Sustainable Agriculture & Food Policy

While a farmer can control the inputs on to his land, ensuring that fertilizer and pest management and other products meet organic standards, that level of control isn’t really available in a natural body of water, says Lisa Bunin, CFS’s organic policy coordinator. For example, pollutants move freely through water, making it almost impossible to ensure a fish raised organically is not exposed. Further, some fish, such as salmon, are migratory, and stopping that migration would be adverse to the spirit of organic, Bunin adds.

Andrea Johnson is now working in Turrialba, Costa Rica, at the Center for Training and Education in Agriculture and Forestry (CATIE, for the Spanish acronym), a well-known regional institution in Latin America. She is overseeing the monitoring, evaluation and planning for a project focused on supporting sustainable forest management, community forestry and wood product value chains throughout Central America. They have partners and activities in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Visit Andrea's LinkedIn profile

Liability is an issue that may give landowners pause. At a minimum, landlords are going to want their farmer/gardener tenants to have liability insurance, according to Nathan McClintock, an assistant professor at the Toulan School of Urban Studies & Planning at Portland State University.

Director Garry Stephenson, a small farms specialist, and associate director Lauren Gwin, a food systems specialist, lead the center. Stephenson has coordinated OSU Extension's Small Farms Program for more than 15 years. During that time, the program has emerged as a leader recognized on a national level for innovative applied research and educational programs. Gwin brings her expertise as a researcher focusing on supply chain logistics and regulatory issues. She also co-coordinates the National Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network.

“No Hay Desechos, solo recursos” reads the Sistema BioBolsa logo, there is no waste, only resources, and that is the heart and sole of Sistema Biobolsa, an organization working in 22 Mexican States, and 15 other countries to bring sustainable resources to agricultural communities. Here is the low down, a highly innovative membrane digester that processes animal waste (especially cow) into a useable methane rich bio gas, and an organic rich fertilizer called Biol.

Laura Bozzi completed her PhD at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2013. She is now Program Manager at Appalachian Mountain Advocates in southeastern West Virginia, where she splits her time between the organization's twin goals to protect the communities and natural resources of central Appalachia and to advocate and help build a just and sustainable economy for the region. In particular, she's working to develop a new sustainable agriculture program.

California farmers feel more threatened by climate policy than they do by climate change, according to a new study from the University of California, Davis. The study, published in the journal Global Environmental Change, found that the greatest climate risk Yolo County farmers believe they face in the future is not drought, water shortages, or temperature changes, but government regulations. However, this view did not make them less likely to participate in government incentive programs that would help their climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.

In this report, we explore the relationship between the business of agriculture and the business of environmental sustainability. Switzer Fellow Jeff Dlott's company, Sure Harvest, provides a full set of solutions for growers and agrifood companies pursuing sustainability strategies - farming management software, sustainability management software, sustainability consulting services and third-party sustainability certification - throughout the agrifood supply chain.

Building more meat processing plants won't yield more local meat unless farmers and processors change how they do business with each other, according to a new report. "Farmers say, 'There aren't enough processors.' But how can processors stay open, let alone grow, without enough steady, consistent business to pay their bills?" said lead author Lauren Gwin, a researcher at Oregon State University. "'I'll call you when I need you' is convenient in the short term but doesn't give either side any long-term stability or growth."