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Chapter 19

November 2008

December 2008

RhondaJanke — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:22:14 CST

Welcome Everyone! This is the official website to continue the discussion from the book, "Farming in the Dark."
Please contribute your ideas regarding the future of sustainable agriculture, and comments about the book.
You don't have to have read the book to contribute to this Wiki, but it helps. Hopefully, you'll be reading it for
a class at some point, or for fun, have a great idea, and share it with this Wiki community.

Organization: To start with, there are 5 main pages connected to this site. The first one is for announcements
and updates that might need to be reviewed frequently, have a time-table or deadline, etc.

The second page is for people to discuss information in each individual chapter, and for those in each chapter
to provide updates and responses as they have time.

The third page is where we can continue the discussion begun in Chapter 20. I've added a "starter list," and hope
there will be a lot of activity, and a lot of new ideas generated.

The fourth page is for recommended reading lists. Again, I've placed a starter list, and hope others will
add to the list, and add more detail to this list, links to other lists, ideas, book reviews, blogs, etc.

I've added a fifth blank page for you to contribute new interviews or materials.

Ground Rules for this site: Rule #1 - be nice. Rule #2 - consider this a professional networking site. I'm using my real name, and
hope others may be comfortable doing the same, as many of us know each other already. You can contribute anonymously, but
wouldn't you rather get credit for the next great idea?!

Mechanics: much about this site is self-explanatory, and the people at wetpaint.com have many helpful hints. I'm still learning how
to do this, so don't ask me! You can edit pages by clicking on "easy edit," save pages by clicking "save," and create pages by clicking
on the "add page" icon on the left-hand side. You can add pages to this main page, or branch pages from the subsidiary pages, so just
be aware of where you are when adding pages. That's it.

Have fun!

(R. Janke)
p.s. the book itself is copyrighted, so please don't post chapters from the book or any other copyrighted material on this page.
I've self-posted the list extracted from Chapter 20, and the recommended reading list from the appendix, but am hoping these will help
"seed" this website. The other chapters are the real guts of the book; the interviews with farmers and consumers.

Ben_H — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:00:11 CST

Overview and Purpose:

This page includes the "to do" list featured in Chapter 20 of this book, along with the orignial headings. Please continue to add to this list. Also feel free to modify the headings, add more, etc, if you see a better way to organize this. If something gets too long, create a new branch page for it. Thanks for your contributions! [p.s. you might use a different font as you add things, to make the new additions different. Feel free to take credit for your ideas.]

R. Janke

************************************************** The next 25 years—ideas generated by these interviews (see page 294 in book)
Training

–Universities and colleges should re-think the design of their sustainable agriculture curricula, and consider combination degree programs—liberal arts plus agriculture. This is already happening at the non-agriculture schools, for example, see the New Farm website listing of training programs in sustainable agriculture; two-thirds of them are not at agricultural colleges. Same thing with student farms, one-third are at agricultural universities, and two-thirds are at small colleges and also at larger non-ag universities like Stanford. Perhaps this needs to happen at land grant universities too. [Note: as someone trained in agriculture but having an interest in music, art, etc., I can see the value of the liberal arts too, but also think it would be nice for farmers and others to have some soils knowledge and fundamentals.]

–Create more farm-to-school training programs for all age groups, especially younger kids. This is also already happening, and some of these are connected to sustainable agriculture groups, but many are created by parents, gardeners, and teachers. As a group of farmers, we could be helpful in this effort, using farms like Kirk Cusick’s as models.

–Outreach to consumers—one farmer has suggested to me (Paul Johnson) that we ask our state Department of Agriculture or Department of Commerce to sponsor television or radio info-ads that feature a local farm, and a product that is in-season. Many people don’t even have a sense of the seasonality of their local fruits and vegetables, as they are available year-round in the grocery store. There are many other forms of consumer education that could be considered. The Organic Trade Association website has a plethora of background information and articles that could help. I’ve also seen calendars that feature local farms, local chefs, and delicious in-season recipes for each month.

Research

–Perhaps it is time to put together a serious chunk of change that isn’t tied to the university system or to the government that should be specifically allocated for sustainable agriculture research. Yes, there are some models out there, with Kellogg funding some food systems projects, and OFRF funding organic research. Perhaps SARE’s administrative structure could be used as a model for grass-roots involvement in decision-making about how funds are allocated, and there are more applications for SARE funds than there is funding to go around. Ask the Ted Turners and Willie Nelsons of the world to help create this pool of funding? As Dan Howell said, “I wish I had a million dollars to take to the university, or whatever amount of money it would take to get them to listen to me . . .”

-Taxpayers should insist that their state-supported universities start playing a leadership role in all issues related to sustainability, rather than playing catch-up, or just following the money. Otherwise they will continue to be seen as intellectual prostitutes, only following the dollar, and not the key issues that affect their citizens.

Support for/from Universities in General

–A good next step would be to continue to monitor at both the national and state levels the amount of funding going to sustainable and to “non-sustainable” agriculture research. This includes research that props up cropping or farming systems that have now been shown to use more calories of energy than they produce, or to be inefficient at nutrient absorption, allowing excess nitrogen and phosphorus to pollute U.S. streams, rivers, and now the Gulf of Mexico. This has been done several times in the past, especially in looking at whether organic farming was being served by the research establishment, but targeting “unsustainable research” might be a new twist. University administrators don’t like coming up with these figures, but if the public doesn’t ask, they will continue providing office space and faculty position to the highest bidder, not the best projects, or even projects that serve their constituents well.

–I’m at a loss as to how to lesson the influence of “big money” grants, especially in the era of diminished public support. One of Kansas’ Board of Regents members in a recent letter to the editor (Manhattan Mercury, February 19, 2008) stated that “20 years ago, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas received 52 percent of their budgets from the Kansas Legislature, but today that figure is only 26 percent.” It seems as though the universities are already in a downward spiral of diminishing public support and public service, and perhaps this trend is irreversible?

Marketing – Organic and Sustainable

–In addition to the cooperative marketing examples from Minnesota and Kansas, the “Ag of the Middle” program initiated out of the Leopold Center in Iowa seems to hold promise. It encourages one to look a the whole food chain in marketing, and promotes transparency and living wages at all levels, and cooperation rather than competition.As an example of this, Nancy Vogelsberg-Busch points out the importance of including her local butcher as an integral part of her marketing and farming plan, and also the need to plan for his profitability and survival as a business. Her appreciation was expressed in an interesting way; “He transforms that life into an entirely different life with a knife.”

–Several people mentioned the need to sell more local foods to schools, and one even suggested that a quota system could be created, where 50 percent of the food needed to come from within the state and perhaps 10 percent from the local county. –Some pointed out the futility of trying to survive in today’s markets (especially conventional) without government regulation and enforcement of the anti-trust laws on the books. This would require political action, and perhaps lawsuits similar to those that have been needed to force the government to enforce existing water quality laws in many states.

–As an example of “eating in the dark,” consumers in the United States usually don’t know exactly what they are eating or where it came from, because of the pathetic labeling requirements we have now. Even the “country of origin” labeling for meat seems to be controversial, and isn’t enforced, GMO products are not labeled, and now there appears to be an orchestrated effort by Monsanto in multiple states to pass legislation making it illegal for milk processors to label milk that comes from cows not treated with the BST hormone. Perhaps something the sustainable agriculture community could do is to orchestrate their own campaign for more truth in labeling, beyond having just “organic” and “everything else.” -Some local marketing and value-added programs are discouraged or prevented because of state or local health-code and/or liability insurance requirements. These are always presented as there to “protect the public” but they should also be re-examined for their potential to be a barrier to small businesses (farms, bakeries, restaurants) competing with larger businesses, who aren’t necessarily serving safer or more nutritious food than the small, local alternatives.

Organic Certification

–Due to the small number of organic farmers, it almost goes without saying that there will need to be consumer involvement (in massive numbers at times) and constant vigilance to keep the standards from being watered down at the national level. There probably is also a need for farmer involvement at the grass-roots level to keep the system workable and not too burdensome.

–Consumer awareness of organic seems to be largely limited to the effect the food has on them (safer, fewer pesticides, possibly more nutritious) while the farmers interviewed suggested that we have a long way to go in consumer education about the environmental and other benefits of organic.

–Those who weren’t certified organic but using sustainable practices would like to see some effort put into “certified sustainable” or some other recognition of their product, or product differentiation. However, this also opens the door to even more consumer confusion, and the possibility of being co-opted by imitators, or green-washing. –Some felt that getting the government involved is misguided, and perhaps other methods should be used for creating and protecting labels in the future?
Standardization of organic guidelines is important for consumer confidence, however, certification guidelines should be ever evolving as the pool of knowledge of sustainable and organic agriculture grows. I would like to see the guidelines encompass more and more of the criteria that different “eco-labels” are inventing. Organic certification does not address issues like social justice and workers’ rights. Organic growers do not have to preserve natural habitat or maintain native species or biodiversity, though they may do these things anyway since these are often practices that encourage beneficial insects, etc., but these issues should be addressed in the certification guidelines. Why only go halfway? Building the soil is important, but so is preserving healthy ecological systems. Perhaps we need a label for organic growers that addresses their land stewardship as it applies to all areas of the land and wildlife, not just the soil. I’d also like to see different certification guidelines for different sizes of production. It seems absurd to think that the same guidelines would apply to a grower with ten acres as an “industrial organic” grower with 500 acres. Maybe there should even be a limit on the size of a farm that can be certified organic. I’d like to see restrictions on the neighbors of organic growers to minimize pesticide drift, fertilizer runoff, GMO pollen drift, etc. Laws should be in place to protect and preserve the integrity of agricultural systems that strive for sustainability. Perhaps that would even encourage neighboring farmers to convert from their conventional operations to organic ones (or cause horrible feuds). With transition certification labels available, conversion seems more economically viable for farmers than it used to. Also, neighbors helping neighbors could lead to greater farmer solidarity and less price competition. Let’s see a whole county of farmers transition to organic and create a new tier of certification to encourage purity control. Here’s another thought – organic certifying agencies all have their own unique applications, some of which are more thorough and comprehensive than others. Can we really assume with confidence that all USDA certified organic products are created equal when they are the jurisdiction of different certifying agencies? Are they all equally “organic”? - Ruth Gibson
Is it right to limit large farms from producing organically if they follow the guidelines? After all we live in a free country, which also happens to be a capitalist country. For now these large farms are not monopolies although they may out compete smaller farms. Lets face it, organic farming will become just like every other market in America and be taken over by the bigger fish, unless the guidelines are changed to not allow that. In my opinion it is already too late for certification to be changed to keep the big companies out. The large companies like grocery store chains have made organic the economic presence that it is and they wont want to see a regulation change that increases prices. Americans are used to cheap food and they want to keep it that way. Sorry I'm so pessimistic in this discussion of the future of organic. -Ben Hauptli
Farm Profitability

–One specific suggestion (Cherniss) was to create a website or other ways for vegetable growers to share information about costs and returns for portions of their operations, not just the whole thing, so one could track how their farm compares to others, and also get ideas for improvement.

–Some have suggested looking at totally new marketing models as a path to profitability (discussed above under marketing).

–Niche markets were occasionally mentioned (golden flax for Fernholz, for example), but not seen as the silver bullet for their farm, or for others to necessarily emulate. Some farm profitability enterprises, such as the pumpkin patch and entertainment on the Holsapple farm can also lead to burn-out.

–Simply being smart about knowing one’s costs of production, not taking on un-necessary expenses (fertilizers and pesticides) and not getting bogged down in interest payments due to expansion was the advise of the farmers who also provided counseling to farmers during the farm crisis. One individual commented that he hadn’t calculated his cost of production for some farm products because he hadn’t been in a position to adjust his asking price—he just had to take what the market price offered. Perhaps a goal of sustainable agriculture should be to encourage everyone to calculate and share with others their cost of production figures. Consumers too need to know what it takes to bring a product to them, as many don’t realize how much effort, water, etc, goes into each pound of grain, meat or produce.
Another option for farm profitability and marketability is value added products. By creating a value added product farmers are not limited to the market price offered to them. By naming your own price for a product, production costs can be figured in. There are many options for value added products. Health food stores or organic grocers already sell many different local and organic value added products. Any value added product already on the market could be made from organic sources. Value added products are only limited by the imagination and creating one with consumer demand should not be a problem. -Ben Hauptli
U.S. Farm Policy

–The sustainable agriculture movement continues to lobby on behalf of portions of the farm bill they think will support sustainable agriculture on farms, but it is under-funded and under-staffed compared to the larger commodity groups. Unless the commodity support payments are either not allowed by World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and enforcement, or the commodity groups become weaker and/or are not allowed check-off funds, the only recourse in terms of balance of strength within sustainable agriculture is for farmers to ask consumers, citizens to get involved on their behalf. Some within sustainable agriculture have suggested trying to get Senators and Representatives from urban districts more involved in the agriculture committees, as they are currently heavily weighted with farm state delegates that serve the interests of their commodity groups (but not necessarily their farmers).

International Agriculture Policy

–This is an area just crying out for more consumer education. If “buy local” is to ever be more than just a slogan or buzz-word, not just people as consumers, but as citizens as tax-payers need to consider the long-term consequences of importing food, and loosing the expertise and infrastructure needed to grow it in their own communities.

Widespread Adoption of Sustainable Agriculture

–To document whether sustainable agriculture practices are being adopted, not just organic, surveys could be conducted and included in the U.S. Census of Agriculture asking how many are using nitrogen-fixing legumes in their rotation, following diverse crop rotations, or doing rotational grazing.

–As for wide-spread adoption by larger farms, there needs to be financial incentive, and perhaps one-on-one coaching provided, since many practices are site-specific, farm specific. University extension systems are not prepared to play this coaching role, as their staff time is limited (and being cut further), and they are encouraged to work with farmers as groups, not to serve as consultants to individuals.

–Current incentives towards “un-sustainable agriculture” need to be removed for there to be any serious adoption of sustainable agriculture.

The Future of Agriculture

–It seems that at some point, someone somewhere is going to have to address the health insurance issue. This may happen at the national level with a health care plan. If it doesn’t, perhaps a role for non-profits could be to help start some sort of group health insurance plan for sustainable agriculture farmers? As individuals, farmers are fairly powerless to deal with this, with the exception of choosing to have health insurance, or choosing not to, and literally risking the farm in that gamble.

–The profitability question is equally as difficult. Just because grain farmers receive subsidies does not necessarily mean that fruit and vegetable growers should too, but clearly the “market” is not encouraging young people to go into the profession of farming. And as skilled managers of assets in the thousands or millions of dollars, they are not being compensated for their skill or risk. As Nancy Vogelsberg-Busch said, “Curse me like your doctor or lawyer, but pay me the same or at least a living wage so I can get out of this factory job.” Kirk Cusick suggested that so many doctors and lawyers are getting interested in local and healthy food, that perhaps a bartering system could be established? Maybe food has a value to some beyond monetary value? Some communities have started local currency systems to facilitate this bartering among a network of participants. In Ithaca NY, this currency is called “Ithaca Hours.” What if my hour of time as a farmer was worth the same as an hour of time at the dentist or doctor?

In summary

This “to do” list for the next 25 years is not comprehensive, and doesn’t even begin to capture the wealth of information generated by the 18 interviews contained in this book. I encourage the reader to dig further, both into these interviews, and to ask some of these same questions of your colleagues, neighbors and food providers. We also have several things that I think “we” (as a community of people involved in sustainable agriculture) don’t agree on. I call these the dilemmas still to resolve:

–The tension between sustainable and organic agriculture (broad vs. narrow definition) –How the universities, agencies, non-profits and farmers can work together most productively.

–Do we need to be a more “organized movement,” or are we doing pretty well as a loose-knit group of like-minded people? Are we a movement or an ideology? Should we be a movement? Do we need to create a think-tank, or get together on this some-how?

–The cost of organic food? People need to pay the full cost of food production, including paying farmers a living wage, but people would also like to see it serve more than just the high-end market. For example, “Whole Foods Market” in some cities is jokingly referred to as “Whole Paycheck Market.” How do we make it affordable as a society to everyone who needs it, without asking farmers to make all the sacrifice?

–Will sustainable agriculture be limited by our unsustainable culture, land values and marketing system? Or,will sustainable agriculture lead the way to a more sustainable culture?

**************************************************

RhondaJanke — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:31:18 CST

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RhondaJanke — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:36:38 CDT

Purpose of this page - This page starts with the appendix from the book. Please add your favorite books, comments, and links to websites with more extended reviews, blogs, etc. If you want to start a discussion about a particular book, feel free to create a separate page linked to this page, and invite others to participate. Enjoy!
R. Janke

Appendix: Recommended Reading
All of these categories contain partial lists of books that have been published on these topics. In addition, see the Notes sections of the chapters, and the National Agriculture Library lists of sustainable books in print. Exclusion of a particular book or author is not intentional, but simply due to lack of space.

Early writers and influence (pre1980):

Farmers of Forty Centuries, F.H. King, 1911, Harcourt, Brace Agriculture.

A Course of Eight Lectures, Rudolf Steiner, 1924 An Agricultural Testament, Sir Albert Howard, 1940, Oxford University Press

The Living Soil, Lady Evelyn Balfour, 1943, Faber and Faber

Plowman’s Folly, E.H. Faulkner, 1943, Grossett and Dunlap

Pay Dirt: Farming and Gardening with Composts, J.I. Rodale, 1945, Devin Adair Co.

Malabar Farm, Louis Bromfield, 1947, Harper

A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There, Aldo Leopold, 1949, Oxford University Press

Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962.

Living the Good Life, Helen (and Scott) Nearing, 1970.

The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, by Wendell Berry. 1977. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. (also author of numerous books since then, this is his classic).

International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), 1st Conference Proceedings: Toward a Sustainable Agriculture.” 1978. J.M. Besson and H. Vogtmann, eds.

Hard Tomatoes, Hard Times, Jim Hightower, 1978, Transaction Publishers

How to Grow More Vegetables Than You ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine, J. Jeavons, 1979

New Roots for Agriculture, Wes Jackson, 1980, Univ. Nebraska Press.

Books written by farmers or from their point of view:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – A year of food life. By Barbara Kingsolver. Harper Collins, 2007

Women of the Harvest – Inspiring storied of contemporary Farmers, by Holly L. Bollinger and Cathy Phillips. Voyageur Press, 2007

This Common Ground: Seasons on an Organic Farm, by Scott Chaskey. 2005. Viking Press.

Fields of Plenty: A Farmer’s Journey in Search of Real Food and the People Who Grow It, byMichael Ableman, 2005. Chronicle Books. (previous books by Ableman also include On Good Land: The Autobiography of an Urban Farm, 1998, and From the Good Earth: A Celebration of Growing Food Around the World, 1993.

Harvest: A Year in the Life of an Organic Farm, by Nicole Smith and Goeff Hansen, 2004. The Lyons Press. (about their neighbors in Vermont)

Four Seasons in Five Senses: Things Worth Savoring, by David Masumoto. 2004. W.W. Norton and Company. (previous books by Masumoto also include: Letter to the Valley: A Harvest of Memories, 2004, Harvest Son: Planting Roots in American Soil, 1999, and Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm, 1996.)

Clearing Land – Legacies of the American Farm, by Jane Brox. 2004. North Point Press.

Micro EcoFarming – Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage in Partnership with the Earth. By Barbara Adams, 2004. New World Publishing.

Fields Without Dreams: Defending the Agrarian Ideal, by Victor Davis Hanson. 1997. Free Press. (California farmer)

The Contrary Farmer, by Gene Logsdon. 1995. Chelsea Green.

The Orchard – a Memoir. 1995. by Adele Crockett Robertson. Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt & Company, Inc. NY. (about a woman trying to save the family orchard from 1932-1934, near Ipswich, MA).

Future Harvest: Pesticide-free Farming, by Jim Bender. 1994. University of Nebraska Press. (organic grain farmer in Nebraska)

The Farming Game, by Bryan Jones. 1987. Ballantine Books.

The Natural Way of Farming: the Theory and Practice of Green Philosophy. Masanobu Fukuoka, 1985, Japan Publications

Books about dangers/politics in the food system (a small sample):

The Omnivores’ Dilemma – a natural history of four meals, by Michael Pollen, Penguin 2007 (paperback version)

Raising Less Corn, More Hell, by George Pyle, 2005. Public Affairs.

Diet for a Dead Planet – How the Food Industry is Killing Us, by Christopher Cook. 2004. The New Press.

Fatal Harvest, by Andrew Kimbrell, 2002, Island Press

Food Politics, by Marion Nestle. 2002. University of California Press Fast Food Nation – the Dark Side of the All American Meal, by Eric Schlosser,2001. Houghton Mifflin Company.

Hungry for Profit – The Agribusiness Threat to Farmers, Food, and the Environment, Ed. By Fred Magdoff, John Bellamy Foster, and Frederick H. Buttel. 2000. Monthly Review Press.

Mad Cowboy – Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher who Won’t Eat Meat, by Howard Lyman, with Glen Merzer. 1998. Scribner.

Books that are hopeful, or present a plan:

Blessed Unrest – How the largest movement in the world came into being and why no one saw it coming, by Paul Hawken, Viking, 2007

Good Growing – Why Organic Farming Works. By Leslie Duram. 2005. University of Nebraska Press. (includes interviews with 5 farmers)

Agrarian Dreams – the Paradox of Organic Farming in California, by Julie Guthman,2004, University of California Press.

Women and Sustainable Agriculture—Interviews with 14 Agents of Change. 2004. Anna Anderson. McFarland and Company.

Rural Renaissance: Renewing the Quest for the Good Life, by John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist. 2004. New Society Publishers.

Eat Here – Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket, by Brian Halweil, 2004. W.W. Norton & Company.

Ecoagriculture: Strategies to Feed the World and Save Wild Biodiversity, by Jeffrey McNeely and Sara Scherr. 2002. Island Press.

Farm as Natural Habitat, by Laura Jackson and Dana Jackson. 2002, Island Press.

New Agrarianism – Land, Culture, and the Community of Life, by Eric T. Freyfogle, 2001 Island Press.

French Fries and the Food System – A Year-round Curriculum Connecting Youth with Farming and Food, by Sara Coblyn and the Food Project Community, 2000, The Food Project.

Other books that could be used as text books in sustainable agriculture classes

Agroecology – The ecology of sustainable food systems, 2nd. Ed. By Stephen R. Gliessman, CRC Press, 2007

Developing and Extending Sustainable Agriculture – a new social contract. Charles A. Francis, Raymond P. Poincelot and George W. Bird, Editors. Haworth Food & Agriculture Products Press, 2006

Science-Based Organic Farming 2006: Toward Local and Secure Food Systems, Charles Francis, Katja Koehler-Cole, Twyla Hansen, Peter Skelton, Eds. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Division, Center for Applied Rural Innovation. Published on-line at: www.cari.unl.edu/

Teaching Organic Farming & Gardening: Resources for Instructors, UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 2003. http://casfs.ucsc.edu/education/instruction/tofg/index.html#order

The Next Green Revolution – Essential steps to a healthy, Sustainable Agriculture. By James E. Horne and Maura McDermott, Food Products Press, 2001

Agroecology; the Science of Sustainable Agriculture. Miguel Altieri. 1995. Westview Press, 2nd ed..

Introduction to Permaculture, By Bill Mollison, 1991, Tagari Publications, Australia.

Sustainable Agriculture in the Temperate Zones, Charles A. Francis, Cornelia Butler Flora and Larry D. King, Editors. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1990.

RhondaJanke — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 23:56:52 CDT

This page is primarily for the people who were interviewed in "Farming in the Dark" to offer additional information, further thoughts, and for other Wiki participants to ask specific questions, comment, or express their point of views related to the content of each chapter. Please keep the conversation courteous and constructive.

Here is a list of the chapters as a starting point. If there is a lot of discussion, use the separate branch pages created for each chapter.

R. Janke

Book Table of Contents

1. A Critical Look at the Sustainable Agriculture Movement

The Meat We Eat

2. Dan and Mary Howell, Frankfort, Kansas
“Selling land for me, is like selling one of my kids. You just never know if the next person will take care of it properly, the way I would.”

3. Jim and Kathy Scharplaz, Minneapolis, Kansas
“I’m not sure the link between food and sustainable farming has been made. Maybe that is the thing we haven't accomplished, the link.”

4. Nancy Vogelsberg-Busch, ‘Bossie’s Best Beef’ Home, Kansas
“Your book, Farming in the Dark, needs a sequel. The sequel will be called Dancing at Dawn, because that is what I want to do.”

Philosophical Farming

5. Jim Bender, Weeping Water, Nebraska
“I had the opportunity to have a very good liberal arts education.”

6. Ed Reznicek and Mary Fund, Goff, Kansas
“You can’t treat farmland as a commodity and achieve sustainability.”

7. Fred Kirschenmann, North Dakota and Leopold Center
“If they don’t change, the Land Grant (Agricultural) Universities will be complicit in their own demise”

8. Donn Teske, Wheaton, Kansas and Kansas Farmers Union
“The corporations – they have no soul.”

9. Jackie Keller, Beginning farmer, Topeka, Kansas
“I do love being out there, being on the tractor . . . seeing the soybeans get chest-high . . . the gratification to be able to do that without chemicals.”

Vegetable Farming

10. Kirk Cusick, Whispering Cottonwood Farm & Education Center
“I’m a grower of food. Food is something that everybody has to have, needs to live.”

11. Paul D. Johnson, Lawrence, Kansas
“Visiting these farms in Sweden, seeing that lifestyle, the serenity, convinced me farming was the better choice.”

12. Jon Cherniss and Michelle Wander, Blue Moon Farm, , Illinois
“I fell in love with the food . . . that’s a strong motivation for me, the quality, something to get excited about, those tomatoes, eating them . . ..”

Rodale’s Sustainable Agriculture Featured Farms – 15 years later

13. Terry and Sheila Holsapple, Greenup, Illinois
“And that’s what I’m trying to say about sustainable agriculture. Farmers simplified it. The universities made it hard, and put it out of touch to the reality.”

14. Rich Bennett, Napolean, Ohio
“And if anyone learned from all the research I did, they did learn that they could reduce inputs, and get the same type of yield.”

15. George and Melanie DeVault, Pheasant Hill Farm, Pennsylvania
“The United States is a food importer now. That’s something new in theequation . . . a scary thing.”

16. Carmen Fernholz, A-Frame Farm, Madison, Minnesota
“We have this free enterprise system. It gives you all this freedom to market the way you want, and the reality is that there is no more freedom there, in terms of how you treat the land.”

Eating in the Dark

17. Bob and Elaine Mohr – Slow Food Pioneers, Manhattan, Kansas
“Slow food gives. Fast food only takes. Slow food gives back to the community, and helps foster the connections between people in the larger system,”

18. Laurie Pieper, MorningStar B&B, Manhattan, Kansas
“The experience with Bill, with the milk and the eggs, made me realize that even someone who didn’t think he was interested in organic foods could tell the difference.”

19. Nora Poullion, “Nora’s” restaurant, Washington, D.C.
“Its just mind boggling to me that people don’t make the connection between what they eat and how they feel.”

Conclusion

20. Starting a Discussion about the Future of Sustainable Agriculture [note: this chapter will have its own page for further discussion]

13 Kansas Rural Center
Sustainable Ag meeting

25
Christmas Day

RhondaJanke — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 23:52:39 CDT