 94 4:56 By: Lawrence F. London, Jr. To: All Re: Re: EAST NC SMALL DIVERSE FARM PLAN ?s (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b339 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu (Lawrence F. London, Jr.) @Subject: Re: EAST NC SMALL DIVERSE FARM PLAN ?s (fwd) Date: 7 Dec 1994 04:56:35 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 06 Dec 94 13:39:18 GMT >From: Nikki Locke Subject: Re: EAST NC SMALL DIVERSE FARM PLAN ?s (fwd) In article <9412060443.AA24682@sunsite.oit.unc.edu> you write: > I intend to log the property this year. I will clearcut approximately 80% > of the tract. I would say that clearcutting 80% of the tract is probably an unwise move, from a Permaculture point of view. I suggest planning exactly what you want to do with the space (with the aid of a Permaculture designer, perhaps) first. Then cutting each tree only when you are ready to do something else with the land it's growing on. But then I am both unqualified, and inexperienced in Permaculture, and I may be talking rubbish. -- 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. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (212) Wed 7 Dec 94 5:02 By: Lawrence F. London, Jr. To: All Re: Re: EAST NC SMALL DIVERSE FARM PLAN ?s (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b33a @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu (Lawrence F. London, Jr.) @Subject: Re: EAST NC SMALL DIVERSE FARM PLAN ?s (fwd) Date: 7 Dec 1994 05:02:15 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: @Mime-Version: 1.0 @Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 12:53:53 -0700 >From: Sherwood Botsford Newgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Re: EAST NC SMALL DIVERSE FARM PLAN ?s (fwd) Only one comment: If you are removing 80% of the tree cover, give serious thought to which 80% in terms of it's impact on what you do later. E.g. Do you want sun or shade on the pond? (Oxygen solubility is very temperature dependent. Similarly you may want a windbreak to keep the wind from cooling the pond. If boarding horses, you may want patches of shade, May cut the forest in strips. Finally to maximize value, you may want to selective cut the forest now. This takes more work on your part, but can give you a huge increase in production. In NC, you have the possibility of managing a woodlot for various hardwoods. In some cases you may want to take out a third of the trees, then remove the limbs from the lower 30 feet of existing trees, and let them grow for another 20 years. Veneer companies drool over logs that have 4-8 inches of knotless wood on the outside. Go to your county extension agent, District Ag. agent, whatever, and talk to him. He probably has a zillion handouts. Good luck. -- => Sherwood Botsford sherwood@space.ualberta.ca <= => University of Alberta Lab Manager, Space Physics Group <= => tel:403 492-3713 fax: 403 492-4256 <= --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (213) Wed 7 Dec 94 7:11 By: PANNA InfoPubs To: All Re: Online Resource Pointer #12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b345 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: paninfopubs@igc.apc.org (PANNA InfoPubs) @Subject: Online Resource Pointer #12 Date: 7 Dec 1994 07:11:58 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: >From: PANNA InfoPubs ===================================== P A N U P S *** Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service ===================================== Online Resource Pointer #12 December 6, 1994 For copies of the following resources, please contact the appropriate publishers or organizations directly. *** *Deadly Donations: EU and World Bank Pesticide Aid to Albania, 1994.* Greenpeace. Describes the EU's Poland- Hungary Aid for the Reconstruction of the Economy programme's PHARE decision to export 214 tons of highly hazardous and carcinogenic pesticides including organophosphates, carbaryl, and endosulfan to Albania while the country already has 3,000 tons of the pesticides unused in storage in their government stores and collective farms. Also addresses how most of the country's privatized smallholding farmers can not afford the foreign pesticides, and have little if any experience handling pesticides. 23 pp. Greenpeace International- European Unit, 37-39 Rue de la Tourelle, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium; phone (32) 2-280.14.00; fax (32) 2-230.84.13. *Review of Pollution in the African Aquatic Environment (CIFA Technical Paper 25), 1994.* Davide Calamari (ed.) Summarizes the findings of the Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa (CIFA) Working Party on Pollution and Fisheries with special attention to the levels of heavy metal and organochlorines found the African inland waters and the need for pollution control strategies in that country. 118 pp. Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy. *Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development: New Directions for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 1994.* Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Outlines strategies to achieve sustainable agriculture and rural development (SARD) focusing on the issues and areas of action connected with SARD that are highlighted in UNCED's Agenda 21. 64 pp. Dr. Mohamed S. Zehni, Interdepartmental Working Group on Environment and Sustainable Development, Food and Agriculture Organization, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy; fax: 396 5225-5731; email: mohamed.zehni@fao.org. *Sustainability in the Balance.* Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS). Series of papers highlighting critical human and social justice issues that are linked with environmental issues in the movement toward sustainable agriculture. Intended to stimulate discussion and action on how the welfare of all people in food and agriculture can be included along with environmental and family farm issues as priorities for sustainable agriculture. Sustainability in the Balance, CASFS, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064; voice (408) 459-4140; fax (408) 459-2799. *The Poisoning of New Zealand, 1994.* Meriel Watts. Discusses the health consequences of the agrichemical industry in New Zealand from the effects of pesticides in the country's air, water, and food. Contains sections describing what one can do to detoxify one's body and how New Zealanders can stop pesticide abuse through legal and other actions. 224 pp. Auckland Institute of Technology Press, Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1020; phone 307-9999 Ext. 8340; fax 307-9974. *** 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.igc.apc.org | | =========================================================== --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]sustag- (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (214) Wed 7 Dec 94 10:26 By: Glenn A. Turner To: All Re: Re: Talloy Trees Info Wanted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b369 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: gturner@zeus.tamu.edu (Glenn A. Turner) @Subject: Re: Talloy Trees Info Wanted Date: 7 Dec 1994 10:26 CDT @Message-Id: <7DEC199410263921@zeus.tamu.edu> In article <3bp5ed$qhp@gaia.ucs.orst.edu>, davisd@ucs.orst.edu (David M. Davis - Public Safety) writes... >I am looking for info about some trees I think are called Talloy Trees. >They produce a berry very rich in oil... I am thinking of using the berries > for a fule crop for pellet stoves... I grew up in Southwest Louisiana, and Tallow trees are trying to take over in that area. I have also seen quite a few of them in Southeast Texas. I am by no means an expert on trees, but Tallow trees seem to be fast growing and very competitive. Local legend says that Tallow trees were introduced in Louisiana 50-75 years ago as fast growing shade trees and they have spread from there. I do not know where they are native to. Tallow trees are a problem in SW Louisiana because they love to grow on roadsides and in fencerows and neglected pastures. For all practical purposes, Tallow trees are useless. One could do well if he could find a use for Tallow trees or find an efficient way to control them. The only ways to control them now are fire, herbicides, and heavy duty mowers. Please keep me posted if you find anything. I am interested in finding a use for this imported, noxious tree. Glenn A. Turner, Misplaced Louisianan "My $0.02 worth" --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Texas A (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (215) Tue 6 Dec 94 23:11 By: PANNA InfoPubs To: All Re: Online Resource Pointer #12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b36c @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: PANNA InfoPubs @Subject: Online Resource Pointer #12 @Message-Id: Date: Tue, 06 Dec 1994 23:11:58 -0800 (PST) >From: PANNA InfoPubs ===================================== P A N U P S *** Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service ===================================== Online Resource Pointer #12 December 6, 1994 For copies of the following resources, please contact the appropriate publishers or organizations directly. *** *Deadly Donations: EU and World Bank Pesticide Aid to Albania, 1994.* Greenpeace. Describes the EU's Poland- Hungary Aid for the Reconstruction of the Economy programme's PHARE decision to export 214 tons of highly hazardous and carcinogenic pesticides including organophosphates, carbaryl, and endosulfan to Albania while the country already has 3,000 tons of the pesticides unused in storage in their government stores and collective farms. Also addresses how most of the country's privatized smallholding farmers can not afford the foreign pesticides, and have little if any experience handling pesticides. 23 pp. Greenpeace International- European Unit, 37-39 Rue de la Tourelle, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium; phone (32) 2-280.14.00; fax (32) 2-230.84.13. *Review of Pollution in the African Aquatic Environment (CIFA Technical Paper 25), 1994.* Davide Calamari (ed.) Summarizes the findings of the Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa (CIFA) Working Party on Pollution and Fisheries with special attention to the levels of heavy metal and organochlorines found the African inland waters and the need for pollution control strategies in that country. 118 pp. Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy. *Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development: New Directions for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 1994.* Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Outlines strategies to achieve sustainable agriculture and rural development (SARD) focusing on the issues and areas of action connected with SARD that are highlighted in UNCED's Agenda 21. 64 pp. Dr. Mohamed S. Zehni, Interdepartmental Working Group on Environment and Sustainable Development, Food and Agriculture Organization, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy; fax: 396 5225-5731; email: mohamed.zehni@fao.org. *Sustainability in the Balance.* Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS). Series of papers highlighting critical human and social justice issues that are linked with environmental issues in the movement toward sustainable agriculture. Intended to stimulate discussion and action on how the welfare of all people in food and agriculture can be included along with environmental and family farm issues as priorities for sustainable agriculture. Sustainability in the Balance, CASFS, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064; voice (408) 459-4140; fax (408) 459-2799. *The Poisoning of New Zealand, 1994.* Meriel Watts. Discusses the health consequences of the agrichemical industry in New Zealand from the effects of pesticides in the country's air, water, and food. Contains sections describing what one can do to detoxify one's body and how New Zealanders can stop pesticide abuse through legal and other actions. 224 pp. Auckland Institute of Technology Press, Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1020; phone 307-9999 Ext. 8340; fax 307-9974. *** 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.igc.apc.org | | =========================================================== --- * Origin: Psychotronic BBS (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (216) Wed 7 Dec 94 16:13 By: Tracy Aquilla To: All Re: Re: Chinese ant chalk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b37c @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: aquilla@salus.med.uvm.edu (Tracy Aquilla) @Subject: Re: Chinese ant chalk @Message-Id: @Sender: news@emba.uvm.edu Date: Wed, 7 Dec 1994 16:13:33 GMT In Article , wgoodman@acenet.auburn.edu (William Robert Goodman) wrote: >In <82a_9412011111@psybbs.durham.nc.us> Jim.Warren@125-33.psybbs.durham.nc.us (Jim Warren) writes: > >>I have tried various chemicals and spices as deterrents all to no avail. >>Imported "ant chalk" from china is the only thing that I have tried that seems >>to work and with which I feel safe. I get it in a little "ethnic" market. >>I don't know what is in it as it has only a few words of English on the package >>declaring it "safe for human and animal" and the chinese clerks seem unable to >>translate beyond "insect powder". I looks just like ordinary white chalk, >>however. For all I know, that is what it is! But when I chalk a line of this >>stuff around an area to be protected It does seem to scare the ants away. > > >its probably DDT or Chlordane in a chalk carrier (;-> > >actually probably not. probably some organic repellant, since it doesn't >kill them, just chases them off. But it does bring up an interesting >question....Shouldn't EPA have a label on this stuff if it is sold in the >US? It's obviously an agricultural chemical of some sort..... > >anybody know? > > >bob > > I've never heard of this stuff. It probably should be regulated under FIFRA, since it is apparently inended to be used as an insect control, but I don't see any potential agricultural applications for this product; it appears to be intended for home use. Besides boric acid, it could also be made of silica gel. A curiosity indeed. Tracy --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]EMBA Co (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (217) Wed 7 Dec 94 18:22 By: Larry London To: All Re: Tropics: Cassava and Waste Composting (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b3a1 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: london@sunsite.unc.edu (Larry London) @Subject: Tropics: Cassava and Waste Composting (fwd) Date: 7 Dec 1994 18:22:34 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412071748.AA19574@sunsite.oit.unc.edu> ------- start of forwarded message ------- >From: sawelch@utkvx.utk.edu Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture Subject: Tropics: Cassava and Waste Composting Date: Tue, 6 Dec 94 05:30:09 GMT Organization: University of Tennessee Keywords: cassava,compost,soil temp Greetings SA Subscribers I am currently working on an assignment that involves a proposed tropical sustainable system for cassava. I am finding a lack of background information on this crop and would like to hear from any and all that have insight on the following three questions. 1. Is there published research on the effect of lowered soil temperature on partitioning, that is, increased yield such as we see with potato? 2. Has anyone heard of improved cassava cultivars that respond positively to nutrient rich soil without going completely vegetative. 3. Are there any safe systems for the composting of human waste for use as cropping mulch? If so, how long does it take at a location with 85c daily averages year round? I appreciate your leads and ideas. Please post responses or send them directly to SAWELCH@utkvx.utk.edu Thank you, Steve Welch, Knoxville TN ------- end of forwarded message ------- --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]SunSITE (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (218) Wed 7 Dec 94 16:40 By: Tracy Aquilla To: All Re: Re: tomatoes and disease ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b3a6 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: aquilla@salus.med.uvm.edu (Tracy Aquilla) @Subject: Re: tomatoes and disease @Message-Id: @Sender: news@emba.uvm.edu Date: Wed, 7 Dec 1994 16:40:45 GMT In Article <1994Dec6.191945.7791@news.cs.indiana.edu>, "Kirk Job Sluder" wrote: >In article <3bu4t5$40p@martha.utk.edu>, wrote: >>Hello. I need some help with an assignment in my Crop Physiology and Ecology...(deleted)... > >Ok, I can only post as an undergraduate who has spent the past semester >working on a plant pathology project. If you want REAL detail you probably >should talk to professors in the Plant Pathology department on your own >campus. > >Hypersensitive response appears to be a very basic way of how plants >deal with pathogens. However the mechanisms behind hypersensitive response >and resistance are still not clear. (Resistance genes are difficult to isolate >and clone for various reasons.) Basically the cells surrounding the infection >die. As part of this, phytoalexins are produced. There are more questions >than answers as to how this happens. > >What is known is that resistance works on a gene for gene basis. In other >words, each virulence gene in a pathogen is counteracted by a single >resistance gene in the host. This is different from animal resistance >in which resistance is produced by recombination of a suite of genes with >a common functional base. > I think the gene for gene theory has been disproved (re. plant pathogens), and this information is considered outdated, but I don't have any references handy. Tracy --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]EMBA Co (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (219) Wed 7 Dec 94 5:02 By: wtrentha To: All Re: NATIVE PLANTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b3b2 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: wtrentha@utkvx.utk.edu @Subject: NATIVE PLANTS Date: Wed, 7 Dec 94 05:02:01 GMT @Message-Id: <3c4f90$1qn@martha.utk.edu> DO YOU KNOW OF ANY RESEARCH CONCERNING NATIVE OR TRADITIONAL N. AMERICAN PLANTS AND THIER POTENTIAL IN A CROPING SETTING? BOB TRENTHAM WTRENTHA@UTKVX.UTK.EDU QUIT END . --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Univers (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (220) Sat 10 Dec 94 0:41 By: David Briars To: All Re: Cuba goes organic ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:325/350.0 2ee93f86 From: NY Transfer News Collective Date: Mon, 5 Dec 1994 All the News that Doesn't Fit from Green Left Weekly #170 12/7/94 Cuban ecologist talks on green movement by Robyn Marshall BRISBANE - Cuban environmentalist Luis Sanchez told a meeting here on November 25 that the most pressing problem facing Cuba since the fall of the Eastern bloc was the production of food. Sanchez is touring Australia as a guest of the Australia-Cuba friendship Society and the Green Team, exchanging information on the green movement and in particular alternative ways of producing food using small-scale organic agriculture. A committee member of the ``Horticultural Group of Santa Fe'', he said the community is growing vegetables in the city itself, in between buildings and on the sides of streets. This was done to avoid the cost of oil for transporting food from the countryside to the city. They are growing tomatoes, cassava, sweet potato and lettuces using compost and animal manure. A Cuban video, The Greening of Cuba, showed this extraordinary process. Sanchez stressed that organic growing of food is a necessity if Cuba is to survive the 30-year blockade. The state provides seed and guarantees credit to the small city communities. He added that this is also the future of Cuban agriculture. Even if the blockade was lifted, Cuba could not return to the old ways of massive use of pesticides and chemicals and agriculture on a scale of 200 hectares. ``We have to change the way of thinking about agriculture and see agriculture as an alliance with nature not a war'', added Sanchez. On October 1, the Cuban government opened up the agricultural free market, where farmers can go to sell their excess produce to the public. Farmers first have to fill a set quota which is sold to the state to supply schools, hospitals and the official shops where people buy a set amount at a fixed price with their ration card. Once farmers have fulfilled their state obligations, they are permitted to sell in the market. The government is certain that it will stimulate production by opening the market in this way and still maintain its socialist objectives. The amount of food on the ration card guarantees some rice, beans, meat, sugar (12kg) and oil per month, about 60gm of protein per person, per day. Children aged 3-7 are guaranteed a litre of milk a day, but other Cubans don't have access to milk because of the shortage of cattle and the high cost of feed. The consumption of protein in Cuba at the moment is low but no-one is dying of hunger. Sanchez said that everyone is riding bicycles to work and is very fit. They are eating a lot more sugar for energy. However the production of their export crop, sugar, is still a problem because the sugar varieties they use need fertilisers and pesticides. -30- Six-month airmail subscriptions (22 issues) to Green Left Weekly are available for A$60 (North America) and A$75 (South America, Europe & Africa) from PO Box 394, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia -- + 212-675-9690 NY TRANSFER NEWS COLLECTIVE 212-675-9663 + + Since 1985: Information for the Rest of Us + + e-mail: nyt@blythe.org info: info@blythe.org + --- Maximus 2.02 * Origin: The Lamron Institute, Craftsbury VT (1:325/350) @PATH: 325/350 805 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (221) Mon 12 Dec 94 8:12 By: Cissy Bowman To: JAMES ROWE Re: Re: [PANUPS] 40.000 US Fa ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:231/710 2EE56E63 In a message to CISSY BOWMAN <12-07-94 12:53> JAMES ROWE wrote: JR> Why should those who are in already in poverty go hungry, due to the JR> fact that JR> the government pays the farmers to destroy food? There is much wrong with our government programs. It seems that seldom do those who really have needs benefit, while others get rich. Farmers need to be given back the options of what and how to grow it, and consumers need to realize that the price of our so-called cheap food is full of hidden costs that we pay in higher taxes to subsidize programs. Destroying food is wasteful, and for lack of a better word, is a sin. The fact that anyone prefers to throw away food that could be given to the poor shows the cold-heartedness that people are embracing today. We ran a farmer's market stand last year and got in trouble for storing milk--that was given to us--for one day until we could take it to the mission. We were discouraged from accepting WIC coupons or food stamps. We made it part of our weekly business to donate food and to encourage others to do so. The majority of people I have tried to involve in this project over the past 5 years have refused to take on the extra time to sort usable product from garbage, or to help in any way to haul leftover stuff to the missions just a few blocks away. If people would take on just a little extra responsibility for their fellow man, we wouldn't have so much rampant hunger or poverty. JR> Another of the right wing lies is that people who are in poverty JR> chose to be JR> that way. I broke my back on the job. I was in the process of JR> improving my JR> life, working for my piece of the American Dream. Now I am being JR> forced to mo JR> JR> from my home, because my landlord doesn't feel like getting the JR> permit he need JR> to rent his property. This is the second time this year I have been JR> forced to JR> move, and neither time has it been my fault. As the daughter of a man who became chronically ill when I was 3, I am well aware of how hard-working, caring people can have things happen which forever alter their abilities to have financial security. For what it's worth, poverty taught me a lot more than comfort would have, and gave me perspectives that I treasure. I hope some good things begin to happen to you, and please don't give up or allow these experiences to ruin your faith in that things can get better. How are you doing now? Are you going to be able to recover without permanent injury? For what it's worth, it has always helped me to know that no matter how bad I have it, that there is always someone else out there who has it worse. Are you writing any letters to our legislators about what you would like to see changed in the farm bill of 1995? Share your feelings with them. Sometimes they actually listen. Even if they don't, I keep on telling them what I think. --- QuickBBS 2.80 Ovr (Zeta-1) * Origin: * The H.O.M.E. BBS - (317) 539-6579 * (1:231/710) @PATH: 231/710 2880 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (222) Mon 12 Dec 94 9:33 By: South Country Community Assoc. To: Doreen Clancy Re: Tire Houses ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @PID: RA 2.02 80118 @MSGID: 1:358/1 548ab65c @REPLY: 1:353/385.0 2ee5296c @TID: GE 1.11+ Doreen, I wasn't asking about them but our organization is looking at any alternative building materials. Leave a message here about how i may get a copy of this article. We would appreciate that. --- * Origin: The TERMINAL BBS Lethbridge, AB, CAN [403]327-9731 (1:358/1) @PATH: 358/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (230) Sat 3 Dec 94 14:33 By: Si Deane To: All Re: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b749 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: deanes@ndlc.occ.uky.edu (Si Deane) @Subject: Re: ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL Date: 3 Dec 1994 14:33:11 GMT @Message-Id: <3bpvj7$7fv@sparc.occ.uky.edu> Allen Dick 546-2588 (dicka@cuug.ab.ca) wrote: : Colorado HIP (cohip@Cygnus.COM) wrote: : : Do other countries grow hemp for fiber? : : Canada, England, France, Hungary, Spain, China, : : Czechoslovakia, and many other countries in the European : : Community and elsewhere already grow industrial hemp as a fiber : : crop. Soon, the U.S. will be importing hemp products from these : : countries at the expense of American farmers! Just a note to let you know that the governor of Kentucky just appointed a hemp task force. (Just before Thanksgiving to look into alternative crops for tobacco. Potential uses include: fiber, biomass fuel conversion, paper pulp, and pharmacutials?(?). Kentucky is the ideal growing climate, and tobacco farmers have everything needed to grow and cure it. Kentucky was chosen to grow hemp for the war effort in 1940s, when the US actually issued hemp bases. --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]The NDL (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (231) Sat 10 Dec 94 3:50 By: Cyronwode To: All Re: Re: permaculturists in sierra foothills? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b846 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: cyronwode@aol.com (Cyronwode) @Subject: Re: permaculturists in sierra foothills? Date: 10 Dec 1994 03:50:03 -0500 @Sender: news@newsbf01.news.aol.com @Message-Id: <3cbq3r$g2g@newsbf01.news.aol.com> In article <3b32vt$pkp@newsbf01.news.aol.com>, muddhaid@aol.com (MUDDHAID) writes: >Is there anyone out there interested in or practicing permaculture in the >sierra foothills in northern california? If so, what have you been doing >and for how long? What species have you found to be most sucessful? Do >you have a garden that others can visit? Muddhaid, i don't know of any Permaculturists in the Sierra foothills, but there are a few in western Sonoma County, e.g. at La Tierra Community in Sebastopol, where Bill Mollison and Scott Pittman recently taught a course. cat --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]America (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (232) Sat 10 Dec 94 1:00 By: Gil Hardwick To: All Re: Re: more hemp BS (was ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b84a @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 @Message-Id: <284@landmark.DIALix.oz.au> @Reply-To: gil@landmark.DIALix.oz.au (Gil Hardwick) From: gil@landmark.DIALix.oz.au (Gil Hardwick) Date: Sat, 10 Dec 1994 01:00:16 GMT @Subject: Re: more hemp BS (was ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL) In article , Tracy Aquilla (aquilla@salus.med.uvm.edu) writes: . . . >environmental problems. Personally, I couldn't care less what they chose to >do with their time here on earth; smoke 'em if you got 'em! What I'd like >the audience to focus on is the real issue, not the appearance or the choice >of lifestyle of those presenting the argument. Peace. > Tracy What is the "real" issue, Tracy? The matter at hand as I understand it is concerned with examining the viability of alternative crops, of which there are very many indeed. The immediate problem we appear to be having to cope with here, at the cost of good quality research into the _broad range_ of options, has nothing whatever to do with the life style of hippies but with this one-dimensional view propagated on the one hand very interestingly by people who appear to know a great deal about Cannabis without ever having gone into commercial fibre production, and on the other hand by their adversaries. With the rest of us cast into one side or another, but in the end only being targetted by both for daring to speak at all. Maybe people simply do not want to get sucked into that. How about we just get off this putative "prejudice" against hippies, and off this political agenda controlled and propagated by the psychedelics (again NOT known for the quality of their paper), aided and abetted no doubt by the lawyers with their Draft Bills and Action Alerts on behalf of a Free Society, and at this point at least get back onto something even remotely reminiscent of open scientific enquiry. Else, please do show us some fibre samples, a breakdown of production costs, market analysis, and an estimate of gross margins which might reasonably be expected for a commercial grower. That we might compare with, say, those for Hibiscus cannabinus. Thanks. --- * Origin: Psychotronic BBS (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (233) Sat 10 Dec 94 21:09 By: David Hill To: All Re: Honoring of the Elders Pow Wow ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b855 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: dhill@apple.com (David Hill) @Subject: Honoring of the Elders Pow Wow Date: 10 Dec 1994 21:09:43 GMT @Message-Id: All My Relations, Below is a letter the Tena Council sends out each year to help raise support for the Honoring of The Elders Gathering at Mt. Madonna County Park in Santa Clara County, California held June 10th and 11th. It seems that every year, it takes more and more effort to raise support for important events that try to keep alive the ceremonies and spirit of the Native American way. Please help. Also, please post this anywhere you think appropriate. Dear Friend Sensitive people across the Earth are struggling to maintain a spiritual life in an increasingly dark and hostile environment. The Tena Council is a group of Indian and non-Indian people devoted to keeping alive native spirituality for future generations. we respectfully ask for your help. Our Council supports weekly gatherings, the Big Mountain Sundance, hosts the California Bear Dance, and contributes to youth drum and dance groups, among other things. We also foster dialog between inner city gang members. Each year we organize a special event called ³The Honoring of the Elders Gathering². In it¹s tenth year, this is a weekend Pow Wow held at Mt. Madonna County Park in June. As many as 4,000 people will come together to enjoy themselves in a traditional way without drugs or alcohol. Not only do we honor our elders with dances and presents, we teach our children to respect the preceeding generations. In so doing we participate in the interconnectedness of life. The Elders Gathering has become increasingly complex and costly since the first event in 1985. We need to pay for a park permit, sheriff¹s patrol, liability insurance, portable toilets and more. The cost of sponsoring this event has become more than a group such as ours can bear. We can use monetary donations of any size. Your generosity will help to ensure the continuity of the gathering this year and for years to come... Please send any contributions to: Tena Council P.O. Box 1985 Hollister, CA. 95024 Or contact the Tena Council at: 408-638-2179 You may also email me for more information: dhill@apple.com -- "Boy, ya gots ta be smarter than the mosheenery" Jerry Hill "There's a Monster on the loose, it's got our head's into the noose. And it just sits there watchin..." John Kay --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Apple C (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (234) Mon 12 Dec 94 23:19 By: Jean Merrick To: All Re: GREAT NEWS ! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b86f @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: jean.merrick@lunatic.com (Jean Merrick) @Subject: GREAT NEWS ! @Message-Id: <1795.1366.uupcb@lunatic.com> Date: 12 Dec 94 23:19:00 GMT @Reply-To: jean.merrick@lunatic.com (Jean Merrick) ............................................................ ... ... .... Auto-Net Internet Automation v3.0 .... ... ... ............................................................ AutoNet will be appearing in an Upcoming Internet BOOK from Que Publishing. 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Get a free TRIAL copy from local bulletin boards (filename AUTONT30.ZIP): FREQ: AUTONET from 1:124/7017 or mail: SEND AUTONET to autonet@unicomp.net AVRock - no login needed! (214) 606-1485 Hogard Software Solutions (214) 641-6292 Blues Cafe (214) 638-1181 MindLink (214) 221-9672 TechLine (214) 317-4345 Internet: wuarchive.wustl.edu /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/utils The author may be contacted: autonet@unicomp.net CompuServe: 71441,2723 ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 ---- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Lunatic Fringe BBS * 214-235-5288 * 3 nodes * Richardson, TX* UseNet,ILink,RIME,FIDO,Intelec,LuciferNet,PlanoNet,U'NI-net and more! Free 30 Day Trial Subscription * Upload/Download on First Call!! --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]The Lun (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (235) Mon 12 Dec 94 20:17 By: Elisheva Kaufman To: All Re: SEARCH: BIO-DYNAMICS in ISRAEL ? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b870 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: Elisheva Kaufman @Subject: SEARCH: BIO-DYNAMICS in ISRAEL ? @Message-Id: Date: Mon, 12 Dec 1994 20:17:44 -0800 (PST) Search: Bio-Dynamics in Israel I am a bio-organic gardener and environmental educator, who will be moving to Israel this coming summer. Any suggestions as to sustainable ag contacts, or programs? I am developing a program combiningg research of ancient sustainable ag methods with practical applications for today in the mid-east. call elisheva 802-223-0469, e-mail elisheva@igc.apc.org --- * Origin: Psychotronic BBS (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (236) Tue 13 Dec 94 10:18 By: Ian Staples To: All Re: Re: more hemp BS (was ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b883 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: ianst@qdpii.ind.dpi.qld.gov.au (Ian Staples) @Subject: Re: more hemp BS (was ACTION ALERT: 1995 FARM BILL) @Message-Id: Date: Tue, 13 Dec 1994 10:18:51 GMT aquilla@salus.med.uvm.edu (Tracy Aquilla) writes: >In Article <284@landmark.DIALix.oz.au>, gil@landmark.DIALix.oz.au (Gil >Hardwick) wrote: >>Else, please do show us some fibre samples, a breakdown of production >>costs, market analysis, and an estimate of gross margins which might >>reasonably be expected for a commercial grower. That we might compare with, >>say, those for Hibiscus cannabinus. >This would be quite difficult, since hemp cultivation has long been illegal >in this country (and most others), thus there are probably not many records >of input costs, yields, etc. to be had. There are no estimates of gross >margins for commercial growers because there are no commercial growers (in Couldn't someone make a start based on the industry as it was during WWII ? (Or was the "documentary" shown here recently re Govt encouragement of hemp production "to win the War" just so much crap?) -- Ian Staples E-mail : ianst@dpi.qld.gov.au c/- P.O. Box 1054 MAREEBA Phone : +61 (0)70 921 555 Home 924 847 Queensland Australia 4880 Fax : +61 (0)70 923 593 " " " --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]Queensl (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (237) Wed 14 Dec 94 15:20 By: Larry London To: All Re: Group Opposes Gene-Altered Squash (fwd) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/223 0006b968 @PID GIGO+ sn 175 at psybbs vsn 0.99 pl1 From: london@sunsite.unc.edu (Larry London) @Subject: Group Opposes Gene-Altered Squash (fwd) Date: 14 Dec 1994 15:20:52 -0000 @Sender: daemon@bigblue.oit.unc.edu @Message-Id: <9412141505.AA29717@sunsite.oit.unc.edu> ------- start of forwarded message ------- >From: ndallen@io.org (Nigel Allen) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture,misc.rural,talk.environment Subject: Group Opposes Gene-Altered Squash Date: 14 Dec 1994 02:48:54 -0500 Here is a press release from the Union of Concerned Scientists. I downloaded the press release from the PR On-Line BBS in Maryland at 410-363-0834. I do not work for or belong to the UCS. Scientists Denounce USDA Approval of Gene-Altered Squash To: National Desk, Science Writer Contact: Margaret Mellon or Jane Rissler, 202-332-0900 both of the Union of Concerned Scientists WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Union of Concerned Scientists denounced today's decision by the Department of Agriculture to approve commercialization of the Upjohn Co.'s genetically engineered squash. The yellow crookneck squash, which is genetically altered to resist infection by two plant viruses, will be the first crop grown on a commercial scale that is genetically engineered to be virus-resistant. "USDA should not have approved the Upjohn squash for commercial use," said Dr. Margaret Mellon, director of the Agriculture and Biotechnology Program at UCS. "The squash raises serious environmental concerns that were not adequately addressed by the USDA." Commercial planting of the squash could create new and worse plant viruses, convert squash crops into weeds, and transfer new genes into wild and weedy relatives of squash. A recent study by two Michigan State University virologists showed that a viral gene spliced into a plant can recombine with genes infecting viruses to create new viral strains. "USDA has conducted a shoddy risk assessment," said Dr. Jane Rissler, a senior staff scientist at UCS. "Today's approval sets a dangerous precendent for the future, because it will likely set the standard for other genetically engineered products." "If this is going to be the government's approach to genetically engineered crops, it is a bleak day for the environment," said Mellon. USDA approval will allow the squash to be sold in the marketplace as food. Last month the Food and Drug Administration pronounced the squash safe as a food. As a result, this will be the first genetically engineered whole food to go into the food supply unlabelled. Drs. Mellon and Rissler recently completed a report, "Perils Amidst the Promise: Ecological Risks of Transgenic Crops in a Global Market," that details a number of the ecological risks of virsus-resistant crops. The Union of Concerned Scientists is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing responsible public policies in areas where technology plays a critical role. The Agriculture and Biotechnology Program at UCS promotes sustainable agriculture and evaluates the role of biotechnology in agriculture, including risks and benefits. -30- ------- end of forwarded message ------- --- * Origin: [via Psychotronic BBS = Durham, NC = 919-286-4542]SunSITE (1:3641/1) @PATH: 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (239) Tue 13 Dec 94 10:12 By: Jim Dixon To: Lawrence London Re: NDN: Anyone reading posts from alt.sustainable agriculture in SUST_AG St: Rcvd ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:353/295.0 2eedd612 Hi Lawrence, I keep getting the following message in my NetMail area. I haven't sent Netmail to you or the site and wonder if you are trying to send something here? All I have done to deserve anything from Gateway@... is to reply in this echo (SUSTAG). * Original Area: Netmail * Original From: Gateway@bodyshop.co.uk (1:105/42) * Original To : Jim Dixon (1:353/295) From: Gateway@bodyshop.co.uk (Gateway) Subject: NDN: Anyone reading posts from alt.sustainable agriculture in SUST_AG Message-ID: <199412112055.UAA28576@ns.cityscape.co.uk> Date: 11 Dec 1994 18:30:58 -0000 Sorry. Your message could not be delivered to: * Sustainable Agriculture,The Body Shop HQ (The name was not found at the remote site. Check that the name has been entered correctly.) -- The views expressed above are not necessarily the views of The Body Shop International Plc. ------------------------------- Jim --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Canadian EarthCare Foundation (604) 769-5097 (1:353/295) @PATH: 353/295 211 210 251 250 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (240) Wed 14 Dec 94 10:34 By: JAMES ROWE To: CISSY BOWMAN Re: Re: [PANUPS] 40.000 US Fa ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @EID:7FF6 F58E5440 CB> How are you doing now? Are you going to be able to recover without CB> permanent injury? CB> For what it's worth, it has always helped me to know that no matter CB> how bad I have it, that there is always someone else out there who has CB> it worse. Are you writing any letters to our legislators about what CB> you would like to see changed in the farm bill of 1995? Share your CB> feelings with them. Sometimes they actually listen. CB> Even if they don't, I keep on telling them what I think. Well, funny you should ask. My spine may be recovering well, I'm not sure. I seem to have something which is making my bones brittle. I broke my left thumb about two months ago, and it's getting worse instead of better, but that`s not important. What is important is that you and other people like you DO care, so at least in that sense I'm not alone. I have started a TRUTH campaign. I am out to expose those hypocrites who call themselves Christians for what they are. have taken such a strong defensive stance of Christs words that it seems that I want anything done, I'm going to have to follow everything he said. So, wha I am doing is heading out into the world to spread the word that we can care about each other, and that we can solve the worlds problems. I am interested in Cuba and Haiti. These are two places where there is great need for inspiration. Jesus himself said that the teachers would not be accepted in their own land. I guess that the average American would think I a crazy, however there are people who will take me seriously. Now it looks like I'm doing a north American tour with my girlfriend, but I'm not even sure of that. I'm being pulled and pushed and have no idea where I"m going to end up, but I have faith that the human race can overcome obsticals greater than greed. But anyway, continue to do the work you have been doing. Giving to the needy is one of those things which separates us from `lower' life forms. If t right wing would like to be treated as though humans are something special, wh do they act less civilized than pack animals? ... May All Rejoice In Jesus: Utilize All New Abilities! ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- GOMail v2.0s Beta [94-0367] * Origin: Enviro-Link BBS, Rochester, NY (716) 359-0008 (1:2613/208) @PATH: 2613/208 5 270/101 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (248) Thu 15 Dec 94 19:33 By: Lawrence London To: Jim Dixon Re: NDN: Anyone reading posts from alt.sustainable agriculture in SUST_AG St: Local Sent ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/1.502 ae937a45 @REPLY: 1:353/295.0 2eedd612 @PID: FM 2.02 > Hi Lawrence, > I keep getting the following message in my NetMail area. I haven't > * Original Area: Netmail > * Original From: Gateway@bodyshop.co.uk (1:105/42) > * Original To : Jim Dixon (1:353/295) > Sorry. Your message could not be delivered to: > * Sustainable Agriculture,The Body Shop HQ (The name was not found I'll fix that. Its coming from a sustag-public mailing list subscriber. sustag-public is gated into alt.sustainable.agriculture which id gated into this echo, SUST_AG. I'll manually unsubscribe that site from the list. Lawrence EARTH*Net Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo FidoNet: 1:3641/1.502 Internet: london@sunSITE.unc.edu Chapel Hill, North Carolina --- * Origin: EARTH*Net-Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo (1:3641/1.502) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (283) Sat 17 Dec 94 23:47 By: David Knedlik To: All/Moderator Re: Rules of Echo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @PID: BWRA 3.01 [Eval] @MSGID: 2:2490/3035.0 2ef3bedc Hello all, I am the SYSOP of MM BBS in Bamberg, Germany. Just connected to this echo and noticed most posts were news/informationm related. Is this a READ-ONLY echo? If so please let me know so I can properly mark it on the BBS. Also I would appriciate if you could post any other pertinant rules also. CYA Dave ... URA Redneck if you have more than two brothers named Bubba or Junior. ___ Messenger 1.1 [Unreg] --- FMail/386 0.98 * Origin: MM BBS, Bamberg, Germany 049-951-131754 (2:2490/3035) @PATH: 2490/3035 3001 240/5500 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (289) Mon 19 Dec 94 11:15 By: Lawrence London To: David Knedlik Re: Rules of Echo [Mission Statement and Rules for SUST_AG] St: Local Sent ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/1.502 b08ab300 @REPLY: 2:2490/3035.0 2ef3bedc @PID: FM 2.02 > I am the SYSOP of MM BBS in Bamberg, Germany. Just connected to > this echo and noticed most posts were news/informationm related. > Is this a READ-ONLY echo? If so please let me know so I can > properly mark it on the BBS. No, SUST_AG is a FidoNet echo only and is fully interactive, read-write. The Usenet newsgroup alt.sustainable.agriculture was gated into it briefly but no longer. Gating was discontinued last week. Just Fido from here on. > Also I would appriciate if you could post any other pertinant > rules also. .................><.................><................. MISSION OF SUST_AG, the FidoNet Sustainable Agriculture Echo: FIDONET: Sustainable Agriculture (Tagname: SUST_AG, Status: Backbone) homeowner-gardener/market gardener/farmer/landscaper/ herbalist/horticulturist/nurseryman/orchardist/alternative energy/environmental subjects. Moderator: Lawrence London Host system: 1:3641/1.502 Sustainable Agriculture (conference) (Tagname: SUST_AG, Status: Backbone) homeowner-gardener/market gardener/farmer/ landscaper/herbalist/horticulturist/ nurseryman/orchardist/alternative energy/ environmental subjects. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE ECHO A Sustainable Agriculture conference is currently available as a FidoNet BackBone Echo. "Sustainable Agriculture" (TagName: SUST_AG) should provide interesting reading for anyone interested in keeping up with developments in this important field. The impact of farming, gardening,landscaping, and nursery work on the environment should be among the more often explored topics on this echo. It was begun partly in response to an expressed need for a forum for discussion of the pros and cons of existing agricultural methods. Labor intensive, raised-bed organic market gardening will be discussed in depth. Information sharing will play an important part in making the echo useful. Participation will be encouraged by gardeners (homeowners and professionals), landscapers, nurserymen and farmers, large and small. Users with a preference for organic methods and those preferring partial/complete use of chemicals are equally welcome. It is hoped that discussion and information exchange will benefit all and result in increased productivity and quality of yield for growers. Reduction of pollution and revitalization of the environment that sustains us could be considered another obvious goal. Biologically-oriented, low-input regenerative methods in agriculture will constitute the primary focus of SUST_AG. It is my hope that this conference will encompass a broad and detailed array of subjects for in depth discussion by homeowners as well as professionals, regardless of background. As moderator of this new echo I welcome you all and hope that you will enjoy Sustainable Agriculture as much as I. Your suggestions and input are heartily encouraged. Lawrence F. London, Jr. - Moderator, SUST_AG EARTH*Net bio-ag info services Venaura Farm Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A. EARTH*Net provides information on such topics as: sustainable agriculture, gardening, farming, landscaping, nursery work, horticulture, ecology, permaculture, homesteading, back-to-the-land, hydroponics, aquaculture, rural issues/technology/ crafts, solar technology, greenhouse technology, alternative energy sources, home-built power systems, orcharding, herb growing, nutrition, blacksmithing and metalwork, woodworking, energy-efficient house design and construction The Sustainable Agriculture Echo is broad in scope in an attempt to encourage discussion of as many of the above-mentioned topics as possible and is oriented to the homeowner-backyard practitioner, the part-time commercial grower/ producer, and the professional full-time producer/ practioner. I am hopeful that EARTH*Net will become a link in a network of computer-based information/ message systems promoting Sustainable Agriculture. SUST_AG is intended to provide a forum for discussion of a broad range of subjects encompassing agricultural activity in diverse areas. It is hoped that participants in this echo will enjoy the freedom to delve into any of the many fascinating topics that may be suggested by its name, Sustainable Agriculture. Inasmuch as there are so many subjects to be explored in the world of gardening, farming, landscaping and pursuit of a sustainable, healthy environment opportunities for learning through information exchange within this medium should abound. AREA SUST_AG TITL Sustainable Agriculture DESC A forum for information exchange on DESC the subject of natural, biologically- DESC oriented, low-input regenerative DESC agriculture. Discussion of a broad DESC array of related topics is encouraged. DESC Farmers, market gardeners, homeowners, DESC homesteaders, landscapers, nurserymen, DESC seedsmen, orchardists, permaculturists, DESC herbalists, greenhouse growers and others DESC are welcome regardless of background. It DESC is hoped that this echo will help build a DESC network of users interested in and/or DESC involved in permanent agriculture. MOD Lawrence London, 1:3641/1.502 EARTH*Net Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo FidoNet: 1:3641/1.502 Internet: london@sunSITE.unc.edu Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA RULES FOR SUST_AG, the FidoNet Sustainable Agriculture Echo: I. The _take it to Netmail_ category: 1. Complaints, flames, reprimands, etc. II. Off Topic category: 1. Discussion of race, religion, politics 2. Personal chat not involving ag/gardening/etc. III. General Category: 1. Discussion should be of a friendly and helpful nature and be in good taste (some profanity will be tolerated, commmon sense and discretion will suffice here), criticism and heated discussion will be considered appropriate as long as threats, flames, and insults are not involved. 2. All postings shall be of a strictly legal nature. 3. SUST_AG is intended to provide a forum for discussion of a broad range of subjects encompassing agricultural activity in diverse areas. It is hoped that participants in this echo will enjoy the freedom to delve into any of the many fascinating topics that may be suggested by its name, Sustainable Agriculture. Inasmuch as there are so many subjects to be explored in the world of gardening, farming, landscaping and pursuit of a sustainable, healthy environment, keeping one's posts on-topic should not be a difficult task. 4. Crosspostings of messages from other nets and other echoes into SUST_AG will be considered appropriate as long as the content of those posts is consistent with the mission of this echo and contributes positively toward dialog and information exchange. Messages from SUST_AG may be cross-posted into other echoes and other networks as desired. You might also be interested in this if you have Internet access: Accessing Resources At sunSITE.unc.edu -------------------------------------- WAIS (also available via telnet) World Wide Web (also available via telnet, lynx available for vt100 users) URL: http://sunsite.unc.edu anonymous ftp ftpmail (Send e-mail to ftpmail@sunsite.unc.edu for helpfile on ftpmail usage) Gopher (also available via telnet) gopher sunsite.unc.edu telnet Login: (follow login instructions for access to WAIS, gopher, ftp, lynx) (vt100 works fine) Navigating the FTP Directories and Gopher Menus: ------------------------------------------------- Anonymous ftp: ftp sunSITE.unc.edu Login: anonymous Password: (enter your Internet E-Mail ID) cd pub/academic cd agriculture/sustainable_agriculture cd sunSITE-Sustainable-Agriculture cd gardening/gardening-faqs cd pub/academic/agriculture/rural-skills cd pub/academic/medicine/alternative-healthcare cd pub/academic/environment/alternative-energy/energy-resources cd pub/academic/environment/pesticide-education Gopher: The Worlds of sunSITE Sustainable Agriculture Information SunSITE Sustainable Agriculture Information sunSITE-Sustainable-Agriculture gardening gardening-faqs links to: Rural Skills: etc. Alternative Energy Alternative Healthcare Pesticide Education - other Gopher sites with ag/gardening information The Worlds of SunSITE browse sunSITE archives academic agriculture sustainable_agriculture sunSITE-Sustainable-Agriculture gardening gardening-faqs rural-skills The Worlds of sunSITE browse sunSITE archives academic environment alternative energy energy-resources The Worlds of sunSITE browse sunSITE archives academic medicine alternative healthcare The Worlds of sunSITE browse sunSITE archives academic environment pesticide education About the Archives: ------------------- Newsgroup, mailing-list, newsletter archives/documents/FAQs on sustainable agriculture, permaculture, IPM, landscaping, gardening, farming, rural skills, horticulture, metalworking, woodworking, weather, housebuilding, food, cooking, nutrition, ecology, environment, pesticide education, health and safety, survivalism, beekeeping, food preservation, alternative: healthcare, energy, architecture, housing, communities and many other related topics. FAQs for these newsgroups (partial list): ----------------------------------------- [list deleted] Documents (partial list): ------------------------- historic food sourdough bread-yoghurt-kraut-fermented foods vegetarian cooking alternative architecture alternative/co-housing, sustainable/intentional communities - co-operatives alternative healthcare health and safety faqs sustainable agriculture gardening-farming-rural life gardening faqs landscaping landscape architecture permaculture integrated pest management hydrology meteorology beekeeping hydroponics biological pest control bioremediation aquaculture guides to Internet agriculture/healthcare/environment/biology resources homeopathy ayurveda nutrition meditation survivalism food preservation Newsletters [partial list]: --------------------------- American Garden Newsletter ipmnet-news aanews aosa.news ben panups safefood-news susag-news vita-news altag-news apis attranews-digest cgiar-news csas-news food-safety-week handsnet-news leopold-center-news wsaa-news Mailing Lists [partial list]: ----------------------------- permaculture-mg, sustag-public, sanet-mg, sust_ag-mg, sustag-principles, renew-energy, nc-solar, ipm-mg For more information contact: Lawrence F. London, Jr. london@sunSITE.unc.edu EARTH*Net bio-ag info services Venaura Farm Chapel Hill, N.C., U.S.A. --- * Origin: EARTH*Net-Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo (1:3641/1.502) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (359) Sun 18 Dec 94 5:59 By: Dan Smith To: Seed Message Re: N ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:318/22 2ef3cfab THIS SEED STARTS THIS MESSAGE BASE --- Dennis_Toss V9.03 * Origin: IT'S YOUR NICKEL BBS (1:318/22) @PATH: 318/22 911 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (417) Wed 21 Dec 94 10:28 By: John Hartman To: David Knedlik Re: Re: Rules of Echo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @PID: QE 2.80 Zeta 1+ @MSGID: 1:231/230 2EF16BE5 I'm not the moderator, but, no, this is not a read-only echo. Any input from your side of the pond would be appreciated. BTW, you sure do have fine Rauchbier in your town. I spent many a fine evening there. --- QuickBBS 2.80 Ovr (Zeta-1) * Origin: ORDOVICIAN OOZE * In the heart of Indiana * (1:231/230) @PATH: 231/230 1500 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (484) Thu 22 Dec 94 22:23 By: Don Charron To: All Re: alternative crops ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3413/107.0 2efa5eb4 This is my first message on this echo so I hope it is on topic. We have a quarter section of land about 100 miles east of Edmonton, ALberta, Canada. It has a continental type climate and I believe it is zone 3. The soil is light. I am looking for alternative small plot crops to grow in place of the usual canola,wheat,barley etc. Any legal suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance for any info. --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Vermilion Lighthouse, Vermilion, AB (1:3413/107) @PATH: 3413/107 1000 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (492) Fri 23 Dec 94 11:14 By: Helen Fleischer To: All Re: high low tech ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:261/1137@fidonet.org cb8d8b3d Well, I admit to being eccentric, but in case there are other eccentrics out there, I'll pass on an interesting experiment I made this morning. You see I have one of those old Atlas pasta machines. You know the nice chrome ones that roll out the dough and cut noodles, but don't do anything else like make ravioli, etc. I recently decided I wasn't going to be using it to make noodles any more, so I moved it to my studio to use it for rolling Sculpey and Fimo. I've been enjoying it for that, but that's not the news. The news is I kept looking at that noodle cutter half and thinking how much it looks like the guts of a paper shredder. Well today I took a local tabloid newspaper I know uses soy inks, pulled off a sheet of 4 pages, folded it on the existing fold and again parallel to that so I had a 6 inch wide piece and ran it through the wider of the two noodle cutters. In a matter of seconds I hand a nice handful of shredded paper to use as bedding in my worm bin. Did the whole darn paper like that in a matter of minutes, after moving the machine to the corner of the counter and putting a catch basket under the overhanging edge of the counter. Filled the basket right up. So, if you have a worm bin, or any other uses for shredded newspaper, now you have another reason to haunt yard sales for old pasta machines. ... Where am I going? And what am I doing in this handbasket? * Q-Blue 1.0 --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (1:261/1137.0) @PATH: 261/1137 1023 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (496) Thu 22 Dec 94 18:54 By: Sheryl Moore To: John Hartman Re: Re: Indoor Gardening ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:147/180@fidonet.org cb1504de well,i had a similiar experience,only it was growing okra in my front garden,by a major hwy..it was just getting ready to bloom,and i was out hoeing it,and all of a sudden i heard brakes squealing.this fool backs up and roars up the driveway,and jumps out of his car,and yells,"you sure have a lot of nerve,growing that stuff right by the highway!"upon which,i asked him since when did it become a crime to grow okra?he insisted it was marijuana,and he was going to report me to the police. i told him grab a leaf,the cops are 2 miles west.on hearing that he said,is it REALLY okra? i said yes,now get the hell off my place. he left. what he did not know was a few years earlier,when we had bought the place,it had been vacant for 5 years,and had weeds 9 ft tall...including 4 patches of marijuana that we found when we were cutting the weeds down.we called the cops and they removed them all,so i doubt if they would have believed the guy after that.^[[D! --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: MEDICUS BBS in Edmond, OK 405-478-8250 (1:147/180) @PATH: 147/180 20 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (517) Thu 22 Dec 94 1:34 By: JAMES ROWE To: JOHN HARTMAN Re: Re: Indoor Gardening ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @EID:4716 F5960C40 -=> Quoting John Hartman to James Rowe <=- JH> Indoor gardening? Not on your life! I tried that and was busted by JH> a deputy sheriff who saw my banks of lights from the outside and JH> thought my peppers and tomatoes were marijuana. I had to "prove" to JH> him that I was starting veggies not "controlled substances". I told JH> him to rub the leaves and smell his fingers. Asshole! Well that sort of harassment is intolerable, but also to be expected. We live in a society which rejects anything which is slightly off center from the norm, even though we claim to be accepting of everyone. I bet Mr. Officer was surprised to find out that you had legitimate veggies growing. Seems a shame to be bothered about your veggies, but I guess until we change the way w act towards each other that this sort of thing is bound to happen. I hope you're not permanently discouraged. But what I am promoting is farming on a large scale. This is to be set up as a not for profit organizati which is concerned mainly with providing food and home to those who do not fit elsewhere. ... If you can do no good, at least do no harm. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- GOMail v2.0s Beta [94-0367] * Origin: Enviro-Link BBS, Rochester, NY (716) 359-0008 (1:2613/208) @PATH: 2613/208 5 270/101 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (521) Fri 23 Dec 94 19:07 By: Gill Crawford To: All Re: Happy Holidays ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:261/1137@fidonet.org cb9541f2 ..................................................................... ....... . * . . ./^\. S E A S O N S G R E E T I N G S . . ./.^.\. . . ././.\.\. \/\/ishing you . . ./ Happy \. . . ./ Hanakkah\. |-|appy |-|olidays . . ./././.^.\.\.\. . . ././ God Jul \.\. and . . ././ Buon Natle\.\. . . ././ Joyeux Noel \.\. a \/\/onderful 1995! . . ././ Hauskaa Joula \.\. . . ././. Feliz Navidad .\.\. . . ././ Kala Hristougena \.\. . . ././ Pretigge Kerstdagen \.\. Best Wishes . . ././././ Merry Christmas \.\.\.\. Gill Crawford . . ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^|=|^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ . ùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùùù ùùùùùùù It's not my tree but I liked it so much I borrowed it............. Peace Gill ... All Have a Happy and Safe Holiday ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (1:261/1137.0) @PATH: 261/1137 1023 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (570) Fri 23 Dec 94 10:22 By: Bruce Bowman To: Larry London Re: Gastinting ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:231/710 2EF40D5C Just wanted you to know that we seem to be getting the gated messages now! However, we still occasionally will get a bounced message notice from this site: Gateway@bodyshop.co.uk Being in the uk, not sure you can do much about it! I also can't tell from the message content (since all we get is a notice) if the message in question ever made it into alt.sustainable.agriculture or the sustag mailing list. Probably did, but with no text I can't be sure. Later, Bruce --- QuickBBS 2.80 Ovr (Zeta-1) * Origin: * The H.O.M.E. BBS - (317) 539-6579 * (1:231/710) @PATH: 231/710 2880 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (590) Mon 26 Dec 94 19:40 By: Lawrence London To: Bruce Bowman Re: Gastinting St: Local Sent ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/1.502 b413776c @REPLY: 1:231/710 2EF40D5C @PID: FM 2.02 > Just wanted you to know that we seem to be getting the gated > messages now! However, we still occasionally will get a bounced > message notice from this site: > Gateway@bodyshop.co.uk This problem has been fixed. There will be no further gated messages in this echo. The gateway service has been discontinued. I sent the UK site mail to fix their end of the problem, then unsubscribed the site responsible for their feed from the list they were receiving. A belated Merry Christmas to everyone receiving this echo. May you all have a happy and productive new year; may your gardens and farms prosper and give you a bounty of great food. Lawrence EARTH*Net Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo FidoNet: 1:3641/1.502 Internet: london@sunSITE.unc.edu Chapel Hill, North Carolina --- * Origin: EARTH*Net-Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo (1:3641/1.502) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (602) Mon 26 Dec 94 16:37 By: Sheryl Moore To: Don Charron Re: alternative crops ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:147/180@fidonet.org cd11e141 how long is your growing season(days)my husband and i have run as many as 26 different vegetables in the past,on 4 acres,and finally settled on jalapenos,yellow squash and tomatoes after 15 years of experimenting in markets.if you would like,i have written a disk called "truck farming for dummies"(no insult intended) and will send a copy if you want it.it covers a lot of what we have learned the hard way about soils,crops,markets,and other aspects of truck farming that a lot of people do not consider before they jump into it.just send a disk and return postage to :sheryl moore,p.o. box 574,harrah,ok 73045 --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: MEDICUS BBS in Edmond, OK 405-478-8250 (1:147/180) @PATH: 147/180 20 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (603) Mon 26 Dec 94 16:39 By: Sheryl Moore To: Helen Fleischer Re: high low tech ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:147/180@fidonet.org cd11e142 sounds like it would make great mulch for potatoes,also.we used to use shredded newspapers for that. --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: MEDICUS BBS in Edmond, OK 405-478-8250 (1:147/180) @PATH: 147/180 20 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (604) Sun 25 Dec 94 11:15 By: Ian Smith To: Dave Gardner Re: Round-Up Residue? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 3:711/431@fidonet f0a835b9 @REPLY: 1:137/105.0@fidonet 2ec9047c @PID: MaltEd 1.0.b5 DG> > lentils we grew. It tasted great until I was reminded that the crop DG> > was sprayed with Round-up (Glyphosate) 10 days prior to harvest. DG> > DG> > This is a registered application to dry down the crop and control DG> > weeds. Round-up is systemic, I would guess some makes its way into DG> > the grain. DG> > DG> > I'm interested to hear your oppinion on this. Should I be concerned? DG> I would not worry about the use of Round Up. However that is just my DG> opinion. On my bbs I have a subboard about pest control and lawn care. DG> There is a section of files on toxicology. You can download or freq the DG> file GLYPSATE.ZIP. This is from one of the extension offices and gives DG> all the toxicological information about Round Up. I once walked barefoot (unknowingly) over a paddock that had just been sprayed with RoundUp. Lost all the tough skin off both feet, down to fresh, pink skin, and spent a few weeks walking very gingerly indeed. Whether that was from the glyphosate or the unlisted surfactant - the one that was killing fish in streams in Canada, we heard - I know not, and care less. Bad news stuff. A friend has toxicology CDROMs from the Canadian EPA, which weren't too keen on it, either. The only time it's used around here (by 'progressive' folks, at least) is to protect around (non-edible) tree seedlings that people are trying to establish amongst the aggressive imported kikuyu grass that is our biggest weed problem here, for major replanting jobs where mulching each tree is seen as too big a job to be viable. Even that use remains controversial. Cheers, Ian --- * Origin: Ansanet Development - Lismore, Far East Australia (3:711/431) @PATH: 711/431 401 712/515 105/42 103 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (657) Tue 27 Dec 94 21:47 By: Don Charron To: Sheryl Moore Re: Alternative crops ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3413/107.0 2f00edf8 Our growing season fairly short. Approximately 120 days May through end of August (two years ago heavy snow Aug 20). Lots of sunshine though in summer. I am looking at some herbs that may be feasible and am looking at native grasses that can be used in oil reclamation sites. Disk on its way. Thanks. --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Vermilion Lighthouse, Vermilion, AB (1:3413/107) @PATH: 3413/107 1000 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (688) Thu 29 Dec 94 21:01 By: Lawrence London To: ALL Re: Moderator & Echo Status St: Local Sent ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/1.502 b594e33d @PID: FM 2.02 * Forwarded from "HOME-N-GRDN" * Originally by Sharon Allsup * Originally to All * Originally dated 20 Dec 1994, 15:50 For those who were wondering what happened to the HOME-N-GRDN echo, and where it stands now, here's a summary: The previous moderator, Bob Germer, requested that all of his echos be removed from Fidonet distribution. Although he kept the HOME-N-GRDN ELIST entry active, the echo was effectively split cut off at the Zone 8 (RBBS-Net) <> Fidonet gateway and no longer existed in Fidonet. A great deal of netmail was exchanged between sysops and the various backbone administrative folks trying to keep a "Homes & Gardens" style echo forum on the backbone or start a new one. Now that Germer had given up the Fidonet distribution, the echotag was available for re-use on our side of the gateway. A new ELIST entry was created using the same echotag (by accident, two new entries were created; Adrian has since deleted his). Adrian Walker, then Acting Z1EC, allowed the new HOME-N-GRDN to bypass the usual REC & node count requirements and go directly onto the backbone. It's taken several weeks of work and tracking by innumerable sysops and hubs (you all deserve congratulations) to restore the distribution paths within Fidonet for the echo. The almost 400 boards that receive this echo, and their feeds, did not have any warning when the echo was dropped and that simply added to the confusion and disarray. AIGH! But it's over with now and we're flowing again. As the ELISTed moderator of the new HOME-N-GRDN, I don't intend to make many, if any changes. The typical echo rules still apply: stay on topic; no flames, commercial ads, huge ANSI pictures, encrypted messages; and real names preferred. That's about it. We really don't NEED lots of restrictions, do we? Questions? Comments? :w! --- * Origin: EARTH*Net-Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo (1:3641/1.502) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (696) Wed 28 Dec 94 20:46 By: Helen Fleischer To: Sheryl Moore Re: high low tech ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:261/1137@fidonet.org ce15e7b1 SM> sounds like it would make great mulch for potatoes,also.we used to use SM> shredded newspapers for that. Really? I've never tried newspaper for that. I have always used partially-composted, shredded oak leaves. Can't use 'em for acid hating crops, but spuds seem to do well with it. ... Accept no sheep imitations. * Q-Blue 1.0 --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (1:261/1137.0) @PATH: 261/1137 1023 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (721) Thu 29 Dec 94 19:05 By: Sheryl Moore To: Don Charron Re: Alternative crops ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:147/180@fidonet.org ce94f784 120 days...that IS short.rules out pumpkin,but you could try squash,tomatoes,green beans,onions,turnips,beets,short-term watermelon,cantalope,potatoes,carrots,lettuce,kale,cabbage,peas,black eyes ,and a bunch more.we plant our jalapenos and tomatoes here at easter and go to about nov.1st,usually.start the transplants from seed in the greenhouse in feb.you would have to check and see what your best markets would be in your area..what is the most demand,yet the least supplied(highest prices if you have to have it brought into the area)that way you would have an idea of what would be most profitable to try to grow locally..of course,that is not all the considerations,but it is important.you'll see what i mean when you get the disk back.if you have a chance,read booker t.whatley's book..$100,000 on 25 acres.lots of great ideas for alternatives..not just plants.or how about greenhouses furnishing flowers or houseplants,or winter vegetables?or animals?or a tree farm?(xmas or woodlot)or mushrooms(common or shitake) or a dude ranch?there are a lot of different things you can do besides vegetables with that much land.list your pros and cons of the land you have..soil,climate,topography,timber,game animals,etc.a friend of mine planted christmas trees on part of a 40 acre place,and had a lot of deer and game birds and bass,and opened it to hunters for a fee,and so much a lb. for each fish,plus entry fee,during the different hunting seasons. when i started farming 15 years ago,i had lived in the city all my life and never planted a garden..don't be afraid to ask (what seems to you)stupid questions,as long as you get intelligent answers.whatever you decide to do,find someone who is the best at it,and learn from them.also,get books from the library on that subject and read,read,read. that and downright stubborn -never-give-up persistance will do it.i used to bug every neighbor with a garden,and any ag people within 200 miles for info.now some of them come to me...and i am STILL learning.i heard a ^[[A^[[Kand am STILL learning.whatley says in his book"the best thing a farmer can put on his land is his shadow"that holds true with any enterprise.you have to keep on top of it.will get that disk back soon as it gets here..hope it helps you. --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: MEDICUS BBS in Edmond, OK 405-478-8250 (1:147/180) @PATH: 147/180 20 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (766) Fri 30 Dec 94 11:06 By: Dave Gardner To: Ian Smith Re: Re: Round-Up Residue? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:137/105.0@fidonet 2f045a18 > I once walked barefoot (unknowingly) over a paddock that had just been > sprayed with RoundUp. Lost all the tough skin off both feet, down to > fresh, pink skin, and spent a few weeks walking very gingerly indeed. > Whether that was from the glyphosate or the unlisted surfactant - the > one that was killing fish in streams in Canada, we heard - I know not, > and care less. Bad news stuff. > > A friend has toxicology CDROMs from the Canadian EPA, which weren't > too keen on it, either. The only time it's used around here (by > 'progressive' folks, at least) is to protect around (non-edible) tree > seedlings that people are trying to establish amongst the aggressive > imported kikuyu grass that is our biggest weed problem here, for major > replanting jobs where mulching each tree is seen as too big a job to > be viable. Even that use remains controversial. > I understand what you are saying. I would not want to come in contact with any pesticide. That includes BT. I spray pesticides for a living and I'd be the first to admit that they are misused, overused, and the long (and short?) term effects are not known. However, people want nice dark green yards. And they don't want apples and oranges with blemishes. Pesticides are here to stay. I do hope however that more research is conducted to know what we are really dealing with, and that the current trend towards regulating them will continue. Had the paddock you walked thru been a yard in Florida, it would have been well posted with signs letting the public know it had been sprayed. dg --- RBBSMail v18.2 * Origin: EXECUSERVE RBBS (1:137/105.0) @PATH: 137/105 69 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (771) Fri 30 Dec 94 16:30 By: Sheryl Moore To: Helen Fleischer Re: mulch ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:147/180@fidonet.org cf1204f5 well,we used to have a joke about mulching potatoes with newspapers..the bugs get so interested in the news that they forget to eat the potatoes...seriously,the paper mulch works,just don't use any colored sheets..something in the ink..we also had a nettle here that was a fantastic potato beetle killer..they would actually LEAVE a potato plant to eat on the nettle,and it would kill them.never did find out what the name of the nettle was,but it grow about 1 ft high,is a light-grayish green and has stickers EVERYWHERE on it,above ground.makes a great trap crop. --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: MEDICUS BBS in Edmond, OK 405-478-8250 (1:147/180) @PATH: 147/180 20 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (845) Sun 1 Jan 95 7:55 By: Steve Wotherspoon To: Don Charron Re: alternative crops ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 3:640/217@FidoNet 00877ed4 @REPLY: 1:3413/107.0 2efa5eb4 @PID: FM 2.2c.mL OC0002F9 @TID: FastEcho 1.41/g 15019 > This is my first message on this echo so I hope it is on topic. > We have a quarter section of land about 100 miles east of > Edmonton, ALberta, Canada. It has a continental type climate and > I believe it is zone 3. The soil is light. I am looking for > alternative small plot crops to grow in place of the usual > canola,wheat,barley etc. Any legal suggestions welcome. Thanks > in advance for any info. do you have water for irrigation? if so then you might have a look at turf. We enjoy great returns here in Australia. Cheers Steve # Origin: P.O.D.S. Queensland 61-7-398-5334 (3:640/217) @GPTH: 640/217 9600/0 @GATE: 1:382/502.0@fidonet 2f05dd4c * Origin: FidoNet <-> PODNet EchoGate! (1:382/502.0) @PATH: 382/502 91 92 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (860) Sun 1 Jan 95 19:51 By: Sheryl Moore To: Don Charron Re: new program ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:147/180@fidonet.org 1094406b you don't know what you started..i got the bug to write another ag program,incorporating some of my old ones and adding new subjects..my husband is furious(g)..i spend 8 hrs a day at work on a computer,and come home and program till bedtime,except when i'm catching up on mail,or keeping up w/housework,or quilting,or something.anyway,i'll send you that tffd when your disk arrives,but thought i'd let you know as soon as i can get it done(couple of months?)i'll have one on diversified alternative farming.my biggest problem is i get all these great ideas that i want to incorporate in a program,and can't fit it on a disk when i'm thru!then i have to go back in and cut it into smaller,more manageable chunks and string them together.wish me luck. --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: MEDICUS BBS in Edmond, OK 405-478-8250 (1:147/180) @PATH: 147/180 20 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (871) Sun 1 Jan 95 16:37 By: Helen Fleischer To: Sheryl Moore Re: mulch ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:261/1137@fidonet.org 10911def SM> well,we used to have a joke about mulching potatoes with newspapers..the SM> bugs get so interested in the news that they forget to eat the SM> potatoes...seriously,the paper mulch works,just don't use any colored SM> sheets..something in the ink..we also had a nettle here that was a SM> fantastic potato beetle killer..they would actually LEAVE a potato plant SM> to eat on the nettle,and it would kill them.never did find out what the SM> name of the nettle was,but it grow about 1 ft high,is a light-grayish SM> green and has stickers EVERYWHERE on it,above ground.makes a great trap SM> crop. Colored inks used to contain heavy metals, (lead, cadmium, etc.) like some art pigments. I don't know if they still do, but I don't plan to take the chance. If you ever find out the name of that nettle, tell me. I may just sow it outside my board fence. It could do double duty as trap crop and discouraging "taggers." Alas one already got our fence and it wasn't till I called the company that put it up for us that I found out that fence surface cannot be cleaned of that stuff. Now I'm trying to get the creeper and ivy and trumpet vine to cover that section, but the darn plants are being stubborn about it. At least it's only a poorly legible rendition of the word "eclipse" not some 4-letter comment. Then I suppose I'd be more motivated to try to find a paint to paint over it. ... "When friends rejoice, both far and near, how can I keep from singing?" * Q-Blue 1.0 --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (1:261/1137.0) @PATH: 261/1137 1023 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (921) Fri 30 Dec 94 12:10 By: Marilyn Couture To: All Re: SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:345/111 2f03f899 d After breaking a number of shovel handles I just learned that Rainbow Equipment Company, Maui, recently retained exclusive rights to a reinforcing sleeve for long handled tools, THE SHOVEL SAVER. The reinforcing sleeve spans the connections between the wooden handle and the metal tool, making the handle virtually unbreakable. Wood screws, clamps or other fasteners are not required. Slipping the sleeve over the handle makes it ready for use. THE SHOVEL SAVER is made in the USA of 100% top grade virgin polymerized vinyl, with 20 years ultra violet inhibiter protection. For info contact Mark Dunlap, Rainbow Equipment, PO Box 1840, Makawao, HI, 96768, or call 1-800-936-6532. --- TMail v1.31 * Origin: The Daily Planet - Maui, HI (808) 572-4857 (1:345/111) @PATH: 345/111 104/169 1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (937) Tue 20 Dec 94 6:06 By: Dan Smith To: Seed Message Re: N ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:318/22 2ef6746f THIS SEED STARTS THIS MESSAGE BASE --- Dennis_Toss V9.03 * Origin: IT'S YOUR NICKEL BBS (1:318/22) @PATH: 318/22 911 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (938) Tue 20 Dec 94 18:10 By: Dennis Cannon To: N Re: Message Seed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:318/22 2ef71e15 This Message seeds this message base --- **LettuceToss_V.985@ * Origin: IT'S YOUR NICKEL BBS (1:318/22) @PATH: 318/22 911 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (964) Tue 3 Jan 95 17:50 By: Miyumi O'Shea To: Everyone Re: garden 1995 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:231/710 2F02F6DF Hello out there! I had a garden last year and the tomatoes went nuts! Too many to count. However, my green peppers, eggplants, winter squash and potatoes really didn't amount to much. I'm going to try all but the potatoes again. I'm wondering if I overwatered these plants last year? My husband keeps telling me I need to water every day, but I really think I overwatered. Of course, the tomatoes were in the same garden and did extremely well. I started all my plants (except potatoes) indoors from seed, and plan to do so again this year. I hope to have tomatoes (not so many), green/yellow peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, winter squash, onions, spaghetti squash. Any pointers that you could pass along would surely be appreciated. I live in Zone 5 (the Kansas City area) and we've had a pretty mild winter so far, only 2" of snow to date. I use grass clippings/leaves to mulch around the base of my plants, had a problem with slugs last summer. Also I am going to try growing strawberries from seed, starting in just a couple of weeks. Again, any advice, suggestions, hints, etc. would be appreciated. Thank you. --- QuickBBS 2.80 Ovr (Zeta-1) * Origin: * The H.O.M.E. BBS - (317) 539-6579 * (1:231/710) @PATH: 231/710 2880 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (973) Wed 4 Jan 95 19:29 By: Lawrence London To: ALL Re: Re:canadian organic farming St: Local Sent ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/1.502 0213697f @PID: FM 2.02 * Forwarded from "HOME-N-GRDN" * Originally by Cathy Mcgregorsmith * Originally to Jo Meyers * Originally dated 31 Dec 1994, 0:06 hi we are from canada as well.we have a good growing season from april to november.our farm is nestled in between the great lakes in southern ontario. we have 3 greenhouses to start transplants and early greens.we will be starting them in feb. we have very hot summers and usually very cold damp winters. we have a good size storeroom which enables us to have tons of organic produce to continue to sell vegetables throughout the winter. you can imagine fresh greens and asparagus tastes good in a few months. please tell me about your location and growing conditions. bye for now cathy.mcgregor@onlinesys.com --- * Origin: EARTH*Net-Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo (1:3641/1.502) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (974) Wed 4 Jan 95 19:30 By: Lawrence London To: ALL Re: Re: MONSTER TOMATO CATERP St: Local Sent ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/1.502 02136980 @PID: FM 2.02 * Forwarded from "HOME-N-GRDN" * Originally by Cathy Mcgregorsmith * Originally to Lee Follweiler * Originally dated 31 Dec 1994, 0:13 i used to work for agriculture canada in entomology (insects).one of my jobs was to rear TOMATO HORNWORMS.we had to make up artifical diet for them and re-create their life cycles and conditions. their real name is MANDUCA Quinquemaculata .......or MANDUCA (5 spots) Tobacco hornworms are MANDUCA sexta.......or Manduca (6 spots) just count the spots on the side of the adults body. bye for now cathy.mcgregor@onlinesys.com --- * Origin: EARTH*Net-Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo (1:3641/1.502) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (980) Fri 30 Dec 94 20:08 By: Don Charron To: Sheryl Moore Re: alternative crops ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3413/107.0 2f04cb2a Thanks for the info, I will pick up Whatley's book. Currently reading "Herbs for sale", by Sturdivant. One lead I am examining is at our local college. The teach a cooking class. Wonder if they need a supply of locally grown fresh herbs. Looking forward to receiving your disk. --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Vermilion Lighthouse, Vermilion, AB (1:3413/107) @PATH: 3413/107 1000 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (983) Mon 2 Jan 95 21:00 By: Don Charron To: Sheryl Moore Re: new program ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3413/107.0 2f08cbee Will we never learn to take it easy? Good luck with the new program. Let me know when it is done. You will probably be hearing from wife on the Crafting echo. I hope I'm not getting you in too much trouble with the new program. --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Vermilion Lighthouse, Vermilion, AB (1:3413/107) @PATH: 3413/107 1000 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (984) Mon 2 Jan 95 21:04 By: Don Charron To: Steve Wortherspoon Re: alternative crops ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3413/107.0 2f08ccc4 Hello Steve. Its nice to talk to someone who lives where it is about 60 degrees Celsius warmer. How is summer treating you. We do not have irrigation here. Our average annual precipitation is less than 50 cm (20 inches) which includes both rain and snow. Our average annual potential evapotranspiration is less than 60cm (24 inches). The semi arid of the Australian interior would be close to our precipitation level. Queensland is a large area, do you live near the Great Baarrier Reef area? Thanks for the reply to my query. I hope the additional information will let you make another reply. Cheers --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Vermilion Lighthouse, Vermilion, AB (1:3413/107) @PATH: 3413/107 1000 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (1012) Wed 4 Jan 95 20:15 By: Sheryl Moore To: Don Charron Re: disk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:147/180@fidonet.org 121504f8 don..got your(UNFORMATTED)disk today..hope you use ibm.filled it full as a tick and will get it back soon as i get the postage extra.(day or so). hope these are helpful ideas and info for you. --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: MEDICUS BBS in Edmond, OK 405-478-8250 (1:147/180) @PATH: 147/180 20 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (1078) Thu 5 Jan 95 5:43 By: Paul Beach To: Helen Fleischer Re: high low tech ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:233/11@fidonet.org 07f88844 HF> So, if you have a worm bin, or any other uses for shredded newspaper, HF> now you have another reason to haunt yard sales for old pasta machines. They worms don't care how the paper looks. Just rip away. * RM 1.3 01875 * Misspelled? Impossible. My modem is error correcting! --- QScan v1.14b / 01-0388 * Origin: >>The Lighthouse<< Lincoln_IL 217-735-2251 H16/V34 (1:233/11) @PATH: 233/11 15 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (1129) Thu 5 Jan 95 23:46 By: Cathy Mcgregorsmith To: All Re: mustard weed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:231/710 2F04ED49 we have the opportunity to crop an adjacent field to our organic farm.the problem is that this neighbouring farm has been known as a mustard farm for ages!! we would like to treat the field organically and work with the field. Any ideas??? we would like to plant organic soybeans or winter wheat. --- QuickBBS 2.80 Ovr (Zeta-1) * Origin: * The H.O.M.E. BBS - (317) 539-6579 * (1:231/710) @PATH: 231/710 2880 50 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (1141) Sat 7 Jan 95 16:35 By: Helen Fleischer To: Paul Beach Re: high low tech ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:261/1137@fidonet.org 13922712 HF> So, if you have a worm bin, or any other uses for shredded newspaper, HF> now you have another reason to haunt yard sales for old pasta machines. PB> They worms don't care how the paper looks. Just rip away. Yes, but the 'noodle' shreds are finer and moisten up faster and more evenly, and the pasta machine makes the job go a LOT faster. Besides, it's nice to find a use for that side of the machine now that it has been retired to the art studio. ... Confection is good for the soul. * Q-Blue 1.0 --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (1:261/1137.0) @PATH: 261/1137 1023 396/1 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (1169) Sun 8 Jan 95 21:28 By: Lawrence London To: ALL Re: Farming St: Local Sent ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:3641/1.502 04154040 @PID: FM 2.02 * Forwarded from "HOME-N-GRDN" * Originally by Melissa Nadeau * Originally to All * Originally dated 6 Jan 1995, 14:10 My husband and I are considering purchasing 25 or so acres in Virginia. We are considering two lots, one is mostly wooded and the other is wooded with some pastures. We would like to be able to turn a profit with the land so that we would not have to work much at conventional jobs. Does anyone have any ideas as to what types of revenue could be generated from owning this land. We have never farmed before, what would be an easy beginner crop and where would we find resources to teach us what to do? Another option for this much land would be to board horses or raise animals which we don't know much about either! Any suggestions for us? --- * Origin: EARTH*Net-Host:SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Echo (1:3641/1.502) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (1259) Mon 9 Jan 95 17:47 By: Sheryl Moore To: Cathy Mcgregorsmith Re: mustard weed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:147/180@fidonet.org 14920484 first,till that crap BEFORE it seeds!i planted it once.that's all it takes.i'll bet that guy did not have over $1 worth of seed in the place in all those years,and that was the first planting.second,if you till ONLY on barren days,according to the almanac,you will kill it out in one season.if you do not till EVERY plant before it seeds,you will have another crop of mustard next year..and the year after..and the year after...and....... --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: MEDICUS BBS in Edmond, OK 405-478-8250 (1:147/180) @PATH: 147/180 20 3615/50 3641/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (1275) Mon 9 Jan 95 18:33 By: Helen Fleischer To: Cathy Mcgregorsmith Re: mustard weed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:261/1137@fidonet.org 1493c167 CM> we have the opportunity to crop an adjacent field to our organic CM> farm.the CM> problem is that this neighbouring farm has been known as a mustard farm CM> for CM> ages!! we would like to treat the field organically and work with the CM> field. CM> Any ideas??? CM> we would like to plant organic soybeans or winter wheat. Not that I've ever tried it myself, but Dick Raymond swears by buckwheat as a dense cover crop to choke out persistent or perennial weeds. I think for the real stinkers, he plants it, gets it just about to bloom stage, tills it in, then replants it. That uses up a good part of the growing season, but improves tilth at the same time as it is choking out weeds. For severe cases in places with long growing seasons, he sometimes squeezes in a triple succession. The trick is that the weeds do sprout, then get crowded out by the faster growing buckwheat, as I recall. You might check your library for some of his books, to get more specifics. Also Storey's sells a small but valuable handbook on green manures that may be worth looking into. Costs about a dollar, as I recall. A summer of such green manure might prepare your plot for a fall crop of some sort. ... Spent so much on the loom, I've got nothing weft! * Q-Blue 1.0 --- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j' * Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (1:261/1137.0) @PATH: 261/1137 1023 396/1 3615/50 3641/1