Healthy Farms Conference focuses on sustainable agriculture
Farmers are being squeezed financially to the point of leaving their farms. Our land is incurring unacceptable degradation. Decisions regarding our food supply are ending up in the hands of too few people. Rural communities are declining in direct proportion to the loss of farmers. If family farming, our environment and rural communities are to endure, we, the citizens of Nebraska, need to be weighing in on agriculture and food systems that we want for the future.
The Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society (NSAS) represents a voice for positive change. We are a member-run organization promoting sustainable agriculture and food systems. Sustainable agriculture is an agriculture that is ecologically sound, economically viable and socially responsible. Its focus: the production of healthy food that provides a secure food supply for the community, a secure income for the family farms and a healthy land for all of its inhabitants. Our membership includes farmers, ranchers, gardeners, retailers, home and institutional food consumers, educators and researchers. Our purpose is to serve each of these constituencies to accomplish our mission of building “healthy land, people, communities and quality of life for present and future generations.”
NSAS is a nonprofit, grassroots membership organization. Initiated over 30 years ago by farmer members, NSAS has grown into a dynamic organization with members from all across Nebraska. We welcome farmers and nonfarmers alike ... everyone eats!
Our vision and work involves a strong relationship between a healthy local agriculture and a strong local food system. That relationship requires that much of the food consumed is grown and processed locally. This adds quality and security, as well as social and ecological responsibility, to the community diet. It is this understanding that motivates NSAS’s work to strengthen and enhance these systems together.
NSAS is active in collaborative projects that support rural communities and the environment. These projects offer mentoring opportunities for beginning and experienced farmers, and opportunities for on-farm research, demonstration and education. We offer opportunities for nonfarmers to participate in a food system and network with sustainable Nebraska farmers, attend workshops and link with all our projects. Each year, NSAS sponsors a Healthy Farms Conference, workshops, farm tours and field days.
NSAS is not just for farmers. Our diverse membership includes rural and urban consumers, market gardeners, educators and, of course, farmers raising a fantastic array of goods. We welcome anyone who is concerned about family farming, environmental quality and good, healthy food. We depend on the support of all that are concerned with renewing and enlivening a sustainable food system and sustainable farming in Nebraska.
This year the Healthy Farms Conference is in Lincoln, Neb., at the Holiday Inn-Downtown, Feb. 5–6. The keynote for the conference is Congressman Jeff Fortenberry. The congressman is on the House Agriculture Committee and serves as the Ranking Minority Member on the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry. He is also an ardent supporter of local foods in Nebraska.
John Ikerd, professor emeritus of agricultural economics, University of Missouri, Columbia, will give a capstone lecture on Feb. 6. Ikerd was raised on a small dairy farm in southwest Missouri and received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri. He worked in private industry for a time and spent 30 years in various professorial positions at North Carolina State University, Oklahoma State University, University of Georgia and the University of Missouri before retiring in early 2000. Since retiring, he spends most of his time writing and speaking on issues related to sustainability with an emphasis on economics and agriculture.
The conference will also feature several sessions by NSAS members, including Kevin Fulton, Paul Rohrbaugh, Dave Welsch and Kevin and Charuth Loth. There is a full slate of youth programming as well. The conference will be highlighted by the All-Nebraska Dinner/Live Auction/Triggertown Band on Feb. 5. Nearly all of the meal will be sourced from sustainable Nebraska farms. This event is a fundraiser with all of the money raised going to NSAS and their efforts.
Exhibit space and sponsorships for the entire conference are still available and information about those can be accessed via http://www.HealthyFarms.org in the events sections. To register for the conference please visit http://go.unl.edu/healthyfarmsconference. For questions, please contact William Powers at healthyfarms[at]gmail[dot]com or (402) 525-7794.
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