Website of the Week

This online pest management tool for farmers is a database that highlights reduced risk materials that can be integrated with ecological pest management strategies. The database covers pests including diseases, insects, mollusks, vetebrates and weeds. It is searchable by pest category, pest name, pesticide trade name and active ingredient.

Although there is no universally accepted definition, in the context of this database biorational refers to pesticides in one of the following categories:

1. microbial pesticides: formulations of viruses, bacteria, fungi, or nematodes that have low non-target impacts
2. pesticides derived from plants that have low non-target impacts and degrade into non-toxic components
3. various new types of pesticides, such as particle film barriers, pheromones, and compounds such as Spinosad, that have low non-target impacts and degrade into non-toxic components

Users can navigate the database from one of four different drop-down menus. You can use these options to narrow your search by pest type, pest name, active ingredient or beneficial organism and pesticide trade name.

If you simply want information about a material or formulation, you have the option of searching the drop down menus for either Pesticide Trade Name (the name the product is sold under) or Active Ingredients/Beneficial Organism.

In the Funding Opportunities section of the ATTRA Web site, visitors can find up-to-date information about grants, loans, scholarships and more. New opportunities are posted frequently, with a detailed description of the grant or loan including what type of producer the opportunity is for, the amount of funds available, deadlines and any other information. A link to the grant or loan application page is also provided.

The funding opportunities are searchable by keyword and can be sorted by due date and date posted.

Build It Solar offers plans, tools, and information to help build solar projects that save money and reduce pollution. Hundreds of projects -- from changing a light bulb to building a solar home can be researched on this site.

The site has several subsets of information including the Getting Started section which helps users choose high payback energy saving projects. The Why Solar? section provides insight on the benefits of solar energy.

There is a good piece on Water (catching it, saving it, treating it, using less of it, and reusing it.)

Ag related information can be found on the Biofuels page. Readers can also learn how to produce BioDiesel, Veggie Oil, Ethanol and Wood Gas fuels for heating, cooking and power generation.

While often associated with greenhouse heating, heat from compost schemes can and have been used for space or water heating. Learn more in the Heat from compost section.

NMPAN uses its Web site to help small to mid-sized meat processors and ranchers connect with each other. Small and mid-sized plants — when available at all — can lack capacity, equipment, appropriate inspection status, and the human and financial capital to upgrade or expand. NMPAN defines niche meats as locally raised, certified organic, grass-fed, raised without hormones or antibiotics, or certified humane.

Visitors to the NMPAN site can find help from NMPAN state affiliates in nearly half of the 50 United States. These affiliates are either in university extension, state departments of agriculture, or similar organizations, and regularly work with small meat processors. State affiliates can provide farmers and ranchers with state-specific answers, hands-on help and contact information for small meat processors in specific states. State affiliate pages also list contact information for state meat processor trade associations and other state nonprofits assisting small meat processors.

The NMPAN site also offers niche meat processor case studies, which include a detailed look inside a variety of niche-oriented meat processors. Some case studies have photos, design drawings and videos. Also available are archived niche meat processor webinars from niche meat experts around the country.

The find a meat processor near you link contains information to help farmers and ranchers find niche meat processors and lists services where processors can upload their information into online databases.

Other resources available include information about business development, workforce management, plant design and construction and mobile slaughter/processing units.

NMPAN is part of eXtension, so many of the links on the site will link to eXtension pages. NMPAN is supported by USDA Rural Development, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Heifer International, National eXtension Initiative, USDA CSREES and the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development.

KYF2 connects the USDA and people working to reinvigorate local and regional food systems. Through online conversations with USDA experts, chats with Deputy Secretary Merrigan and a commitment to understanding what works in local communities, KYF2 is a national conversation between the USDA and anyone involved in sustainable agriculture.

The KYF2 Web site promotes sustainable local and regional food systems that will support small and mid-sized farms and ranches, strengthen rural communities, promote healthy eating and protect natural resources.

The KYF2 homepage has updated sustainable agriculture news, as well as information about upcoming USDA chats and events. It also has links to the USDA's social networking pages, including Facebook and Twitter.

The Ideas and Stories section of the Web site is soliciting ideas and stories about food, agriculture and local and regional food systems from farmers, ranchers and others. Agriculture producers are encouraged to share their stories and ideas by calling, e-mailing, writing or sending video or photos. Submissions are posted to the site.

USDA program information relating to local and regional food systems is available on the KYF2 Web site under the Grants, Loans and Support tab. The Support Local Farmers tab contains information to help farmers make their products available to local consumers, as well as information about USDA loan programs that help small farmers, such as farm storage facility loans and value-added producer grants.

Under the Strengthen Rural Communities tab, agriculture producers can find links to programs that provide funding to ensure that farmers continue to contribute to local economies, take steps to build and preserve critical infrastructure in communities across America and implement new resource conservation measures. Available resources include Community Outreach and Assistance Partnerships and the Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed Loan Program.

The Protect Natural Resources tab contains information for producers who want to improve resource management and lower energy costs in addition to preserve farm and ranch lands and encourage smart growth. Featured resources include the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program.

The Aquaculture Network Information Center was started in 1994 by the former USDA-Extension Service (currently Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service) as one of the nation's first network information centers to serve as hub for electronic aquaculture resources. The site's goals are to provide access to all electronic aquaculture information at the national and international level, increase the quantity and quality of electronic information available to the aquaculture industry, provide self-paced aquaculture instruction to the aquaculture industry and obtain user input in directing AquaNIC services.

On the AquaNIC Web site, users can access species-specific information for aquaculture species such as baitfish, catfish, tilapia, walleye and more. Available information includes free publications, online videos, photos, presentations, Web sites and other resources from AquaNIC and other sources such as universities, Cooperative Extension Service and other groups and organizations.

The AquaNIC Web site also houses information on aquaculture systems, such as cages, ponds, raceways and water reuse. Visitors can also find management information such as aquatic plant management, fertilization and liming, harvest and transport and water quality.

The publications section of the AquaNIC site includes a list of aquaculture publications from several sources, including the national government, National Sea Grant program, local state governments, books, theses and dissertations, newspapers and magazines and newsletters. This section also contains recipes using species raised in aquaculture systems.

The AquaNIC site also has a section for educators, with links for extension agents, including aquatic ecosystems tech tips, temperature, ammonia, oxygen solubility, area and volume conversion calculators and extension publications. There are also links to university aquaculture programs.

Visitors to the AquaNIC site can also register and gain free access to the organization's online discussion boards. Topics range from more than a dozen species to management techniques and system information.

Primary funding of AquaNIC is through the NOAA Sea Grant College Program with secondary support from USDA North Central Regional Aquaculture Center. In-kind support is provided by the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Auburn University's Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture and the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program. Land Grant institutions, Sea Grant Colleges, the USDA Regional Aquaculture Center Program and others with an expertise in aquaculture provide significant oversight and contribute to the resource base.

The Land Link Services Program is an online clearinghouse to connect farmers and ranchers who want land with landowners who have land to offer. Visitors to the site start by obtaining a clearinghouse questionnaire.

The questionnaire identifies if the farmer or rancher needs land or has land to offer, in addition to information about the type of land needed or offered, necessary or available buildings and crop details.
Land Link Services matches farmers or ranchers' interests with the farms and ranches in its database. Once a match is found, beginning farmers or ranches will receive a description of compatible farms along with the landowner's name and address. Users can then contact the landowner directly. As new opportunities arise, they will be sent to users.

For landowners, Land Link offers a way to maintain good stewardship of the land. By matching the characteristics of their farm or ranch with the interests of the farmers or ranchers in its database, it
works to help land stay under the management of family farmers. After a match is found, landowners also receive a copy of the matches' names and addresses.

Once a match is found, Land Link staff provides examples of other successful matches and makes suggestions and referrals based on individual circumstances. There is an initial charge of $20 to become part of the Land Link Clearinghouse data base.

The Web site also offers success stories and case studies.

The Center for Rural Affairs was established in 1973 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit by rural Nebraskans and has since grown to a nationally recognized policy analysis and advocacy organization focused on the upper Midwest and Great Plains. In recent years, the organization's national grassroots base has grown to nearly 30,000 individuals including people in all 50 states. The Center's mission is to establish strong rural communities, social and economic justice, environmental stewardship and genuine opportunity for all while
engaging people in decisions that affect the quality of their lives and the future of their communities.

The Southwest Marketing Network offers a multitude of resources on its Web site, some for farmers and ranchers in the Four Corners area and others appropriate for people across the country.

The group's goal is to ensure that new, existing and prospective Southwest producers - especially small-scale, alternative and minority producers - have the connections with others, technical and financial assistance, marketing information, business and marketing skills and peer examples to improve their marketing success, viability and bottom line.

The Web site offers a Directory of Expertise, a place producers can easily search for experts in the area and around the country who are willing to share advice, experience and more. Also useful for producers is the marketing topics section of the site, which offers extensive text and in-person resources for learning about and expanding marketing options, market development and specific and alternative products. Each category contains resources for within the Four Corners area and beyond.

The Southwest Marketing Network also offers grant writing resources for producers who need guidance in applying for funding. The financing portion of the Web site has links to regional and national sources of grants and financial resources.

Explore the Southwestern Marketing Network Web site for more resources, including producer success stories, local product directories and more.

The Southwest Marketing Network started in 2002 with a three-year grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Food and Society Initiative, along with substantial support from the National Center for Appropriate Technology. Other grants have enabled the Network to continue, especially those from the USDA Risk Management Agency and USDA Western Sustainable Agriculture and Education Program.

HighTunnels.org is a USDA-sponsored project run by a team of researchers, extension specialists, professors, growers, technicians and students collaborating to share experiences and knowledge about high tunnels.

The Web site is a useful resource for growers new to high tunnels and experienced producers with specific questions. It provides training for growers and educators, as well as links to relevant sites around the world so that growers and educators have a one-stop source where they can find information on all aspects of high tunnel construction and use.

High tunnels, or hoophouses, are unheated greenhouses that can help market gardeners extend their growing season so that they can improve the profitability of their farms.

The Educators section of HighTunnels.org offers resources for educators to integrate the concepts of high tunnel technology into their courses. Training modules are available to serve a variety of multi-media and educational niches, including digital images, digital video clips and case studies. Examples of courses include Greenhouse Management, Vegetable Production, Fruit Production, and Floriculture Production.

The Growers section features several articles, presentations, photos, FAQs and more relating to several areas of high tunnels production, including Site Planning and Construction, Warm Season Vegetables & Melons, Cut Flowers, Small Fruits, Marketing & Economics, Grower Innovations and Growers Using High Tunnels.

The Resources section contains links to other Web sites that offer information about disease and insect management, economics and marketing and more. This section also features links to growers who use high tunnels.

The materials available on HighTunnels.org are not copyrighted and are produced with the intention of being free and reproducible.

High Tunnels also hosts a listserv for high tunnel discussion with over 260 subscribers. Recently discussed topics include strawberries, melons, inexpensive heating, poly repair and snakes. Additionally, upcoming workshops and farm tours are frequently advertised on the High Tunnel Listserv. To sign up, visit http://listserv.ksu.edu/web?SUBED1=hightunnels&A=1. To access the high tunnels listserv archives, go to http://listserv.ksu.edu/archives/hightunnels.html

Messages in the archives are organized by subject line by month. There is also a search engine to find specific topics.

Recipes made with fresh, locally grown ingredients taste best. With that in mind, FRESHFARM Markets offers a Market Recipe finder to help you access a variety of recipes that use seasonal and year-round produce. Using the finder, you can search for and provide your customers with recipes that include the recently harvested crops you have in your CSA or at your farmers' market stand.

This season, the database has a list of fall ingredients including apples, pears, herbs, nuts and seeds, beets, carrots, cabbage, squashes, corn and more. To search for recipes using in-season ingredients, check off the fall ingredients you'd like recipes for, and then click search. You can also search by year-round ingredients, such as eggs, milk, cheeses, meats and lettuces, in addition to many others. You can also search for recipes from all seasons using the Quick search feature.

FRESHFARM Markets began as a program in the Public Education Division of American Farmland Trust. In May 2002, it incorporated as an independent, nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., and received 501(c)3 status. In 1997, the first FRESHFARM market opened in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and in 1998, a second market opened in St. Michaels, Md. Recently, FRESHFARM opened a market in front of the White House.

The Center for Rural Affairs works to establish strong rural communities, social and economic justice, environmental stewardship, and genuine opportunity for all while engaging people in decisions that affect the quality of their lives and the future of their communities.

Developed internally, the Ag Library contains resources covering programs and practices that will yield a sustainable agricultural future.

Enhancing opportunity through the building of assets and wealth is the most promising strategy for creating a future for rural communities and their residents. The CFRA's virtual library contains resources developed to champion such strategies.

The Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP) is a program focusing on small business development. REAP consists of four elements including: networking, business management training, credit (micro-loans) and technical assistance.

The CFRA also maintains the Blog for Rural America which keys in on current topics pertaining to rural life. The Center for Rural Affairs' newsletter surveys national events affecting Rural America. Special sections include an in-depth feature article, a section of Corporate Farming Notes, and many short, newsy pieces of general interest.

Beginning Farmers seeks to offer content useful to those interested in a broad range of agricultural practices, but places special emphasis on resources for small farms, organic farming, direct marketing and building local food systems. It is part of an outreach and research project conducted by the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies at Michigan State University.

The Web site is organized into several resource pages, with a focus on providing information to people new to farming. New and prospective farmers can find information about financing through loans and grants, including links to a Plain Language Guide to Applying for a Farm Service Agency (FSA) Loan, a free online publication from Tufts University's New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. The Finding Land page of the Beginning Farmers site has dozens of listings to help beginning farmers find land to farm, including state-by-state listings of Land Link programs.

The Production Resources section of the Web site contains information that will help new farmers, including links to the Vermont Vegetable and Berry page, the New Agriculture Network and more. There is also a section of the Web site that lists free online publications for new farmers. Additional sections of the site include farm business planning, employment and internships, training programs, composting, urban farming, mushroom production, marketing resources, farmers markets, new farmer Web sites, books and articles, magazines and newsletters, policy and activism, research and discussion forums.

Beginning Farmers encourages readers to suggest content, ask questions and participate in discussions by adding comments to posts or by contacting beginningfarmers@gmail.com.

HowToGoOrganic.com offers two pathways to organic certification - one for producers and one for processors.

The Pathway for Producers details the steps toward making the transition to organic. This Pathway takes you on a guided tour of information, events, people and resources available to help you with certification, recordkeeping, sourcing organic products, weed management, new approaches to marketing and more. Users can follow the course or jump to different areas of certification using the following navigation links: Why go organic, is organic for you, starting the transition, getting certified, regulatory issues, managing crops, managing livestock, supplies and services, marketing and finding funding. As you browse, look for stories, quotes and farmer-vetted resources.

The Pathway for Processors guides new or existing processors through the organic certification process. This pathway provides links to other businesses that have gone through certification and a collection of supply and service providers. Users can follow the course or jump to different areas, including: Why go organic, starting an organic business, getting certified, regulatory issues, supplies and services, marketing and sales, production advice, advice by type of operation and advice by product.

HowToGoOrganic.org also includes the North American Directory, a searchable database of thousands of listings related to organic and sustainable farming and processing. You can browse it by selecting a category and subcategory, by selecting a type of resource, by selecting a state or by entering a keyword.

The site also has a U.S. Regional Guide, a collection of events, organizations, Web sites, publications and people in the country. You can browse this guide by state and region.

In addition, the Key Resources section offers relevant and useful resources organized by categories, including crops, livestock, business and marketing, certification or processing and handling.

Vegetable MD Online, a tool developed by the Department of Plant Pathology at Cornell University, is an excellent resource for agriculture producers to access the many vegetable disease fact sheets produced by Cornell.

The Department of Plant Pathology is one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious departments. It has a team of 29 faculty members, over 40 graduate student, and 80-plus staff members who have dedicated their careers to research on filamentous fungi and the interactions of plants with pathogenic and symbiotic microbes.

Vegetable MD Online was developed to provide access to the many Vegetable Disease Fact Sheets produced over the years by Media Services at Cornell. The addition of color photographs enhances the use of these sheets for plant disease diagnosis.

Navigating through this web site is very easy. By clicking on Diseases by Crops on the sidebar, seed packets of your favorite vegetables appear, and by clicking on the crop of interest, a listing of the current fact sheets available is displayed. Magnification of the photos provided in each sheet is possible.

A link is also provided to the Photo Gallery, which provides additional photographs not appearing in the original fact sheet. This will be updated on a regular basis, as the typical symptoms may not always appear every season.

Information in this site is in a constant state of change. Thus reference to the News Articles/Disease Alerts will highlight recent changes in disease management guidelines and options, and also provide news items suitable for newsletter articles intended for Extension Educator's Service Letters.

Finally, additional links to other useful sites are provided, including the Glossary, an online Glossary of Technical Terms in Plant Pathology, and to the Commercial Vegetable Guidelines. The site also features resources in Spanish and a section for herbs.

-- From Vegetable MD Online

FoodRoutes is a national nonprofit dedicated to reintroducing Americans to their food the seeds it grows from, the farmers who produce it and the routes that carry it from the fields to our tables. The FoodRoutes Web site, a project of FoodRoutes Network, provides communications tools, technical support, networking and information resources to organizations nationwide that are working to rebuild local, community-based food systems.

Visitors to the FoodRoutes Web site can find an abundance of tools to develop local food systems through growing, buying local and supporting local food. The site features links to the Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaign, which is run by Food Routes.The available resources includes a listing of chapters and tools to start a Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaign.

Food Routes also offers an extensive library with links to dozens of publications organized under the following areas: local food systems, health and food safety, environmental impacts of food systems, economics of food systems, global food system, food and farm policy, food and society policy fellows, farm to school resources ,farm to college resources, tools for advocates and FoodRoutes publications.

The site also features a News Room with the latest headlines on a variety of food and farming topics and a link to Alan Guebert's column The Final Word. FoodRoutes' Hot Topics page also contains news, publications, event listings, organization listing and more on the following topics: local foods, your food dollar, health and food safety and food and the environment.

Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture, Inc. (MESA) is a non-profit organization that sponsors international farmers to come to the United States for training and cultural exchange with host placements that promote sustainable agriculture. With partners in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America, MESA is promoting land stewardship, place-appropriate production, and cultural awareness throughout the world.

MESA offers training in all ranges of agricultural production, from small-scale sustainable farms to large-scale, specialized production. The program has farms across the continental U.S. and Hawaii, giving participants the opportunity to choose from specific agricultural products.

Special training visas are given to aspiring global farmers. These visas are given to facilitate a "share and learn" experience on behalf of sustainable agriculture. Advisors from various organizations assist MESA in shaping their programs and keeping up with current trends. Once participants, or "stewards," return to their country, they are encouraged to implement a Home Country Project. In this project, the steward combines skills gained through their U.S. training with their unique knowledge of their own communities' needs and aspirations. Past projects include bean production with organic composting in Bolivia, a food security program in Kenya, and raising awareness for sustainability in Sri Lanka. These projects are funded through a Competitive Matching Grants Program, which allows stewards to submit proposals for projects they hope to launch in their communities once they return.

MESA was incorporated in 1994 by Lauren Augusta, after she served as assistant director to a conventional agriculture exchange program. The program has been recognized by U.S. ambassadors, local newspapers, and by a series presented by the BBC.

The Sustainable Agriculture Education Association (SAEA) is a group that promotes and advocates sustainable agriculture education programs at the college level. The association was formed in 2007, with the goal of advancing sustainable agriculture and agroecology in education. The Web site offers a place for students and professionals interested in sustainable agriculture to find resources and connect.

The SAEA Web site provides information on the SAEA National Conference on Facilitating Sustainable Agriculture Education. The conference provides an open exchange of information among students, faculty, student farm managers, farmers, and others involved in sustainable agriculture. SAEA has put on the conference since 2006, and posts reports of past conferences on their Web site.

Also featured on the site is a directory of student farms across the nation and a searchable database of sustainable agriculture materials. The site also lists colleges and universities that offer a sustainable agriculture program. The SAEA promotes a farm-to-institution program to encourage universities to purchase more local and sustainable food.

The SAEA states that their mission is to provide public forums for addressing issues in sustainable agriculture education teaching and learning, to provide opportunities to learn about and develop sustainable agriculture education programs, and to attract talented, bright individuals to teach and work in the field of sustainable agriculture.

The Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture Program Web site is run by the University of Illinois, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. It is a place for the community interested in agriculture, food and sustainability to share resources and ideas. The site gathers links and information from across the Internet and is a place agriculture producers can find featured stories and video directories of food, jobs and internships and student opportunities; a library of agriculture books and links to agriculture blogs and grants.

The ASAP Web site launched in 2007. ASAP's mission is to facilitate and promote research and education, which protects natural and human resources while sustaining agricultural production forever. The program's current focus is to help farmers, students and society at large understand the opportunities for additional economic and ecosystem health with both sustainable and organic approaches.

Visitors to the site can find information about organic agriculture production, including news, education and outreach, resources, marketing, research and organizations that offer additional support. The local foods section of the site features links to recent research about funding local foods programs, among many other resources. The agriculture and environment section features comprehensive designs for a sustainable agriculture system. Under the sustainable education section of the site, producers can find information about upcoming conferences and online resources for practices like cover cropping.

The ASAP site also features current sustainable agriculture news articles and upcoming events. Visitors can also become a member of the site, which allows them to post items, join groups, comment on articles and interact with other members.

Under the Directory tab of the site, ASAP provides links to find  local and sustainable food; jobs, Internships, fellowships and assistantships; a library of agriculture books; interesting blogs; and grants.

This week, in response to a late blight outbreak attacking the northeast United States, ATTRA is featuring OSPUD Participatory Organic Potato Project Web site. This site offers potato producers links to numerous potato resources, including a large section of information to help farmers treat and prevent late blight.

Potato and tomato growers across the nation have been hit early this year by late blight. Late blight is a mold that develops spores on the leaves of the plant. Then the spores spread through the crop in warm, humid conditions. Rain can wash spores into the soil where they infect young tubers, or spores can be blown into fields from miles away by the wind. Late blight is the disease that caused the Irish potato famine of the 1840s. The fungus is not toxic to humans, but the infected potato or tomato is inedible.

The OSPUD Organic Potato Project was started to learn more about the wide variety of management issues facing small organic farmers, including soils, nutrients, insects, diseases, weeds, tuber quality and profitability. It is a collaboration of 11 organic farmers in Oregon and Washington and Oregon State University faculty to improve potato quality and profitability through on-farm, farmer-directed research.

The Web site addresses topics such as management of nitrogen, late blight and insects. It also provides extension publications and links to other organic seed potato resources.

Currently, the late blight is affecting states from South Carolina to Maine and west to Ohio. Late blight can be prevent through fungicide use, but once the plant is infected fungicides cannot cure the disease. Oregon State University has tested some treatments for blight, such as copper products and compost teas. ATTRA also provides a publication on organic alternatives for late blight control in potatoes.

The Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAGE) Center is a non-profit organization based out of Berkeley, CA. SAGE was founded in 2001 by Sibella Kraus, with the primary goal of revitalizing urban edge agriculture.

SAGE has developed Urban Edge AgParks in California. These parks are part working agriculture for small farmers and part parkland for local communities. The parks are self-sustainaining and provide a number of services to the community in the form of education, aesthetic pleasure, and fresh food. The Sunol Water Temple Agricultural Park is an 18 acre park near Oakland, with local farmers as tenants managing the farm. SAGE developed this park as a model for future projects.

SAGE also undertakes public education projects for adults and children, consults for farmers markets and promotes the concept of New Ruralism. New Ruralism is a framework to bridge smart growth, new urbanism and sustainable food and agriculture systems.

SAGE provides consultation, research and project development services in all four of these areas through collaboration with expert partners. Their Web site gives a list of resources for land trusts, organic certification and marketing, small farmer and sustainable agriculture sustainability groups, and Research and Farmer Education Institutions and Programs. They also have produced their own publications on Urban Edge agriculture and New Ruralism.

SAGE is dedicated to linking our food, farms and future through their goals of innovative projects linking urban and rural areas, connecting community health with sustainable agriculture, and linking urban community food security needs with the needs of sustainable family farmers.

The Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC) specializes in identifying resources about sustainable food systems and practices. AFSIC works to ensure a sustainable future for agriculture and farmers worldwide and to advance access to global information for agriculture. AFSIC focuses on topics related to sustainable and alternative agricultural systems, crops and livestock.

AFSIC specializes in library services - locating, accessing, organizing and distributing information - related to many aspects of alternative agriculture. Topics include sustainable and regenerative crop and livestock farming systems; ecological pest management; renewable energy options for farms; direct marketing practices and community food systems; organic production, certification and marketing; family farm and beginning, women and minority farmer issues; and crop and livestock diversification including aquaculture, exotic and heritage farm animals, alternative and specialty fruits and vegetables, herbs and mushrooms, new uses for traditional crops and crops grown for industrial production and value-added enterprises and agritourism.

The AFSIC Web site has an extensive search function and can be browsed by subject or topic. Publications, Web sites, research and fact sheets are just a few of the resources AFSIC offers.

Organic Roots, an AFSIC project to compile an electronic collection of pre-1942 USDA publications about organic agriculture, is also available from the site. There are almost 200 documents in the collection, all published before synthetic chemicals became widely used. The publications contain state-of-the-art information and data that is still very pertinent for today's agriculture. Access to this data is intended to provide growers with new ideas on crop production without chemicals, as well as help researchers conserve scarce resources by avoiding unintended duplication.

AFSIC, founded in 1985, is an integral part of the National Agricultural Library (NAL) in Beltsville, Md. The Center was initiated by NAL librarian Jayne MacLean and funded in part by USDA's Low-input Sustainable Agriculture (LISA) Program. The LISA program became the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program in the late 1980s. AFSIC was one of the first USDA programs to focus on sustainable and organic agriculture and produced many ground-breaking bibliographies and related reference guides that enabled researchers, educators and producers to access previously difficult-to-find international research, literature and expertise.

AFSIC was an early participant in the Internet, presenting its services and publications on the NAL Bulletin Board (BBS); Gopher and World Wide Web. An oral history project was started in 1990; several videotaped interviews with sustainable agriculture pioneers were completed including ones with Robert Rodale and Garth Youngberg. AFSIC staff also worked, and continues to work, to provide the National Agricultural Library with one of the best collections of alternative and sustainable agriculture research materials in the world.

The Center continues to receive support from the SARE program. It also works with a cooperative agreement with the University of Maryland's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. AFSIC and the National Agricultural Library are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

The Environmental Law and Policy Center is a nonprofit, environmental and eco-business advocacy group. They are based in the Midwest and have state-specific information for Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Ohio. However, much of their information can be applied across the nation. The ELPC is made up of public interest attorneys, MBA financial analysts, public policy advocates and communications specialists, who are self-described "public interest environmental entrepreneurs."

The ELPC Web site covers environmental issues like global warming and protecting natural places. The Web site also discusses clean energy options, such as energy efficiency and farm energy. Their FarmEnergy Web site features many types of rural energy, such as solar, wind and biofuels, as well as detailing the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). REAP is a USDA program that awards grants and loan guarantees to eligible agricultural producers and rural small businesses for energy efficiency improvements or renewable energy systems.

Growing eco-businesses is a concept promoted by the ELPC. They discuss options such as green restaurants and green architecture. They also advocate advancing smart transportation and the preservation of aquatic areas.

The ELPC provides key legal and technical resources to local environmental groups through a combination of legal representation, economic analysis and public policy research. They have offices in Chicago; Des Moines, Iowa; Cleveland; Springfield, Ill.; Madison, Wis.; Jamestown, N. D.; and Sioux Falls, S. D.

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots, national group dedicated to shaping federal agriculture policy. The NSAC, established in 1988, is made up of farm, rural development and conservation groups organized to support small and mid-size family farms, protect natural resources, promote healthy rural communities and provide nutritious and healthy food to consumers.

Legislation influenced by NSAC is featured on their Web site. NSAC has been involved with the Farm Bill passed by Congress for the last four years. NSAC also represents its members in the annual appropriations of Congress, and the Web site guides visitors in how to communicate with congressional representatives and senators.

NSAC presents a guide to the Farm Bill, and also their agenda for the 2007-2008 Farm Bill. Their No Time for Delay: A Sustainable Agriculture Agenda for the 2007-2008 Farm Bill outlines ideas for farming opportunities and fair competition, commodity program reform, conservation issues, marketing and rural development and research, among other topics.

The NSAC blog gives a weekly update of the coalition's actions and U.S. Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency news. Some topics covered include the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Organic Initiative and their work on the Climate Change Bill.

Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) is a partnership between the University of Minnesota's College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, University of Minnesota Extension and the Sustainers' Coalition, a group of individuals and community-based nonprofit organizations. MISA was established in 1991.

The MISA Web site features Ask MISA, which allows visitors to submit a question on any topic related to sustainable agriculture. Jane Jewett, the Ask MISA coordinator, will find information and respond to questions within one week.

MISA's Information Exchange program is a clearinghouse of sustainable agriculture information in electronic form. Development of Information Exchange educational materials is a collaborative effort. Input from farmers, researchers and community groups is used at all stages of development - to identify topics and project team members; and to write, review and disseminate materials. Available publications include a Farm-to-School Toolkit, Marketing Local Food and Resources for Beginning Farmers: Building a Sustainable Future

One of MISA's most popular publications, Local Food: Where to Find It, How to Buy It, is also available. The 30-page booklet was developed for consumers who are interested in supporting rural communities by buying locally grown food, but don't know how to begin. It can be downloaded at no cost.

The Farming Systems and Practices section of the Web site highlights sustainable farm practices and ways farm families can achieve the balance of economic, environmental and quality of life benefits that mark a sustainable system.

Some basic skills and practices covered include business planning, crops and livestock, marketing, local food and organics.

Through its research, education and outreach programs, the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems works to create agriculture and food systems that sustain both human communities and the environments in which they live. The growing public and academic interest in sustainable agriculture, organic food, resource-conserving farming techniques and issues of social justice underscores the need for the type of work conducted by Center staff, faculty and students.

Online, the Center features many publications for researchers, farmers, students, educators and home gardeners. Publications include research briefs, organic and crop-specific information, a series on sustainable agriculture and a 312-page PDF titled Teaching Direct Marketing and Small Farm Viability.

Other publications featured on the Center's Web site include The Cultivar, a twice-yearly newsletter that reports on research and activities of the Center and includes updates on sustainable agriculture topics, literature reviews, a calendar section and gardening information. The publications section also has information on ordering Fresh from the Farm & Garden: Seasonal Recipes for Busy Cooks - Volume 2, which includes more than 150 pages of straightforward recipes, cooking tips and information on crops from apples to yams; and Rose Primer: An Organic Approach to Rose Selection and Care, which describes steps for choosing, planting, pruning and caring for roses using organic soil care, pest and disease control techniques.

The Center's education work serves audiences ranging from farmers and ranchers to graduate students who use the Center's facilities for their field work. Through conferences, workshops and publications, the Center reaches academics, researchers, students and the general public with information about sustainable agriculture and food systems. Resources include the manuals Teaching Organic Farming & Gardening: Resources for Instructors, Teaching Direct Marketing and Small Farm Viability and Exploring Sustainability in Agriculture.

The Center's Web site also features information about its Farm to College program, with food systems links that are valuable to producers across the country, and community outreach information for local California residents.

LocalHarvest was founded in 1998 and is one of the top places on the Internet where people find information about direct-marketing family farms. LocalHarvest's headquarters are in Santa Cruz, Calif., and the organization was founded by Guillermo Payet, a software engineer and activist dedicated to generating positive social change through the Internet.

Producers can use LocalHarvest to list their local farm, CSA or farmers' market in the Web site's searchable database. Visitors to the site can search for farms, CSAs and other ways to access local food in their area. The site has about 17,000 members and grows by about 20 members every day. LocalHarvest and its partners serve about 3.5 million page views per month to the public interested in buying food from family farms.

Forums on Local Harvest's Web site cover a broad range of topics, including CSAs; farmers' markets; restaurants; farms and farming; and livestock. An events calendar helps users find festivals, tours, workshops, field days, courses and many other kinds of food and farming-related events in their area. The monthly newsletter provides updates about developments in the area of local foods and recipes with in-season ingredients.

The LocalHarvest site also hosts the Blog Barn, a gathering of LocalHarvest member blogs; and the LocalHarvest Store, which makes the products of family farmers available online and currently offers 6,141 products.

This site was initiated by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NE-SARE) program awarded to a collaborative group of experts from University of Vermont Extension, Cornell University Department of Horticulture and Clean Air-Cool Planet.

Climate and Farming.org is an effort to help individuals, organizations, institutions and communities involved in agriculture avoid the worst that climate change could mean, and successfully cope with potential changes.

The Web site provides a comprehensive set of resource materials to help farmers, educators and others learn about how climate change can effect their operations, communities and livelihoods.

With resources from more than 10 contributors, Climate and Farming.org provides downloadable fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations, case studies and other resources on three broad topics.

Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change includes an overview of climate science and indicators of climate change in the Northeast. Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture covers how climate change affects crops, livestock, weeds, pests and pathogens and Energy, Greenhouse Gases and Farming includes cost-effective strategies for farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enter the renewable energy marketplace.

A sample of the resources available include a fact sheet and PowerPoint presentation about dealing with heat stress in cattle and a case study about on-farm biodiesel production from waste vegetable oil.

Climate and Farming.org provides materials free of charge and encourages educators to incorporate the information into educational programs.

The site also features links to resources on other topics, including Climate Science and Evidence of Climate Change; Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture; and Energy, Greenhouse Gases, Biofuels and Farming.

The Kerr Center was founded in 1985 as a nonprofit dedicated to helping develop sustainable food and farming systems. The organization strives to support economically, ecologically and environmentally sound farms to enhance the quality of life for farm families, rural residents and society as a whole; promote markets made up of independently owned and operated farms; encourage communities to protect land from misuse; and proclaim the need for a culture that respects the earth and all of its diversity of life.

On its Web site, the Kerr Center offers dozens of free sustainable agriculture publications, with a focus on general sustainable agriculture practices; farming, ranching, marketing and alternative income; and public policy and rural development.

The Kerr Center Web site also has a robust community and local foods section highlighting the benefits of locally produced foods and goods. Field Notes, the Kerr Center's free quarterly newsletter, is also available. It is sent to subscribers across Oklahoma, the United States and beyond to distant parts of the globe.

The Web site also links to the Stewardship Ranch, a demonstration farm and ranch on 285 acres adjacent to the Kerr Center office. Resources on the ranch's Web site include information about management-intensive grazing methods, the Kerr Center meat goat program, pastured poultry, horticultureprojects, agroforestry and riparian projects and more.

The main Kerr Center Web site also links to the Overstreet-Kerr Historical Farm, a 140-acre farm and two-story home open to the public. The farm's Web site features information about livestock breeds conservancy for rare breeds such as Pineywoods attle, Choctaw Ponies and endangered poultry such as the Brown Leghorn and Dominique chicken. The site also has information about antique farm equipment and the Wallace Zieschang Memorial orchard, with heirloom varieties of fruit.