11/13: Bellringer : Sustainable Ag Take out a piece of paper, title it, write the

1. 11/13: Bellringer: Sustainable Ag Take out a piece of paper, title it, write the questions below, and answer them • What does sustainable mean? • Describe four property of Industrial Farming (i.e. monoculture)

2. Sustainable Food Production

3. Sustainable Agriculture • Sustainable agriculture: an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will over the long-term: • Satisfy human food and fiber needs. • Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agriculture economy depends. • Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls. • Sustain the economic viability of farm operations. • Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole. USDA Legal term: http://www.nifa.usda.gov/nea/ag_systems/in_focus/sustain_ag_if_legal.html

4. Sustainable Ag Practices • Crop rotation • Planting a series of different crops in the same field over a period of years • Conservation Tillage (no-till) • Residues from previous year’s crops are left in place to prevent soil erosion • Strip Cropping • Alternating strips of different crops along natural contours • Terracing • Creating terraces on steep slopes to prevent erosion

5. Sustainable Ag Practices • Shelter-belts (wind-breaks) • Row of trees planted to reduce wind erosion of soil • Cover Crops • Non-essential plant placed near the crop to suppress weeds, add nutrients to the soil, and control pests/diseases • Polyculture • Growing multiple kinds of crops • Drip Irrigation • Irrigation pipes that use less water and trickle water into the soil

6. Green Manure & Fertilizers • Green manure comes from cover crops which act as a living mulch. • Examples: alfalfa, clover, hairy vetch, winter wheat, clover • Helps with soil erosion, adds nutrients. • Natural fertilizers • Examples: organic compost, powdered seaweed or kelp, mushroom compost • Amendment improves the quality of the soil, drainage and structure, microbial activity, and increases plant nutrient availability

7. Sustainable Poultry • Cage-free • Free-range • Pasture-raised • Poultry Benefits: • Provide natural insect control • Droppings enrich the soil • Scratching aerates the soil Sustainable practices can be applied with all domesticated animals.

8. The Story of an Egg - Lexicon for Sustainability (6:04) • http://video.pbs.org/video/2233336974

9. Urban Farms • Urban agriculture is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around a village, town, or city. • Popular in the Rust-belt cities: Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee (big Midwest Cities that used to be big steel cities) • Detroit is the leader in Urban Agriculture. City Farm in Chicago (Chicago Ave & N. Hudson)

10. Local Foods • Locavore: someone who is interested in eating food that is locally produced, not moved long distances to market. • USDA defines as within 400 miles of where it is grown. Find local food online: http://www.localharvest.org/

11. Local - Lexicon for Sustainability (5:40) • http://video.pbs.org/video/2233344131

12. Vertical Farming • Cultivating plant or animal life within skyscrapers, or on vertically inclined surfaces. • Our living wall in the Aquaponics Lab is a vertical garden. • Maximizes crop output using limited horizontal surface area.

14. Seasonal Growing • Buying and growing produce within the season in which it is naturally intended to grow • Required less pressure on resources, reduces to need to grow items thousands a miles away and ship them View simulation at: http://www.vegetannual.org/

16. Farmer’s Markets • Retail markets featuring foods sold directly by farmers to consumers. • Provides fresh locally grown food and adds value to communities.

17. Co-ops & CSAs • food cooperative (food co-op) is a grocery store or organization collectively organized, run, and owned by members (consumers). • Decisions are made by shareholders (members) so cooperatives often exhibit a higher degree of social responsibility than corporations. • Community supported agriculture (CSA) food production and distribution system that directly connects farmers and consumers. • Consumers typically buy "shares" in a farm's harvest in advance.

18. Foraging • Foraging is searching for food that grows naturally in the native environment (ex. morel mushroom hunting or picking weeds for a salad) • Goes back to the principles of hunting-gathering • Similar concepts have emerged for urban landscapes and people publish locations where you can find free food growing

19. Foraging – Lexicon for Sustainability (6:35) • http://video.pbs.org/video/2233349599

20. Exit Slip • What is the difference between “cage-free”, “free-range”, and “pastured”? • How is “locavore” defined? • How is eating a vegetable only in season a good thing? How is it a bad thing? • Describe one property of sustainable faming (i. e. polyculture). • What does sustainable mean? List two characteristics.