Weekly Events & Opportunities

Production Planning and Plant Propagation

March 18. Belton, Missouri. This evening workshop is part of the Growing Growers Market Farming workshop series. Workshops focus on practices and a scale of production suitable for a market farmer. Participants typically include apprentices, new or experienced growers and others who are interested in the particular topic or who are considering trying to farm. http://www.growinggrowers.com/growing-growers-workshops

Cover Crop Innovations Webinar

March 18. Penn State Extension is hosting a series of webinars during the winter of 2013 to focus on cover crop innovations. This webinar focuses on optimizing weed suppression and nutrient use efficiency in cover crop-based no-till organic corn. University of Maryland and USDA-ARS researchers discuss optimizing cover crop mixture composition and manure application to achieve weed suppression and adequate, efficient nitrogen delivery in a cover crop-based no-till corn system. http://extension.psu.edu/cover-crops/webinars/2013-webinar-series

Biomass Crop Production Workshop

March 19. Iowa City, Iowa. This workshop from Iowa State University Extension will provide information about miscanthus and other perennial bioenergy crops for energy generation in Iowa. Farmers, energy producers, land managers and anyone interested in biomass production are welcome to attend and learn more. http://www.aep.iastate.edu/biomass/

Agricultural Energy Webinar Series: Optimizing Irrigation Efficiency

 

March 19. Delivery of irrigation water through farm irrigation systems from ground or surface water sources to the field requires the addition of energy. The amount of energy that must be added is affected by the type of irrigation delivery system, system pressure, elevation difference between the field and the water source, inches of water applied, and the land area being irrigated. This presentation by Scott Sanford, Outreach Specialist from the Rural Energy Program, University of Wisconsin, will cover some of the things that can be done to an existing system to reduce energy costs. http://bse.wisc.edu/Farm_Energy_Webinar.htm

Livestream: Joel Salatin's Secrets to Beyond-Organic Farming

March 20-22. Verge Permaculture is offering the opportunity to participate in three days of live, online workshops with Joel Salatin. March 20 Salatin will present "You Can Farm – The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Start and Succeed in a Farming Enterprise." March 21 will be "Pastured Poultry Profits – Net $25,000 in 6 Months on 20 Acres" and March 22 Salatin will conduct "Salad Bar Beef." Participants can register for just one day, or all three. http://vergepermaculture.ca/blog/events/joel-salatin-live-stream-event/

Small Farms Webinar: Weed Control in Pastures

March 21. This webinar will offer management strategies to minimize weeds and include a discussion of pesticide selection and safety. The webinar is part of a Small Farm Webinar series offered weekly by University of Illinois Extension. https://webs.extension.uiuc.edu/registration/default.cfm?RegistrationID=7543

Advanced Irrigation Methods for Market Growers

March 23. Kansas City, Missouri. This workshop is part of the Growing Growers Market Farming Workshops series. Workshops focus on practices and a scale of production suitable for a market farmer. Participants typically include apprentices, new or experienced growers, and others who are interested in the particular topic or who are considering trying to farm. http://www.growinggrowers.com/growing-growers-workshops

Tree Care Workshop

March 19. Grand Island. Hort Pro. http://nfs.unl.edu/tree-care-workshops

Cover Crop Decision-Making Tools

 

March 19th. 7-8:30 p.m. Just getting started with cover crops or want to hone your cover crop selections? Learn more about two online tools, the SmartMix (cover crop) Calculator­­, developed by Green Cover Seedof Bladen, Neb., and the Cover Crop Selector Tool developed by theIowa Cover Crop Working Group in Ames,Iowa. Both resources are available online forfarmers and landowners to improve their cover crop decision-making. http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/farminar

Stockmanship School

March 22. Dave and Meg Schmidt will be hosting a two-day stockmanship school taught by Richard McConnell and Tina Williams (www.handnhandlivestocksolutions.com) on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23. Tina Williams is the daughterof the late stockmanship expert Bud Williams (www.stockmanship.com). The event will be held in southwestIowa (Audubon Co. area) with the exact venue to be determined by the levelof interest. The cost is $300/person ($250 for additional membersof the same family or farm operation). Meals are not included. Please contact Meg Schmidt (meg@troublesomecreekcattle.com or 712.254.0751) for additional details.

 

Seed Savers Exchange Spring Kick-Off 

 

March 23. Startoff your gardening season by attending these workshops: Seed Starting, Planning Your Garden for Seed Saving, Heirloom Gardening. Learn more and Register here! (Note: There is a 25 participant limit for each workshop). Seed Savers Exchange, 3094 North Winn Rd, Decorah,Iowa . (563) 382-5990

Upcoming

Webinar on Organic Farming Systems Research at the University of Nebraska

March 26. Join eOrganic for a free, one-hour webinar that will present summaries of organic systems research at the University of Nebraska. The webinar will include 10-minute summaries by researchers of projects that emphasize production issues, grain quality, and agrosystem impacts. http://www.extension.org/pages/67368/

Introduction to Aquaponics Training

March 30. Minneapolis, Minnesota. This workshop will teach you how to create a closed-loop aquaponic system. Participants will be taught about the basics of fish and plant health; design implementation; maintenance of an aquaponic system; Minnesota regulations for aquaponic farming; and a tour of the Urban Farm Project's aquaponic system with over 10,000 fish. http://www.w-e-i.org/introduction-aquaponics-training

Farmers Expressing Themselves?

An organic farmer, during a recent presentation, talked about the influences and systems to some of what he sees within agriculture in the United States.

He gave the story of picking up a bag of potato chips and looking at the ingredients listed on the back of the bag. The list of ingredients was as artificial as they sounded. At the end his comparison was that the list was an example of corporations "expressing themselves." His story was in regards to the lack of labeling in regards to GMO's. And he was exactly right. Just as a leader in a state can threaten to "kick your butt," and get away with, so are products not labeled with GMO's, are corporations expressing themselves.

Right now, many farmers are in the midst of preparations and planning for the upcoming season. Many are having the ability to get things started early due to the unseasonable warm weather. On April 1st we hit 95 degrees around Ceresco. Sunny, windy, balmy, red flag warnings, all in the middle of March in Nebraska. Certainly Mother Nature is expressing herself.

Consumers express themselves on a daily basis. The nature and the scope of what one eats and drinks each day is a reflection on who they are and what they are. In deed, the foods and drinks we eat certainly from a biological standpoint influence our bodies makeup. Choosing to spend your dollars local is an expression of ones values. Buying from a local farm or artisian is expressing trust and appreciation in the way that farmer grows, raises and produces their prodcuts.

So what about farmers? Farmers express themselves in various ways throughout any given day. Growing your own food is an expression of values. Growing food for your local community is an expression of trust and of social responsibility to be a part of that community, and an active and positive participant. Various farming methods express a farmers core beliefs in caring for the land and being a steward of the animals and foods produced. How do your farming practices express your beliefs and values?

Anticipation

Each Spring around this time of year, many farmers have the drive and the curiosity and the anticipation to get things rolling for yet another year. Is the grass high enough? Did we get enough snow this year? How well was the ground cover over the winter? These are but a few of the questions my wife and I ask ourselves

This year is different than some. We have had our cow grazing for about a week now. Mostly through the yard areas around the barn and the house. The grasses there tend to be a little taller and more established than those out in the pasture and the regular rotations. Our goal is to have the animals in full rotation by the end of March. Which that has to be some kind of record.

In January of this year, we had 4 days with temperatures above 70 degrees. The beginning of February brought our only noticeable snow storm. This storm left about 13 inches here at Darby Springs Farm near Ceresco. Within a week there was no snow left on the ground. We did get a cold spell about the middle of February but than the gradual warming took place. By March 1st it felt like May 1st. I don't think we had a day below freezing in March. Temps by the middle of March were pushing 90 degrees. Certainly something was up. Mother Nature was fooling us and was going to drop a monster storm that would kill any budding trees or plants. So far however the extended forecast shows that well into April, temps will remain warmer than usual. Good news is that we'll also have decent chances for precipitation which is the next part of the equation.

We use a mix of multi-species pasture stacking combined with a somewhat management intensive grazing program all inspired by holistic management principles to manage our pasture and wetland. We were fortunate enough to have taken the Farm Beginnings Nebraska program put on by NSAS and had Terry Gompert as our Holistic Management Educator. This laid the foundation for what our vision was for our farm.

The NSAS List Serv is a great resource to bounce ideas off of fellow farmers using sustainable and organic practices and principles. Last year we posed some grazing questions to the list and below are some of the answers.

• If dry take put them in sooner, or take out later, or if really dry, put in fewer at a time in a paddock.
• Perhaps an issue of hay supply. If you can feed hay for a week or two more, the new pasture will grow faster than the hay they consume.
• Use a sacrifice paddock.
• Get grazing as soon as possible so the grass doesn't "get away."
• Turn out when grass has three leaves
• A concern is grass tetany, http://beef.unl.edu/stories/201003030.shtml
• Suggest feeding a little hay to slow fresh grass traveling through and cattle not taking up enough nutrients.
• It all depends on everything. Your grass type, stocking rate, how heavy you'll work the grass over the summer, etc.
• Just keep dry hay or even straw available to them free choice and they should be fine. They are still grazing standing hay as well as fresh grass.
• Start them slow and ease into grass

We began grazing with our small herd around the end of April in 2011. So getting an extra month on the pasture will certainly allow us to catch up with the pasture. This year the cows and horses will be together in one paddock and following them will be our pastured poultry flock. We have debated moving every 12 hours, and will probably increase the size of our paddocks.

You can find more resources on pasture readiness, livestock, sustainable farming and more on the NSAS website. A majority of these resources are free to use. Another great resources is the NSAS Library. This is free for members of NSAS and there is a nominal fee for non-NSAS members. But why not join! There are numerous benefits, and even an exciting way to join right now during our 30 for 30! fundraising drive, which participation gets you a membership!

“If you’re not tasting the food!”

“If you’re not tasting the food, what are the customer experiencing!!” My wife and I recently have been watching Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares reruns on Hulu. While the language is sometimes off the charts, what Ramsey does with kitchens, cooks and foods is incredible. (We especially love his Christmas special where with his kids, they raise heritage turkeys in their backyard and then butcher them for Thanksgiving. Talk about food grown where you live, and also talk about quite the education for children!)

This particular episode dealt with a chef, who by his own admission was arrogant. He absolutely refused to taste his own food prior to sending it to the “pass,” and eventually the customer. And the food was routinely sent back. Undercooked, over seasoned, and trying to be to creative with the dish resulted in numerous foods coming back and being tossed.

“If you’re not tasting the food, what are the customers experiencing!!” When I first heard that quote I was taken aback. It was so simple, but yet quite intriguing. On our own farm, Darby Springs Farm, we grow our own beef, chicken, eggs, fruits and veggies. We utilize sustainable and organic farming principles and incorporate holistic management into the farm plan. Our farm is located in the saline wetland of the Tall-grass prairie. In order to properly steward this unique ecosystem we must utilize these principles and management techniques, not only to maintain this environment, but to improve it.

Likewise to nourish our bodies and our minds, a majority of the foods we eat come from our farm. And what foods we cannot or do not grow we purchase from neighbors also utilizing similar principles. This is important to note, as we direct market many of our products or sell via local outlets such as farmers markets and area grocery stores. If we were not tasting, experiencing, embracing the foods that nourish and replenish the mind and body, how do we know the customer would be as well. How do we ensure the safety of the food and the customer if we ourselves do not taste the food we grow?

I believe you can go to one of the over 90 farmers markets in Nebraska, talk with one of the farmers there and ask them what they do with the food they are selling to you. One of my favorite farmers recently relayed what he did with butter he made from his farm. “Will, I simply cut up a lot of our veggies. Maybe 5 to 6 different types and probably about 10 pounds worth. I melt some of this butter here in a frying pan. I put the veggies in the pan and sauté them, and add a little salt and pepper. Add some of these potatoes, and I have a meal. Works great for the kids (10+ of ‘em’!)”

“If you’re not tasting the food, what are the customers experiencing!!”

Who Benefits from Biotechnology?

In the future, who will own the seeds of our major vegetable and field crops? How can this seed can be made accessible to all in agriculture? Who will benefit from advances in biotechnology? What checks and balances operate in the system to assure that benefits are appropriately distributed?

These are questions raised frequently in meetings on organic and sustainable agriculture. The concentration of ownership of seed varieties into the hands of a few large corporations, and the introduction of technologies such as the "terminator gene," further enlarge the debate about who will gain from science and new technologies in agriculture.

Over the past two decades, several major changes have transformed the seed business and influenced the accessibility of a wide range of seed varieties to farmers. One of these changes is plant patenting, a trend that began in Europe as a response to companies that wanted to assure a fair return to their investment in research and technology development. This change has strongly affected the seed industry in the US, where the first patent on a life form was granted in 1980 (Ann Clark, in Acres USA, July 1999).

Plant patenting has reduced the exchange of basic germplasm between breeders in the public sector and those in private corporations, and even among the breeders in public programs who can now benefit from varieties that are patented by their universities.

One notable exception has been the decision by the international agricultural research centers that hold much of the reserve of genetic collections. They agreed through the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1994 to not seek intellectual property rights to any of these collections, thus assuring their availability to plant breeders worldwide at no cost. According to Dr. Clark, this agreement has been violated by some private breeders who acquired seed from the centers, then sought their own patents.

Genetic fingerprinting technology makes it possible to detect the specific identity of patented lines and provide methods of enforcing the patents. Farmers now sign technology agreements with a company, stating that they will not save seed nor sell any from their own harvest to neighbors for planting in the next season. There have been numerous reports in the papers about abuses of these agreements and the companies’ quests to enforce their contracts with growers.

There is no debate about the issue of concentration of ownership. What has emerged is more competitive and secretive behavior by plant breeders. We have to ask if this will ultimately benefit farmers.

What about the issue of responsibility? The corporation has, by definition, a responsibility to serve its stockholders. Most local companies find that their owners are best served by attracting local customers and meeting their needs so that the same people return. There is familiarity on a personal and family level, responsibility to individuals and the community, and a level of personal trust that keeps the system stable.

As business ownership becomes more distant from the local community, it is less likely that any of these factors will play a role in the decisions made by a company. In the extreme case of multinational corporations, the decisions and responsibility are far removed from the clients, and there is little or no personal dimension to the business. It is easy to paraphrase President Harry Truman and say that, in the international corporate world, "the buck never stops."

Who benefits from advances in biotechnology? There is no question that corporations and their stockholders have the most to gain. In fact, there is a push right now to just recover the extremely high development costs of varieties resulting from use of genetic engineering technologies.

Have yields increased with the advent of biotechnology? The most frequent reports describe the benefits of reduced costs in weed control, and these have only occurred for some farmers in some years. There is little evidence to support changes in crop yields; in fact, there is much discussion about the ‘yield drag’ associated with transgenic manipulation. Plant breeders can make only so much progress in yield, and the more traits or genes that must be selected for at the same time, the slower this progress will be.

Yield drag is the difference between the latest varieties developed by conventional means and those developed by genetic engineering. According to Dr. Clark’s article, one study from 1995 to 1998 showed that Roundup Ready soybeans produced 10% less than the normal varieties, and a more recent study showed a 4% to 5% lower average yield in the Roundup Ready soybeans compared to normal varieties.

Given the current prices for conventional corn and soybeans, it is likely that thoughtful farmers will give greater attention to growing specialty varieties or other crops rather than try to increase yields of standard commodities.

In summary, we can look at the economics of agriculture as well as the current beneficiaries of biotechnology and see whether this kind of technology will benefit farmers in the future. Aside from the arguments about gene escape, food safety, and whether European consumers will accept US grain crops, it is important to study the question of ownership. Who owns genes, who owns crops, and how will these ownership issues affect our future global food supply?

We need to look at both the economic and social impacts of a global agriculture, and to see who really benefits from globalization. At this point, globalization appears to benefit only the few developed countries that have the resources and the infrastructure to participate. WorldWatch magazine (Sept-Oct. 1999) reports that the richest fifth of the world’s population enjoys 82% of the expanding export trade, while the poorest fifth has about 1%. The report says that a global, professional elite enjoys a world of open borders and abundant goods, but billions of others find borders as impassable as ever. These are extensions of prior inequities that have greatly expanded during the recent move to globalization.

Even in our developed country, we can question if the beneficiaries of ownership, concentration. and biotechnology include the farmers who produce low-value commodities with ever-increasing costs of production inputs, especially those such as seed that now include a ‘technology charge.’ Although the trends are toward greater concentration and less local autonomy, we should remember the words of Nobel laureate Rene du Bos: "Trend is not destiny." The future will be shaped by the choices we make today.

by Chuck Francis, from the Fall of 1999 NSAS newsletter. Charles Francis is a Professor of Agronomy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society: Home Features

Wildlife and Farmers Can Exist Together

What is the big deal with wildlife and farmland? It has to do with what we want for our farms, communities and environment. Some species are disappearing, and agriculture is blamed as the culprit. That's not really a new situation, as agriculture has always taken a natural environment and changed it to one managed by people. Some species flourish in the human-influenced habitat, while others don't.

That's the first lesson: everything is habitat. Habitat is where critters live. It provides all the needs of a species: food, shelter, space, and water. All creatures need certain ranges of light, heat, water, and protective cover to sustain themselves. The ranges tolerated by blue jays, for example, are different than those tolerated by Canada geese. Which do we want? Both are wildlife. Both are desirable. But we can't have maximum numbers of each in the same space.

That's lesson two: diversity of wildlife requires diverse habitats. Agriculture has reduced the diversity of habitats by creating monocultures - large areas with only one plant species, such as cornfields. In a monoculture there is only one plant for insects, birds, or animals to eat. There is only one height of vegetation to sit on or hide in. The soil's surface has a uniform moistness, temperature range, and cover. Only wildlife species that can tolerate those particular conditions will live there. Some may do very well, such as corn borers, while others may only visit, such as whitetail deer. The biological diversity (number of animal or plant species) of a typical monoculture field is very low.

Dennis Avery, author of Saving the World with Pesticides and Plastic, claims that agriculture "destroys" land for wildlife. He believes that we must maximize agricultural production on some land and save other land exclusively for wildlife. But farms don't have to provide only one set of living conditions. Proponents of sustainable agriculture think that both wildlife and farmers can use the same land.

Ann Robinson, in the 1991 Walton League publication "Sustainable Agriculture: A Brighter Outlook for Fish and Wildlife," reports that sustainable farmers often farm smaller fields and use more crops in their rotations than conventional farmers. They recognize the benefits of birds, insects, and even plants sometimes called weeds. Livestock, which add to diversity, are often included in sustainable farming systems. Their manure feeds birds and insects. Livestock necessitate the production or delivery of foods that wouldn't otherwise be part of the farm. Sustainable farmers often express considerable concern about soil erosion, and sustainable farming practices that reduce erosion are good for fish.

So if it's good to stop erosion, then no-till farming must be great, right? That depends on the chemicals needed to farm without mechanically killing weeds. "Paraquat, a herbicide frequently used in no-till farming, is very toxic to some birds and mammals" says Robinson. "Several herbicides have been shown to harm fish. The synergistic effects that may happen when several chemicals are combined can make these products more harmful."

Those synergistic (increased and/or changed) effects include what some scientists call "endocrine disruption." Trace amounts of pesticides or their residues apparently act like animal hormones and disrupt normal body functions like growth and reproduction. Such side effects of pesticide use could wreak havoc on the health of wild animals, domestic livestock, and people.

So, what do we want? Holistic Resource Management practitioners use a planning process that starts with describing their goal: quality of life, production to support it, and the environment to allow that production. If we want wildlife, we need only to plan for it and to put that plan into action.

Many HRM farmers and ranchers have explicit plans to include wildlife on their land. They can point to the economic gains they expect from working with natural processes, instead of against them. Their plans can include simple ideas like scheduling grazing or haying dates to avoid critical nesting sites. A more complex plan might include grazing to influence shrub density and grass regrowth on deer winter range.

University of Missouri agricultural economist John Ikerd agrees with the HRM approach for including wildlife on farms. He believes that, "Success...is measured against the goal of sustainable human progress — balanced economic, ecologic, and social progress." Each farm family can choose its own balance point, and can create a farm plan to reach that point. The resulting mix of farm profits, a healthy farm environment, and a supportive community can easily include farm wildlife.
Wyatt Fraas, Center for Rural Affairs


Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society: Home Features

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1.02.28

Seeds Shape Our Future

Seeds are the basis of agriculture. We take for granted that we will always be able to buy varieties that suit our needs. There are forces at work in the seed industry, however, that will severely limit our choices of what seeds we can buy and who we can buy them from.

Today, the seed industry is being concentrated in the hands of a few multinational corporations, and these corporations have little or no interest in sustainable agriculture. Indeed, their interests lie in the opposite direction.

In its September 29, 1998 issue, the Wall Street Journal pointed out that "most seed companies have either aligned themselves with or been acquired by crop-biotechnology juggernauts like Monsanto Co., DuPont Co., and Dow Chemical Co." These corporations are in the chemical business and see the seed industry as a way to insure a growing market for their herbicides.

By using biotechnology to incorporate herbicide resistant genes into plants that have already been bred to respond to high inputs of fertilizers, these multinational corporations are creating plant varieties that depend on an expensive chemical regimen to survive. This dependence will insure huge profits for the corporations and greater input costs for farmers.

This is not the only adverse effect of bioengineering of seeds. By patenting the genes they insert into the seeds, the corporations maintain legal control of the right to propagate those seeds in future generations. In other words, you will not be able to save seeds from these crops for your own use or to sell to neighbors without paying royalties. In fact, in the future a few corporations may control what we plant, what we eat, and what we wear. Profit rather than food security will be the main consideration of these corporations.

Farmers across the country refuse to passively let the corporate giants gain this control over our food system. The Farmer Cooperative Genome Project was organized to unite farmers and gardeners in an effort to ensure that people will have access to seeds that meet their needs.

The Farmer Cooperative Genome Project met in Salem, Oregon in March to explore ways in which as many people as possible can join together to assure an open access to seeds and basic genetic material for the common good. The meeting was organized by JJ Haapala, Farmer Cooperative Genome Project Administrator and Director of Research and Education at Oregon Tilth. He brought together plant breeders, farmers, people from small independent seed companies and others interested in seed production and distribution.

The conclusion of the two day meeting was that we can insure open access to seeds if we work together. Farmers will have to learn to grow more of their own seeds and make them available to others through cooperative seed exchanges or independent seed companies. Plant breeders will have to work directly with farmers to produce varieties that meet local needs. Government agencies, such as the National Germplasm Repository, are willing to work directly with anyone seriously interested in evaluating germplasm from around the world. Anyone who has an interest in the quality of the food we will eat in the future can and must support this effort.

Dr. Richard Hannan, who directs the Regional Plant Introduction Station of the National Plant Germplasm System in Washington, spoke at the meeting. He pointed out the need for farmers and gardeners to grow out seeds that are stored in the National Plant Germplasm Repository, but have not been grown out and characterized. These seeds have been collected from around the world and are part of the national collection but, due to lack of funds and people, they have never been grown out under local conditions to see how they will perform.

If serious gardeners and farmers are willing to grow out samples of these seeds, they can describe how they grow under local environmental conditions. Their reports can become a part of the database of information that plant breeders, including gardeners and farmers, can access when they are seeking new genetic resources for their breeding efforts.

Our generation will decide the nature of the food mankind will eat in the future. If enough of us choose to accept our responsibility to breed our own seed, our food will come from a great diversity of visions of what food should be. If we choose to abdicate that responsibility, our food will reflect Monsanto’s vision of food for profit instead of food for people.

The decisions we make about the seeds we plant on our farms and in our gardens will shape the future. Which genetic legacy do you want to leave to your children?

The plants we enjoy today represent the choices made by individual gardeners and farmers for thousands of years. They chose certain genetic material because they thought it was beautiful, because they thought it tasted good, and because they thought it yielded more and better food, fiber, and flowers.

This genetic heritage is valuable and should be conserved, but it is more important to conserve the idea that it represents - the idea that each of us can influence the future by shaping the plants that will sustain us and our children. We need to save people who save seeds more than we need to save germplasm.

A plant germinates from a seed, grows to flower and produces seeds for the next generation. We are born, grow up, and produce children for the next generation. Unlike plants, we have the ability to influence the environment in which our children will live.

We can pass on not only our own genetic heritage, but the genetic material in plants that represents our vision of what is beautiful, bountiful and beneficial. If we choose to save seed, future generations may live in a better world.

Tom Tomas and Cris Carusi
Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society: Home Features