Somehow, a month has gone by since I requested your assistance in
answering the following questions. As I explained in the original email, I
am a graduate student working on finishing my degree in International
Environmental Policy and Spanish. I am also working at the EPA
Wetlands Division on wetlands protection issues, especially as they
relate to tribes, and biological monitoring of wetlands.
I sought your assistance to help formulate a research proposal which I
presented to my advisors - proposing the research I would like to
undertake to complete my degree, as well as a proposal I presented to
Redefining Progress. I will be following up on at least part of these
questions in the next few months. The specific parts depend on the
decisions of those who were presented with proposals.
I want to take this opportunity to again thank all those individuals who
took the time to respond to my request. Below are 13 responses loaded
with great information and different perspectives.
I also want to thank everyone on SANET for engaging in such lively
discussion. I tend to agree with those like Lei that think philosopy and
practical information are not incompatible. Together they keep both me
and my garden going.
I apologize for taking so long to compile the responses. It is the nature of
working full time and being a student.
One more thing. I will be out of town for a couple of weeks, so I won't
be receiving SANET messages during that time. Please feel free to
contact me directly and I will respond upon my return.
Brett Melone in DC, thankful that fall is coming soon.
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First, the questions again:
1) Does anyone have information on innovative policies/programs being
considered OR implemented in countries outside the U.S., which promote
sustainable agriculture? I have heard mention of subsidization of organic
farmers in Germany and Austria. I have also heard discussion of
outlawing pesticides in Denmark. Any specific information on these
examples, or others you may know about, would be great. I am looking
for descriptions of policies (ones proposed OR ones being implemented),
and contact information of individuals who may know more about the
policies.
2) Does anyone have an idea of how to gain access to current and past
USDA budgets, to analyze allocation of resources?
3) Is anyone aware of other organizations besides USDA (public or
private) which receive federal money (that is, they receive it NOT
through USDA, but through some other organization or mechanism) to
conduct agricultural research? If so, do you know how to gain access
to the goals of the research and the amounts received, both in the past
and currently?
***************************************************************
BRETT:
Check out Lampkin, Nicolas & Padel , Susanne. 1994. The Economics of
Organic Farming. CAB Int'l. Oxon:UK. They have great chapters on
"organic" (definition similar to your "sustainable") farming
policy for Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and an overview of policy
in Western Europe, plus tons of references.
Also you might try contacting Nic Lampkin for info on policies in
the UK-his Website is
http://www.aber.ac.uk/~wirwww/research/orgfarm.htm
Good luck! Let us know what you find out re: accessing USDA budgets.
I would like to know (but may find it too depressing!!)
Holly
Holly Born, Technical Specialist
ATTRA (Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas)
(501) 442-9824, 1-800-346-9140
Fax:(501) 442-9842 E-mail:hollyb@ncatark.uark.edu
Web:http://www.attra.org
**************************************************************
here are several databases you should try to find information on
sustainable agriculture in other countries:
Agriculture and Environment for Developing Regions (Formerly:
Abstracts on
Tropical Agriculture) - This contains abstracts on the literature of
developing rural areas of Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Americas. .
There is a wealth of information on sustainable agriculture in developing
countries in this source.
CAB International - Covers information on all areas of agriculture in the
broad sense from over 130 countries.
AGRIS - The database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United States - This includes heavy coversage of "in country"
publications
issued in over 100 countries. Great source for info on sustainable
agriculture policies.
Abstracts on Sustainable Agriculture - produced by the Wageningen
Agricultural University in The Netherlands - A good source for reports
and
other materials on all aspects of sustainable ag from around the world.
There are also some excellent databases covering environmental issues
that
are worth consulting. Environment Abstracts, Environment Bibliography,
Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management are example.
Directories:
Sustainable Agriculture Directory of Expertise. 3rd edition. Burlington,
VT, University of Vermont, 1996. Lists over 700 organizations and
individual contacts in the United States
Healthy Harvest: A Global Directory of Sustainable Agriculture &
Horticulture Organizations. Davis, CA, agAccess, 1992. Over 1400
organizations in US and abroad
Planting the Future: Aresources Guide to Sutainable Agriculture in the
Third World. Minneapolis, International Alliance for Sustainable
Agriculture, 1990.
Brett asked:
2) Does anyone have an idea of how to gain access to current and past
USDA budgets, to analyze allocation of resources?
Irwin answered:
Call the reference desk at NAL or the Agricultural Research Service. This
information may be available in a government document or on the Web.
Brett asked:
3) Is anyone aware of other organizations besides USDA (public or
private) which receive federal money (that is, they receive it NOT
through USDA, but through some other organization or mechanism) to
conduct agricultural research? If so, do you know how to gain access
to the goals of the research and the amounts received, both in the past
and currently?
Irwin answered:
Yes. Try the CRIS database. This is a database of current research in
progress in agricultural disciplines. It givers names of investigators,
title of research, summary of the research, and funding agencies.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/ag98/ag98.html
Irwin Weintraub
Head, Stephen and Lucy Chang Science Library
Rutgers University
59 Dudley Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8520
E-mail: iweintra@rci.rutgers.edu
Telephone: (732)932-0305 Ext. 139
**************************************************
Brett
You may find some interesting stuff of the Irish Govt web site - Dept of
Ag. We have very small subsidisation of organic farming here - about
20% of inspection cost and some capital grants towards cold stores etc
but you may also be interested in the REPS (Rural Environmental
Protection Scheme) which might perhaps come under your heading and
contains subsidy for some types of sustainable management (lower
stock numbers in grazing schemes etc) and further small organic
subsidy.
I'd be glad of any information you can give me of what you find in other
European countries since I'm lobbying, unpaid, for more organic subsidy
and its always nice to be able to say one of the competitors is getting
something you are not.
good luck
kathryn
*******************************************************************
Hi,
The Resource Management Act (1991) in New Zealand would be
something good to look at. I'm afraid I don't have the time to go into details
now, and I'm probably not the most appropriate person to do that
anyway. But a good search on the net will probably reveal quite a lot on
it. Good luck, and let me know if you have trouble finding info on the
RMA and I might be able to help.
Cheers!
Terry
**********************************************************
Wow you are a busy guy! In response to your first question... Have you
checked out the book GREEN PLANS: GREENPRINT FOR
SUSTAINABILITY (Johnson, Huey, D. University of Nebraska,1995)) It
does not focus on sustainable agriculture but does make some important
references to it. It covers New Zealand and the Resource Management
Act, The Netherlands, and California. I have yet to read it in its entirety
but the section on New Zealand is very interesting. Check it out and
good luck to you.
Beth Anne Sobieszczyk
Agriculture, Food and Environment Program
Tufts Univeristy
*********************************************************
Dear Brett
regarding the first of your questions, I can tell you that in Denmark
we have a long tradition for futhering organic agriculture by
subsidies. It started back in 1987, when the first law on organic
agriculture was passed through parliament. From that point on organic
agriculture has been growing and growing, and the subsidies are
adjusted from time to time to meet the needs for futher advancement.
If you are interested in any details please feel free to contact me.
Thomas Vang Jorgensen
The Danish Agricultural Advisory Centre
e-mail tvj@lr.dk
*******************************************************************
2) Does anyone have an idea of how to gain access to current and
past USDA budgets, to analyze allocation of resources?
I don't know resources, but you may want to look at the booklet
"Searching for the O-Word" by Mark Lipson, published by the Organic
Farming Resrach Foundation (OFRF, POB 440, Santa Cruz CA 95061,
408-426-6606, research@OFRF.org). Subtitle is "Analyzing the USDA
Current Research Information System for Pertinence to Organic Farming."
OFRF may have answers to this or other questions for you.
I'd be very interested to know the results of your search. I am beginning
to study along the same lines, contemplating a grad school project in this
area.
Good luck. -Rob
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
T. Robert Fetter trf@student.umass.edu
Ag. & Resource Economics
U. of Mass - Amherst "We are each poets and painters,
Class of '99 bricklayers and revolutionaries.
But we are all mapmakers..."
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
***********************************************************************
Hi from New Zealand
No, nothing specific here. The emphasis has been on Environmental
Protection rather than directly on agriculture. Agriculture is, as in the
States I suspect, too much of a hot potato. Of course the Environmental
Effects of Agriculture are considered but it is a pretty blunt tool. But, I
hasten to add, better than nothing. Our particular piece of legislation is
known as " The Resource Management Act" Just give us a shout (in a
manner of speaking) If you want any further down under info.
Alfred Harris
************************************************************************
Hi Brett. I can help you with some of your inquiries. At least a little
bit and if you need more information, feel free to call me.
I work for the Agricultural Conservation Innovation Center. We started
off as a non-profit project of NRCS branch of USDA. Our basic goal is to
promote conservation agriculture by offering finacial incentives, primarily
through insurance policies. Basically what we do is sit around and think
up ideas and then do research about how risky they are for a farmer.
So for example, say a farmer doesn't want to follow the advice of a crop
consultant because he is afraid that if he puts on the amounts of
fertilizer that the consultant advised won't be enough. We figure out that
if the consultant tells him exactly how much he needs and he puts on
exactly that amount, how much of a risk he will have of a disaster
occuring. I don't know if that is very clear for someone like you who has
never heard of us before, but we handle matters such as nutrients,
practices, and pesticides (both natural and synthetic).
Anyway, we started off by obtaining initial funds from USDA. We have
also acquired funds from US EPA and from some private foundations.
Right now we are looking to be unloaded onto the American Farmland
Trust. We don't handle much policy, but we do a lot of work with private
industry. So, if you have any more questions, please call me, or write
back. Whatever is more convenient for you.
-Megan Terebus
Farm Program Developer
ACIC
(843)740-1329 w (7:30 am - 5:00 pm EST)
(843)767-5105 h
****************************************************************
Brett,
While NSF does not generally support ag research, there is one
long term ecological research (LTER)
site in agriculture. The website for this site, based at the Kellogg
Biological Station in SW Michigan (a Michigan State U. experiment
station), is
htt;://lter.kbs.msu.edu
oops, that is supposed to be an http at the beginning (nix the ;).
of course, nsf has a website, too, but i do not know it off hand.
-michel cavigelli
*************************************************************
Dear Brett,
I have info on some European Agri-Environmental schemes, particularly
in Germany (mostly German texts) and Ireland (where I work as an
Agri-Environmental Consultant). If you send me your address I can mail
you the prescriptions for the Irish Rural Environment Protection Scheme.
Also, check
http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg06/
(DG VI is the Directorate General for Agriculture of the European Union.
The EU-Regulation 2078/92 is the basis for agri-environmental
programmes in all Member States. The Commission is very generous and
helpful in supplying information on their policies. Ask
francisco.gomez@dg6.cec.be for COM/97/620/fin.1997 Report from the
Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the application
of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2078/92 on agricultural production
methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the
environment and the maintenance of the countryside
It will give you a good and pretty up to date overview.
Also, check http://www.mluri.sari.ac.uk/~mi361/faunus.htm (interesting
research work and discussions of EU ag. policy in Europe's
disadvantaged areas) and http://www.agrar.de/ (good German site on
ag and conservation; some English language info) and
http://www.maff.gov.uk/ (UK Ministry of Ag, Food & Forestry; should
have info on their ag/env policies, such as Countryside Stewartship,
Countryside Management Scheme etc.)
Let me know if I can help in other ways.
Will be away from 2-17 August.
Greetings from Ireland
Dipl.-Ing. Ute Bohnsack
Sailchearnach
Clogher
Kilfenora
Co. Clare
Ireland
*******************************************************************
About two weeks ago someone on the list asked for help on
envrionmental policy. The person wanted examples of governments
moving the agenda toward sustainable agriculture I believe.
I have been in Ireland for a short time and have been given a new
document produced by TEAGASC, The Irish food and Development
Authority. It is the Reserach and Education branch in Agriculture in
Ireland. It is called TEAGASC 2000 and is published by Teagasc, 19
Sandymount Avenue, Dublin 4, Ireland. I think you will find many
examples in this publiscation that will be of interest to you
regarding sustainable policy initiatives. The document was published
in July, 1988.
Bill Liebhardt
*************************************************************
Hi Brett,
There is some interesting sustainable ag work going on in Russia right
now. It involves curriculum development for educational institutions as
well as continuing education for Russia's version of the USDA extension
service.
The program is run by Sylvia Ehrhardt of the Center for Citizen Initiatives
(formerly the Center for US-USSR Initiatives). Her work there is based in
work she did with tribal nations here in the US. She lives on an organic
farm that she and her husband recently passed onto their daughter in
Knoxville, MD.
Here's her voluminous contact info:
Sylvia Ehrhardt
Senior Advisor, Agricultural Initiative
Center for Citizen Initiatives
1032 Hoffmaster Road
Knoxville, MD 21758
tel: 301/834-9247
fax: 301/834-5070
e-mail: ecoag@igc.org
internet: www.igc.org/cci
I hope this is useful for you.
Nessa Richman
Policy Analyst, Marketing Projec
*************************************************************
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