Agroecology

The Agroecology Program seeks to achieve three ideal outcomes:

1) a collaboration between advocates of sustainable agriculture and advocates of natural habitat preservation to enhance the long-term ability of the land to produce food and support a variety of life;

2) the transformation of rural landscapes into a mixture of agricultural
and natural ecosystems that preserve much of the local biodiversity and
provide ecosystem services essential to sustainable agriculture; and

3) the restoration of an economically viable foothold for diversified, family-sized farms in American agriculture that provide multiple environmental and social benefits to society.

What is the relationship between the grocery list and the endangered species list? This question is explored in The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems with Ecosystems, published in April 2002 by Island Press. LSP's Associate Director, Dana Jackson, edited this book of readings with her daughter Laura Jackson, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Northern Iowa. LSP staff members George Boody and Brian DeVore contributed chapters, as did five other LSP members. This book is designed to open a broad discussion about restoring a relationship between farming and the natural world that improves the sustainability of both. It asserts that wildlife habitat destruction will continue as long as society allows agricultural lands to be ecological sacrifice zones. The book describes farms that are natural habitats and argues that the landscape could be dominated by stewardship farms, not factory farms, if appropriate incentives through the market and public policy supported them. See the Table of Contents.

Order your copy of The Farm as Natural Habitat today. LSP members can order the book at a 20% discount from Island Press 1-800-828-1302.

In June of 1998, LSP sponsored a gathering of individuals at the Aldo Leopold Shack near Baraboo Wisconsin to discuss the concept of agroecological restoration. Most of those attending became contributors to The Farm as Natural Habitat. They are (front, left to right): Judith Soule, Michigan Natural Features Inventory; Cheryl Miller, National Audubon Society; David Andow, University of Minnesota; Brian DeVore, LSP; (back, left to right) Tex Hawkins, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Paul Gruchow, author; Nick Jordan, University of Minnesota; Laura Jackson, University of Northern Iowa; Dana Jackson, LSP; George Boody, LSP; Stephanie Mills, author; Tom Frantzen, Iowa farmer; Paul Johnson, Iowa farmer and former chief of the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service; Dave Minar, Minnesota farmer; Buddy Huffaker, Aldo Leopold Foundation. Not pictured: Rhonda Janke, Kansas State University.

Since its publication, The Farm as Natural Habitat has received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Writers for scientific journals, environmental magazines and general interest publications have praised the book's levelheaded examination of how farms and ecosystems can be reconnected:

• On Feb. 25, 2005, LSP Associate Director Dana Jackson gave a keynote address at the Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, Wis. It was titled, "Organic Farming and Wild Nature: Setting a Higher Standard."

• From Fork to Fork ... to the Gulf of Mexico - The New Farm, December 2003

• "The Farm as Natural Habitat," Seed Savers, Summer 2003

• "Partnerships in Agriculture And Conservation," Ecology, January 2003

• "Putting Nature Back into the Farm," Organica Magazine, 2003

• "Smart Agriculture," Sierra, Nov./Dec. 2002

• "Reconnecting Farms and Ecosystems-If It Pays," Science, Nov. 15, 2002

• "Cream of the Crop," Grist, Oct. 21, 2002

• "Case is made for small farms," Des Moines Register, May 26, 2002

• "Farmers contribute to book on alternatives," Agri News, May 7, 2002

• On April 22, 2002, LSP Associate Director Dana Jackson was a guest on Minnesota Public Radio's Midmorning program during a special Earth Day-themed show. Dana discussed The Farm as Natural Habitat, and fielded call-in questions related to agriculture, food and land stewardship. You can listen to the hour-long show at this link
http://news.mpr.org/programs/midmorning/listings/mm20020422.shtml.

 

 

Ongoing Work in Agroecology

Wild Farm Alliance
Land Stewardship Project's Agroecology Program actively participates in the Wild Farm Alliance, an organization founded in 2000 by wild lands advocates and ecological farming advocates who recognize the need for collaboration on behalf of biodiversity. The Wild Farm Alliance aims to bridge the gap between stewardship farming and wild lands conservation by promoting agriculture that helps protect and restore wild nature. It serves as a leading source of information about farming with the wild and participates in educational meetings and conferences that encourage conservation and sustainable agriculture. The Wild Farm Alliance promotes private and public conservation incentives that compensate farmers for their stewardship efforts.

The Land Stewardship Project and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy hosted a meeting Oct. 7-9 of the Wild Farm Alliance in St. Paul, Minn. On the evening of Oct. 8, LSP co-sponsored "Farming with the Wild," a public program at the Open Book Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Other sponsors of this program were the Wild Farm Alliance, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and the Ruminator Book Store.

Land Stewardship Project members Bob Austin (left) and Les Everett (right) join in a discussion about agriculture policy with farmers Fred Kirschenmann and Becky Weed during the "Farming with the Wild" event on Oct. 8, 2003. The Land Stewardship Project and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy hosted a meeting Oct. 7-9, 2003, of the Wild Farm Alliance in St. Paul, Minn.

Contact Information:
Jo An Baumgartner, Coordinator
Wild Farm Alliance
406 Main St., Suite 213
Watsonville, CA 95076
(831) 761-8408
info@wildfarmalliance.org
www.wildfarmalliance.org

 

Green Lands Blue Waters
Land Stewardship Project is a consortium member of Green Lands Blue Waters.

Green Lands Blue Waters is a long-term comprehensive effort with the mission of supporting development of and transition to a new generation of agricultural systems in the Mississippi River Basin that integrate more perennial plants and other continuous living cover into the agricultural landscape.

For a full project description, go to http://www.misa.umn.edu and scroll down under What’s New to find Green Lands Blue Waters.

 

Updates on the Agroecology Program can also be found in the Land Stewardship Letter. See the following issues:

Oct/Nov 2003- "A few words for wild farming" (pdf)

July/Aug/Sept 2003- " 'Farming with the Wild' " discussion Oct. 8 (pdf)

April/May/June 2003 - "The Farm as Natural Habitat" (feature story) (pdf)

Jan/Feb/Mar 2003 - "Farm as Natural Habitat praised" (pdf)

July/Aug/Sept 2002 - "Reaching new audiences" (pdf)

Jan/Feb 2002 - "Agroecology: reconnecting food and ecosystems"