Sustainable
Farming Connection |
Where
farmers find and share information. | What's New -- Dec. '97 to May '98
A chronological list of additions to this site.
Missouri
Alternatives Center Link List [5/15/98] -- Extensive list of mostly
university publications on everything from "Asparagus to Watermelons, and
Aquaculture to Worms!"
Alternative Ag News [5/8/98] --
Fatally-flawed organic standards, EPA/USDA pesticide cooperation?, gourmet
growing, composting progress.
Local
contact: Northeast Organic Farming
Association of Vermont [4/15/98]
Action Alert: Final Push on Organic Rule
Comments [4/15/98] -- Letters and callls urgently needed to Senators and
Representatives to sign on to letters to Ag. Sec'y Glickman
Inside The Beltway -- April '98
[4/12/98] -- Ag policy update from the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working
Group. Conservation Farm Option, Research Title, Credit Bill, Fund for Rural
America and more.
Alternative Ag News [3/31/98] -- Rural
fund cut, biotech interests pressure USDA on organic rules, EPA cracks down on
large animal operations, court rejects county hog ordinances.
Link to Farm Bill Network from our
Farm Policy menu [3/31/98] -- Useful info
on CRP, WRP, WHIP and other USDA conservation programs that benefit fish and
wildlife, water quality, etc.
Farm Beginnings [3/24/98] --
Minnesota program encouraging and educating new farmers.
Organic Dairy Discussion Forum [3/23/98]
-- Join in the discussion on everything from health care and feeds to
certification and marketing.
Mobile Calf-Grazing Module
[3/23/98] -- Keeps calves healthy while helping them reap the benefits of
pasture at an early age.
Link to Pigs on Pasture from
our Grazing Menu page [3/23/98]-- Take a
virtual tour of the Gunthorp farm at American Farmland Trust's
grassfarmer.com site. While you're there,
stop by and see Tools for Graziers,
innovative solutions including a windscreen, shade trailer, and more.
Link
to Ecological Agriculture Projects
[3/23/98] -- Now free to the public, this Canadian site features a broad range
of information, archived newletters and more. A quick visit turned up papers on
the effect of ag chemicals
on soil, earthworms,
weeds as soil
indicators, and tips to control
internal parasites of
ruminants. Worth exploring.
Link to Forage Livestock Systems from
our Grazing Links page [3/23/98] -- Great
site from the Univ. of W. Va. features
fact sheets, a
forage ID tutorial,
and grazing classics in Ye
Olde Forage Library Card Catalogue.
Link to 'Terminator Technology'[3/18/98]
-- New patent aims to prevent farmers from saving seed according to the
Rural Advancement Foundation International.
Link to How
to Grow Fresh-Market Tomatoes The Sustainable Way With Organic Mulches
from our Cover Crop menu page [3/17/98] --
Brief summary of a publication by USDA's Dr. Aref Abdul-Baki. Describes
no-till transplant system similar
to that used by Steve Groff.
Inside The Beltway -- March '98
[3/14/98] -- Ag policy update from the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working
Group. CAFO's, WHIP, research bill, crop insurance, emergency credit, EQIP and
more.
Link to Organic
Engineering [3/14/98] -- Memo shows USDA sacrificing organic standards
to accommodate biotech interests, according to this Mother
Jones report.
Link to Association for Temperate Agroforestry
from our Agroforestry Menu page [3/12/98] --
AFTA's newly updated site includes online articles, news, the tables of contents
for their newsletter, publication ordering information, links and more. Worth
exploring.
Online Cover Crop Video [3/10/98] --
See innovator Steve Groff kill cover crops with a stalk chopper and no-till
transplant tomatoes into thick residue (.avi or .wav). Read about his
pioneering No-Till Transplanting into
Cover Crops system.
Link to The Campaign to Keep "Organic"
Organic from our Organic Farming,
Marketing, and Certification Resources page [3/9/98] -- This site makes it
easy to respond to USDA proposed organic rules. Features good background info.
Certifier to Uphold Higher Organic Standard
[3/7/98] -- Farm Verified Organic decides not to accept watered-down organic
rules.
Action Alerts
[3/5/98]: Time running out for
organic rule comments and Urgent
Credit, Civil Rights Action Needed
Alternative Ag News [3/2/98] -- Clean
Water plan, USDA budget boosts for sust. ag, plans to save Bt, Monsanto pays
cotton farmers.
New listings
from our Local Contacts menu:
Lightstone Foundation,
SW Tilth Farmers Market,
OEFFA Western Pennsylvania Chapter,
Sauk County Grazing Network,
Parkway Partners,
Finca Loma Linda,
Institute for Agriculture and Trade
Policy, Forest Service Employees
for Environmental Ethics, Tennessee
Valley Goat Associaton, Cattleman's
Legal Fund, Maryland Certified
Organic Growers Cooperative.
Link to Composting
Livestock Mortalities from our Compost
and Manure menu page [2/23/98] -- Can't get anyone to come pick up dead
stock? This Ontario Ministry of Agriculture fact sheet can help.
Link
to Sustaining Pennsylvania Agriculture
from our University Sustainable Ag Programs
page [2/23/98] -- New Penn State site includes research and demonstration
summaries, commentary, news and events, more info and funding sources.
Inside The Beltway -- Feb. '98
[2/11/98] -- Ag policy update from the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working
Group. Small Farm Commission report, USDA budget, CRP, CFO and more.
Comment Period Extended for Proposed Organic
Rule [2/11/98] -- Make comments to USDA by April 30. Links to
commentary on issues.
Links from
our Farm Policy page to news releases about
and the full report from the USDA's National Commission on Small Farms,
A Time to Act.
More Weird Farm News [2/11/98] -- New items
include EU ban on cukes that don't curve.
Link to Stafix Electric Fence Manual
from our Fence-Building References Online
page [2/10/98] -- Basics, planning and layout, energizer installation,
troubleshooting and more at the Kencove Farm
Fence website.
Link to Sustainable Agriculture
Network Search from our Ag Search Engines
and Indexes links page [2/10/98] -- Search the SAN website including
archives of the sanet-mg email discussion group.
Inside The Beltway -- Winter '98
[2/10/98] -- Ag policy update from the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working
Group.
Link to The Organic Webring
from our Webring page. [2/9/98]
Alternative Ag News [1/30/98] -- Small
Farms Commission recommendations, manure major pollutant, fertilizer limits to
fight Pfiesteria.
Link to grassfarmer.com from our
Grazing Links page [1/6/98] -- New American
Farmland Trust site features their
Cove Mt. grass dairy project
and innovative parlors for
dairy graziers.
Alternative Ag News [1/2/98] -- Proposed
organic standards, reasons to buy organic, beneficial wasps fight alfalfa pests,
and more.
Webrings [12/23/97] -- Sustainable Farming
Connection is a proud member of these webrings
Links to
Reuters news releases [12/16/97] --
USDA
rolls out standards for organic foods,
U.S.
rules for organic food ban pesticides,
Key
proposed U.S. rules for ``organic'' label, and
USDA's
organic rules sidestep biotechnology
USDA Unveils Proposed Organic Rule
[12/15/97] -- Read and comment online.
Link to Center for Rural Affairs from our
Farm Policy menu [12/3/97] -- Newly upgraded
site from the Nebraska-based nonprofit features
news and opinions from their
monthly newsletter, program
descriptions (policy, family farms, beginning farmer, marketing etc.),
publications list, online
excerpts from their report Emerging
Markets for Family Farms and more.
Alternative Ag News [12/2/97] --
Research funding blocked, organic takes root in Iowa, 'bird-friendly' coffee,
new market for organic cotton.
What's
New Menu -- Previous additions.
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Farm Publishing
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Craig Cramer
cdcramer@clarityconnect.com
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