Spring 1995 (v7n2)
Students Experience On-farm Research
A pilot program designed to offer high school students firsthand experience in sustainable agriculture and on-farm research has been started by Winters walnut grower Craig McNamara. The one year program is being coordinated by Sandy Creighton and Mark Linder of the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. It involves six students from each of four high schools from Northern California. Students will be working on projects with the assistance of four UC Davis mentors: Chuck Ingels and Robert Bugg of SAREP; Mike Singer, soil scientist in the Land, Air and Water Resources Department; and Frank Zalom, Director of the Statewide Integrated Pest Management Project. Students have been participating in the walnut harvest, planting cover crops, attaching cardboard bands to trees for codling moth control, and building and installing barn owl boxes. The program is being evaluated by Linda Whent, UCD agricultural teacher trainer. For more information, contact Craig McNamara at (916) 795-3824.
Study: Sustainable Ag Is Economically Competitive
A new Northwest Area Foundation publication highlighting six years of work on sustainable agriculture in seven states finds that sustainable agriculture can be economically competitive with conventional agriculture. The publication, called A Better Row to Hoe, summarizes the findings of $4.5 million dollars worth of research projects funded by the Foundation in Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The report notes that sustainable agriculture can provide new farming and business opportunities for people in rural communities, and may be especially appropriate for beginning farmers because it depends more on skilled labor and management than on capital resources. It recommends a comprehensive rural development strategy based on sustainable agriculture. In addition, the report calls for a greater emphasis on research and education which strengthens the management systems and technology required of sustainable agriculture. Free copies of the report can be obtained by contacting the Northwest Area Foundation, 332 Minnesota St. #E-1201, St. Paul, MN 55101-1373; (612) 224-9635.
Community Food Security Coalition Active
A coalition of 20 farm, food, and agricultural policy groups is proposing that agricultural policy reform be based on the concept of community food security. The group defines food security as "all persons obtaining at all times a culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through local non-emergency sources." They propose to append a section to the 1995 Farm Bill called The Community Food Security Empowerment Act. The Act identifies four strategies for reform: creating a Community Food Security Program office within the USDA to integrate the concept as a "central agency mission"; intensifying USDA direct marketing efforts which support initiatives that encourage consumers to eat locally grown food; encouraging farming and gardening in urban areas; and expanding support for federal food assistance programs, particularly Food Stamps and the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (see related WIC article, page 13). The coalition stresses the need for a "comprehensive food systems approach" that integrates agricultural, nutritional and environmental concerns at the local level. For more information, contact Andy Fisher at (310) 822-5410.
FDA Approves Seven Genetically Altered Products
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given its endorsement to companies seeking to market seven new genetically altered products. Among the products are three slow-ripening tomatoes, virus-resistant squash, beetle-resistant potatoes, and herbicide-tolerant cotton and soybean plants. The manufacturers had voluntarily submitted their products to the FDA, which concluded that these plants appear to be as safe as their nonaltered counterparts. In addition to the FDA acceptance, some of these products must be approved by the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Environmental Protection Agency). For more information, contact Brad Stone at FDA, (202) 205-4144
Sustainable Ag Summer Course
Reservations are being accepted for a ten week long summer course "Sustainable Agricultural Systems: Principles and Practices," offered through the UC Davis Student Experimental Farm (ASE 192). The eight-unit course is scheduled five days per week from June 26 to August 31, 1995. The intensive class includes lectures, labs, discussion, field trips and 12 hours per week of practical field experience. Topics include ecological management of soil, water, crops, plant diseases, insects, genetic preservation, small farm equipment use, integrating plant and animal systems, and socioeconomic aspects of sustainability. The $620 course is open to University of California students and to non-students with the instructor's consent. Enrollment is limited and space should be reserved by May 19, 1995. Contact Mark Van Horn, Department of Agronomy, University of California, Davis, CA 95616; Tel. (916) 752-7645.
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