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Support for the workshop and the proceedings was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research Service, under Agreement No. 90-COOP-2-5028. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 91-62492
ISBN 0-309-04578-9
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BOARD ON AGRICULTURE
THEODORE L. HULLAR, Chairman,
University of California, Davis
PHILIP H. ABELSON,
American Association for the Advancement of Science
DALE E. BAUMAN,
Cornell University
R. JAMES COOK,
Agricultural Research Service at Washington State University
ELLIS B. COWLING,
North Carolina State University
ROBERT M. GOODMAN,
University of Wisconsin, and National Research Council Scholar-in-Residence
PAUL W. JOHNSON,
Iowa House of Representatives
NEAL A. JORGENSEN,
University of Wisconsin
ALLEN V. KNEESE,
Resources for the Future, Inc.
JOHN W. MELLOR,
International Food Policy Research Institute
DONALD R. NIELSEN,
University of California, Davis
ROBERT L. THOMPSON,
Purdue University
ANNE M. K. VIDAVER,
University of Nebraska
CONRAD J. WEISER,
Oregon State University
JOHN R. WELSER,
The Upjohn Company
JAMES E. TAVARES, Acting Executive Director
CARLA CARLSON, Director of Communications
BARBARA J. RICE, Editor
Preface
With the Office of Science and Education, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Board on Agriculture cosponsored the workshop, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education in the Field—1990, April 3 – 4, 1990. It included research reports from around the country that summarized recent progress in understanding the scientific and technological basis of sustainable and profitable agricultural production systems. The regional panels demonstrated the vastly different challenges facing farmers in different regions of the country. In addition, the workshop explored gaps in ongoing research efforts, common themes and approaches in successful research programs, and areas in need of additional effort or new research strategies.
A mix of nationally recognized experts, including academic scientists, farmer-innovators, and agribusiness leaders, placed into perspective the scientific and technology challenges facing the nation in striving toward sustainable, profitable, and resource-conserving production systems.
The workshop provided a forum for discussing field research results since the inception of the Low-Input Sustainable Agriculture (LISA) program in 1988. In the 1990 farm bill, the LISA program was renamed by Congress to be Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. During its first 3 years of operation, the program has supported more than 100 projects on many topics essential to the development and profitable adoption of sustainable farming systems. Only a few of the projects were selected for presentation at the workshop. Other sustainable agriculture projects funded by USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and INFORM, a private nonprofit environmental research organization, were also selected for presentation.
The workshop fostered dialogue about and understanding of the new research priorities and directions emerging across the country, not only in land-grant universities, but also in ARS and private organizations. Information and suggestions during the workshop will assist in setting research priorities in future years.
The introduction to the report of the proceedings is followed by six parts. Part one presents an overview of general information and issues, including USDA's commitment to sustainable agriculture, the background and status of the program, challenges and rewards of research and education efforts, and economic considerations, as they pertain to midwestern farmers. Parts two through five present the findings of research projects in the western, southern, north central, and northeastern regions, respectively, along with reactors' comments. Part six is a summary of the workshop followed by appendixes that contain two poster session papers and a special topic paper.
The contributions of several individuals warrant special mention. Paul O'Connell, deputy administrator of USDA's Cooperative State Research Service; Charles Benbrook, former executive director of the Board on Agriculture; and Patrick Madden, consultant, were instrumental in organizing the workshop and the report of the proceedings. All conference speakers and reactors are gratefully acknowledged for the timely submission of their contributions.
THEODORE L. HULLAR, Chairman
Board on Agriculture