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Alternative Agriculture News For
January 1998, from the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture.
Headlines:
Proposed
National Organic Standards -- Finally Rosmann
Featured in New Book on "Visionaries"
World Food Prize Awarded to IPM Researchers Position
Consumer Reports Finds Two Good Reasons to Buy Organic
'Foreign'
Wasps Effective Against Alfalfa Pests
North
Central SARE Announces Calls for Proposals
Resources
Upcoming Events
Back Issues
©1998, Henry A. Wallace Institute
for Alternative Agriculture, 9200 Edmonston Road, #117, Greenbelt, MD 20770.
Phone: (301) 441-8777. E-mail:
hawiaa@access.digex.net.
This newsletter is also available to subscribers to the
sanet-mg discussion
group. To subscribe, send a message to:
almanac@ces.ncsu.edu. Leave the
subject line blank and in the body of the message type only: subscribe sanet-mg
Subscription information
for the hard-copy version is available at the Wallace
Institute website.
In addition to this monthly newsletter, the Henry A. Wallace Institute for
Alternative Agriculture publishes the American Journal of Alternative
Agriculture, a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal of research on alternative
agriculture. It is a scientific forum for disseminating technical, economic,
and social research findings about the character and requirements of alternative
agriculture systems.
The current issue (Volume 12, No. 2) features:
- An examination of flooding in cranberry beds to minimize insecticide and
fungicide inputs.
- The Illinois Soil Quality Initiative's farmer-centered approach to
developing information.
- A review of alternative production systems' effects on the soil erodibility
factor of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, suppression of VAM fungi and
micronutrient uptake by low-level phosphorus fertilization in wheat rotations.
- Abstracts from the International Conference on Agricultural Production and
Nutrition.
Subscriptions to AJAA are $44 for libraries; $24 for individuals; and $12
for students. Find more information
about AJAA at he Wallace Institute
website.
Proposed National Organic Standards -- Finally
The USDA last month released proposed rules for organic production which
spell out an agency-run accreditation program for state and private organic
certification agents, and the first-ever national standards for organically
grown food.
The proposed rules "take a step in the right
direction, but several deal breaker issues remain, and we need to tell USDA how
to fix the proposal," according to Kathleen Merrigan, the Wallace
Institute's Senior Analyst and a member of the National Organic Standards Board.
She praised the USDA for ending its historic opposition to organic agriculture,
saying "the willingness of this Administration to embrace organic
agriculture indicates real progress. Strict national standards and qualified
inspectors will bolster consumer confidence and lead to market growth. The
likely outcome is that more farmers will go organic and our soil, water, and
wildlife will be better off."
"Organic growers will
soon see their market get a jump start," predicted the Kiplinger
Agriculture Letter. "New standards will boost demand by raising
consumer confidence in the organic label and creating a wider selection of
organic products."
A recent poll by the Food Marketing Institute
found that 54 percent of consumers would be more likely to purchase organic
produce if it carried a national organic certification seal; 51 percent would
buy certified organic meat and poultry, and 43 percent would buy certified
processed foods.
The proposed standards, which took seven years
to develop and release, define "organic" as agricultural products
produced through a natural versus synthetic process. They also address the
methods, practices, and substances used in producing and handling crops,
livestock, and their processed products, including:
- producing and handling organic agricultural products.
- labeling of organic products.
- certification of organic operations.
- accreditation of state and private certifying agents.
- compliance testing.
- equivalency of foreign organic certification programs.
- approval of state organic programs.
- user fees.
The proposal drew criticism from environmentalists and organic farmers who "worried
that the rules could permit use of germ-killing irradiation, growth of
genetically altered crops, and spreading of sewage sludge as fertilizer,"
according to the Associated Press. The National Organic Standards Board
rejected all three practices, about which the USDA put off a final decision,
calling for public comment on them.
An editorial in
The New York Times referred to this USDA action as one of several "troubling
signs of vacillation and, perhaps, of industry or political pressure....Whatever
the value of these technologies and practices may be, none are part of accepted
organic practice, and each offers a beachhead within the program for major
non-organic agricultural corporations."
According to
Merrigan, "Our major concern with the USDA program is the attempt by the
Secretary to usurp the role of the National Organic Standards Board in
determining which synthetic substances may be used in organic production. It is
appalling to see synthetic materials in the proposed rule that the Board
rejected for environmental and health reasons. Hopefully, USDA will listen
carefully to public comment and make important changes before the rule becomes
final."
The proposed organic standards rules are available
for public comment until March 16. Written comment may be sent to Eileen S.
Stommes, Deputy Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA, Room
4007-S, Ag Stop 0275, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456; fax, (202)
690-4632.
They can also be sent via the Internet through the National
Organic Program home page at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop,
where the rules are posted.
Rosmann Featured in New Book on "Visionaries"
Ron Rosmann, a member of the Wallace Institute's President's Council, is
featured in Eco-Pioneers: Practical Visionaries Solving Today's
Environmental Problems, a 462-page book recently published by MIT Press at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The book by Steve Lerner
devotes one chapter to each of 25 "ecological innovators" who are "modeling
ways to log forests, grow food, raise livestock, manufacture goods, construct
houses, build transportation systems, generate power, reuse materials, reduce
waste, and design sustainable communities while minimizing damage to the web of
life." The chapter about Rosmann is entitled "Sustainable Agriculture
Takes Root Among Family Farmers in Iowa."
Rosmann "moved
through a number of stages" on his family farm: "he started out as a
conventional farmer who used both pesticides and chemical fertilizers;
subsequently he took to farming with a minimum of agrochemicals; and more
recently he adopted strictly organic methods."
There are two
main reasons Rosmann switched to organic farming: first, "he found that by
using ridge tillage, crop rotation, and integrated pest management, he simply
didn't need herbicides or pesticides." The second reason "was purely
economic. Times are hard for small family farms in the Midwest, Rosmann notes,
and economies of scale are forcing farmers to either become bigger or
specialize. Rosmann found that by going organic he could access a niche market
and command a significantly higher price for his produce."
Other
people involved in sustainable agriculture who are featured in the book are:
- Sally Fox, a pioneer cotton grower who breeds naturally colored cotton.
- Jack Turnell, a cattle rancher who "experiments with sustainable
techniques."
- Kenny Ausubel, who provides gardeners with organically grown seeds and
protects seeds from extinction.
World Food Prize Awarded to IPM Researchers
The 1997 World Food Prize has been awarded to Dr. Ray F. Smith and Dr. Perry
L. Adkisson, "whose leadership in developing and implementing new
approaches to agricultural pest control has sparked a worldwide environmental
revolution," according to the World Food Prize Foundation, sponsor of the
$250,000 award. Dr. Smith is credited with the pioneering work that laid the
foundation of IPM ideas; Dr. Adkisson applied Dr. Smith's ideas in the field.
"In the early 1970s, Dr. Smith and Dr. Adkisson led massive
research projects involving hundreds of scientists from many of the country's
land-grant universities. Through these projects, IPM programs were developed
for a wide variety of crops, including many fruits and vegetables, alfalfa,
soybeans, sorghum, peanuts and rice. ... The growth and adoption of IPM programs
have cut insecticide applications on U.S. crops by half. In the cotton industry
alone, U.S. farmers save $1 billion annually in reduced pesticide costs."
The World Food Prize is given annually in recognition of those who
have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or
availability of the world's food supply. For more information, contact the
Foundation, 601 Locust St., #350, Des Moines, IA 50309; (515) 245-3783; e-mail
wfp@netins.net; on the Internet,
http://www.wfpf.org.
Position
Minnesota Project seeks an Executive Director; application deadline is
February 1; send resume with three references to Minnesota Project, 1885
University Ave. W, #315, St. Paul, MN 55104; for full job description, call
(612) 645-6159; e-mail
water007@gold.tc.umn.edu
Consumer Reports Finds Two Good Reasons to Buy Organic
There are "two good reasons to seek out organic food, one personal and
one societal," according to an article entitled "Greener Greens? The
Truth About Organic Food" in Consumer Reports (January, 1998).
"Organic food guarantees you a diet as low in pesticide residues
as possible," the article concludes. "On a public scale, organic
agricultural practices are much less harmful to the environment than
conventional chemical agriculture."
The article tested a
thousand pounds of produce from across the country for pesticide residues and
taste, but did not test it for nutritional value. It concluded that
- "organic foods had consistently minimal or nonexistent pesticide
residue."
- "organic fruits and vegetables [are] as attractive and tasty as their
conventional counterparts."
- "buying organic food promotes farming practices that really are more
sustainable and better for the environment -- less likely to degrade soil,
impair ecosystems, foul drinking water, or poison farmworkers."
'Foreign' Wasps Effective Against Alfalfa Pests
Two "foreign" wasps called P. digoneutis and P.
conradi are being investigated for their ability to be effective biological
controls against three plant bugs: the alfalfa plant bug, tarnished plant bug,
and lygus bug, according to an article in
Agricultural Research (December, 1997).
Researchers at the
USDA's ARS Beneficial Insects Research Laboratory in Newark, DE, are importing
and testing beneficial insects from other countries, and have found that P.
digoneutis "has the potential to control the two lygus bugs on alfalfa
forage and seed crops over wide areas of the northern United States." P.
conradi attacks the alfalfa plant bug, they found.
"Using
biological controls is better than chemicals for controlling pests in
northeastern alfalfa," said ARS researcher William Day. "Chemical
insecticides add to crop production costs and...kill parasites previously
established by our lab that now control three other pests of alfalfa."
North Central SARE Announces Calls for Proposals
The North Central Region of the SARE program is calling for proposals for
professional development projects (PDP) in sustainable agriculture, and
proposals for a Professional Development Program coordinator and region-wide
training project. Applications for the PDP grant competition must be received
by February 13; applications for the PDP coordinator and project are due
February 20.
Applications are available from the North Central SARE
office, (402) 472-7081; e-mail
sare001@unlvm.unl.edu; on the
Internet,
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/ncrsare.
For more information, contact Dr. George Bird, PDP Coordinator, North Central
SARE Region, (517) 353-3890; e-mail bird@msue.msu.edu.
Resources
- "Paddock Shift: Changing Views on Grassland Farming" is $25.95
from Stockman Grass Farmer, P.O. Box 9607, Jackson, MS 39286; 1-800-748-9808.
- "The Control of Internal Parasites in Cattle and Sheep," EAP
Publication #70, $7.95 plus $2 postage; "Cover Cropping in Potato
Production," EAP Publication #71, $4.95 plus $2 postage; "Mechanical
Weed Control In Cereals," EAP Publication #72, $4.95 plus $2 postage; and "Treating
Mastitis Without Antibiotics," EAP Publication #69, $7.95 plus $2 postage;
all are available from Ecological Agriculture Projects, Macdonald Campus, McGill
University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada H9X3V9;
(514) 398-7771; e-mail info@eap.mcgill.ca;
on the Internet, http://www.eap.mcgill.ca.
- "Public Programs for Private Forestry: A Reader on Programs and
Options" is $20 from American Forests, 1-800-368-5748; findings are
available on the Internet at http://www.amfor.org.
- "Time for a Change: Pesticides and Wine Grapes in Sonoma and Napa
Counties, California" is $5 plus $2 shipping from Californians for
Alternatives to Toxics, P.O. Box 1195, Arcata, CA 95518; (707) 822-8497; e-mail
cats@igc.org.
Upcoming Events
For additional listings, see
the
Sustainable
Agriculture Network's Calendar of Events.
- February 2, Northeast Farmers Direct Marketing Conference and Trade Show
will be held in Sturbridge, MA; contact Charlie Touchette, Federation of
Massachusetts Farmers' Markets and conference chairman, (413) 527-6572.
- February 9-13, "Take Your Farm to School with the Biodynamic Method,"
Part 2, will be held at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, W2493 County
Road ES, East Troy, WI 53120; call (414) 642-3303.
- February 10, "Managing Manure in Harmony with the Environment and
Society" will be held in Ames, IA; contact Paul Miller, Soil and Water
Conservation Society/North Central Region, (515) 284-4370; e-mail
paul.miller@ia.nrcs.usda.gov.
- February 13-15, Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group's Annual
Gathering will be held in Rochester, MN; contact Duane Hovorka, MSAWG organizer,
409 310th St., Elmwood, NE 68349; (402) 994-2021; e-mail
dh43048@navix.net.
- February 21, "Farming and Communities: Building a Sustainable Food
System," the annual winter conference of the Northeast Organic Farming
Association of Vermont, will be held in Randolph, VT; contact NOFA-VT, P.O. Box
697, Richmond, VT 05477; (802) 434-4122.
- February 24, "North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Conference"
will be held in Victoria, BC, Canada; contact Brent Warner, Southern Vancouver
Island Direct Farm Marketing Association, (250) 656-0941; e-mail
BWARNER@galaxy.gov.bc.ca.
- February 24-28, "Advanced Organic-Biodynamic Vegetable Production
Workshop" will be held at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, East
Troy, WI; contact Gail Kahovic at MFAI, (414) 642-3303.
- February 26-27, Ethanol Policy and Marketing Conference, sponsored by the
Renewable Fuels Association, will be held in Albuquerque, N.M.; contact Bryan &
Bryan at (719) 942-4353.
- February 26-March 1, Biofach, the World Trade Fair for Organic Food and
Natural Products, will be held in Frankfurt, Germany; contact OKOWELT
Veranstaltungs-GmbH, Industriestr.12, D- 91186 Buchenbach, Germany; phone +49
(0) 91-71-96-10-0; e-mail
info@biofach.de.
- February 28, "Wise Choices, Bright Futures: 1998 Annual Meeting of the
Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society" will be held in Aurora, NE;
contact Cris Carusi, NSAS, (402) 254-2289; e- mail
cecarusi@hartel.net.
- February 28 is the deadline for paper abstracts for "Organic
Agriculture: Credibility for the XXI Century," IFOAM '98; contact IFOAM 98,
MAPO, Av. Santa Fe 873, (1059) Buenos Aires Argentina; phone +54-1-314-0928;
e-mail ifoam-98@satlink.com.
©1998 Committee for
Sustainable Farm Publishing
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