"The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems with Ecosystems," Edited by Dana L. Jackson and Laura L. Jackson (Island Press,
250 pages, $25)

Reviewed by SUSAN MAAS

Judging by its title, "The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems with Ecosystems," an eclectic volume of articles and essays edited by Dana L. Jackson and Laura L. Jackson, should appeal to a narrow readership of farmers and conservation biologists. But add to that extension agents, agriculture policymakers, and environmentalists. And bird-watchers, hunters, fishermen, and other wildlife enthusiasts. And, finally, people who eat food.

Laura Jackson is an associate professor of biology at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and a national authority on conservation and applied biology. Dana Jackson (who happens to be Laura's mother) is the associate direction of the Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project. Their readable "academic" offering makes a grim and thorough case against industrialized agriculture.

Then it breaks new ground: it shows how productive, diversified, small-scale farms can and do nurture wildlife. Sacrificing ecology is not an inevitable part of food production. This book demonstrates that it is possible, and can be profitable, to integrate what Laura Jackson calls "the wild and the willed" on the same piece of land.

One of the book's key recommendations is a return to diverse crop rotations, which could "eliminate or drastically reduce the need for 45 million pounds of herbicides and insecticides and the 1.5 billion pounds of nitrogen fertilizer applied annually to Iowa fields alone," Laura Jackson writes. But going back to pre-1950s cropping systems "does not necessarily mean that we will 'go back' to backbreaking labor, horses, or straw hats."

Although much of the past century's agricultural "progress" has wrought a landscape bereft of biodiversity, the Jacksons' work is no mere pastoral nostalgia trip. Sustainable farming is the 21st century is a sophisticated, and fluid, enterprise; part science and part art. Readers will gain appreciation for the sweat and ingenuity behind such innovations as management-intensive rotational grazing and conservation biocontrol. Brian DeVore's tales of farmers whose finely developed observation skills take then into "new and exciting agroecological territory" are a joy to read:

"Through observation, the Rupprechts concluded that the presence of worms and other biological activity in their soil says a lot about their farm's profitability, environmental sustainability, and even the family's quality of life. Good, healthy soil means better yields. But it also means more plant diversity….[a] vibrant, biologically rich landscape results in more wildlife on the farm, cleaner water, and a more pleasant environment….[The Rupprechts] know that certain indicators, such as nesting grassland songbirds, can tell them just as much about how they're doing as farmers as the deepest soil probe."

"The Farm as Natural Habitat" makes clear why the time is ripe for a major overhaul of U.S. ag policy, which rewards large commodity producers and punishes stewardship-minded farmers (at tremendous expense to taxpayers). It also emphasizes the need for better understanding between farmers and conservationists and exhorts consumers to consider the hidden costs of their cheap food. The book offers several promising ideas for promoting sustainable, local food systems, including regional and "green" labels and cooperative marketing.

The unusual range of contributors-including a journalist, agency personnel, nonprofit workers and academics-is sometimes a strength, sometimes a weakness. The book veers between the easily engaging and the scholarly.

Still, targeting this thoughtful exploration of the "struggle to balance the needs of humans and nature" to a limited audience seems a mistake. There is plenty for all of us to chew on.

Susan Maas is a free-lance writer in Minneapolis.

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