From WLockeretz@infonet.tufts.eduThu Jan 30 23:54:56 1997 Date: Thu, 30 Jan 97 19:40:06 EST From: WLockeretz@infonet.tufts.edu To: SANET-MG@ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Switchgrass Patrick Duxbury asked about references on the use of switchgrass (or other prairie grasses) for biomass. Three related articles on this topic by researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (the nation's major research facility for this subject) appear in "Environmental Enhancement through Agriculture," the proceedings of a conference held in 1995. These articles respectively cover environmental impacts, energy production potential, and economics. For the convenience of any of you who may wish to order this book, a notice follows (the three articles are listed in Section V of the Table of Contents below). ***************************************************************************** Conference Proceedings ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT THROUGH AGRICULTURE March 1996 xii+334 pp. Foreword by Karl N. Stauber, Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Edited by William Lockeretz, Tufts University This volume develops the idea of an agriculture the serves the environment rather than conflicting with it. Its 36 papers offer numerous examples of agricultural systems that benefit the environment in diverse ways: increasing wildlife habitat and biodiversity; protecting water quality in streams and estuaries; producing substitutes for nonrenewable energy sources; turning urban waste into a resource instead of a problem; offering aesthetically appealing landscapes; and bringing urban residents into closer contact with food production and the land. Many of these papers describe specific activities that already are achieving these benefits; others propose forward-looking alternatives that would do more to support environmental quality. The papers give special attention to areawide collaborations in which farmers, concerned citizens, and technical experts work together to establish common goals and develop innovative arrangements to achieve them. The papers are from a conference held in Boston, Massachusetts (USA) in November 1995, sponsored by the Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the American Farmland Trust, and the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture. Copies are $20, postpaid. (Outside North America, add $12 if you want it sent by air mail.) Payment (U.S. funds only, please) should be made out to "Trustees of Tufts College." Please send your prepaid order to: Center for Agriculture, Food and Environment School of Nutrition Science and Policy Tufts University Medford, MA 02155 (USA) ********************************************************************* ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT THROUGH AGRICULTURE I. WATERSHED PROTECTION Operation Future: Farmers Protecting Darby Creek and the Bottom Line Dennis W. Hall 1 The Watershed Approach to Integrating Agricultural Production and Water Quality Enhancement Maurice G. Cook and J. Mark Rice 9 Padilla Bay Proposes a Unique Community Partnership for On-Farm Agriculture and Estuary Research and Education Colette DePhelps 15 Watershed Protection: A Better Way Richard I. Coombe 25 Sustainable Farming Practices Benefit Minnesota Landscape Dana Jackson and George Boody 35 Marin Coastal Watershed Enhancement Project: A Cooperative Approach to Adapting Nonpoint-Source Pollution Guidelines to Local Conditions Ellen Rilla and Stephanie Larson 45 Buffalo River Tributaries Watershed Project Dennis Hackbart 53 The Zuni River Watershed Act: An Ecosystem Plan Gary D. Wooten and Ellen R. Dietrich 59 II. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND BIODIVERSITY Collaborative Problem Solving in Cameron County, Texas: The Coexistence Committee Duane Dale, Amy Purvis, Terry Lockamy and Steve Thompson 69 Valley Care: Bringing Conservation and Agriculture Together in California's Central Valley Jack M. Payne, Michael A. Bias and Richard G. Kempka 79 The Delta Farmland and Wildife Trust David Melnychuk 89 Establishment of On-Farm Native Plant Vegetation Areas to Enhance Biodiversity within Intensive Farming Systems of the Sacramento Valley John H. Anderson Jennifer L. Anderson, Richard R. Engel and Bruce J. Rominger 95 Birds of Prey and Their Use of Agricultural Fields Kerry J. Fitzpatrick 103 Value of Shade Coffee Plantations for Tropical Birds: Landscape and Vegetation Effects Jeffrey David Parrish and Lisa J. Petit 113 III. LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS Environmental, Economic, and Social Benefits of Feeding Livestock on Well-Managed Pasture William Murphy, Joshua Silman, Lisa McCrory, Sarah Flack, Jon Winsten, David Hoke, Abdon Schmitt and Brian Pillsbury 125 Enhancement of Communities with Pasture-Based Dairy Production Systems Steven P. Washburn, Rene J. Knook, James T. Green, Jr., Gregory D. Jennings, Geoffrey A. Benson, James C. Barker and Matthew H. Poore 135 The Potential of Dairy Grazing to Protect Agricultural Land Uses and Environmental Quality in Rural and Urban Settings Bryan T. Petrucci 145 Environmental and Economic Benefits of Organic Dairy Farming in Ontario Yetunde O. Sholubi, D. Peter Stonehouse and E. Ann Clark 151 Integrated Resource Management at Work: A Case Study Scott M. Barao 157 Riparian Zones Then and Now: An Enhanced Environment Created by Agriculture Quentin D. Skinner and Joseph G. Hiller 163 Can Sustainable Agriculture Landscapes Accommodate Corporate Agriculture? Dennis Keeney 173 IV. WASTE RECYCLING AND NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT On-Farm Composting of Food and Farm Wastes: Economic and Environmental Considerations John M. Halstead, Terri Emmer Cook and George O. Estes 183 Recycling Municipal Organic Wastes through Compost Application to Agricultural Land Thomas A. Obreza 193 Best Nutrient Management Practices on Watersheds to Protect Water Quality in Massachusetts J. Daliparthy, S.J. Herbert, T. Akin and B. O'Toole 203 V. ENERGY FROM AGRICULTURAL BIOMASS Environmental Enhancement Using Short-Rotation Woody Crops and Perennial Grasses as Alternatives to Traditional Agricultural Crops Virginia R. Tolbert and Andrew Schiller 209 Perennial Grasses for Energy and Conservation: Evaluating Some Ecological, Agricultural, and Economic Issues Mark Downing, Marie Walsh and Sandy McLaughlin 217 The Environmental Benefits of Cellulosic Energy Crops at a Landscape Scale Robin L. Graham, Wei Liu and Burton C. English 225 VI. METROPOLITAN AGRICULTURE AND FARMLAND PRESERVATION Regional Farmers' Market Development as an Employment and Economic Development Strategy John S. Nettleton 235 Community Food Security, Agriculture, and the Environment: A Massachusetts Perspective Hugh M. Joseph 245 Protecting Important Natural Areas, Wildlife Habitat and Water Quality on Vermont Dairy Farms through the Vermont Farmland Protection Program Alex Considine, John Roe and Kate Willard 255 Empirical Evidence of Public Preferences for Farmland Preservation Jeffrey Kline and Dennis Wichelns 265 VII. NATIONAL POLICIES ON AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT The Living Countryside: Maintaining Sweden's Agrarian Landscape David Vail 275 The Provision of Countryside Amenities: External Benefits of Agricultural Production in Mountainous Regions Franz Hackl and Gerald J. Pruckner 285 Integration of Environmental Objectives into Agricultural Policy and Law in the Netherlands Victor Bekkers and Jonathan Verschuuren 295 VIII. AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT Resource Systems Analysis: Linking Agriculture and Environment in Central Java, Indonesia Valerie Sexton 305 Are Productivity Enhancing, Resource Conserving Technologies a Viable "Win-Win" Approach in the Tropics? The Case of Conservation Tillage in Mexico Olaf Erenstein 313 INDEX 323