Fwd from SANET, the Sustainable Agriculture Network Discussion Group. Seems to go well with the diversified, localized model that best fits biofuels production.
Keith A New Agricultural Policy for the United States by Dennis Keeney and Loni Kemp A new whitepaper published by the Minnesota Project the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy looks at the big picture of how farm policy got this way, and what it ought to be in the future. http://www.mnproject.org/ 110kb Acrobat file: http://www.mnproject.org/csp/A%20New%20Agriculture%20Policy%20for%20the%20U.S.%20by%20Dennis%20Keeney%20%20Lo..pdf How did American agriculture come to look this way? Dominated by large farms, monocultures, corporate control of markets, and astounding levels of federal subsidies, agriculture is emerging as an industrial sector shorn of its traditional values. The environment, rural communities, farm families, and food consumers suffer the results. What factors of geography, history, technology and economics drove agriculture toward an industrial model? How has policy evolved to undergird the transformation to an industrial agriculture system? This paper answers these questions and frames an alternative future for American agriculture. The critical role of diversity in the agriculture landscape is explored. The recently enacted Conservation Security Program sets a new direction in conservation policy by rewarding sustainable agriculture. It is explored as a model for a future national green payment policy to displace some significant portion of the failing commodity subsidy policy. A scientist and an advocate fruitfully collaborated on this 20 page report. Dr. Dennis Keeney is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, with a lifetime of academic research experience on sustainability, including serving as the first Director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. Loni Kemp is the Senior Policy Analyst for the Minnesota Project, with 24 years of experience in environment and farm policy. She is a Food and Society Policy Fellow, and co-chairs the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture. This paper will be incorporated in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization series book, Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Sustainability (edited by Steve Light, Rafal Serafin, and Zbigniew Bochniarz), as one of two lead chapters on United States and European Union farm policy. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for Your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at Myinks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/sO0ANB/LIdGAA/ySSFAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
