SA Newsletter Feb 1997
Sustainable Agriculture Newsletter
- SA Newsletter Archive
- SA Newsletter Issue 1 2017
- SA Newsletter -- Fall 2016
- SA Newsletter Spring 2016
- SA Newsletter Winter 2016
- SA Newsletter Spring 2015
- SA Newsletter Fall 2015
- SA Newsletter Summer 2015
- SA Newsletter Fall 2014
- SA Newsletter Spring 2014
- SA Newsletter Fall 2013
- SA Newsletter Spring 2013
- SA Newsletter Fall 2012
- SA Newsletter Summer 2012
- SA Newsletter Spring 2012
- SA Newsletter Winter 2012
- SA Newsletter Fall 2011
- SA Newsletter Summer 2011
- SA Newsletter Spring 2011
- SA Newsletter Winter 2010-2011
- SA Newsletter Aug-Sept 2010
- SA Newsletter May-June 2010
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2010
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2009
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2009
- SA Newsletter July-Aug 2009
- SA Newsletter May-June 2009
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2009
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2008
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2008
- SA Newsletter July-Aug 2008
- SA Newsletter May-June 2008
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2008
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2008
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2007
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2007
- SA Newsletter July-Aug 2007
- SA Newsletter May-June 2007
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2007
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2007
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2006
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2006
- SA Newsletter July-Aug 2006
- SA Newsletter May-June 2006
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2006
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2006
- SA Newsletter Oct 2005
- SA Newsletter July-Aug 2005
- SA Newsletter May-June 2005
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2005
- SA Newsletter Issue 2 2017
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2005
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2004
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2004
- SA Newsletter Jul-Aug 2004
- SA Newsletter June 2004
- SA Newsletter May 2004
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2004
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2004
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2003
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2003
- SA Newsletter Aug 2003
- SA Newsletter July 2003
- SA Newsletter June 2003
- SA Newsletter May 2003
- SA Newsletter April 2003
- SA Newsletter Mar 2003
- SA Newsletter Feb 2003
- SA Newsletter Jan 2003
- SA Newsletter Dec 2002
- SA Newsletter Nov 2002
- SA Newsletter Oct 2002
- SA Newsletter Sept 2002
- SA Newsletter Aug 2002
- SA Newsletter July 2002
- SA Newsletter June 2002
- SA Newsletter May 2002
- SA Newsletter April 2002
- SA Newsletter Mar 2002
- SA Newsletter Jan 2002
- SA Newsletter Dec 2001
- SA Newsletter Nov 2001
- SA Newsletter Oct 2001
- SA Newsletter Sept 2001
- SA Newsletter Aug 2001
- SA Newsletter July 2001
- SA Newsletter June 2001
- SA Newsletter May 2001
- SA Newsletter April 2001
- SA Newsletter Mar 2001
- SA Newsletter Jan 2001
- SA Newsletter Dec 2000
- SA Newsletter Nov 2000
- SA Newsletter Oct 2000
- SA Newsletter Sept 2000
- SA Newsletter Aug 2000
- SA Newsletter July 2000
- SA Newsletter June 2000
- SA Newsletter May 2000
- SA Newsletter April 2000
- SA Newsletter Mar 2000
- SA Newsletter April 1995
- SA Newsletter April 1996
- SA Newsletter April 1997
- SA Newsletter April 1998
- SA Newsletter April 1999
- SA Newsletter Aug 1995
- SA Newsletter Aug 1996
- SA Newsletter Aug 1997
- SA Newsletter Aug 1998
- SA Newsletter Aug 1999
- SA Newsletter Dec 1996
- SA Newsletter Dec 1998
- SA Newsletter Dec 1999
- SA Newsletter Feb 1995
- SA Newsletter Feb 1996
- SA Newsletter Feb 1997
- SA Newsletter Feb 1998
- SA Newsletter Feb 1999
- SA Newsletter Feb 2000
- SA Newsletter Feb 2001
- SA Newsletter Feb 2002
- SA Newsletter Jan 1996
- SA Newsletter Jan 1997
- SA Newsletter Jan 1998
- SA Newsletter Jan 1999
- SA Newsletter Jan 2000
- SA Newsletter July 1995
- SA Newsletter July 1996
- SA Newsletter July 1997
- SA Newsletter July 1998
- SA Newsletter July 1999
- SA Newsletter June 1995
- SA Newsletter June 1996
- SA Newsletter June 1997
- SA Newsletter June 1998
- SA Newsletter June 1999
- SA Newsletter Mar 1995
- SA Newsletter Mar 1996
- SA Newsletter Mar 1997
- SA Newsletter Mar 1998
- SA Newsletter Mar 1999
- SA Newsletter May 1995
- SA Newsletter May 1996
- SA Newsletter May 1997
- SA Newsletter May 1998
- SA Newsletter May 1999
- SA Newsletter Nov 1995
- SA Newsletter Nov 1996
- SA Newsletter Nov 1998
- SA Newsletter Nov 1999
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 1997
- SA Newsletter Oct 1995
- SA Newsletter Oct 1996
- SA Newsletter Oct 1997
- SA Newsletter Oct 1998
- SA Newsletter Oct 1999
- SA Newsletter Sept 1995
- SA Newsletter Sept 1996
- SA Newsletter Sept 1997
- SA Newsletter Sept 1998
- SA Newsletter Sept 1999

College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences
Volume 5, Issue 2 – February 1997
Do you have a story you would like featured in the Sustainable Agriculture newsletter? Send your submission to misamail@umn.edu and we’ll consider adding it to an upcoming newsletter.
Researchers tackle tough questions on manure odors
Manure odors create problems for people close to livestock facilities and for the livestock industry. That's the easy part—no one disagrees.
Then the questions get hard, says Larry Jacobson, agricultural engineer with the University of Minnesota's Extension Service. Jacobson says little is known about how to measure and control odors, how they affect human health, the connection between gases and odors, how to predict gas emissions and how gases move and disperse in the atmosphere.
Another tough question: How much odor should a community or individual have to tolerate? "This is the primary question that must be answered before any good odor policy can be developed," Jacobson says. Everyone might agree that if one person smells a livestock facility one day out of the year that facility should not be declared a nuisance. But several hundred people smelling a livestock facility nearly every day would be a nuisance.
"The reality at most sites lies somewhere in the middle," says Jacobson. A definition of nuisance must take into account the odor intensity and frequency—how bad and how often.
There's also little information available on the impact of odor on human health. Jacobson says most studies try to document the impact of a particular gas on human health, rather than how a particular gas affects the nasal sensors. A recent North Carolina study indicates that odors may alter a person's mood. But it's unclear from the study if the mood altering is psychological or physiological response to odor. "Some people may feel angry and frustrated due to the smell of the gases rather than being physically affected by the gases," Jacobson says. But the argument may still be made that in either case the person's mood was altered, making odors a valid health concern.
Measuring odors is a challenge. The human nose is the only "instrument" that measures odors, Jacobson says. He and co-workers in the university's Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering are using panels of people to determine the minimum dilution rate at which the odor can be detected. The process is called olfactometry.
The olfactometer dilutes an odorous air sample with clean air; then panelists sniff the sample. The process begins with such small amounts of odorous air that none of the panelists can smell it. Concentrations are gradually increased until panelists detect a slight difference between samples. The "odor value" is then reported as a dilution ratio of the volume of clean air to odorous air and is called an odor unit (ou.).
Get an update on other UM manure management research
The University of Minnesota is involved in 25 other manure research projects. In addition to odor control, they include manure storage, treatment, land application and economics. Short descriptions of each project have been compiled by David Schmidt, an agricultural engineer who works with manure management systems. Contact him at the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, (612) 625-4262. Email dschmidt@extension.umn.edu
You can also check the manure home page.
Economic growth needed for a sustainable world
A "people first" view of sustainability assumes the ultimate purpose of natural resources and the economic system is first, the well-being of people. And that calls for world-wide, sustainable economic development, according to an article by G. Edward Schuh and Sandra O. Archibald, dean and associate dean, respectively, of the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
A controversial issue in the discussion of sustainable development is the allegation that economic growth and development cause environmental damage. These arguments often assume anti-growth postures, implying that environmental damage could be reduced if we would only forego economic development.
"There is little evidence for such a position," they say. First, environmental problems are more serious in countries with low per capita income. Second, the "taste" for a cleaner environment is associated with higher per capita incomes. And third, economic growth provides the means for environmental and sustainability issues to be addressed. So with a growing world population, "the only alternative seems to be to promote economic development in sustainable ways, not to forego economic growth."
The interrelation between poverty and sustainable economic growth is important, they add. "In the case of agriculture, it is often the poor who scramble onto marginal lands and in the process create environmental damage. And the poor are often subject to capital rationing and cannot use economically efficient production practices."
Their paper was published by the Center for International Food and Agricultural Policy, University of Minnesota, 1994 Buford Ave., 332 COB, St. Paul, MN 55108-6040, phone
(612) 625-8713, fax (612) 625-6245.
New study: more Wisconsin dairy farmers using pasture, skipping the silo
The use of pastures on Wisconsin dairy farms has increased dramatically in recent years. Based on a series of extensive statewide surveys, UW-Madison researchers estimate that almost half of the dairy farms in Wisconsin now use pastures to some degree. And the number of farms using management-intensive rotational grazing (MIRG) practices, a system in which milking cows get most of their forage requirements from pastures during the grazing season, has doubled in recent years.
According to Douglas Jackson-Smith, researcher at UW-Madison's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, between 1992 and 1994, MIRG operations doubled to nearly 4,000 farms. That's roughly 14 percent of all dairy farms, and their numbers continue to grow.
MIRG farms appear to be economically competitive with other dairy farm types, according to Jackson-Smith. MIRG farms typically have lower levels of milk production than confinement farms. However, MIRG farmers report lower input costs, lower and more flexible labor needs, and improved herd health than more traditional confinement dairy farms. Since graziers generally have lower investments in machinery and buildings, the average financial returns to investments are actually higher among graziers than non-graziers.
Total farm income on MIRG farms is lower than on confinement farms because MIRG dairy herds tend to be smaller. However, total household income of MIRG farms was comparable to that of conventional farms. The lower farm income on MIRG farms was often compensated for by higher off-farm income, according to Jackson-Smith.
Compared with confinement farmers, MIRG operators say they are more likely to expand their milking herds. This could reflect greater optimism on the part of graziers. It also reflects the fact that MIRG farms are smaller than conventional operations. Younger farmers on smaller farms are particularly likely to expand, Jackson-Smith notes.
The study concludes that while MIRG farms could increasingly shape the performance of Wisconsin's dairy sector and related industries, grazing's current impact on milk production is small. However, if MIRG continues to spread, its impact will become more significant.
For example, some say that unless MIRG farms increase in size or productivity, the further spread of MIRG could limit future growth in the supply of milk for Wisconsin's cheese factories and other dairy processing plants. On the other hand, grazing could allow producers to enter or stay in business who would otherwise not have been milking cows, making MIRG a cornerstone of the future Wisconsin dairy sector. MIRG farms have different input and information requirements than confinement farms. This will affect demand for the services of dairy cooperatives, input suppliers and university extension staff.
Copies of the full 64-page report (Grazing in Dairyland: The Use and Performance of MIRG on Wisconsin Dairy Farms), or a 6-page summary of the findings, are available upon request. Contact Nancy Carlisle: phone: (608) 265-2908, fax: (608) 265-3020, Email carlisle@ssc.wisc.edu or U.S. mail: 1450 Linden Drive, Room 146, UW-Madison, Madison, WI 53706.
Muriel French, Dick Levins are new MISA board members
The Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) is pleased to welcome two new members to the board of directors. Muriel French was nominated to the board by the Sustainers' Coalition. Muriel and her husband Dan have farmed on their own since 1979 on her family's farm near Mantorville, Minnesota. She is active in farm organization work and is currently on the American Dairy Association Board for her county. She enjoys the educational efforts associated with grazing and the transition to grazing as a farming style. She and Dan have two sons.
Muriel enjoys horticulture around the home and in the gardens, naming these as important connections to the earth.
Dick Levins is a professor and extension agricultural economist in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. He is author of a new publication entitled "Monitoring Sustainable Agriculture with Conventional Financial Data" and a co-author of the "Women Who Farm: Wider Attention to a Growing Subgroup" study. Dick is currently based at the Rosemount Experiment Station, examining farm management issues at the station.
Muriel and Dick are taking the slots on the board held by Mary Doerr and Roger Moon. Both have contributed greatly to MISA and to sustainable agriculture in Minnesota. If you'd like more information about MISA or the Board of Directors call (612) 625-8235 or (800) 909-6472.
MISA to continue another five years
The Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) is continuing for another five years, based on a recently completed review.
The review panel was chaired by Jerry DeWitt, Iowa State University Extension Service and ISU entomology professor. Other panel members include Senator Tracy Beckman, third term legislator from Bricelyn, MN; Marilyn DeLong, associate director, University of Minnesota's College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences; Mary Hanks, supervisor of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Energy and Sustainable Agriculture program; Marvin Johnson, farmer and mayor of Independence; Minn.; Margaret Smith, farmer and Iowa State University extension educator; Conrad J. Weiser, dean emeritus of the College of Agricultural Sciences, Oregon State University.
The review team's report said, "MISA represents a working model of where no one entity or organization holds control, but where power and opportunity are shared, and where good ideas and persuasion are the negotiable currency for the common good. This spirit of the model should be maintained; it is working." The review team made 18 recommendations. One included increasing partnerships with "more conventional sectors of Minnesota agriculture such as the Farmers' Union, Minnesota Extension Service and others."
MFA has new address
The new address for Minnesota Food Association is 1916 South 2nd Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55403, (612) 872-3298, fax (612) 870-0729. Jan O' Donnell is the executive director at Email odonn014@tc.umn.edu
Coming events…
March 2-April 2, Women in Agriculture Photo Exhibit, Northfield Art Guild, 304 Division St. S., Northfield. Sponsored by Women in Agriculture and the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA). Contact Diane Milan (507) 645-8282.
March 4-5, Strenghtening the Experiential Learning Process in Sustainable Agriculture, Sheraton Minneapolis Metrodome, Minneapolis. Hosted by the Department of Agronomy & Plant Genetics and Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, University of Minnesota. Contact Juanita Reed-Boniface (612) 753-4636, agrifolks@aol.com or Darrell Cox (612) 625-2738, coxxx015@tc.umn.edu
March 5-6, 21st Century Agriculture—Creating a Sustainable Future, Ramkota Inn, Aberdeen, S.D. Contact Tim Hanson at (701) 857-7679, fax (701) 857-7676.
March 7-8, Eighth Annual Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference, Sinsinawa Mound Center, Sinsinawa, WI. Contact the Upper Midwest Organic Farming conference line at (715) 772-6819.
March 18, Agri-Tourism Workshop, Edgewood Restaurant, Cannon Falls. Sessions include getting started, developing agri-tourism in your community and a panel of agri-business tourism owners. Contact Toni Smith, Wabasha County Extension Office, 1-(800) 385-3103.
March 18, Second Annual Flame Cultivation Round Table Dialogue, 9:30 a.m. to
3 p.m. at St. Mary Catholic Church meeting room, 1303 W. Broadway, Winona, MN. Contact Dwight Ault (507) 437-3085 or Tom Wegner (612) 374-8437.
March 19-21, International Conference on Agricultural Production and Nutrition, Holiday Inn Boston-Brookline, Brookline, Massachusetts. Organized by Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy and the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture. Contact William Lockeretz (617) 627-3223, wlockeretz@infonet.tufts.edu
March 22, Restoring our Urban Waters, at First Universalist Society, 900 Mt. Curve Ave., Minneapolis. Contact Judith Lake of Citizens for a Better Environment, (612)
824-8637, ext. 222, cbelake@igc.apc.org
March 26, Sustainable Farming and Sustainable Communities, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Ramada Inn, Owatonna. Contact Tim Arlt (507) 444-7689, tarlt@extension.umn.edu
About this newsletter…
For the past year we’ve been funded by the Minnesota Extension Service and the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) with support from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
We’re always looking for story ideas. Send them to the editor: Jack Sperbeck, 405 Coffey Hall, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, (612) 625-1794. E-mail: jsperbeck@extension.umn.edu. Other editorial board members: Helene Murray (612) 625-0220, murra@021.tc.umn.edu; Tom Wegner (612) 374-8400, twegner@extension.umn.edu; and Bill Wilcke (612) 625-8205, wwilcke@extension.umn.edu
Our mission statement: To help bring people together to influence the future of agriculture and rural communities to achieve socially, environmentally and economically sustainable farms and communities.
The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.