Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

As a rule we avoid activist type material on the list, but I've made a
special exception for NAIS in the past. I'm with you.

This is from "Hope for the Future of Farming",  John Ikerd, University of
Missouri
http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/faculty/jikerd/papers/SFT1-hope.htm

     "... The greatest source of hope for the future is among farmers who
are seeking and finding new ways to farm. They may claim the label of
organic, low-input, alternative, biodynamic, holistic, permaculture,
practical farmers, or just plain farmer. But they are all trying to build
farming systems that are ecologically sound, economically viable, and
socially responsible.
     ".. These new American farmers focus on working with nature rather
than against it .
     .". They market in the niches and increase value by more nearly
meeting the individual needs of their customers. They market through
farmers markets, roadside stands, subscription farming or CSAs, home
delivery, or by customer pick-up at the farm. They market to people who
care where their food comes from and how it is produced – locally grown,
organic, humanely raised, or hormone and antibiotic free.
      ".. They may produce grass finished beef, pastured pork, free range
or pastured poultry, heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables, dairy or
milk goats, edible flowers, decorative gourds, or dozens of other products
that many label as agricultural “alternatives.” In general, new
American farmers focus on creating value through uniqueness-- among
consumers, among producers, and within nature. They link people with
purpose and place, and by so doing, they create unique systems of meeting
human needs that cannot be industrialized.
     ".. Human life depends on farming, and life is simply too precious to
live without hope."

( Published in Sustaining People through Agriculture column, Small Farm
Today, May/June, 2001 issue. )
---------------

paul, tradingpost@riseup.net


*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 6/24/2006 at 1:32 PM Claudia & Linda wrote:

>I've lost count of the calls and letters I've made to state and national
>representatives.  I'm past the point of being more than marginally polite
>because I have a stack of letters from all of them, all saying almost
>exactly the same thing:  Thank you for your interest in this matter.  The
>NAIS meant to prevent outbreaks of disease or terrorist acts but we will
>voice your concerns to those committee members who are involved with
>agriculture.  Whereupon, I call the office of the representative sending
>the letter and scream at some innocent intern that my idiot representative
>or his letter-writer needs to read the original research I sent them which
>disproves any such need or purpose for NAIS.  This usually leads to
>another inane letter thanking me for my interest.  This makes me want to
>grab voters in this state (OK) and shake them until they realize what a
>bunch of Null Points they have put in office.  Even the one Representative
>that got my vote just lost it by voting against the amendment that would
>have cut the funding for NAIS, thus effectively killing it.  I immediately
>called his office and left a message for him to be sure to drive by my
>farm and see the sign I was putting up that says he doesn't support small
>farmers.  Bet that doesn't get me a letter thanking me for my interest.
>
>Claudia
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Livingontheland mailing list
>Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
>http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland