TO: SAN Committee Members
FROM: Gabriel A. Hegyes, SAN Coordinator
RE: Report on Activities
As usual, I have allowed too much time to elapse between updates on
my activities. Believe it or not, sanet-mg has not been the only
activity consuming my attention, although it might appear so
sometimes. I would describe the last few, intense sanet-mg months
as one last burst of energy devoted to that medium before I unleash
on the real world the SAN message.
Along with fanning BST uproars, reorganizing sanet discussions, and
feeding the list, these projects have surfaced:
*Published an account of SAN in "Agricultural Libraries Information
Notes" (ALIN), October-December, 1993. A copy of that issue will
be mailed out shortly.
*Wrote a SAN piece for the "ILEIA Newsletter," a publication of the
Information Centre for Low-External-Input and Sustainable
Agriculture (ILEIA). It should appear in either March or April,
1994.
*Described SAN to a correspondent of the Voice of America, the
international radio service. The broadcast based on that interview
was made in January, 1994. Among those whose attention it
attracted was the President of Belize, as well as the Ministry of
Agriculture and Fisheries.
*Provided background to a conventional horticulture publication in
California. A SAN story appeared in the newsletter in late 1993.
*Agreed to write a piece on Internet sustainable agriculture
resources for the American Journal for Alternative Agriculture.
*Cooperating in the publication of the Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education Consortium Newsletter. The consortium is a
fledgling effort by Center for Rural Affairs staffer, Elizabeth
Bird, to coordinate efforts to encourage sustainable agriculture
research. Jill Auburn and Patrick Madden are on the Advisory
Panel.
*Presented three seminars on SAN at Cornell University, and the
Geneva, NY, Agricultural Experiment Station in December, 1993.
*In March, led two round-table discussions of SAN at the University
of Minnesota, St. Paul and the Land Stewardship Project. I was
there at the invitation of the MN Sustainers' Coalition, an
umbrella for sustainable agriculture groups in the state.
*Also in March, represented SAN, and distributed SAN materials at
the state-wide Minnesota Sustainable Agriculture Association's
annual meeting in Mankato, MN.
*Will present a talk on SAN at NAL's Issues and Answers seminar
series in April.
*Mailed a SAN promotional package to almost 300 sustainable
agriculture non-profits. Included were a SAN brochure, the
"Overview", "Getting Started Electronically", a short survey to
answer, and a description of SAN publications, with an order form
.
*Announced a "Showcase" update over sanet-mg, with follow-up phone
calls to current "Showcase" participants to ask for revisions.
All update forms are due by May 1.
*Working with Beth Holtzman on a marketing blitz to selected states
in the Cooperative Extension Service system. Our goal is to sell
every "Directory" in stock. We will first target those states
where we have the best chance to make many sales. The criteria for
choosing the locations will be number of "Directory" entries, as
well as other, less tangible considerations, for example, a
sympathetic state Extension leader.
*Served as a resource person for the Sustainable Agriculture
National Dialog, held in Alexandria, VA in February. The Dialog
was a coalition of sustainable agriculture, environmental, food
safety, farm worker, organic producer and animal rights
organizations who met to plan a unified strategy for influencing
the 1995 Farm Bill. Other SAN Committee members attending included
Jim Lukens, Jane Gates and Patrick Madden.
*Worked with a number of Washington, DC-based sustainable
agriculture organizations, getting them connected to Internet and
helping them put their information on sanet-mg.
*Helped mount a Center for Policy Alternatives database, State
Alternative Agriculture Legislation, on North Carolina State
University's gopher. This collaboration helps The Center get its
information out more quickly and helps SAN increase its name
recognition with those using the database.
*Worked with John Ickerd on some of the details of the SAN display,
which is due out any time. The display's first public appearance
will be courtesy of Hans Kok and the Kansas Sustainable Agriculture
Symposium, in April.
*Collected data on SARE/ACE projects for targeted Congressional
districts and states for use by those providing information to
members of the Senate and House. The Folio version of the SARE/ACE
Project Reports and the 1987 Census of Agriculture have
consistantly been the resources I've drawn most on for this kind of
work.
Best regards,
------------------
Gabriel A. Hegyes
Sustainable Agriculture Network
ghegyes@nalusda.gov