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Resources
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Jim Stute of the Michael
Fields Agricultural Institute inspects malt barley used to expand
crop rotations on 40 Wisconsin farms as part of a successful
profit-generating diversification effort, partly funded by SARE.
– Photo by Ron Doetch |
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General Information/Resource Centers
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
program (301) 504-5230; coordinator@sare.org;
www.sare.org. Studies and disseminates
information about sustainable agriculture via a nationwide grants
program. See research findings at www.sare.org/projects.
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA)
(800) 346-9140 English, (800) 411-3222 (Spanish); http://attra.
ncat.org. Provides information and other technical assistance
to farmers, ranchers and educators involved in sustainable agriculture.
See especially “Alternative Agronomic Crops,” by Patricia
Sauer and Preston Sullivan, an overview of the considerations involved
in selecting, cultivating and marketing alternative agronomic crops,
http://attra.ncat.org/field.html.
Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC)
(301) 504-6559; afsic@nal.usda.gov;
www.nal.usda.gov/afsic.Specializes
in identifying and accessing information related to alternative
agricultural enterprises and crops as well as alternative cropping
systems.
Jefferson Institute(573) 449-3518; www.jeffersoninstitute.org.
A nonprofit agricultural education and research center that provides
help on growing and marketing alternative grains, oilseeds and other
specialty crops.
Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) (301) 504-5236;
coordinator@sare.org; www.sare.org.
As SARE’s national outreach arm, SAN offers farmer-ready information
through electronic and print publications. It helps farmers, ranchers,
Extension educators and other agricultural professionals learn more
about applying sustainable agriculture principles and practices
in farm settings across the U.S.
“Tilling the Soil of Opportunity,”
a NxLeveL™ course for agricultural entrepreneurs, is aimed
at those who are thinking about starting an agricultural based venture
that is not tied to large-scale commodity production. This 10–session
course is taught by specially trained instructors. To find out if
NxLevel is offered near you, go to www.nxlevel.org/
Pages/states.html
Publications from the Sustainable
Agriculture Network
(To order SAN books, go to http://www.sare.org/publications/order.htm
where you can download an order form. To order by credit card, or
for information about bulk discounts and rush orders, contact (802)
656-0484;
.
Building Soils for Better Crops, 2nd edition
$19.95 + $3.95 s/h. This 240-page book contains detailed information
about soil structure and the management practices that affect soils.
Managing Cover Crops Profitably, 2nd edition
$19 + $3.95 s/h. This is the most comprehensive book ever published
on the use of cover crops to sustain cropping systems and build
soil. Provides all the information needed to build cover crops into
any farming operation.
Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing
a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses $14 + $3.95
s/h. Helps today’s alternative and sustainable agriculture
entrepreneurs transform farm-grown inspiration into profitable enterprises.
Sample worksheets illustrate how real farm families set goals, determined
potential markets and evaluated financing options – and help
the reader develop a detailed business plan.
‘Naturalize’ Your Farming System: A Whole-Farm
Approach to Managing Pests This free 20-page bulletin helps
producers – and the educators who work with them – design
farm-wide approaches to controlling pests. Download a printable
version from www.sare.org/publications
or contact
tech@sare.org
or (301) 504-5236.
Other Publications
Agricultural Production Contracts University
of Minnesota Extension. Legal considerations involved in agricultural
production contracts. www.extension.
umn.edu/distribution/businessmanagement/DF7302.html
Alternative Field Crops Manual University of
Wisconsin-Extension, University of Minnesota Center for Alternative
Plant & Animal Products and Minnesota Extension Service. Comprehensive
source of production information on nearly 50 alternative agronomic
crops adapted to the upper Midwest. www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/index.html.
Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems 2nd
edition, by Miguel Altieri and Clara Nicholls. Entomological
aspects and the ecological basis for the maintenance of biodiversity
in agriculture. $49.95 (soft cover), $79.95 (hard cover) from The
Haworth Press, Inc.,1-800-HAWORTH; getinfo@haworthpress.com;
www.hayworthpress.com.
Inside Agroforestry The National Agroforestry
Center’s quarterly newsletter covers the latest agroforestry
news and information. See the summer/fall 2003 issue to read about
SARE’s partnership with NAC. (402) 437-5178 or http://www.unl.edu/nac/ia.html
“Production Practices for Major Crops in U.S. Agriculture,
1990-97” September 2000, USDA Economic Research Service,
www.ers.usda.gov/publications/sb969
Web sites
www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/watershed/products.htmlUSDA
Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Buffers web
site. Provides a variety of handbooks and technical notes for farmers
and ranchers on the use of conservation buffers.
www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop
University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
Program web site includes a cover crops database that describes
the management and effects of 32-plus species of cover crops. Readers
can view more than 400 different cover crop images.
www.cedarmeadowfarm.com
This permanent cover cropping systems web site is maintained by
Pennsylvania grower Steve Groff.
www.oatlink.com
Oatlink is a consortium of farmers, grain handlers, processors and
university researchers striving to connect the production, handling
and processing of value-added grain. Download the “Farmers
Guide and Resource to Quality Small Grain Production,” www.oatlink.com/bugrep.htm.
www.deltanetwork.org
Delta Enterprise Network is an evolving group of farmers, entrepreneurs
and others who assist each other in overcoming barriers to sustainable
agricultural enterprises in the seven Delta states.
Organizations
Center for New Crops & Plant Products Purdue
University;(765) 494-1329; www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop.
Subscribe to Purdue’s New Crop Discussion Group or order Purdue’s
New Crop Compendium CD-ROM, a searchable resource of new, specialty,
neglected and underutilized crops. (Also available by calling (800)
830-0269.) $75 + $5 s/h.
Michael Fields Agriculture Institute (262) 642-3303;
mfai@michaelfieldsaginst.org
www.michaelfieldsaginst.org
A public nonprofit education and research organization committed
to promoting resource-conserving, ecologically sustainable and economically
viable food and farming systems.
National Agroforestry Center USDA Forest Service
and NRCS; (402) 437-5178; www.unl.edu/nac
Develops and delivers technology on a broad suite of agroforestry
practices to natural resource professionals and conducts research
on how to design and install forested buffers to protect water quality.
The center publishes “Inside Agroforestry” newsletter
and fact sheets.
University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry
(573) 884-2874;umca@missouri.edu;
www.missouri.edu/~umca
An interdisciplinary research and teaching program on forestry,
fisheries and wildlife, entomology, plant pathology, agronomy, animal
science, agricultural economics, rural sociology and horticulture.
The Land Institute Salina, Kansas. (785) 823-5376;
theland@landinstitute.org;
www.landinstitute.org
Offers a number of books and other publications on a perennial plant
system of agriculture and the role of diversity in the agricultural
landscape.
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Iowa State University. (515) 294-3711; leocenter@iastate.edu;
www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/leopold.
Conducts research into the negative impacts of agricultural practices
and assists in developing alternative practices.
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