ADJUST YOUR VISION AT THE
ANNUAL MEETING

John Ikerd believes that the future of farming depends on a fundamentally different vision. When he spoke last February at the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society’s Winter Conference, he quoted Reverend Jesse Jackson, “ If you can conceive it and believe it, then you can achieve it.” Then Dr. Ikerd added, “The future of rural America belongs to those with the courage to seize it.”

This winter John brings his message to the Practical Farmers of Iowa as keynote speaker at our Annual Meeting on Saturday, January 15, 2000. He’s entitled his address “The New American Farmer.”

But there’s nothing new about John Ikerd’s commitment to American farms, especially sustainable ones. “My definition of sustainable agriculture...meeting our needs today, leaving equal or better options for the future.” Raised on a small dairy farm in southwest Missouri, he was educated at the University of Missouri with BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics. He has worked with Extension agricultural economics at North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, and the University of Georgia. In 1989 he returned to the University of Missouri, under a cooperative agreement with USDA, to provide state and national leadership for research and education related to sustainable agriculture. He is currently wrapping up duties as State Co-coordinator of the Sustainable Agriculture Professional Development Program for Missouri.

John joins the PFI Annual Meeting on the cusp of retirement, a milestone that can undoubtedly affect anyone’s outlook. We welcome his, knowing that it will be “focused on challenging the current industrial/ economic food system and developing a positive vision for sustaining a desirable quality of farm life.”

Abundant Workshop Choices

As we go to press, not all of the workshop details are nailed down. But the puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place and we think we have enough of the big picture to lure you to Ames in January. Here’s a preview of some of the concurrent sessions you’ll have to choose from.

Many PFI members know Dr. Kathleen Delate, ISU’s Assistant Professor of Horticulture and Agronomy, Organics Specialist. She’ll co-present with PFI member Jim Boes of Heartland Organic Marketing Co-op in Greenfield, Iowa. They’ve entitled their session “Update on Organics, ISU Research, Certification, and Markets.”

I N  T H I S  I S S U E     

1 Annual Meeting Program

6 Sustainable Ag Award to Honeyman

6 Child Care Options

8 Conference Help Wanted

8 Endowed Fund & Membership

9 Notes and Notices

10 Stock Up for Winter Reading

11 A Century of Farming
   — Rick Exner

12 The Editor Muses
   — Nan Bonfils

12 Over the Back Fence
   — Nan Bonfils

13 Trials and Field Days in Review
   — Rick Exner

14 Field to Family Project
   — Robert Karp

14 Local Food Systems
   — Gary Huber

16 Summer Field Days Out & About
   — Rick Exner

18 Audubon County Family Farms
   — Cindy and Vic Madsen

18 Summer Interns
   — Lorna Wilson
   — Mike Leichty

19 PFI Sustainable Projects Proposal Form

22 PFI on the Internet
   — Rick Exner

23 1998 On-Farm Trials, Part IV
   — Multiple-Treatment Varieties
   — Fertility Trials
   — What About Hogs?

27 Rollin’ the Cob: The Role of Extension

30 Getting to “Zero” with GMO’S
   — Rick Exner

31 Global Warming
   — Robert Hogg

32 Footprints: Pigs without Pesticides
   — Tom Frantzen

34 Bits of Sustenance
   — For Your Consideration
         — Jan Libbey, Kanawha
   — Watching Pigs at Armstrong
         — Vic Madsen
   — Checking Fields, a poem

30 PFI Representatives and
     How to Join!

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(Winter Meeting Continued)