Subject: The Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
From: nalafsic <[email-masked]>

The Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC) is one
of eleven Information Centers at the National Agricultural Library
(NAL), located in Beltsville, Maryland.  NAL, the foremost
agricultural library in the world, is one of the three U.S.
national libraries (along with the Library of Congress and the
National Library of Medicine).

AFSIC specializes in access to information about sustainable
agriculture, new uses for traditional crops, crops grown as raw
materials for industrial production, and the USDA's Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.

Alternative farming systems, including those known as low-input,
regenerative, biodynamic, organic, aim to protect natural resources
while maintaining agricultural productivity and profitability. 
Methods employed to achieve these goals include reduced tillage,
use of legumes in crop rotations, increased use of green manures
and animal manures, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and biological
controls, and farm diversification through alternative enterprises
and/or new crops and varieties.

"Quick Bibliographies" and other publications are prepared on these
and other related topics and are available in hardcopy upon
request.  Selected publications and a complete "List of
Publications" are available through SAN's gopher at North Carolina
State.  Specific topics not covered by these publications can be
addressed by AFSIC staff through brief, complimentary searches of
the AGRICOLA database, or on a cost recovery basis through an
exhaustive search of available major databases.

A videotaped record of the sustainable agriculture movement has
been produced by AFSIC through oral history interviews with the
movement's pioneers and innovators.  Videocassettes may be borrowed
through the Interlibrary Loan System.

For further information concerning the services and activities of
the Center, contact--

Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
National Agricultural Library, Rm 304
10301 Baltimore Blvd.
Beltsville MD  20705-2351

Telephone:  301/504-6559 or 301/504-5724
FAX:        301/504-6409
TDD/TTY:    301/504-6856
Internet:   [email-masked] (use lower case letters only)