Spring 1996 (v8n2)

Resources

Regional UC Cooperative Extension Newsletter Debuts

Four UC Cooperative Extension livestock, dairy and range management farm advisors in a 16-county area are spending part of their time working as a team to develop and deliver educational programs and conduct research on a regional basis. The team includes Gary Veserat, beef cattle, headquartered in Woodland, Yolo County, (916) 666-8143, e-mail: gmveserat@ucdavis.edu; Marit Arana, dairy technology and ruminant nutrition, based in Stockton, San Joaquin County, (209) 468-2085, e-mail: marana@ucdavis.edu; Dave Pratt, pasture, rangelands, grazing and economics, headquartered in Fairfield, Solano County, (707) 421-6790 7#, e-mail: dwpratt@ucdavis.edu; and Stephanie Larson, sheep, water quality and conflict resolution, based in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, (707) 527-2621, e-mail: slarson@ucdavis.edu. They are collaborating on a quarterly newsletter, The North Central Region Livestock, Dairy & Pasture Report. The 16-county region ranges from Marin County in the west to Alpine County in the east, and from Yolo County in the North to Santa Clara County in the south. Contact Larson to subscribe to the free regional newsletter, or contact specific farm advisors to find out about their individual publications.

Small Ranch Manual

Small Ranch Manual: A Guide to Management for Green Pastures and Clean Water, by John Cobourn and Susan Donaldson, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, 1995, $2.00. University of Nevada extension water resource and water quality specialists received an Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act grant to write this guide because small ranchers are converting a significant amount of commercial agricultural land in the West to non-commercial uses. The manual covers pasture management; irrigation; creek, pond and ditch management; erosion control; animal waste management; wells, septic tank systems; underground fuel storage tanks; pest management; and residential landscape (environmentally sound, low-water use plants). To order, mail a $2 check (postage/handling) payable to "Board of Regents" to Cooperative Extension, PO Box 11130, Reno, NV 89520-2893. Call (702) 784-4848 for quantity rates.

Pesticide Report

Pesticide-Induced Disruptions of Agricultural Ecosystems, by Kathleen Walker, James Liebman, and William Pease, 51 pages, 1995, California Policy Seminar. This is the fourth report of the Environmental Health Policy Program of the University of California Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. It describes the ecological disruptions resulting from pesticide applications (the creation of "super bugs" and the loss of beneficial organisms), and examines management programs that address these problems. Free to California government offices, $12 to general public (checks payable to "UC Regents"). Contact: California Policy Seminar, 2020 Milvia, Suite 412, Berkeley, CA 94704; Tel: (510) 642-5514.

CSA Information

Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a rapidly growing concept/method of organizing smaller farming operations. In CSA projects, consumers buy "subscriptions" to local farms, allowing farmers to plan ahead with prepaid customers. A growing number of resources are available to interested farmers and consumers, including:

  • Community Supported Agriculture…Making the Connection, 198 pages, binder format, UC Cooperative Extension, Placer County and UC Small Farm Center, 1995. A comprehensive manual on CSAs. $25 plus $5 shipping/handling (Calif. residents add 7.25 % tax). Checks payable to "UC Regents," UCCE, 11477 E Ave., Auburn, CA 95603; Tel: (916) 889-7385.

  • Community Supported Agriculture Conference, Publication SA-002, 1994, edited by Gerry Cohn , 37 pages. $8. Proceedings from a December 1993 UC SAREP-Small Farm Center CSA conference. Available from UC Agricultural Publications, 6701 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, CA 94608-1239; Tel: in Calif. (800) 994-8849, outside Calif. (510) 642-2431. Checks payable to "UC Regents," Visa/MasterCard.

  • Community Supported Agriculture: The Producer/Consumer Partnership, a ten-page booklet (XCM-189) introducing the CSA concept, available for $2 (postage/handling) from the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Resource Center. Send check payable to "CSU" to CERC, Colorado State University, 115 General Services Bldg., Ft. Collins, CO 80523-4061.

For the following three CSA resources, send checks payable to "CSA of North America" to CSA of North America, c/o Indian Line Farm, RR3, Box 85, Great Barrington, MA 01230:

  • Basic Formula to Create Community Supported Agriculture, a 64-page handbook including budgets, job descriptions, outreach tactics, bibliography, list of projects. $10.

  • Directory listing many currently active CSA projects by state, including information on number of shares, variety of production, period of distribution, $5.

  • It's Not Just About Vegetables, an 18-minute video about the core group of the first season at Indian Line Farm. Used to visually introduce the CSA concept to an interested community. $35.

  • The e-mail list "csa-l@prairienet.org" for networking on community supported agriculture is now available. The listowners are John Barclay (jbarclay@prairienet.org) and Sarah Milstein (milstein@pipeline.com). Send an e-mail to either Barclay or Milstein to subscribe.

Additionally, the Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association, Box 550, Kimberton, PA 19442, offers the following publication on CSAs:

Farms of Tomorrow: Community Supported Farms, Farm Supported Communities, by Trauger Groh and Steve McFadden. 176-page paperback discusses the CSA philosophy and includes seven case studies. $14.

Farm Video

Pleasant Grove Farms: A Case Study, V94-Z, 22 minutes, Jan and Glenn McGourty and the UC Small Farm Program, $10. Interviews with Ed and Wynette Sills of Pleasant Grove Farms in Sutter County, Calif. Covers family goals, the meaning of sustainability, production practices, marketing, community/land use issues. Make checks payable to "UC Regents" and send to DANR Communications Services, University of California, Davis, CA 95616. Visa and MasterCard orders available by telephone: (916) 757-8980.

 

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