Seeking Literature on Promoting Sustainable Agriculture

Try www.appsudev.org for an outfit in Virginia.

Susan E. McSwain
Solid Waste & Recycling Coordinator
Nelson County PO Box 336
Lovingston, VA 22949
434-263-7098
[email protected]
Fax 434-263-7004

Have you had a look at the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service Web page?

Stephan Pollard, Ph.D.

-Environmental Dynamics
555 W. Maple St., Apt. C
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 444-7445
(479) 799-9190 cell

There may be all sorts of information on this site. Review courtesy of the Internet Scout Report National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service [pdf] http://attra.ncat.org/ With significant funding from the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service, the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA) is committed to providing visitors to their site with the latest information on sustainable agriculture practices, innovation, alternative crop and livestock enterprises, and of course, organic certification. For a succinct introduction, first-time visitors will want to click on the "What is Sustainable Agriculture?" link, which leads to a number of pieces that address just that question, along with overviews of organic crop production, integrated pest management, and permaculture. After that, visitors can browse around in sections dedicated to field crops, horticultural crops, water management, livestock, and farm energy. Visitors can also sign up to receive the "Weekly Harvest" e-newsletter which is a web digest of sustainable agriculture news, resources, and funding opportunities that staff members at ATTRA have located on the internet.

Krista-

You'll find a number of case studies in the publications available at www.sare.org/publications. Not specifically on CBSM, but some information on barriers.

Regards,
Sean McGovern

Sustainable Agriculture Network
1372 Norris Drive
Columbus, Ohio 43224
Phone: 614/306-6422
Fax: 614/268-7544
http://www.sare.org
[email protected]

Some of the major U.S. environmental organizations, physicians organizations, and health organizations are working on ways to stop concentrated animal feedlot operations (CAFOs), the manure from which is having a horrendous impact on watershed pollution and air pollution. They came up with the ingenious campaign to target soccer moms who are concerned about their children's health and their parent's health -- the most vulnerable in our society. Most of the antibiotics today don't work or have to be taken in incredibly large amounts or mixes to work because of antibiotic resistant bacteria, which have resulted in large part from antibiotics being fed routinely to healthy animals in CAFOs. The antibiotic-resistant bacteria are in the manure, which is spread on fields and ends up in our rivers and groundwater, etc. Everyone should be alarmed about this fact, regardless of whether you have children or not -- particularly with the new TB strains, etc. circulating the globe. There has been so much pressure about this in the U.S. some of the fast food chains say they aren't buying beef or chicken that have been treated routinely with antibiotics. You could do a google search on antibiotic resistant bacteria and will most likely be directed to a wealth of information about this. It was a very clever way to link two problems -- one of which most people are very concerned about, i.e. the health of their children and parents -- and one most people don't give second thought to, i.e. the impact of manure-based contaminants entering a watershed or the air.

Nancy Adams

Oops -- I forgot a point from my previous message. Animals can be raised sustainably on pasture and in smaller units and not have to be treated with antibiotics in order to thrive. Their meat and their milk have more important nutrients like Omega-3's obtained from grass grown on healthy soils; and their manure doesn't contain antibiotic resistant bacteria and isn't overapplied to our fields so that it leaches into the groundwater and causes horrendous pollution problems. Most people I know buy meat, eggs, milk, etc. directly from farmers who are raising their animals on pasture and the consumers know precisely how the animals are being raised, i.e. not given antibiotics or hormones and treated humanely. The incredible demand for these products and premium prices should be a real driver to get more farmers raising their livestock in this manner. The Kellogg Foundation in Michigan did a report on what Americans think of our food system. They also have a "framing" unit. Some of the sustainable agriculture organizations I work with are taking a careful look at this report and using the information to "frame" the issue of sustainable agriculture. The Minnesota Project in St. Paul, MN, has a white paper about this on its web site -- www.mnproject.org. This may be useful as you look at sustainable agriculture as a way to protect our groundwater and streams from pollution from manure from concentrated feedlots. Getting farmers who keep their cows on pasture to keep their cows out of streams is a whole other issue...

Nancy Adams

Hi,

We are researching community-based social marketing in environmentally Natural Resource Managemnt (NRM). We are planning on developing a new community engaement strategy for our Environmental service unit. I am seeking literature (journal articles, case studies, magazine articles, frame works, plans, processes etc.) on CBSM in NRM. Specifically, if available, I am interested in references to barriers and motivators influencing the adoption of community involvement in NRM.

Cheers
Shane Kearney

Foreshore Rehabilitation Officer
City of Mandurah
Wk: (08) 9550-3947
Mob: 0424 257 961
Email: [email protected]

We are using a farm plan as a motivator to reduce the level of contaminants entering waterways through tile and mole drains on dairy farms. You can view the Tile and Mole Drain Farm Plan online at www.orc.govt.nz go to Home > Environmental management > Farming and land management > Dairy farming > Environmental initiatives

If you have any questions about the plan feel free to email me.

Katrina Robertson

Land Resources Officer
Otago Regional Council
70 Stafford St
Private Bag 1954
Dunedin 9016
New Zealand
ph: 0800 474082