1995-2000 Seminars and Events

2001 Sunset Review

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
1995
Date Speaker Title
January 21, 1995 Field Trip Seed Savers Exchange and the Institute for Biodiversity
January 25, 1995 Steve Taff An Overview of Commodity Support Programs
March 9, 1995 Pierre Robert Precision Farming: Is it Sustainable?
May 22, 1995 George Boody Land Stewardship Program:The Biological, Financial and Social Monitoring of Grazing Systems Projects 
May 31, 1995 Ralph Lentz and Harlen Anderson Big is Better? Two Farmers' Perspectives on Farm Size
June 28, 1995 Glenn McDonald Perspectives on Sustainable Agriculture in Australia
October 27, 1995 Lucy Steinkamp Marketing a Niche Product: Ewscream Ice Cream
November 9, 1995 Lisa Sass Zaragoza Issues of Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers
November 9, 1995 Robert McKinnell Frogs and the Environment
1996
February 1, 1996 Tom Wegner, Hennepin County Extension Educator Farmland Conversion in the Metro Area: Where's the Farmland Gone?
February 15, 1996 George Boody, Land Stewardship Project Holistic Resource Management
February 29, 1996 Jim Bender Book: Future Harvest
March 17, 1996 Lisa Gulbranson The Ins and Outs of the Organic Certification Process
April 25, 1996 Brian DeVore, Land Stewardship Project The Cost of Urban Sprawl
November 21, 1996 Judy Helgen and Bob McKennell Frogs and the Environment
1997
February 5, 1997 Barb Wingen and Lori Pommerenke Student Internship Presentation: Study on Agriculture Natural Resources Management Integration in the Waseca Area, Barb Wingen, for CINRAM (Wingen) and Internship Experience on Five Family Farms in West Central Minnesota and the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota (Pommerenke).
February 10, 1997 Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, Headwaters International, Organic Farmer from Chiapas, Mexico Organic Coffee Growing Techniques Using Communal Lands and Techniques, and Organic Coffee Marketing
February 11, 1997 Joel Salatin Pastured Poultry and Saladbar Beef
February 19, 1997 Mark Ritchie, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy History of Farm Program/Conservation Interaction and Today's Agriculture Policies
March 19, 1997 Peter Seim, undergraduate student, University of Minnesota, and John Westra, Graduate Student, University of Minnesota. Internship Experience at Natural Harvest CSA in Stillwater, Minnesota, and their role in a new land development(Peter Seim). Market Potential for Chemical-free, Naturally-raised Beef in Northeastern Minnesota, a Survey done for the Sustainable Farming Association of Northeastern Minnesota.
April 2, 1997 Linda Noble, sustainable hog production system farmer, Kenyon, Minnesota Linda's Happy Hogs
April 10, 1997 William Lockertz American in the Thirties in Pictures, Songs and Words
April 15, 1997 Representatives from the Land Stewardship Project, Red Cardinal Farm and other CSAs, Sustainable Farming Association, and individual farmers Internships in Sustainable Agriculture
April 16, 1997 Renay Leone, Minnesota Land Trust The Minnesota Land Trust, a discussion of its role, tools and projects, including sustainable agriculture development patterns
April 30, 1997 Dr. R. Ford Denison, University of California, Davis Science and Sustainability at LTRAS, The World's Youngest 100-Year Experiment
May 7, 1997 James Dontje Internship Experience at the rotational grazing dairy operation of Dave and Florence Minar, New Prague, Minnesota
May 21, 1997 Lisa Sass-Zaragosa and trip participants Experiences of Migrant Farm Workers on the South Texas/Mexico Border
June 4, 1997 Amy Bacigalupo, Paul Wyman, Land Stewardship Project Student Internship Presentation: A Way and a Why: Measuring Quality of Life and Relationship with Rural Community (Bacigalupo) Partnerships and Working Toward Consensus (Wymar)
October 24, 1997 Photo Exhibit, Reception and Panel Discussion: Mary Doerr, Dairy Goat Farmer and Cheese Processor; Dancing Winds Farm, Linda Noble, Non-confinement Hog Production; Mary Ellen Frame, Organic Vegetable and Herb Production for Farmers' Markets; and Laurie Hougen-Eitzman, Big Woods Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmer Getting Down to Earth: Images of Women Farmers
November 4, 1997 Eric Hoeft, Graduate Student, Agronomy Student Internship Presentation: Flame Weeding in Chemical-Free Horticultural Systems
November 18, 1997 Jean-Luc Jannink, Graduate Student, Agronomy Student Internship Presentation: Whole Farm Planning from a Farmer's Perspective
December 2, 1997 Lee DeHaan, Graduate Student, Agronomy Student Internship Presentation: Studying Land Transfer Patterns with Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
1998
January 13, 1998 Carmen Fernholz, Endowed Chair in Agriculture Systems and organic farmer Visioning the Rural Landscape 
Attendees: 30
January 20, 1998 Members of the Farmworker Action Network (FAN), a student/community group coordinated by Yectli Huerta, Jesus Bernal and Linda Alvarez Migrant Farmworkers in Sustainable Agriculture, Part I, Strawberry Worker Organizing 
Attendees: 20
January 27, 1998 Members of the Farmworker Action Network (FAN), a student/community group coordinated by Yectli Huerta, Jesus Bernal and Linda Alvarez Migrant Farmworkers in Sustainable Agriculture, Part II, Strawberry Worker Organizing 
Attendees: 15
February 3, 1998 Members of the Farmworker Action Network (FAN), a student/community group coordinated by Yectli Huerta, Jesus Bernal and Linda Alvarez Migrant Farmworkers in Sustainable Agriculture, Part II, Strawberry Worker Organizing 
Attendees: 15
February 10, 1998   Political Ecology and Sustainable Agriculture, Part I Liberation Ecology: Development, Sustainability and Environment in an Age of Market Triumphalism
February 10, 1998 Joel Wainwright, Graduate Student, Geography and Dana Blumenthal, Graduate Student, Agronomy Politcal Ecology and Sustainable Agriculture, Part I 
Attendees: 10
February 17, 1998 Joel Wainwright, Graduate Student, Geography, and Dana Blumenthal, Graduate Student, Agronomy Political Ecology and Sustainable Agriculture, Part II 
Attendees: 10
February 24, 1998   Qualitative and Participatory Research for Sustainability, Part I 
Attendees: 12
March 3, 1998 Pat Duncanson, Southwest Minnesota corn/beans farmer, Phil Arnold, garlic farmer in Central Minnesota, and Carl Rosen, Soil Fertility Researcher at the University of Minnesota Qualitative and Participatory Research for Sustainability, Part II 
Attendees: 18
March 10, 1998 Jan Joannides from the Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM) Qualitative and Participatory Research for Sustainability, Part III
April 15, 1998 Tomas Hansmeyer, Department of Soil, Water and Climate Student Internship Presentation: Exploring Agricultural Opportunities in Central Minnesota: A Field Tour and Discussion 
Attendees: 18
April 22, 1998 Dominic D. Ackerman, Department of Forest Resources Student Internship Presentation: Sips of Coffee and Shoots of Vetiver - Promoting Soil Conservation as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica
April 29, 1998 Stephanie Lundeen Environmental Education, College of Natural Resources Student Internship Presentation: Sustainable Agriculture Education and Outreach in an Ecuadorian Quichua Community
May 6, 1998 Ruth Dill-Macky, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota Scab and its niche in the Red River Valley
June 1, 1998 Nick Jordan, concerned citizens Crisis in the Red River Valley: A dialogue with farmers and other citizens from the Valley.
October 7, 1998 Betsy Barnum, Great River Earth Institute Some Practical and Ethical Considerations of Sustainability and Deep Ecology
October 10, 1998 Kathryn Gilje, IATP World Food Day A Live Teleconference: Food for All: Right or Goal?
October 14, 1998 Emily Pullins Borders, Boundaries, Biotech, and Breeding: A conceptual overview of links made between Biotechnology and Colonialism
October 21, 1998 Emily Pullins, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics Borders, Boundaries, Biotech and Breeding: A conceptual overview of links made between Biotechnology and Colonialism
October 21, 1998 Dr. Sharon Danes, Associate Professor, Family Social Science Department, College of Human Ecology The Times They Are A' Changin', Minnesota Farm Women 1988-1995 
Attendees: 32
October 28, 1998 Panel Discussion with Ann Brennan, Whole Foods Market, Elizabeth Archer, The Wedge Natural Food Co-Op, and Barbara Duff, Organic Alliance Natural Foods and You: Implications of Natural Food Sales in Co-ops, Publicly Owned Natural Foods, and Conventional Food Stores 
Attendees:18
November 4, 1998 Carolyn Lane, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics Topical Discussion: Exploration of Possible Collaboration with Cuban Sustainable Agriculture Organizations
November 11, 1998 Erin Lees, School of Public Health Student Internship Presentation: Surface Water and Irrigation: A Threat to Public Health?
November 18, 1998 Caroline Scully Student Internship Presentation: Using Oxen for Market Gardening at Howell Living History Farm
December 2, 1998 Jennifer Callahan, Graduate Student, Philosophy Student Internship Presentation: Consumption and Civic Virtue: Some Thoughts on the Moral Status of Sustainability
December 3, 1998 Rose Beddington Rural People, Rural Lives: A Slide Presentation on Lincolnshire, England.
December 9, 1998 Julie Grossman, Graduate Student, Agronomy and Plant Genetics Student Internship Presentation: Cover Crop Use by Campesino Farmers in Honduras, Central America
1999
January 6, 1999 Film produced by BBC, contact Sheri Huerd Assault on the Male
January 13, 1999 Jan O'Donnell, Executive Director, Minnesota Food Association, delegate with the Sustainable Marketing Eurotour organized by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) Overview Marketing and Sustainable and Organic Products in Europe 
Attendees: 18
January 20, 1999 Kathryn Gilje, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Marketing of Sustainable Agriculture; A Focus on Eco- and Social Labeling in the Food System 
Attendees: 25
January 20, 1999 Steve Light Building Adaptive Capacity: The Hero's Journey
January 27, 1999 Panel Discussion, MAST (Minnesota Agricultural Student Trainees) students from several different countries Around the World in an Hour: Perspectives on Sustainable Agriculture in Other Countries 
Attendees: 8
February 3, 1999 Julie Grossman, Graduate Student, Agronomy and Plant Genetics Cover Crop Use by Campesino Farmers in Honduras, Central America, Student Internship Presentation
February 10, 1999 Steve Hiniker Student Internship Presentation: Making the Transition from Conventional to Sustainable Agriculture
February 10, 1999 George Boody Restoring Biodiversity and Resilience in Farming: Holistic Approaches
February 11, 1999 Gary Grant, Farmer The Struggle for Forty Acres and a Mule: Black Farmers Fight Government Discrimination 
Attendees: 60
February 17, 1999 Dr. James Orf, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics Seeds - One Year and Out? 
Attendees: 32
February 24, 1999 Rachel Gawson Can Soil Test Phosphorus Predict Bioavailable Phosphorus in Runoff from Highly Manured Soils?
March 3, 1999 Joel Wainwright, Geography, and MacArthur Scholar Lands in Transition: The Political Ecology of Agriculture in Post-Apartheid South Africa and Post-'Socialist' Ethopia 
Attendees: 26
March 10, 1999 Keith Wendt, Clarence Turner and Laura Preus A Systems Approach to Using Indicators and Other Tools for Natural Resource Management
March 31, 1999 Paul Porter, Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, Southwest Research and Outreach Center, Lamberton The Organic Conversion Project: Organic Research Efforts in Southwest Minnesota
April 7, 1999 Joel Wainwright, MacArthur Scholar and Graduate Student, Geography Sustainable Capitalist Agriculture: Is It Possible?
April 14, 1999 Mark Ritchie, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) GATT, Agricultural Trade, and the Farm Crisis
April 21, 1999 Lynn Carpenter Boggs, USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Morris Fertilizers, Tillage and Unsustainable Microbial Activity: A Discussion of Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in Minnesota Soils 
Attendees:15
May 5, 1999 Lori Pommeranke, Ph.D. Student, Conservation Biology Agriculture in the Woods: Ideas from Foraging Practices of Northeastern Thai Villagers
May 12, 1999 Robert Herling, Senior Student, College of Natural Resources A Survey of Successful Mechanical Weed Control in Minnesota
May 19, 1999 G. Edward Schuh, Professor, Hubert Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs World Markets and the World Bank: The Sustainability of U.S. Agricultural Exports 
Attendees: 25
May 26, 1999 Jack Kloppenberg, Associate Professor, Rural Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison From Food System to Foodshed: Eating for Sustainability in the 21st Century
July 28, 1999 Leo Joosten Payments to Farmers: Tools for Transition
September 10, 1999 Dr. E. Ann Clark, Associate Professor, Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Ontario Agriculture as a Positive Environmental Influence 
Attendees: 25
October 7, 1999 Dr. Luis Garcia Barrios Problems Present in Marginal Indigenous Agricultural/Forestry Systems in the Chiapas Highlands 
Attendees: 35
October 13, 1999 Kristin Corselius, Agronomy Student Internship Presentation: Food with a Face - Building Urban and Rural Ties 
Attendees: 20
October 20, 1999 Emily Pullins, Agronomy Student Internship Presentation: Is She Sustainable?
October 27, 1999 Kristen Nelson, Department of Forest Resources and Fisheries and Wildlife Struggling Toward Sustainability: Participatory Science and Sustainable Development in Mexico 
Attendees: 25
November 3, 1999 Perry Aasnes, Assistant Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Federal Dairy Policy and Its Impact on Minnesota Dairy Farmers 
Attendees: 20
November 10, 1999 Tom Walsh, Intern, and Gabriela Flora, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) Student Internship Presentation: Public Perceptions of Genomic Technology 
Attendees:35
November 17, 1999 Julie Grossman, Agronomy What You Should Know About Your Joe: Organic Coffee Production in Chiapas, Mexico 
Attendees: 35
November 18, 1999 Jan Diek van Mansfeldt Checklist for Sustainable Landscape Management
December 1, 1999 Ray Kirsch and Emily Pullins, Agronomy Sustainable Agriculture and Biotechnology: Report from the 11th Annual NABC Conference 
Attendees: 22
December 8, 1999 Kindi Harla and Brenda DeMarco Student Internship Presentation: Growing Up in a Garden 
Attendees: 27
December 15, 1999 Phil Rice Computer Simulations of Agricultural
2000
January 26, 2000 Joel Wainwright Introduction to the WTO and the Seattle Protests 
Attendees: 23
February 2, 2000 Kristin Mercer The World Trade Organization, Part II. How Can the WTO Affect Agriculture? 
Attendees: 28
February 9, 2000 Dick Levins U.S. Farm Policy and Family Farming 
Attendees: 42
February 16, 2000 Karen Lehman and Julie Ristau From Sustainable Agriculture to Sustainable Food Systems 
Attendees: 28
February 23, 2000 Jan Flora Natural Resource Management in the Northern Andes of Ecuador and in Minnesota: Advocacy Colitions and Decision Making. 
Attendees: 27
March 1, 2000 Cornelia Flora Farm Community Partnerships for Sustainability 
Attendees: 24
March 3, 2000 PCUN Sweatshops in the Field 
Attendees: 30
March 8, 2000 Paul Wymar & Amy Bacigalupo Farming Sustainably: Lessons and Challenges from Farmers in Paraguay. 
Attendees: 28
March 15, 2000 Carolyn Carr Patents, Agricultural Biotechnology and Public Interest at the University of Minnesota. 
Attendees: 26
March 22, 2000 Gunner Liden and Perdita Butler Youth Farm: Developing Strong Communities through Youth and Gardens 
Attendees: 12
April 5, 2000 Eric Streed Can Growing Hybrid Poplar Fit in with the Sustainable Agriculture Movement? 
Attendees: 20
April 12, 2000 Carmen Fernholz and William Cochrane, also panel discussion The New Language of Farm Policy: Engaging Consumers, Labor, Environmentalists and Farmers in Shaping the Future of Food and Agricultural Systems 
Attendees: 250
April 18, 2000 Cornelia Flora, Jim Ennis, Thomas Blaha, and panel discussion Demand-driven Agriculture: Value-added Labeling & Quality Assurance 
Attendees: 30
April 26, 2000 Karin Matchett An Evening of Cinema and Discussion on the WTO
April 28, 2000 25 individual speakers Enhanced Landscape, Human and Animal Health Symposium 
Attendees: 125
May 5, 2000 Dana Blumenthal The New Immigrant Agriculture Project: an Intern's View.
9/13 WUSA Planning Mtg. (408 Hayes) Open Meeting -- Food will be provided.
9/20 Ted Radcliffe Biological Control of Potato Aphids: Commercial production is more dependent upon intensive use of pesticides than any other crop grown in Minnesota. That not withstanding, control of green peach aphid, the most important potato insect pest, is only possible if its natural enemies are preserved. Across North America, recent pest management crises are forcing a rethinking of approaches to potato pest management.
9/27 Nick Jordan Agroecology of Mutualism Between Plants and Mycorrhizal Fungi: The development and maintenance of ecological partnerships appears to be a fundamental strategy of agroecological restoration. Mutualisms between plants and mycorrhizal fungi may provide a paradigm of such partnerships. Specifically, the fungi may serve to integrate plant biodiversity on farms into ensembles that provide important ecological benefits to farms and surrounding landscapes.
10/4 Dennis Johnson Grazing Dairy Cattle in Minnesota: A discussion focused on the challenges faced by dairy farmers in grazing dairy cattle in Minnesota.
10/11 Kristin Mercer & Joel Wainwright From Intercropping to Innoculum Production or Pasture and Forage Research in Cuba: Kristin Mercer and Joel Wainwright will discuss their internship experience working with the Research Institute for Pastures and Forages (IIPF) in Cuba. They will be discussing their experiences at various research stations throughout the country, impressions of the use of agroecology in IIPF research, and agricultural politics in Cuba.
10/18 Craig Hassel, Paul Red Elk & Sally Auger Preserving Biological and Cultural Diversity - The Dream of Wild Health Network: This seminar offers a Native American perspective of sustainable agriculture. The Network hopes to preserve culture and improve human health through gathering indigenous crop, medicinal and tobacco seeds and knowledge of their traditional uses from elders throughout the upper Midwest and southern Canada. Paul will share photographs of the plants and describe opportunities for research and student involvement.
10/25 Lynn Mader "From Land to Mouth" Making the Link Between Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture: Lynn will present on her summer internship work, with The Land Stewardship Project in the Southwest Minnesota office, and her work exploring and strengthening the connections between nutrition and sustainable agriculture in research and in practice. This will include her experience raising community awareness and support for sustainable agriculture through a local foods banquet the "Sumptuous Sustainable Supper." Additionally she will discuss her pursuit of information on nutritional and health implications of sustainable livestock systems.
11/1 Ann Lewandowski Climate Change, Agriculture, and Conservation: A variety of agricultural practices contribute to the greenhouse gases that appear to be causing global climate change. In turn, changes in patterns of precipitation, temperature, and extreme weather will affect the productivity of agriculture. Agriculture is a unique industry in that it can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by increasing the amount of carbon stored in soil. This presentation is an introduction to the science and the politics of the issue, and the potential of agriculture to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
11/8 Linda Kinkel The Use of Green Manures to Enhance Indigenous Antagonists and Control Plant Diseases: In the seminar, I will describe our research on the effects of different green manure species on the densities and antibiotic activities of indigenous pathogen antagonists in a variety of soils. I will also present data on the effects of green manures on root disease, and on the effects of antibiotic-producing soil borne antagonists on both disease and plant pathogen populations. Our goal is the development of an integrated, multiple season crop management system that targets a diverse collection of soil borne plant pathogens of both vegetable and field crops.
11/8 Linda Kinkel The Use of Green Manures to Enhance Indigenous Antagonists and Control Plant Diseases: In the seminar, I will describe our research on the effects of different green manure species on the densities and antibiotic activities of indigenous pathogen antagonists in a variety of soils. I will also present data on the effects of green manures on root disease, and on the effects of antibiotic-producing soil borne antagonists on both disease and plant pathogen populations. Our goal is the development of an integrated, multiple season crop management system that targets a diverse collection of soil borne plant pathogens of both vegetable and field crops.
11/15 Prescott Bergh Chefs Shape the Future of Food: Hundreds of food-industry professionals recently gathered at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., for a major conference on where the food industry is heading and where they want it to go. Chefs, culinary students, teachers, farmers, gardeners, ranchers, environmentalists, community activists, marketers and consumers attended the three-day conference. Topics included genetically altered food, global influences on regional cuisines and new methods of farming, ranching and fishing that are healthier for the environment. Prescott Bergh will discuss his observations of the conference and some of its outcomes.
11/22 HOLIDAY THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
11/29 Paul Rosenblatt Family Issues in the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture: Based on intensive interviews, Family Social Science grad student Althea Dixon and I found clear but different patterns of family relationship issues and difficulties depending on whether the family took over a family farm or was entering farming from outside of farming.
12/6 Student Panel Minnesota Agricultural Student Trainee (MAST) Program: MAST is an international exchange program that provides participants hands on experiences in agriculture, horticulture and agribusiness while living and working with a host family in another culture. In this seminar a group of students will talk about their experiences as participants in the MAST program.
12/13 Eric Ristau Native Perennial Legumes - Possibilities for Minnesota Agriculture: Minnesota has many native species of perennial legumes but we are only beginning to identify some which could have a place in our agricultural system. Illinois bundleflower and false indigo are showing promise as possible new forage crops for adventurous farmers in Western and Southeastern MN. We have established large plots at several rural sites and currently are working to identify plants with traits that will enable these species to become viable alternatives for Minnesota farmers.
12/20 FINALS FINALS/WINTER BREAK