Can Sustainability Save the Midwest?
During the past few decades, small organizations promoting sustainable agriculture have been popping up and banding together across the Midwest to create a patchwork of information, support and tools for those interested in taking part in the sustainable agriculture movement.
Groups like the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and its lobbyist sister group the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition started promoting ideas of sustainable farming in 1988. The coalition is made up of farm, food, rural, religious and conservation organizations that work together to advance grassroots sustainable agriculture perspectives within the Department of Agriculture.
Other organizations, like the Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service and the Foundation for Agricultural and Rural Resources Management & Sustainability, provide resources, create programs and host conferences and workshops for communities and farmers interested in sustainability. MOSES hosts one of the largest annual farming conferences in the country (in my hometown of La Crosse, Wis.), provides an organic farming directory, and supports a host of educational projects to support farmers who want to transition from traditional to organic farming.
Information providers, like the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA), offer farmers a database of searchable success stories and informational links about how farms are choosing to invest in renewable energy and in efficient machinery that saves water, conserves fuel and protects the soil. VIA