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Switchgrass
Patrick Duxbury asked about references on the use of switchgrass (or other
prairie grasses) for biomass.
Three related articles on this topic by researchers from Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (the nation's major research facility for this subject) appear in
"Environmental Enhancement through Agriculture," the proceedings of a
conference held in 1995. These articles respectively cover environmental
impacts, energy production potential, and economics.
For the convenience of any of you who may wish to order this book, a notice
follows (the three articles are listed in Section V of the Table of Contents
below).
*****************************************************************************
Conference Proceedings
ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT THROUGH AGRICULTURE
March 1996 xii+334 pp.
Foreword by Karl N. Stauber, Under Secretary for
Research, Education and Economics, U.S. Department
of Agriculture.
Edited by William Lockeretz, Tufts University
This volume develops the idea of an agriculture the serves the
environment rather than conflicting with it. Its 36 papers offer
numerous examples of agricultural systems that benefit the
environment in diverse ways: increasing wildlife habitat and
biodiversity; protecting water quality in streams and estuaries;
producing substitutes for nonrenewable energy sources; turning
urban waste into a resource instead of a problem; offering
aesthetically appealing landscapes; and bringing urban residents
into closer contact with food production and the land.
Many of these papers describe specific activities that already are
achieving these benefits; others propose forward-looking
alternatives that would do more to support environmental quality.
The papers give special attention to areawide collaborations in
which farmers, concerned citizens, and technical experts work
together to establish common goals and develop innovative
arrangements to achieve them.
The papers are from a conference held in Boston, Massachusetts
(USA) in November 1995, sponsored by the Tufts University School of
Nutrition Science and Policy, the American Farmland Trust, and the
Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture.
Copies are $20, postpaid. (Outside North America, add $12 if you
want it sent by air mail.)
Payment (U.S. funds only, please) should be made out to
"Trustees of Tufts College." Please send your prepaid order to:
Center for Agriculture, Food and Environment
School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Tufts University
Medford, MA 02155 (USA)
*********************************************************************
ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT THROUGH AGRICULTURE
I. WATERSHED PROTECTION
Operation Future: Farmers Protecting Darby Creek and
the Bottom Line
Dennis W. Hall 1
The Watershed Approach to Integrating Agricultural
Production and Water Quality Enhancement
Maurice G. Cook and J. Mark Rice 9
Padilla Bay Proposes a Unique Community Partnership for
On-Farm Agriculture and Estuary Research and Education
Colette DePhelps 15
Watershed Protection: A Better Way
Richard I. Coombe 25
Sustainable Farming Practices Benefit Minnesota Landscape
Dana Jackson and George Boody 35
Marin Coastal Watershed Enhancement Project: A Cooperative
Approach to Adapting Nonpoint-Source Pollution Guidelines to
Local Conditions
Ellen Rilla and Stephanie Larson 45
Buffalo River Tributaries Watershed Project
Dennis Hackbart 53
The Zuni River Watershed Act: An Ecosystem Plan
Gary D. Wooten and Ellen R. Dietrich 59
II. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND BIODIVERSITY
Collaborative Problem Solving in Cameron County, Texas:
The Coexistence Committee
Duane Dale, Amy Purvis, Terry Lockamy and Steve Thompson 69
Valley Care: Bringing Conservation and Agriculture Together
in California's Central Valley
Jack M. Payne, Michael A. Bias and Richard G. Kempka 79
The Delta Farmland and Wildife Trust
David Melnychuk 89
Establishment of On-Farm Native Plant Vegetation Areas
to Enhance Biodiversity within Intensive Farming Systems
of the Sacramento Valley
John H. Anderson Jennifer L. Anderson, Richard R. Engel
and Bruce J. Rominger 95
Birds of Prey and Their Use of Agricultural Fields
Kerry J. Fitzpatrick 103
Value of Shade Coffee Plantations for Tropical Birds:
Landscape and Vegetation Effects
Jeffrey David Parrish and Lisa J. Petit 113
III. LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS
Environmental, Economic, and Social Benefits of Feeding
Livestock on Well-Managed Pasture
William Murphy, Joshua Silman, Lisa McCrory, Sarah Flack,
Jon Winsten, David Hoke, Abdon Schmitt and Brian Pillsbury 125
Enhancement of Communities with Pasture-Based Dairy
Production Systems
Steven P. Washburn, Rene J. Knook, James T. Green, Jr.,
Gregory D. Jennings, Geoffrey A. Benson, James C. Barker and
Matthew H. Poore 135
The Potential of Dairy Grazing to Protect Agricultural Land
Uses and Environmental Quality in Rural and Urban Settings
Bryan T. Petrucci 145
Environmental and Economic Benefits of Organic Dairy
Farming in Ontario
Yetunde O. Sholubi, D. Peter Stonehouse and E. Ann Clark 151
Integrated Resource Management at Work: A Case Study
Scott M. Barao 157
Riparian Zones Then and Now: An Enhanced Environment
Created by Agriculture
Quentin D. Skinner and Joseph G. Hiller 163
Can Sustainable Agriculture Landscapes Accommodate
Corporate Agriculture?
Dennis Keeney 173
IV. WASTE RECYCLING AND NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
On-Farm Composting of Food and Farm Wastes: Economic and
Environmental Considerations
John M. Halstead, Terri Emmer Cook and George O. Estes 183
Recycling Municipal Organic Wastes through Compost
Application to Agricultural Land
Thomas A. Obreza 193
Best Nutrient Management Practices on Watersheds to Protect
Water Quality in Massachusetts
J. Daliparthy, S.J. Herbert, T. Akin and B. O'Toole 203
V. ENERGY FROM AGRICULTURAL BIOMASS
Environmental Enhancement Using Short-Rotation Woody Crops and
Perennial Grasses as Alternatives to Traditional Agricultural
Crops
Virginia R. Tolbert and Andrew Schiller 209
Perennial Grasses for Energy and Conservation: Evaluating
Some Ecological, Agricultural, and Economic Issues
Mark Downing, Marie Walsh and Sandy McLaughlin 217
The Environmental Benefits of Cellulosic Energy Crops
at a Landscape Scale
Robin L. Graham, Wei Liu and Burton C. English 225
VI. METROPOLITAN AGRICULTURE AND FARMLAND PRESERVATION
Regional Farmers' Market Development as an Employment and
Economic Development Strategy
John S. Nettleton 235
Community Food Security, Agriculture, and the Environment:
A Massachusetts Perspective
Hugh M. Joseph 245
Protecting Important Natural Areas, Wildlife Habitat and
Water Quality on Vermont Dairy Farms through the Vermont
Farmland Protection Program
Alex Considine, John Roe and Kate Willard 255
Empirical Evidence of Public Preferences for Farmland
Preservation
Jeffrey Kline and Dennis Wichelns 265
VII. NATIONAL POLICIES ON AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The Living Countryside: Maintaining Sweden's Agrarian
Landscape
David Vail 275
The Provision of Countryside Amenities: External Benefits
of Agricultural Production in Mountainous Regions
Franz Hackl and Gerald J. Pruckner 285
Integration of Environmental Objectives into Agricultural
Policy and Law in the Netherlands
Victor Bekkers and Jonathan Verschuuren 295
VIII. AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Resource Systems Analysis: Linking Agriculture and Environment
in Central Java, Indonesia
Valerie Sexton 305
Are Productivity Enhancing, Resource Conserving Technologies
a Viable "Win-Win" Approach in the Tropics? The Case of
Conservation Tillage in Mexico
Olaf Erenstein 313
INDEX 323