Andy
Larson has been researching organics and knows where growers can
get some information—for beginning growers, those with experience
and anyone who is interested in learning more.
Four of these sources
come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
•
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA)—Larson
said it’s the most popular amongst those involved with organics.
He called it a one-stop shop for informational bulletins on organic
and sustainable agriculture—from A to Z. Visit www.attra.org.
• Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC)—This
is a first step for those looking for information. Larson said it
contains bibliographies, resources and links that lead to more information.
Here, he said, is where he would start to get pointed somewhere
else. Visit www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/.
• Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program—This
is useful for its print publications, Larson said. It offers a book
list and other resources. SARE also offers funding and grant opportunities.
Larson said SARE is the way that grant monies from USDA get filtered
to sustainable and alternative farmers. Visit www.sare.org.
• Economic Research Service (ERS)—Though not specifically
organic or sustainable information, ERS offers a briefing room on
organic farming and marketing and offers data on the organic market.
Larson said it has hard numbers that show the changes in the industry.
Visit www.ers.usda.gov.
Other sources are not
sponsored by the USDA:
• The New Farm—New
Farm is put out by the Rodale Institute, which does a lot of its
own research on a variety of crops from row crops to smaller scale
horticultural crops, Larson said. It is a varied resource that
offers a forum for growers to communicate with one another.
o New
Farm also features a bookstore and a twice-a-month newsletter.
Larson said New Farm makes it easy for growers to participate
in the governmental process by offering information on how to
communicate with individual congressional representatives. New
Farm also offers a farm locator that is a fairly new addition.
Larson said these kinds of farm and food finders have blossomed
on the Internet in the last four to six months. Growers register
on this Web site with their contact information and information
on their crops, and anyone in the country who visits the New Farm
Web site can find that grower. Visit www.newfarm.com.
Because a lot of Larson’s
work is focused in Illinois, many of the resources he has to offer
are also Illinois-based. But some of them can be useful to growers
across the country.
•
Agroecology/Sustainable Agriculture Program (ASAP)—Run by
Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant and Dan Anderson, of the University of Illinois,
this program offers resources that can be utilized by those across
all organic growing regions. Like AFSIC, Larson said this is a good
place to start. Visit www.aces.uiuc.edu/~asap/.
• Market Maker—As an intern last summer, Larson worked
with the University of Illinois Extension in Rock County. People
there were developing Market Maker, an interactive tool that users
can use to find a specific demographic area in the state of Illinois.
For example, Larson said, if someone wanted to market their organic
dairy products to people under 18 years of age, they could use Market
Maker to find areas in the state where there are large concentrations
of people in that age group. Market Maker used Census 2000 data.
Among the demographics that can be searched are age, income, ethnicity,
education, foreign born and household type. Market Maker also can
locate suppliers, processors, wholesalers, retailers and farmers’
markets in Illinois. Visit www.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/.
Larson said that other
good sources of information come from grower organizations, trade
publications and Extension/industry group workshops.
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