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      ATTRAnews DIGEST

      The Electronic ATTRA Newsletter
      July 1993



      Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA)
      P.O. Box 3657
      Fayetteville, AR 72702
      Phone: 1-800-346-9140 --- FAX: (501) 442-9842



      Contents:

      USDA Urges Farm Publications to Promote Sustainable Ag
      Lukens Testifies Before Senate Small Business Subcommittee
      EPA Seeks Low-Risk Pesticide/Pest Management Practices
      Ron Kroese Selected NCAT President
      University of Georgia is New SARE Southern Headquarters
      Horne Chairs NSAAC
      NOSB Solicits Organic Standards Inpus
      Radio Ads Promote Sustainable Agriculture
      ATTRA Helps Fish & Wildlife Service with IPM Programs
      Sullivan Explains IPM Role to FWS Managers at Phoenix
      Ikerd Speaks at Rural Development Showcase
      ATTRA Showcase Highlights Rural Success Stories
      ATTRA'S Techs Play America's Biggest Sustainable Ag Quiz Game
      ATTRA Materials Offered
      Today's Quote

      USDA Urges Farm Publications to Promote Sustainable Ag

      American farm news editors are being urged to promote sustainable
      agriculture by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Extension
      Service.

      "Making a living and protecting the environment in which we live
      are today's most vital challenges for U.S. farmers and ranchers,"
      the Extension Service states in a packet of fact sheets and press
      releases mailed this spring to publications. "Intricate government
      regulations, costly inputs and advancing urbanization make it
      essential for agriculturists, policymakers and city dwellers to
      understand the dynamics of sustainable agriculture."

      Included in the packet are fact sheets on changing attitudes of
      U.S. farmers and examples of state accomplishments under the
      Sustainable Agriculture Initiative and the Sustainable Agriculture
      Research and Education (SARE) program. Eight press releases
      highlight farmers who are using sustainable practices to farm
      environmentally and profitably.

      For more information, people may contact Charles M. Morgan, Public
      Affairs Specialist, USDA Extension Service, Communication,
      Information and Technology, Washington, D.C. 20250-0900,
      202-690-3656.

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      Lukens Testifies Before Senate Small Business Subcommittee

      ATTRA Program Manager Jim Lukens on July 14 testified before
      a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee at
      Washington, D.C. about alternative agriculture's role in "Rural
      Economy and Family Farming." Lukens told senators that
      sustainable agricultural enterprises and practices are among the
      most promising economic development tools for rural areas.
      Agriculture still serves as the base of the economy in these
      areas, he said.

      "American farmers, long known for their ability to innovate, are
      today strongly motivated to try new and different enterprises and
      methods," Lukens said. From 10,000 to 12,000 farmers each year
      call ATTRA for information to improve their economic plight by
      substituting on-farm resources for purchased inputs; adding or
      switching to alternative higher-profit crops and livestock; and
      adding innovative marketing or on-farm processing to their farming
      activities, he said.

      Lukens said that to spur rural economic development, rural
      entrepreneurs need reliable technical information which is
      appropriate to their rural setting; better access to financing;
      and business management assistance to help them with business
      planning, market development, and state and federal regulations.

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      EPA Seeks Low-Risk Pesticide/Pest Management Practices

      People who have developed what they believe to be low-risk
      pesticide and pest management practices have been invited to
      contact the Environmental Protection Agency for federal
      registration. The EPA in a notice in the Federal Register in
      January announced that it has "embarked on a reduced-risk
      pesticide initiative with the primary objective of encouraging the
      development, registraion and use of lower risk pesticides and pest
      management practices in order to lessen risks to human health and
      the environment."

      Applicants who believe they have developed a qualifying new active
      ingredient will be invited to make a comparison between the risks
      posed by their ingredient and current pesticides for that use. For
      a "Pesticide Regulation Notice" form or additional information,
      contact Stephanie R. Irene, Registration Division (H7505C), Office
      of Pesticide Programs, EPA, 401 M. St., SW, Washington, D. C.
      20460, or call (703) 305-5447.

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      Ron Kroese Selected NCAT President

      Ron Kroese has been named as the new president for ATTRA's parent
      company, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) of
      Butte, MT. Kroese, who is executive director of the Land
      Stewardship Project in Minnesota, will replace current NCAT
      president George Turman.

      Turman, who is a former Lt. Governor of Montana and member of the
      Montana Public Service Commission and Northwest Power Planning
      Council, has served four years as NCAT president. He will
      "retire" to his hometown of Missoula, MT., where he will pursue
      business and political interests.

      NCAT administers national programs on energy and
      resource-efficient housing in addition to the ATTRA program. For
      further information about NCAT, call 1-406-494-4572.

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      University of Georgia is New SARE Southern Headquarters

      The University of Georgia, in cooperation with Fort Valley State
      College, has been selected as the new southern region headquarters
      for USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program.
      The host site was formerly located at Louisiana State University.

      The new host institutions will administer funding, review,
      contracts and work plans for education/research proposals; perform
      major financial transactions and organize SARE council and
      committee meetings.

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      Horne Chairs NSAAC

      Jim Horne of the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture at
      Poteau, OK, has been named chairman of the National Sustainable
      Agriculture Advisory Council (NSAAC). The council, which consists
      of 14 people from the private sector and 14 government-sector
      members, met for an organizational meeting from June 9-11 at
      Omaha, NE.

      Outgoing U.S. Secretary of Agriculure Edward Madigan in January
      created the council to advise future ag secretaries on sustainable
      agriculture topics. Private sector members represent five
      categories: farmers and ranchers, farm families, human nutrition,
      nonprofit organizations and agribusiness.

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      NOSB Solicits Organic Standards Input

      The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will hold its southern
      region meeting September 26-29 at the Arkansas Land and Farm
      Development Corporation near Fargo, AR. NOSB is seeking public
      input for organic standards guidelines which it is developing.

      For information about the southern meeting or other matters,
      contact Hal Ricker at: USDA/AMS/TMD, Room 2510, South Building, PO
      Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456, 202-720-2704 (telephone),
      202-690-0338 (FAX).

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      Radio Ads Promote Sustainable Agriculture

      Farmers in 11 states are being encourged via a series of radio
      commercials to contact ATTRA and other resources for information
      about adopting sustainable farming practices.

      Sponsored by a host of sustainable-farming groups and the Center
      for Science in the Public Interest under its "Americans for Safe
      Food" project, the commercials feature actual farmers discussing
      why they made the switch to sustainable agriculture. The
      Americans for Safe Food project promotes adoption of public
      policies that support sustainable and organic agriculture. The
      ads are being aired in Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky,
      Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and
      Virginia.

      "Consumers and farmers are growing more concerned about the high
      cost, environmental impact, and health effects of
      chemical-intensive farming," CSPI Executive Director Michael
      Jacobson said. "We want to urge farmers to reduce the use of
      potentially dangerous and polluting chemicals."

      Karen Hobert of CSPI, the ad campaign coordinator, said: "The
      radio public service announcements will link farmers who are
      thinking about switching to sustainable farming with knowledgeable
      experts who can help."

      In 30- and 60-second versions of the commercials, an announcer
      tells listeners, "Across this great land, American farmers are
      changing the way they farm. Listen to some of them..."
      Three farmers then talk about being convinced to reduce the use of
      pesticides because of contaminated wells in their area and of
      curbing fertilizer applications without reducing crop yields. The
      farmers urge fellow agriculturists to seek expert help in
      switching to sustainable practices. At the end of each
      commercial, listeners are referred to a local organization which
      will provide resource materials on sustainable farming.

      Sustainable agriculture groups participating in the campaign
      include the Colorado Organic Producers Association, Hoosier
      Organic Marketing Education (IN), Kansas Rural Center, Community
      Farm Alliance (KY), Michigan Organic Growers Advancement Project,
      the Missouri Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, The New Jersey
      Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association, The New
      Mexico Organic Commodity Commission, Sustainable Agriculture
      Program of the Politics of Food (NY), Ohio Ecological Food and
      Farm Association and Virgina State University Cooperative
      Extension.

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      ATTRA Helps Fish & Wildlife Service with IPM Programs

      ATTRA Program Manager Jim Lukens attended the third in a series of
      meetings with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "IPM Coordinators" on
      May 4 at the National Bison Refuge at Moiese, Mont. About 500
      head of bison roam the 19,000 acres of the refuge in the Flathead
      Valley of western Montana.

      ATTRA is helping FWS to implement integrated pest management
      programs at 140 national refuges where crops are raised for
      wildlife consumption. Lukens noted that many IPM coordinators,
      refuge managers and farm program managers in the eight FWS regions
      have contacted ATTRA for information about non-chemical
      alternatives for crop pest controls such as insects and invasive
      non-native plant species.

      During the meeting, Lukens and IPM coordinators toured biological
      weed control plots maintained by the University of Montana and
      USDA/ARS. IPM coordinators in Montana have become active in the
      project in which beneficial insects are used to control alien weed
      species on native grassland. The coordinators have also worked
      closely with the USDA Agriculture and Plant Health Inspection
      Service (APHIS), which monitors introduced species of beneficial
      insects.

      FWS has mandated that sustainable farming practices be established
      on refuges where local farmers under cooperative agreements leave
      a portion of the feedgrain crop on the refuge for wildlife
      consumption. For instance, in the Service's Midwest "Region 6,"
      refuge managers and farm program coordinators have created a
      three-to-five-year plan showing how they plan to reduce or
      eliminate pesticide use on select refuges.

      An IPM plan released in April by the FWS Upper Level Management
      Development Program stated the Service's goal to eliminate, where
      possible, pesticide use on refuges to benefit fish and wildlife.
      The plan noted that the 2.7 billion pounds of pesticides used each
      year in the U.S. have produced long-term effects which have caused
      "hundreds of fish and wildlife kills and have affected one-third
      of all endangered species." Forty-six states and 20 National
      Wildlife Refuges have fish consumption advisories because of the
      pollution, while seven states have waterfowl consumption
      advisories, the plan stated.

      "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that in the last 100
      years, 38 percent of fish extinctions are attributable, in part,
      to water pollution...As the manager of millions of acres of public
      lands and hundreds of facilities, the Service must set a good
      example in land stewardship by reducing pesticide use on Service
      lands," the plan found.

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      Sullivan Explains IPM Role to FWS Managers at Phoenix

      ATTRA agronomist Dr. Preston Sullivan explained the role which
      integrated pest managment plays in sustainable agriculture
      programs to "Region 2" U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel
      attending the "IPM Workshop" at Phoenix, Ariz., from June 16-17.
      Region 2 includes national wildlife refuges in Arizona, New
      Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

      Sullivan and three other trainers helped refuge managers attending
      the workshop to draw up individual IPM plans for their refuges.
      Other trainers included Don Dahlsten, chief of the Division of
      Biological Control at the University of California at Berkeley;
      Dave Langston, Extension entomologist and IPM specialist with the
      Maricopa Agricultural Center at Maricopa, Ariz.; and Professor Tom
      Lanini, Extension weed ecologist at the University of California
      at Davis. Five refuge managers who have instituted IPM plans
      related drawbacks and benefits of reducing or eliminating
      pesticides at their refuges.

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      Ikerd Speaks at Rural Development Showcase

      America's rural communities will undergo a renaissance in the 21st
      Century as people with new technologies flee from problematic
      urban areas to the quiet of country life, Dr. John E. Ikerd told
      participants May 7 at the "Showcase of Projects & Resources for
      Rural Community Development in Arkansas."

      A diversity of people seeking a sense of community and including
      such people as small business entrepreneurs, sustainable
      agriculturists and practitioners of a "knowledge society" will
      resettle declining rural areas, Ikerd said.

      Ikerd, who directs the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Program at
      the University of Missouri at Columbia, was keynote speaker at the
      one-day symposium at the Arkansas 4-H Center near Little Rock
      which highlighted successful Arkansas community projects. The
      symposium was co-sponsored by the National Center for Appropriate
      Technology (which administers the ATTRA program), Arkansas Land
      and Farm Development Corporation, Arkansas Rural Development
      Commission/Office of Rural Advocacy and Arkansas Cooperative
      Extension Service.

      Ikerd noted that the decline of rural Arkansas communities -
      largely because of industrial agriculture - parallels the
      "depression, decline and decay" of rural areas across America.
      But he said that this rural downturn is not an irreversible trend
      but only a part of an historical cycle.

      "Over the past fifty years many rural communities seem to have
      lost their purpose," he said. "The basic trend during this period
      has been toward fewer, larger and more specialized farms. The
      result has been declining rural populations, declining demand for
      local markets and locally-purchased inputs, and a resulting
      economic decay of many rural communities."

      While some communities have attempted to diversify their economies
      to reduce their dependence on agriculture, others abandoned
      agriculture as a basis for economic development.
      "Industry hunting became a preoccupation of many small town
      councils and chambers of commerce," Ikerd noted. "Jobs, any kind
      at any cost, seemed to be the primary development objective in
      some declining rural communities."

      Some large companies which moved to rural areas to exploit
      "undervalued people, capital and natural resources" have created a
      class of "working poor" people, Ikerd said. Now many of these
      companies have relocated overseas where laborers are willing to
      work even harder for less money. "Efforts to attract low quality,
      low paying jobs are increasingly regarded as expensive and
      ineffective strategies for rural economic development," he said.

      Likewise, some rural communities have promoted small-scale
      projects such as annual festivals, niche markets and tourist
      attractions as stop-gap economic development. But these
      communities are continuing to search for a new fundamental purpose
      for their existence. As hopeless as it may appear, Ikerd said
      decline of rural America may be just part of a trend. "But trends
      never continue, at least not indefinitely," he said.

      Ikerd noted a recent report in Science magazine by a group of
      international scientists who listed the 20 greatest scientific
      ideas of all time. Among the top 20 were the existence of gravity,
      the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and the theory that
      all events occur in cycles, including all physical, biological and
      social phenomena.

      "Based on this theory, any trend is, in fact, just a phase of a
      cycle," he said. Recent events in what was once Communist Russia
      are an example of a cyclical historical turning point, he said.

      Ikerd foresees a migration of people from urban to rural areas
      because of the unliveability of large American cities, a new
      emphasis on "knowledge-based" jobs, and modern communication
      technologies which allow business to be conducted from even the
      remotest of locations. Coupled with this, he believes that
      large-scale, industrial agriculture will give way to more
      sustainable agriculture because of environmental and social
      pressures.

      "The theory of cycles would imply that farms do not get either
      larger or smaller forever, but instead cycle between larger and
      smaller over time," he said. "If we think back over past centuries
      and around the globe, we can find examples where control of land
      became concentrated in the hands of a few, only to later become
      dispersed in control among the many. the most significant such
      occurrence in the U.S. may have been the development and later
      demise of plantation agriculture in the South."

      Rural areas are also becoming more alluring places to live for
      people frustrated with the overcrowding, crime, pollution and high
      living costs of cities, Ikerd said. "The cities have already lost
      much of their purpose as places for people to live," he said.
      "People are abandoning the cities for the suburbs for quality of
      life reasons...many people are now free to abandon the suburbs for
      rural areas for quality of life reasons as well: more living
      space, a cleaner environment, prettier landscapes and, perhaps
      most important, to regain a sense of community, a sense of
      belonging."

      Ikerd cited predictions for America's third millenium by authors
      Alvin Toffler (Powershift), Peter Drucker (The New Realities), new
      U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (The Work of Nations) and
      John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene (Megatrends 2000). These
      authors foresee such trends as the demise of the "mass production"
      model of industrialization and a new emphasis on customized goods
      and services aimed at niche markets; a new focus on innovative,
      value-added products; specialized production wherein tailoring
      products to the desires of specific customers replaces low price
      as a source of value; a new class of workers dedicated not to rote
      industry and service but to "knowledge" work; the hiatus of
      small-time entrepreneurs who concentrate on improving the quality
      of jobs over quantity; and the rise of sustainable agriculture as
      a knowledge-based system of farming that depends on the
      productivity of local people.

      These people, linked by telephone, FAX machines, computers and
      express mail, will comprise a new "electronic heartland" which
      will not only do business on a local and national level but
      globally. This new class of culturally-diverse workers - dubbed
      the "mind workers" by Reich - will be symbolic-analysts who will
      serve as problem identifiers and solvers. Their numbers will
      include such professions as scientists, design engineers,
      investment bankers, doctors, public relations executives, lawyers,
      real estate developers, consultants, writers, editors, musicians,
      production designers and teachers.

      Authors Naisbitt and Aburdene foresee two great unifying themes in
      the 21st Century - the empowerment of the individual because of
      new technologies and the rise of small-time, "mind-worker"
      entrepreneurs. They point out that these types of entrepreneurs
      during the past decade have seized multibillion-dollar markets
      from large well-heeled corporations, and that in the past 10 years
      about two-thirds of all new non-farm jobs were created by small
      business.

      "A community must share its vision of the future rural America and
      what it is doing to shape its own future with others if it is to
      share in the rural renaissance," Ikerd said. "There may be a great
      untapped demand for what rural communities have, or can have, to
      offer. Productive people who desire a better quality of life may
      simply be locked into an old vision of rural communities as places
      of depression, decline and decay."

      Ikerd said people must share their different visions of what they
      would like their community to become, and determine common
      elements as the nucleus for a "shared vision".

      "A community that has found a shared vision for the future has
      made its first critical step toward self-vitalization," he said.
      "To paraphrase Jesse Jackson, if they can conceive it, and believe
      it, they quite likely can achieve it. The future of rural America
      belongs to those who are willing to claim it."

      Readers may request the complete text of Ikerd's speech by
      contacting ATTRA at 1-800-346-9140.

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      ATTRA Showcase Highlights Rural Success Stories

      About 75 grassroots community organizations, state agencies and
      private foundations attended the "Showcase of Projects & Resources
      for Rural Community Development in Arkansas," which was hosted by
      ATTRA on May 7 at the Arkansas 4-H Center near Little Rock.
      Six grassroots community organizations at a morning presentation
      described how they had launched such community projects as daycare
      and healthcare centers, small entrepreneurial and micro enterprise
      loan programs, and commercial enterprises such as laundromats,
      restaurants, a panelized house manufacturing facility, a shiitake
      mushroom cooperative and a wood products marketing venture.

      Two afternoon panels at the Showcase discussed the role of small
      farm investment and resource efficient housing in rural community
      development. One of the panelists - the Arkansas Land and Farm
      Development Corporation (ALFDC) - was presented the "Voluntary
      Action Award" in April by President Bill Clinton for having helped
      financially-troubled black farmers in Arkansas retain over 15,000
      acres of farmland since the organization's founding in 1980.

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      ATTRA'S Techs Play America's Biggest Sustainable Ag Quiz Game

      A recent telephone call from a Missouri fish hatchery signaled the
      beginning of another busy week for ATTRA's 17 technical
      specialists.
      The hatchery owner, who had used ATTRA information to help produce
      over 250,000 pounds of fish last year, wanted advice on how to
      culture catfish in floating cages and raise grass carp. Two techs
      were assigned to seek the latest printed and electronic
      information on his requests.

      That week, the techs fielded another 200 calls on a surprising
      assortment of sustainable agriculture topics from a mixed
      clientele of farmers and ranchers, researchers, Extension agents,
      U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge managers, crop consultants
      and agribusinesses across the U.S. Since ATTRA's founding in
      1987, the techs have prepared over 43,000 reports for clients.
      Technical specialists answering ATTRA's 800-lines jot down
      extensive notes about a caller's questions. At meetings each
      Thursday and Friday, individual cases are assigned to members of
      the agronomy or "A" team, the horticulture or "H" team, and the
      Animal Science or "Beast" team. Written reports prepared by the
      techs are reviewed by members of the Information Team and a
      rotating group of technical specialists before being mailed to
      clients.

      A case report for a recent week reveals the variety of callers and
      topics in an ATTRA tech's work-week.

      A hog farmer in South Dakota sought advice on a cover crop which
      he could interseed with oats with a root system hardy enough to
      withstand grazing and rooting by his herd. Also, what about some
      type of sturdy, moveable structure which could serve as "portable
      shade" for his hogs?

      "I'm interested in processing apples on my farm for cidar
      production," an orchardist in Kentucky told techs about his desire
      to supplement farm income with a value-added product.

      Several calls from managers at national Fish and Wildlife Refuges,
      where extensive acreages are devoted to farming, were received.
      One refuge manager in Louisiana sought ways to interseed wheat
      into standing corn just prior to mowing it for use by geese, while
      another manager in Oregon requested information on integrated pest
      management practices to control pepperweed, lambsquarter, pigweed
      and aphids in wheat stands there. A third refuge in Washington
      State asked about IPM alternatives and low-input herbicides for
      corn grown under circle irrigation.

      People in government agencies devoted to helping farmers
      frequently contact ATTRA for sustainable agriculture advice.
      Calls that week included requests from Extension agents in
      Washington and Arkansas, respectively, about growing annual
      flowers in greenhouses and using manures as a livestock feed
      supplement; a Conservation District in Illinois on types of weeds
      and mosses which grass carp will consume; a city planner in Alaska
      about greenhouse composting; an Indian tribal planner in
      Washington about treating sewage in an integrated artificial
      wetland and aquaculture enterprise; and two state agriculture
      departments in Vermont and Maine, respectively, about raising hogs
      sustainably and alternative ways to exclude crows from
      newly-planted corn.

      Calls about rotational grazing and grass-based production were
      logged from ranchers (cow-calf and stockers) and dairymen in Ohio,
      Pennsylvania, Tennessee and New York.
      And there were calls for lists of companies offering equipment,
      seed and other farm supplies. A fruit researcher in Maryland
      requested seed supply sources for tropical fruits; a Pennsylvania
      farmer sought lists of equipment suppliers for hulling oats and
      spelt; and a Florida organic producer requested bibliographic
      references for establishing an insectory for beneficial insects.

      Through the week the techs received calls on a variety of farm
      topics which included growing buckwheat in Pennsylvania, tomatoes
      in Kentucky, cut flowers in Connecticutt, pecans in California and
      Christmas trees in Wisconsin; using select cover crops in New york
      to promote beneficial insects and biocontrols; using least-toxic
      controls for a cut-flower farm in Oregon; selecting legumes to add
      nitrogen to pastures and control bloat in cattle on a Kansas
      ranch; and using old newspapers for mulch and weed control on a
      vegetable truck farm in Washington.

      Case logs show that the techs that week received calls for
      information on permaculture; crawfish; living mulches; asparagus;
      rhubarb; electric fencing; foxtail, corn earworm, root weevil,
      grasshopper and Russian thistle control; artificial insemination
      of sheep; organic nursery production; maple syrup production; soil
      amendments; castor beans; neem; raising earthworms; making
      bonemeal; salt-tolerant crops; ag enterprise computer systems;
      dairy farm organic fly control; dairy cheese-making; breed
      assistance for sheep, goats and cattle; deer control in apple
      prchards; Holstein beef production; raising free-range turkeys;
      rabbitrys; trout culture; organic grapes; gopher, rabbit and
      rodent control; hydroponics; solar greenhouses; green manures;
      herb cultivation; commercial composting; bioponics; soil blocks;
      and many more.

      Variety is the staple of life for ATTRA's busy techs.

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      ATTRA Materials Offered

      Farmer Participation in Research for Sustainable Agriculture. ATTRA has a limited supply of these booklets which were compiled as conference proceedings of the Arkansas/Oklahoma Sustainable Agriculture Network. To request a booklet, call 1-800-346-9140.

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      Today's Quote: "The future of rural America belongs to those who
      are willing to claim it." - Dr. John Ikerd, Sustainable
      Agricultural Systems, University of Missouri at Columbia

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