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SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET
by Jon Nord Kanagy
The development of sustainable agriculture systems depends on the creativity of individual farmers, but is greatly hastened by the sharing of information and experiences between agriculturists. The internet now provides a forum for such communication, and has become a huge library of technical information wherein sustainable agriculture is well represented. These are a few of the resources that I have found to be most valuable:
Subscribing to Mail Lists
The best way to get involved in discussions about sustainable agriculture topics is to subscribe to a mail list (also known as mail groups and list servers). The mail list allows discussion by routing all email messages sent to its address to all subscribers to the group (sort of like posting up messages on a bulletin board at work). A mail list may be quite specific, with only a few messages received per week, or rather broad and generating as many as ten or twenty messages each day. The subscription process is just a matter of putting your email address on a list. There is no cost and it´s easy to cancel. Once you are placed on the list an email message will explain how you may post a message to the group. Here are a few mail lists and their subscription commands:
note: because the subscription messages are read by a computer, not a human, they must be typed exactly as shown.
sustainable agriculture mail group (sanet-mg):
this group generates a lot of discussion, usually 5-15 messages per day. Messages are frequently newsletters and other postings from sustainable agriculture organizations, debate on current issues in agriculture, and questions and answers posted by farmers seeking solutions to agricultural problems. Though the email volume requires frequent attention, this mail list is highly recommended.
To subscribe send a message to: Majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu
In the body of the message type: subscribe sanet-mg
soil science (soil-l):
all areas of soil science are discussed.
To subscribe send a message to: listserv@unl.edu
In the body of the message type: subscribe soil-l
soil quality:
topics include soil quality, soil science, soil amendments, minerals, micronutrients, compost, rock powders,
microbiological innoculants, and cover crops.
To subscribe send a message to: lyris@franklin.oit.unc.edu
In the body of the message type: subscribe soil-quality
The World Wide Web
The University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP) maintains one of the best websites for sustainable agriculture. It includes information on vineyards and other perennial cropping systems that is difficult to find elsewhere. Especially noteworthy at www.sarep.ucdavis.edu is it´s cover crop resource page which contains slide shows, documents, and the option to search for certain key words. Also at the site is information on alternatives to methyl bromide soil fumigation, and resources for better understanding the role of earthworms in agriculture.
The University of California Integrated Pest Management Program also maintains a website at www.ipm.ucdavis.edu. On it are pest management guidelines for grapes, as well as the powdery mildew disease forecast model. Use the pest management guidelines to minimize pesticide use by implementing biological and cultural controls first, and using the least disruptive chemical control only if necessary. Also interesting here is a weed database complete with photos and descriptions, as well as information on pesticide safety books, videos, and workshops.
The USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service´s website features, among other things, a Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP). This document is an excellent primer on the components of stream health and how a land owner may learn to assess it. Also at the site is a document on agroforestry for farms and ranches with detailed information on windbreaks, grassed waterways, filter strips and streambank protection. Check these documents out at: http://www.ncg.nrcs.usda.gov/
ATTRA, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas, provides technical information on sustainable agriculture to farmers.They respond to telephone questions (1-800-346-9140) as well as provide informational
documents at their website: http://www.attra.org. Particularly interesting are their references on soil testing and soil quality as well as a good article on farmscaping to enhance biological pest management.
The website of Community Alliance with Family Farmers, CAFF, doesn´t provide a lot of information directly, but it boasts a huge list of organizations active in sustainable agriculture. See it at www.caff.org.
Sustainable Farming Connection is a site developed by the folks formerly of The New Farm magazine. Especially noteworthy at http://metalab.unc.edu/farming-connection are links to the texts of some pioneering soil scientists: Sir Albert Howard´s An Agricultural Testament and Cyril Hopkins´ The Story of Soil. Also available at the site are abundant links to documents and sites on soil ecology and health, composts, and manure.
These resources will serve as a good starting point for learning more about sustainable agriculture on the internet. Nearly all websites also contain links to other related websites, and you´ll quickly have access to hundreds of sites not listed here. Also, don´t forget to try entering some keywords into one of the search engines such as www.yahoo.com. You´ll be amazed at the number of responses, even to rather obscure, technical queries.
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