Hello everyone
I am working on a project to help farmers to improve the sustainability of their practices. I am looking for examples of self-assessment tools that encourage and help measure uptake of sustainable practices and resource condition outcomes. Also articles which evaluate their effectiveness.
Many thanks!
-- Helen Bull
Victoria, Australia
0400 310 188 from Australia
+61 400 310 188 from elsewhere
Seeking Examples of Self-Assessment Tools for Use in Agriculture
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The Ontario Farm Plan program is a decendent of a US program called Farm*A*Syst, which was developed as a partnership between Wisconsin and Minnesota Cooperative Extension Services in the early 1990s. This program, a jointly federally funded project, spawned parallel efforts across most states in the public sector as well as in the private sector with the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Growers in California and the Australian Cotton Industry. The main focus of the program is to provide self-assessment tools along with general recommendations that are understandable to the general public. These tools are now providing a first step for more advanced work in various projects. You can find a collection of materials in a library at the Farm*A*Syst website, as well as a related website, both of which are listed below. I have been with the Farm*A*Syst and related Home*A*Syst program since 1995. I'd be happy to provide you with further examples/information about self-assessment tools for farmers and homeowners. My contact information is below. Farm*A*Syst website: http://www.uwex.edu/farmasyst Click on the Search button. Pollution Assessment and Prevention website: http://www.uwex.edu/farmandhome/wqpaap
Janice Kepka
UW-Madison Environmental Resources Center
Farm and Home Environmental Management Programs
Room 303 Hiram Smith Hall
1545 Observatory Drive Madison, WI 53706
608/263-4695
Good evening all,
I don't know much about it, but in Ontario, Canada, the provincial government encourages farmers to submit their "Environmental Farm Plan". There are associated $$ incentives to complete projects that make an improvement to any impacts of their operations. eg fencing cattle out of streams; manure management
Regards,
Patricia
Dear Helen,
a very interesting article that refers in particular to innovations in agriculture is: Guerin, Turlough F. "Why sustainable innovations are not always adopted". Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2001 Dec; 34(1): pp.1-18.
regards,
Silvana
Silvana Khtz
lecturer of Management and Economy of Energy Sources
Ph.D., D.I.C., Dr
Ing. DIFA Faculty of Engineering,
University of Basilicata 85100 Potenza Italy
tel. + 39 349 527 97 55
Hi
The Alberta Environmental Farm Plan, http://www.albertaefp.com/. Finding articles on it's effectivenss would be harder to come by due to confidentiality issue. But the website would be a great place to start. The farm plan is very comprehensive at evaluating farm risk, and helps producers create an action plant.
Kaley
Kaley Segboer
Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator
Leduc County / Wetaskiwin County
Canada