Fall, 1996 (v8n4)

Resources

Organic Farmer's Survey
Final Results of the 1995 National Organic Farmers' Survey, coordinated by Erica Walz, 40 pages, June 1996, $10. The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) has completed a survey of 945 certified organic farmers from throughout the U.S. OFRF's intention was to determine growers' research priorities to help set the direction of agricultural scientists' research. OFRF is interested in matching organic growers' needs for practical information with scientists interested in conducting on-farm systems research. Respondents' highest research priorities spanned a wide range of topics with the relationship of growing practices to crop quality and nutrition taking the lead. Crop rotations for fertility and pest management, and consumer demand for organics ranked second and third. Other high priority topics for study include the relationship between plant nutrition and pest resistance, cover cropping, green manures, and animal preventive health. Lowest priorities included export and trade issues, greenhouse production methods, post-harvest handling methods, and organic export opportunities. Other information from the survey includes a break-down of the crops organic farmers grow, information on how they manage inputs, water issues, challenges to production, farm labor and demographics, and economic data. The survey was funded by the Charles Stewart Mott foundation, the Flow Fund and Farm Aid. For a copy of the complete survey results, send $10 to Grower's Survey 95, OFRF, P.O. Box 440, Santa Cruz, CA 95061; (408) 426-6606; e-mail: research@ofrf.org.

Sustainable Directory
Sustainable Agriculture Directory of Expertise, 3rd Edition, 1996. Produced by the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) of the USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, compiled by Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas. Lists 1,000 individuals and more than 200 groups involved in sustainable agriculture throughout the U.S., with detailed descriptions of each entry. Designed for those seeking information about alternative approaches to achieving farm profitability, resource enhancement and strong rural communities, it includes seven indexes that provide access by state, individual, organization, crop and livestock enterprise, area of expertise, product or service available, and management method. For more information about the content, contact Andy Clark, Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, Room 304, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705-235 1; (301) 504-6425; e-mail: san@nal.usda.gov. To order the Directory in paperback or 3.5-inch floppy disk, send $18.95 (postpaid) as a check,
money order or purchase order payable to Sustainable Agriculture Publications, Hills Building, Room 12, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405-0082. For bulk orders call (802) 656-0471.

Hardwood Guide
Guidelines for Managing California's Hardwood Rangelands, 180 pages, University of California Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program/California Department of Fish and Game! California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 1966 (UC DANR Publication 3368), $15. A revision of The Preliminary Guidelines for Managing Hardwood Rangelands (1986), this book provides a variety of management strategies for owners and mangers of hardwood rangeland properties that maintain the profitability of the properties while sustaining ecological values. More than 80 percent of California's 11 million acres of hardwood rangelands are in private ownership; the most costeffective form of their conservation is maintaining sustainable economic enterprises. The rangelands are characterized by an overstory canopy of hardwood tree species (predominantly oaks), with an understory of annual grasses, forbs and native perennial grasses. These areas are some of the richest wildlife habitats in the state; they also preserve water quantity and quality, provide erosion and sediment control, and outdoor recreation. To order the publication, send checks payable to "UC Regents" to Joni Rippee, Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program, 163 Mulford Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 97420; Tel: (510) 643-5429; Fax: (510) 643-5438; e-mail: rippee@nature.berkeley.edu.

Organic Directory
1996 National Organic Directory, produced by Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), $34.95. Includes farmers of organic commodities throughout the U.S., food wholesalers, farm suppliers, updated federal and state organic laws, businesses serving the organic industry, certifications groups, cross-referenced organic commodities (buyers/sellers). Contact: CAFF, P0 Box 464, Davis, CA 95617; (800) 852-3832 or (916)
756-8518 ext. 17. Add $6 shipping/handling (CA residents add $2.75 sales tax).

Pesticide Report
Pesticide Use in California: Strategies for Reducing Environmental Health Impacts, by William Pease, James Liebman, Dan Landy, and David Albright, April 1996, 136 pages, $15. This UC Environmental Health Policy Program Report from the California Policy Seminar provides an accessible summary of data from the state's Department of Pesticide Regulation, which tracks pesticide use by pesticide, crop and region, and on particular pieces of land. The authors rank 150 pesticides in use in California, illustrating how available data can be used to target highhazard pesticides for usereduction programs. They also analyze assessment and management issues related to successful strategies to prevent adverse environmental impacts of pesticide use, identify use reduction strategies, and analyze barriers affecting policy efforts to implement use reduction. To order, send a check for $15 (includes postage! handling) payable to "UC Regents" to the California Policy Seminar, 2020 Milvia St., #412, Berkeley, CA 94704; (510) 642-5514.

Videos
We All Live Downstream, 30-minutes, Oregon State University, $30. Information about urban and rural runoff. Contact: Publications Orders, Agricultural Communications, Oregon State University, A422 Administrative Service Building, Corvallis, OR 97331-2119; (503) 737-2513.

Vegetable Farmers and Their Weed Control Machines, 75-minutes, Produced by Vern Grubinger and Mary Jane Else, with University of Vermont videographers, $10. Funded by USDA's SARE program. From sweeps and rotary hoes to flame weeders and home-made tools, this video demonstrates many of the available cultivation implements, and explains some of the weed control strategies being used effectively by nine New England vegetable farmers in three states. Tools demonstrated include: Buddingh basket and finger weeders, Lely tine weeders, rotary hoes, rolling cultivars, Bezzerides implements, various sweeps, as well as backpack and tractor-mounted flame weeders. Some home-made tools for cultivating the edges of plastic mulch are also described. While the video focuses on New England growers, the information presented is applicable to smaller-scale vegetable farms in many parts of the country. It shows how the implements work and how producers adapt their use for production goals and site-specific conditions. To order, make checks payable to "UVM Extension" and include a note with your name and mailing address. Send to:
UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture, 590 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05405-0059.

WEB SITES:
SAREP WEB Information:
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/
In addition to its print publications, UC SAREP offers access to SAREP-funded research and education projects, its quarterly newsletter, its new Progress Report 1 993-1995, and information databases through its World Wide Web server.

SAREP Covercrops Database:
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/sarep/ccrop/
SAREP has developed an on-line resource for cover crop information which features a searchable database, several articles, and references to other sources of information on cover crops. The database contains hundreds of pages of useful information and color pictures of more than 40 cover crops used on farms in California. The resource page will be periodically updated as new information is developed.

SAREP Calendar:
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/
SAREP offers a regularly updated sustainable agriculture calendar on our World Wide Web site. You may add your own sustainable agriculture events on the SAREP Web site calendar.

Other Related Sites...
Visit the website of the Cornell Cooperative Extension publications and video listing at:
http://www.cce.cornell.edu/publications-catalog.html

Recent publications include "Integrated Pest Management of (plant) Disease," and "Strategies for Managing Pests in and around the Home," which offer strategies to reduce pests in the home, garden and public landscapes for gardeners and homeowners. These are the introductory fact sheets of a new series from the Cornell Urban IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Program, which extends 1PM beyond farm uses, making it available for multiple public applications. Hard copies of "Strategies for Managing Pests in and around the Home"(1O2UIPM1) and "Integrated Pest Management of Disease" (1O2UIPM2) are available for $1.00 each from the Cornell University Resource Center, 8 BTP, Ithaca, NY 14850. U