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