From CrisCarusi@aol.comSat Dec 30 18:42:32 1995 Date: Sat, 30 Dec 1995 16:22:13 -0500 From: CrisCarusi@aol.com To: sanet-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: NSAS Newsletter - Part 1 NEWSLETTER NEBRASKA SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE SOCIETY (Part 1) Winter, 1996; Issue 53 The Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society promotes an agriculture that builds healthy land, people, communities and quality of life, for present and future generations. This newsletter is published quarterly. We welcome letters, articles, poetry and other contributions. NSAS is not just for farmers. Our diverse membership includes ranchers, market gardeners and concerned consumers from both rural and urban communities. We welcome anyone who is concerned about family farming, environmental quality, and ensuring a safe, healthy and adequate food supply for the future. NSAS membership costs $25 per year. Membership benefits include this newsletter and interim news updates, reduced admission to our Annual Meeting and Western Nebraska Conference, videotape rental priveleges, and notices of farm tours, workshops and project opportunities. Your contribution to NSAS enables us to continue and expand our membership support services and statewide activities. Please send correspondence to: NSAS, PO Box 736, Hartington, NE 68739; criscarusi@aol.com. IN THIS ISSUE: Creating Sustainable Farming Systems Rotations in Vegetable Production NSAS News UNL Interns Manage Integrated Farms Rotations in Quebec Western Nebraska Farmers Describe Rotations Nebraska IMPACT Project News Farmers May Be at Risk for Certain Cancers CREATING SUSTAINABLE FARMING SYSTEMS Rotations Build Soil, Control Pests, and Keep Farming Interesting Cris Carusi and Martin Kleinschmit Tom Larson grins as he shows off the Dragonfly, a sleek two passenger plane which he built over the course of several winters. Aviation is his hobby. His knack for craftsmanship shows as he explains how he built his plane from foam, fiberglass, and a Subaru engine. The Dragonfly embodies Tom's conviction that there is more to life than farming. Tom approaches farming with a similar attitude of craftsmanship. He rotates soybeans, corn, oats with turnips and cattle through his ridge-till strip-cropping system. He adapted most of his own ridge-till equipment from used machinery. His irrigated 160 acre St. Edward farm, which includes 60 acres of row crops and 90 acres of pasture and hay ground, has been in his family for 61 years. His grandfather and father raised monoculture corn on the farm until the early 1970s. At that time, a neighbor was experimenting with a corn-soybean rotation, and achieving good results. Tom liked what the beans did for the soil, and he saw income potential in the soybean crop. He and his dad decided to give rotations a try. The corn-bean rotation provided the Larsons with good returns and soil benefits. They eventually added oats to the system, to gain diversity. Tom now rotates his crops in 152-inch wide strips (4x38"). Soybeans, the first crop in this rotation, provide a number of benefits to the system, including pest control, nitrogen for the following year's corn crop, and cash. Rotations prevent insect pest populations from exploding. "Insects are creatures of opportunity," Tom explains. "They will build up in large populations where the environment is right for them. If you keep changing environments on them through rotations, it has been my experience that they do not become a large problem. Anyone who puts in corn after soybeans really should question whether or not they need a soil insecticide." Corn is the second crop in the rotation. Tom chose to keep corn in the system because of convenience and tradition: "I wanted to raise corn, because that's part of your identity in this area. We're corn growers, and there's a convenient market for it." Tom has seen increased corn yields from his system. With strips four rows wide, the entire corn strip benefits from the "edge effect". Under a conventional cropping pattern, yields in the middle of the field can be lower than around the edges, because of excessive heat buildup and health problems. Tom believes that his four row strips are an optimal size. The third crop rotated into the system, oats, is planted directly into the corn stubble the following spring. The oats are harvested for grain or straw, depending on the market. Following oat harvest, Tom re-builds his ridges and broadcasts turnips, to provide fall forage for his cattle. Crop rotations help control weeds, as tillage operations happen at different times for the various crops. Including oats in the system is particularly valuable, because the mid-summer harvest helps break weed cycles. Tom has had some trouble with early weeds, like shepherd's purse, but controls them with shredding. He believes that weed control is the best argument in favor of ridge-till planting and cultivation. The oats have improved soil tilth, as their root system builds soil structure. It took about three years for him to observe improvements in his soil, like an exploding earthworm population. Once he had successfully interrupted weed and insect cycles and improved his soil, Tom's next concern was to provide winter feed for his cattle. He has 60 head of cattle to feed through the winter. Beginning in the fall, when the pastures are dormant, he supports his cattle herd by strip grazing the corn and bean residue, and turnips. The turnips are the most profitable part of his operation, as he can potentially graze 300 head of cattle per acre per day on this crop. Tom figures that he gets 4-5 times more net income per acre from his turnips than from corn. His input costs for the turnips are minimal, and he has no harvesting expenses. The animals do the work for him. In his lifetime, Tom has moved from a conventional corn monoculture to this diversified system. He quit applying herbicides 6 years ago, and insecticides 10 years ago. He switched from anhydrous to manure fertilizer last year. He is in the process of certifying his fields organic. In the future, he would like to provide extra nitrogen by interseeding a legume into his corn crop. Tom's system provides him with many quality-of-life benefits as well. Although the system is more labor-intensive than conventional farming, the work is spread out rather than bunched into stressful "crunch periods". Better scheduling leaves him more free time in the day for other things, like his plane. He has noticed more wildlife on his place, which he appreciates. His wife, Deb, works in town to support the farm, as many farm women do these days. Tom's efforts pay taxes and insurance, and his wife's income keeps food on the table. Good quality of life is more important to the Larsons than making a lot of money. Says Tom, "I'm willing to accept a lower standard of living for an improved quality of life." Much of Tom's inspiration comes from Chinese and Japanese farming systems. He cites Farmers of Forty Centuries by HF King and One-Straw Revolution by Mansanobu Fukuoka as favorite titles. He is impressed by how these cultures use and re-use their own resources as much as possible. "Basically, do only what's necessary," advises Tom. "Always look at what you're doing and ask yourself, 'Why am I disking? Why am I planting and harvesting in this manner?' Constantly ask the question, 'Is this absolutely necessary, and is there an easier, cheaper way of doing it?'" Tom prefers to farm from the neck up, substituting management strategies for labor whenever possible. "I think that we've given away our ability to know our weeds and our soils. Its gotten to the point where people don't farm fields anymore. They farm farms." "There's other things that I could do that would be more financially rewarding," he adds. "I guess I enjoy the challenge, or I wouldn't do it." ROTATIONS IN VEGETABLE PRODUCTION Thomas N. Tomas Crop rotation in vegetable production depends upon an understanding of the relationship of various plant families to each other, as well as their environmental relationships. Vegetables within each plant family are likely to have the same insect and disease problems. The carrot rust fly larvae will feed on the roots of dill, celery, fennel, parsley and parsnip, as well as wild carrot or Queen Anne's lace. The Colorado potato beetle feeds on the foliage of eggplant and tomato and survives in the wild on the buffalo burr and horse nettle. With this information, you can see that rotations should be planned between plant families and not just different crops. It also indicates that you need to know what weeds may serve as alternate host plants for vegetable diseases and insects. Field crops and cover crops in the same plant families could also perpetuate insect and disease problems. This is one reason why annual rye grass is so often used as a cover crop and soil builder in vegetable production. The only member of the grass family commonly grown as a vegetable is sweet corn. By rotating cool season with warm season vegetables, weed seed production cycles can be broken. Planting a succession of short season crops, such as lettuce followed by green beans followed by a fall cover crop, will allow at least three flushes of weed seeds to germinate. If the crops are kept clean and the cover crop tilled in before weeds can set seed, many of the most vigorous weed seeds in the soil will have been eliminated. The following year vegetable crops can be grown on relatively weed-free soil. With weed sensitive crops such as onions, parsnips and carrots it is best to plan ahead at least two years, and give special attention to weed control in the preceding crops. Crops that form a dense canopy that shades the soil should be used in rotation with crops that have an open architecture allowing sunlight to reach the soil. Crops that are easily cultivated, such as sweet corn, can follow cucumbers, squash or melons where weed control is difficult once the vines begin to run. By studying the particular spectrum of weed species that pose the most serious problems, rotations can be devised that reduce the production of weed seed while still ensuring a variety of marketable crops. If there are limited markets for only a few types of vegetables, it may be possible to rotate with field crops. You can do this in cooperation with an organic grain or livestock producer if you do not have the equipment or markets for these crops. You should develop a working relationship with an organic livestock producer anyway, in order to get organic manure or compost for your soil. In our area, we think in terms of how vegetables can fit into a corn, milo, soybeans, winter wheat, alfalfa rotation. An entire field need not be planted to the same crop. Small grains, soybeans and field corn can be planted in strips wide enough to accommodate planting and harvesting equipment. If vegetables are included in the rotation they can utilize the strips most suited to their needs. If you plan to plant vegetables following soybeans, it make sense to walk those strips a few more times to eliminate any weeds going to seed. Rotations are a tool that must be used with common sense. If the weather does not cooperate or the market is hot, you may decide to take a chance. Without an insect or disease problem, onions following onions for two years may make more sense if the soil fertility is high enough and that is the only weed-free strip of soil available. Tomatoes following tomatoes or potatoes may work for the same reasons. The multiple long term benefits of a good rotation must be kept in mind and weighted against the short-term, one-season advantages. Organic production depends on knowledge and understanding of the interaction between different members of the biological community in order to avoid problems, rather than seeking to remedy them when they occur. Each vegetable grower has to develop rotations that fit their particular farm. It helps to read what others have done, and to visit other growers to learn the practical application of these ideas. There is no substitute, however, for trying it on your farm and observing how things actually work in your piece of the world. For a more comprehensive discussion of rotations in vegetable crops, read The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman NSAS NEWS Annual Meeting Will Focus On Rural Communities Are you concerned about the future of rural communities and family farms? If so, then be sure to attend the 1996 Annual Meeting of the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society, on February 24th. Building Hope for Rural Communities is the theme of this meeting, which will feature exciting speakers and workshops, good food, and plenty of friendly people. Dr. Garth Youngberg, director of the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture and former USDA Organic Farming Coordinator, will present a keynote address on the theme. Workshops will include making the most of warm-season grasses; non-chemical weed control; direct marketing meat and poultry products; growing and marketing herbs; and creative start-up strategies for beginning farmers. The meeting will be held at the New World Inn in Columbus, and will include lunch. Advance registration, due by February 12, costs $20 for members and $30 for non-members. Late registration costs an additional $5. Accompanying family members or partners can attend for $10, and full-time students are eligible for half-price admission. Registration begins at 8:00 am. For more information, contact Cris or Jill at 402-254-2289. Come Join Us At the Western Nebraska Conference! Mark your calendars for February 3, 1996. That's the date of the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society's Western Nebraska Conference. Themed Stewardship of the Land and of Community, the conference features an extraordinary lineup of speakers and workshops. John Gardner, Extension researcher at the North Dakota State University Carrington Research Center, will offer a keynote talk on "Farming Beyond the Field: Our Role in the Community." Dr. Gardner will discuss re-establishing links between farmers, rural communities, and society at large using innovative business approaches. Dr. Gardner will be joined by North Dakota farmer Terry Jacobson in presenting a workshop, "Ecological Approaches to Crop Production in the Great Plains." Terry will present a poetry reading at lunchtime (one of his poems is on page 11). Other workshop topics include an update and discussion on the most recent developments in Farm Bill legislation; a talk on insect control of Canada thistle; a panel discussion on alternative crops; and a presentation on organizing farmers' markets. The conference will be held at the Stagecoach Inn in Ogallala and will include lunch. Advance registration, due by January 15, costs $20 for members and $30 for non-members. Late registration costs an additional $5. Accompanying family members or partners can attend for $10, and full-time students are eligible for half-price admission. Registration begins at 8:00 am. For more information, contact Jane Sooby at (308) 254-3918. Mentor Meetings Scheduled Sustainable Ag Mentor Program mentor meetings are scheduled for eastern and western Nebraska in January and February. All current mentors should try to attend. The purpose of these meetings is to focus on how to proceed with the final year of the project and look at ways to evaluate the program. The eastern meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 8 at Riley's Cafe in Wayne. The western meeting is scheduled in conjunction with the Western Conference, on Friday, February 2 at the Stagecoach Inn in Ogallala. Both meetings begin at 10:00 am. Call Tim Powell for more information: 402-375-1944. Dairy Grazing Conferences University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension and NSAS will sponsor two dairy grazing conferences in February. The first will be held at the Hartington City Auditorium on February 15, and the second will be held at the Fairbury 4-H building on February 16.The program will feature Dave Forgey, Indiana dairy grazier, columnist for Hoard's Dairyman, and Director of the American Forage and Grassland Council. It will also feature a producer panel, and UNL specialists Bruce Anderson and Rick Grant. Pre-registration costs $15, or $20 per couple. For more information, call Mike Lechner in Hartington (402-254-6821) or Bob Stritzke in Fairbury (402-729-3487). Board Members Needed! NSAS is looking for people to run for the board. Anyone can run. Board members serve three-year terms. Last year, we had four meetings (in Aurora, Columbus, Ithaca and St. Edward) and a retreat (in Broken Bow). This is a great opportunity to help steer NSAS into the future. Please call Cris at 402-254-2289 if interested. NSAS IS MORE THAN FARM PRACTICES Lowell Schroeder Like most people, I attended my first NSAS meeting because of my interest in different farming practices. Six years later, I find myself staying here because of the people. The people share a unique commitment to family, community, and the land. They bring an enthusiasm that I don't see at many other agricultural meetings. They don't have all the answers, but are searching for positive change. As large agribusiness firms are moving towards vertical integration, many NSAS members have expressed an interest in direct marketing their products. I think you may have an advantage because of your economy of scale. In your case it is because you are smaller and directly linked with the consumer. Your advantage is in educating the consumer and creating consumer loyalty. NSAS can help, but you need to get involved by participating in meetings, and by serving on the board. We also need your involvement in the IMPACT project and Mentor program. Together we can make positive changes in agriculture and the food system. Lowell, our current board president, will be leaving the board this February. Thanks to him for his hard work. UNL INTERNS MANAGE INTEGRATED FARMS Cris Carusi, NSAS University of Nebraska-Lincoln students can now gain hands-on experience managing integrated farms, through an innovative internship program. The Student Internships in Farming Systems Program, also known as the micro-farm program, gives junior and senior UNL students an opportunity to manage their own farms for a complete growing season. They work with a number of different farming systems, ranging from a conventional corn/soybean rotation to organic and agroforestry systems. The students design and implement farm plans, perform all field operations, determine their harvest yields, calculate their net returns and compare the energy efficiencies of each farming system. The objective of this program, according to Chuck Francis, is to give students practical experience with sustainable farming systems and to help them gain an appreciation of the complex interactions taking place on these farms. Francis, who directs UNL's Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, developed the micro-farm program, and supervises it along with graduate student Richard Olson. The internships last a full year beginning in January, and include full-time summer employment for the students. In addition to managing their farms, the students take on an additional research project and complete sustainable agriculture coursework. Each student works with a farmer mentor, who provides real-life expertise to the learning experience. The 11-to 20-acre micro-farms are located at the University's Agricultural Research and Development Center near Ithaca. In 1995, the students worked with five different farming systems, including conventional and diversified corn-soybean rotations, organic and agroforestry systems, and a forage-based beef system. The conventional corn-soybean system uses full chemicals and disk tillage. The diversified corn-soybean rotation incorporates sorghum and winter wheat, and a section of the farm will be planted to alfalfa for 4-5 years. The diversified system uses the same chemicals and tillage as the conventional system. The organic system involves a complex, 24-year rotation of corn, soybeans, sorghum, clover and alfalfa planted into a six-strip rotational unit. Weeds are managed through rotary and hand hoe cultivation. The agroforestry system includes the same crops raised in a 40-year rotation cycle, along with shrubs, Christmas trees and shelterbelt trees. Harvested seed from the shrubs and the Christmas trees will boost the long-term farm income from this system. The forage-based beef system incorporates separate cool and warm-season pastures. Cattle are rotated between paddocks roughly every 4-5 days, depending on the weather. The warm-season pastures are burned in the spring to control weeds and cool-season grasses. The cool-season pastures are currently planted to brome and reed canarygrass, while little bluestem and switchgrass are the main warm-season grasses. Students with an interest in sustainable farming and willingness to work hard from any department at UNL are welcome to apply for this program. Four interns participated in 1995, and nine have been selected for 1996. The program is funded by a grant from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, with additional support from UNL and corporate sponsors. Nebraska's micro-farm program is unique in that students manage their own farms. The University of Minnesota is planning a similar internship program for this summer. The micro-farm program has received an enthusiastic response from UNL faculty members. " This practical intern program has captured the interest of professors in ways I never expected," said Francis. "They've really bought into the idea of experiential education. It's very exciting." For more information contact Richard Olson or Chuck Francis, 225 Keim Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0949; 402-472-2056. INTEGRATED CANADIAN FARM BOASTS DIVERSITY Victoria Mundy, Extension Educator Using integrated farming systems in a world that encourages monoculture is a challenge anywhere you go. Other countries besides ours have market and policy structures which support single-crop farms and the use of purchased inputs. Still, innovative, energetic farmers everywhere find ways to design farming systems and use production methods which protect the soil, balance nutrient cycles, and reduce agricultural pollution. Rene Brunelle of Quebec, Canada, is one of them. I met Rene in Ames, Iowa, at the Association for Farming Systems Research and Extension conference, in November 1995. One unusual and beautiful picture of a clover-and-corn intercrop on his farm caught my attention so that I just had to talk to him. Rene and his family, and his two brothers' families, have a 700-acre farm. In Quebec, the only reliably profitable crop is corn, which sounds familiar. So - everybody grows corn, which also sounds familiar. Erosion, nutrient leaching and runoff, and chemical contamination of soil and water are common agricultural problems in Quebec, just as they are in the midwestern United States. Rene and his family partners decided that they did not want a monoculture farm which damaged the environment. They had to design a system which would remain profitable, but be environmentally healthy. Their objective was to have zero pollution from their farm. No one person designed the Brunelles' farming system, which evolved over about eight years of discussion, searching for information, and trial and error. The families always asked the question, "Why should we use this particular practice on our farm?" rather than "How could we fit this particular practice into our farm?" By making decisions this way, with the emphasis on reasons rather than methods, the Brunelles always made sure that their choices were consistent with their overall goal - a profitable farm that produced no pollution. It was no use to the Brunelles to be able to do something if it shouldn't be done. The farm is complex, and I would have to live with it for a while to understand it completely. You might have to read this article twice! I've tried to write exactly what Rene described to me. As you read, keep in mind that Quebec gets more water than Nebraska, and the precipitation is more evenly distributed over the growing season. What works for Rene in Quebec won't necessarily work for someone in Nebraska, but maybe an idea or two would fit on your farm. An intricate crop rotation plan is inter-related with tillage, fertility, and weed control on this farm. Corn is the primary crop, since it is dependably profitable. Ridge-till is the major tillage method for all row crops. All the corn is grown with some starter N. Soybeans planted on ridges which are less than three years old also have some starter N applied, as Rene feels that a little boost of N is helpful to plants on young, undeveloped ridges. Leguminous intercrops in the rotation supply more N. Rene's farm has 300 sows which are fed grain from the farm; slurry from these animals provides nutrients. Rotary hoeing helps out with weed control, as do the different crops in the rotation. The central idea of the rotation is to have corn by itself in a field for only one year: no straight corn-on-corn. Most crops are planted around late May. Corn will either be grown alone in a field, or strip-cropped with soybeans. Corn which is strip-cropped with soybeans will have an intercrop as well - something grown in between the corn rows. In some strips, corn will have an early-season intercrop such as buckwheat, rye, or oats. These early-season intercrops provide some weed control without herbicides. They also take up some of the starter N which is available before the corn can get it; this reduces the possibility of N-leaching. 40 to 50 days later, the early intercrops will be plowed down for organic matter and to release nutrients which the corn is then old enough to use. Ten days after plowdown, some of the strips which had early-season intercrops will have a mid-season leguminous intercrop planted. Crimson clover, subterranean clover, and persian clover, all of which are annuals, are favorites of the Brunelles. From CrisCarusi@aol.comSat Dec 30 21:39:55 1995 Date: Sat, 30 Dec 1995 16:22:39 -0500 From: CrisCarusi@aol.com To: sanet-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: NSAS Newsletter, Part 2 NSAS NEWSLETTER - PART 2 Not all of the strips are treated this way because of labor constraints in summer - it simply can't all get done. Just to confuse matters for you (it did for me), some strips might not have an early-season intercrop at all, but will have a mid-season one, because of labor constraints in spring. One more interesting detail is that strips with a mid-season intercrop must have a short-season corn variety, or the corn will be tall early enough to shade the intercrop out. Rigorous recordkeeping of rotations, stripcropping and intercropping is a must for the system to work. After Rene described all of this to me, I thought, "It sounds great, but does it pay?" Yes. Over the years of developing this system, the Brunelle families have cut their cost of production by 45%. This money was re-invested in the farm. The Brunelles are generating wealth as well as dollars. None of this could happen without a lot of cooperation among the families. Rene takes care of the field crops and searches for information, which is why he was at the meeting where I met him. The second brother looks after the sows, supervises the hired man, and helps in the fields when there is a rush. The third brother takes care of finances, does mechanical repairs, and helps in the fields. Some of the children help, and they are paid a wage for doing so. Communication is incredibly important. During the winter, the producers have regular meetings every three weeks, to evaluate and to plan. In summer, when life is hectic, meetings are informal. To keep communication easy, every vehicle, including each tractor, has a CB, and the producers carry cellular phones. Decisions are made by consensus - and when conflicts come up, the discussion is deferred until everyone has had a chance to think. Partnerships are a key part of this farming system. Meeting and talking with producers like Rene Brunelle is a very rewarding experience. I know there are farmers in Nebraska with success stories much like Rene's, who have unique farming systems which support their families and keep the environment clean and healthy. I'd like to tell their stories, too. Many thanks to Rene Brunelle, who let me question him for at least two hours. Many thanks as well to Pierre Jobin, who broke the language barrier for us. THE ROTATION EFFECT - IT'S FOR REAL Jane Sooby, NSAS Western Organizer How can you reduce erosion, control weeds, improve the soil, and increase yields? Use a crop rotation. Farmers have been using rotations for centuries; researchers have been studying the "rotation effect" for decades. The rotation effect is the increase in yield that crops grown in rotation show compared with crops grown in monoculture. A classical rotation involves alternating a legume like alfalfa or clover with a grass crop like corn or wheat. In a study done in Minnesota, continuous corn yielded 103 bu/acre while corn in rotation with alfalfa yielded 150 bu/acre. This rotation adds N to the soil (from the nitrogen-fixing legume), disrupts weed cycles, breaks pest and disease cycles by introducing a non-host species, and reduces erosion during fallow. Despite extensive studies that have attempted to isolate what causes the rotation effect, no one factor (like soil nutrient levels or disease persistence) can definitively be held responsible for it. Instead, the rotation effect seems to result from a synergistic interrelationship of many factors, including improved soil structure and increased water-holding capacity. Farmers who have experimented with rotations in western Nebraska have a lot to say about them. Scott Easterly, who farms west of Lorenzo, uses a 3-year dryland rotation of winter wheat-millet-fallow, a winter crop-spring crop-fallow rotation. He gets 2 crops in 3 years instead of the 1 crop in 2 years that wheat-fallow brings in. Using this rotation, he is successful in controlling winter annual weeds like downy brome and jointed goatgrass that become serious problems in the winter wheat-fallow system. Says Easterly, "If I vary my crops, I get rid of the weeds that have the same cycle." Growing millet allows him to control the winter annuals with tillage, while growing winter wheat similarly enables him to control late-season weeds. Ken Disney, an organic farmer in Lodgepole, says, "Rotations are probably the most important thing we're doing." Disney elaborates on the winter wheat-millet-fallow rotation that Easterly uses by varying the spring crop, and using a legume cover crop during fallow. Millet, oats, amaranth, sunflower (both confectionery and oil), barley, and a current experiment with fall-planted peas are some of the spring crops Disney has grown. He has interseeded yellow clover and red crimson clover into the wheat stubble and then incorporated it the following year, with long-term benefits to soil fertility. His successful use of a legume cover during fallow contradicts popular opinion that there isn't enough precipitation in the region to support clover or other legume growth. Disney feels that rotation is his best strategy for getting rid of grassy weeds like cheat, downy brome, and jointed goatgrass without the use of chemicals. He has also noticed that his ground is mellower and less hard than before he started rotating. Dennis Demmel farms south of Ogallala and has experimented with rotations on his irrigated and dryland ground for a number of years. Demmel has made a number of observations about his rotations. On his irrigated land, Demmel has considered a winter wheat-corn-sunflower-soybean rotation, but his experience indicates that winter wheat-sunflower-corn soybeans may be a better sequence for a number of reasons: 1. Wheat stubble is wet in early spring when corn needs to be planted. Sunflower is planted later, giving the ground more time to dry out. Also, he has more time to control volunteer winter wheat before planting sunflowers into wheat stubble. 2. Sclerotinia mold is a problem on sunflower and soybean back-to-back, especially on his low areas that tend to hold water. 3. The typical corn-soybean rotation, which Demmel started out using, required him to irrigate most of the summer. His lower ground never dried out. Sunflower uses a lot less water and wheat is only irrigated until July, so "using these two crops helps bring the ground out of an anaerobic state." On Demmel's dryland acres, he uses a 4-year rotation of winter wheat-corn-sunflower-fallow with legume cover, as Disney does. Demmel plants the legume into the sunflowers during the last cultivation, then allows it to grow until the following June, when he destroys it by tillage (discing or sweeps). Demmel has gotten higher wheat yields from wheat after sunflower-fallow than from wheat after wheat-fallow. Demmel observed that there were fewer early weeds in ground that was going through a second round of rotation compared to an adjacent field that had just undergone its first round. He feels that "with successive series of rotations, weed problems become successively less." He also thinks that two years of row crops, like wheat-corn-sunflower-fallow, help to reduce weed problems more than a single year of row crops like wheat-corn-sunflower-fallow. The former rotation helps eliminate annual grasses much better than the latter. With a rotation, Demmel gets better weed control and improved yields, and increases his total cropped acres by 50% (by reducing total winter wheat-fallow acres by 50%). He also feels that it reduces erosion because the ground is covered with a crop more of the time. Accompanying the reduction of acres in summer fallow, Demmel noticed a significant reduction in fuel consumption. Rotations can be as simple as the two-year wheat-fallow rotation, or as complex as 8- or 10-year rotations. Many factors need to be considered in designing a rotation for a farm. Neighbors who have tried different rotations may be the best source of information you can get. Extension educators can make a number of suggestions, too, The literature is crowded with information on rotations. If you would like to try it out, ask around and think about what crops would fit best on your farm. If you have developed a rotation that works for you, we'd like to hear about it. Call Jane Sooby, NSAS western organizer, to let us know. The number is 308-254-3918. NEBRASKA IMPACT PROJECT NEWS Ifs Projects Across The U.S. Build Local Leadership Victoria Mundy, Extension Educator One of the hallmarks of the "sustainable agriculture" movement is the emphasis that people place on communities and on working together. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation made a commitment to helping people help one another when it began the Integrated Farming System (IFS) Initiative. The Nebraska IMPACT Project is one of eighteen projects across the United States that the Foundation supports through the IFS Initiative. These projects range from Georgia to New England, North Carolina to the Pacific Northwest. The overall goals of all the IFS projects are very much the same: to help farmers use methods that are productive, profitable, and environmentally sensitive; and to help people and their communities overcome barriers to sustainable agriculture. All the projects focus on some common themes. They look for solutions to technical problems with integrated farming systems. Innovative educational strategies are used to promote sustainable farming. The projects work to develop leadership in the farm community and promote communication between urban and rural communities. Helping those with a stake in rural communities to communicate effectively and to make responsible decisions is a priority. Finally, the projects try to develop political support for sustainable agriculture. Each IFS project tailors more specific goals and objectives to its area. For instance, the Darby Project of Ohio uses education and outreach to bring urban and rural people together to protect the Big Darby watershed. One issue, among others, that the California Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (CASA) concentrates on is teaching people to use alternatives to methyl bromide, a toxic soil fumigant which is widely used in strawberry production. Most IFS projects have people who concentrate on alternative production methods, grazing systems, marketing systems, water quality, urban education, policy work - or all of the above. Bringing different people together to work towards common goals is a major focus of the IFS projects. Most projects concentrate on small local groups which form around similar interests, the way the IMPACT Project does. In order to encourage cooperation among larger organizations, projects may have staff from universities, non-profit groups, consumer groups, and environmental groups. On the largest scale, the IFS projects are not isolated from one another. Every six months for the last three years, project leaders and cooperators have come together to share ideas and give support. Later articles will feature some of the IFS projects themselves. Anyone who's involved in the Nebraska IMPACT Project is part of a much larger effort to support sustainable agriculture across the United States. We hope that hearing about other people with the same values and some of the same struggles and successes as people in Nebraska will be encouraging. Thanks to IMPACT Steering Committee Representatives Despite an unexpected snowstorm and a few dented fenders, the IMPACT Steering Committee met for the first time on December 6th in Grand Island. In addition to getting to know each other better, the group discussed project objectives, funding guidelines and long-term fundraising options. The group also reviewed a number of project proposals and applications from new and returning groups. The following returning groups were approved for 1996 group funding: the Northeast Farmers, Pastured Poultry Producers, Fordyce Organic Growers, Tekamah CRP Project, Hoofmasters, and EQUAL. Additionally, EQUAL was awarded project funding for the year. A new group, the Specialty Growers, was awarded group and project funds. The project staff would like to thank the following people for representing their groups at this meeting: Max Bates (Custer County Sustainable Agriculture Society), Marvin DeBlauw (Northeast Farmers), Bill Henkel (Pastured Poultry Producers), Mike Herman and Andy Christiansen (Hamilton County Mid-Nebraska Task Force), Linda Kleinschmit and Carol Thoene (EQUAL), Kenny Kruse and Keith Stappert (Hoofmasters), Bill Kleinschmit (Fordyce Organic Growers), and Kenny Widener (Tekamah CRP Project). We would also like to thank Chuck Hassebrook and Kelly O'Neill (Center for Rural Affairs), Chuck Francis and Dr. Charles Shapiro (UNL) and Lowell Schroeder (NSAS) for participating. The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for March 13, 1996, in Broken Bow. Organic Growers Learn Together Martin Kleinschmit, Center for Rural Affairs The Fordyce Organic Growers consists of five farmers who are concerned about the welfare of the land, their families, and the future of agriculture. They have chosen to grow crops and maintain the fertility level of their soils without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. All five members have used few or no chemicals for several years, but only one was a certified organic farmer until three more members certified this year. They consider toxic chemical use on their farms an unnecessary expense, a danger to soil life, and a threat to the health of their families and themselves. Although they appreciate the added value of certified organic crops, farm ethics drive these farmers more than monetary incentive. The organic certification process seemed time consuming at first. Now the group members see how it increased their commitment to organic farming and enhanced their pride in what they grow. The group visited other growers and processors to learn about new crops, and how to manage and market their harvested crops. They saw how different crops were processed, and now understand the importance of maintaining accountability and meeting the quality standards for what they grow and sell as "organic". Their trips included visits to Oak Creek Farms in Edgar and The Grain Place in Marquette. Sharing their views is important to these farmers. In October, they invited the public to visit their farms and see first hand what organic farming is all about. Few people outside the group attended. This year they plan to be more direct with personal invitations. In January, they are hosting a networking meeting with other organic growers to share production ideas and learn about marketing opportunities. Wilfred Schill of Prairie Organics, a North Dakota organic marketing cooperative, is scheduled to speak at this meeting. The Fordyce Organic Growers value the safety of working within a group of farmers who share common goals and are willing to farm differently. The group gives them a chance to share more than yields and farm practices while learning together. In addition to understanding certification, sanitation, accountability, production and marketing, the Fordyce Organic Growers realize that "growing food is a lot more fun than growing feed". Organic Marketing Options to be Featured in January Workshop The Fordyce Organic Growers are sponsoring a workshop for the public to learn more about marketing options for organic crops. The meeting will be held at the Fordyce, NE Fire Hall on January 11, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. (Fordyce is located about 14 miles southeast of Yankton, SD). The featured speaker is Wilfred Schill of Prairie Organics, a North Dakota marketing cooperative. Schill chaired the steering committee and the board of Prairie Organics until stepping down to take the job of grain marketer. He believes farmers should maintain control of their grain direct to the processor, rather than go through conventional grain brokers and traders. The cooperative aims to combine shipments to satisfy processors' needs and guarantee timely payments for the producers. Schill has farmed for over 30 years, raising small grains and livestock. Other scheduled speakers include Mike Herman, representing the Nebraska Organic Crop Improvement Association, and Dave Vetter, manager of the Grain Place. A home-built compost turning machine will be featured at the meeting site. For more information, call Marvin Lange at 402-357-2150, or NSAS. Specialty Growers Join IMPACT The Specialty Growers joined the IMPACT project this December. The group's members are concerned with producing clean, high quality food; creating a successful marketing distribution system for such food; increasing consumer awareness about high-quality produce; and increasing their group's membership. The group is a recognized OCIA chapter (#3). Currently, this group includes six couples and one individual from eastern Nebraska. The members all raise specialty crops like produce, herbs, and flowers. They are mostly small-scale operators. The group includes established and beginning farmers, and farmers with much and little experience with alternative crops. In addition to the crop improvement and certification meetings which OCIA requires of them, the Specialty Growers have a number of activities planned for this year. They plan to hold a public meeting in Columbus this February, which will focus on marketing specialty produce and creating marketing systems. Other events include a leadership training/strategic planning workshop, a tour of a member's herb farm, and regular monthly meetings. The Specialty Growers are in the process of becoming a nonprofit (501c3) organization, so that they can broaden their fundraising possibilities. The Specialty Growers welcome new members. You do not have to be an OCIA member to participate in their activities. For more information about this group, please call Keith or Jo Lutnes at 402-562-8711 (business) or 402-564-3082 (home). STUDIES SAY FARMERS AT HIGHER RISK FOR SOME CANCERS Studies in the United States and other countries have shown that farmers have a higher risk for certain cancers, particularly cancers of the blood and the immune system (leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and multiple myeloma). The reasons for the increased risks are not clear, and scientists are looking at chemical and other occupational exposures common to farming to identify the possible cause or causes. Farmers are exposed to a variety of potentially harmful substances during their workday, including pesticides (fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, and others), chemical solvents, fuels and oils, animal viruses, and other microbes. Some of these agents are known or suspected carcinogens. In the 1980s, National Cancer Institute (NCI) researchers began several studies of pesticide use by farmers with cancer and by those without the disease (case-control studies). The first of these investigations was a study of Kansas farmers with soft-tissue sarcomas, Hodgkin's disease, and non-Hodgkins' lymphoma (NHL). Published in 1986, this study showed that farmers who used herbicides, especially 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), had more cases of NHL than did farmers who did not use these chemicals. Scientists at NCI completed case-control studies of NHL among farmers in eastern Nebraska and leukemia among farmers in Iowa and Minnesota. Each study included all cases of these cancers occurring in a specific geographic area. Hospital records and pathology slides from the cases were carefully reviewed by pathologists to verify the cancer diagnoses. Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Sheila Hoar Zahm, Sc.D., and collaborators at NCI and the University of Nebraska Medical Center studied 201 men living in 66 Nebraska counties who developed NHL between 1983 and 1986. The researchers compared the pesticide exposures of these men with exposures of 725 men from the general population who did not have this cancer. Although there was no overall excess of NHL among farmers, the NHL rate for farmers who mixed or applied 2,4-D was 50 percent higher than for the general population. The rate of NHL also increased with frequency of 2,4-D use. Farmers who used the pesticide for 20 or more days per year had a threefold higher rate than those not exposed to the chemical. The longer farmers waited to change into clean work clothes after a pesticide application, the higher their rate of NHL. The rate of NHL among farmers who changed out of work clothes immediately after completing a single application was similar to that among nonfarmers. Farmers who continued to use these work clothes the following day or longer had nearly five times the NHL rate of nonfarmers. The investigators also looked at the possible effects of pesticides other than 2,4-D and other factors that might be associated with NHL, such as other agricultural exposures, medical conditions, exposure to radiation, and tobacco use. In other reports, non-2,4-D pesticides, particularly organophosphate insecticides, have also been shown to increase the risk of NHL. The NCI study results suggest that 2,4-D and organophosphate insecticides have independent influences on the risk of cancer. Dr. Zahm and her collaborators believe the evidence suggests that the use of 2,4-D in the agricultural setting increases the risk of NHL among persons handling this pesticide frequently. Leukemia Linda Morris Brown, M.P.H., and colleagues at NCI, the University of Iowa, and the University of Minnesota studied a total of 578 cases of leukemia diagnosed in men in Iowa and Minnesota between 1981 and 1984. To compare the effects of pesticide exposure, 1,245 men without the disease were selected at random from the general population. The researchers found a slight excess of leukemia, especially chronic lymphocytic leukemia, among farmers. Exposure to specific fungicides, herbicides, or crop insecticides did not increase the rate. The leukemia rate was significantly elevated for farmers who used certain pesticides to inhibit insects on animals rather than on crops. The insecticides were the organophosphates crotoxyphos (11 times greater rate), dichlorvos (2 times), and famphur (2 times); the natural product pyrethrin (4 times); and the chlorinated hydrocarbon methoxychlor (2 times). The rate of leukemia did not increase consistently with frequency of use for any pesticide. However, the highest rate for farmers was seen in those using the chemicals on animals 10 or more days a year. The leukemia rate was even higher for farmers who had used insecticides at least 20 years before the study. The investigators improved the accuracy of the risk estimate from individual pesticides by accounting for the cancer risk from smoking, nonfarming occupational and chemical exposures, family history of cancer, and other factors. Larger studies are still needed to fully evaluate the effect of any single pesticide on leukemia risk. The higher cancer risk from animal insecticides than from crop pesticides may result from closer proximity to animals on a regular basis. Animal insecticides need to be carefully scrutinized in future studies. The Cancer Information Service (CIS), a program of the National Cancer Institute, is a nationwide telephone service for cancer patients and their families, the public, and health care professionals. The toll-free number of the CIS is 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). from CANCER FACTS, National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health COMING EVENTS Thompsons to be Featured at Hastings Program Mark your calendar for the 1996 Strategies and Ideas in Sustainable Agriculture meeting. It will be held on Thursday, February 1 at 9:00 am, at the Adams County Activities Center at the Adams County Fairgrounds. Dick and Sharon Thompson are featured on this year's program. The Thompsons have long-term experience with profitable farming using sustainable techniques. Their efforts result in fewer personal and environmental hazards while contributing toward a more stable and complete rural economy. They are also members of the Practical Farmers of Iowa, a grass-roots farmer organization started in 1985. Tom Larson, a St. Edward farmer and former Leadership Education Action Development (LEAD) participant, will also be present to share his reasons for developing a sustainable system on his farm. He will discuss his choices of management strategies. University of Nebraska faculty members will give presentations on biological insect control, soil quality, and growing and marketing dairy-quality alfalfa. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Adams County Cooperative Extension at 402-461-7209. Grazing Discussions Extension Educators Curt Alderson and Victoria Mundy will hold informal coffeeshop discussions for people who have questions - and answers - about Management Intensive grazing. These Grazing Coffeshop Discussions are planned for January 16 at the Battle Creek Extension Office, and January 23 at the Stanton VFW club. Both will happen from 1:00 - 3:00 pm. Please join them! Vegetable Growers' Conference Announced The 1996 Nebraska Vegetable Conference will be held on Wednesday, February 28 at the New World Inn in Columbus. The preliminary program includes sessions on Organic Insect Control in Sweet Corn, Effect of Shelter on Snapbean Yield and Quantity, and an intensive workshop on Growing Melons Using Plasticulture. Pre-registration costs $20.00 and includes lunch, snacks, and a copy of the proceedings. Registration costs $25.00 at the door. For more information contact the UNL Horticulture Department at 402-472-2854. Organic Certification The winter season is an excellent time to learn more about becoming certified organic by the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA). The deadline for this year's application is February 28, 1996. For more information on OCIA and organic standards contact: Dave Welsch, Rt. 2 Box 63, Milford, NE 68405. 402-826-5361. OCIA Nebraska #1 will be holding their annual meeting on January 13, 1996 at the Seward Civic Center located on Highway 15 in Seward beginning at 9 a.m. To register call: Dave Welsch, 402-826-5361. RESOURCES Congregational Resources The Land Stewardship Congregational Tool Kit contains videos, resource materials and activities for small and large group gatherings, with a focus on building healthy communities by linking people with their food, the land and each other. To inquire about renting the kit, call Mary Schulte at 612-653-0618. Our Garden: A Project that Supports our Community and Protects the Land is a 13-minute video detailing how Redeemer Lutheran Church set up a garden that serves its neighbors in need. The congregation and staff of Redeemer have, since 1985, produced approximately 100,000 pounds of organically grown produce that has been distributed to area food shelves and senior citizens' centers in Winona, Minnesota. The video offers advice about how such a garden can be set up and run in a community. For a copy, send $17 to the Land Stewardship Project, 2200 4th St.., White Bear Lake, MN 55110 Breeding Crops for Inherited Immunity Return to Resistance: Breeding Crops to Reduce Pesticide Dependence, a new book by Raoul A. Robinson, explains how groups of farmers can work together to breed crops with effective, durable resistance to all locally important pests and diseases. Dr. Robinson analyzes crop breeding's successes and shortcomings, and explains the new techniques of breeding food crops with this inherited immunity - technically termed "horizontal resistance". Properly used, horizontal resistance could provide us with a largely pest-free agriculture, one which is largely pesticide-free as well. This 500-page book sells for $29.95, softcover. To order, send a check for the cover price plus $4.00 shipping and handling to agAccess, PO Box 2008, Davis, CA 95616. MasterCard and Visa orders are welcome by telephone: 1-800-235-7177. New CSA Handbook Making the Connection, a handbook for CSA producers, pulls together the experiences of innovative CSA farms across the country. In addition to narrative examples, this handbook includes simple charts and worksheets for use in running CSA projects. It also provides detail on topics such as legal issues, writing newsletters, and postharvest handling. Per copy, this handbook costs $25.00 plus $5.00 shipping. To order, send your name, address, phone number, number of copies requested, and a check payable to "UC Regents" to: UC Cooperative Extension, Attn.: CSA Handbook, 11477 E Avenue, Auburn, CA 95603. · NSAS member Elinor L. Brown has written a book entitled The Chemical Era: 1945-?, Challenge for Human Survival. This book discusses different kinds of chemicals which most people ingest through their food and water. It includes information on health and nutrition. Copies cost $22.95 plus $2.50 shipping. Order from Midwest Publishing, PO Box 33, Ceresco, NE 68017.