Sustainable agriculture is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices that are ecologically sound, economically viable and socially responsible. The idea behind the experiments, targeted for the 2001 growing season, is to make scientifically valid comparisons of various sustainable agricultural practices, Baldwin says. RAFI-USA is a cooperating partner with the College in the project. New technologies are coming out faster than the research community can evaluate them, says Marlow, and this is a way to keep up. Farmers need many skills, and the ability to evaluate farming practices definitely should be in a farmer s toolbox.
Growers also attend a winter meeting without extension agents accompanying.
A second set of similar meetings will be held in spring and the third, next fall. Course participants also will conduct field days and demonstrations to train other farmers to conduct their own experiments. The course sessions are practical, focused on getting an on-farm experiment in the ground, Baldwin says, and the interpretation of the collected data gets special attention. North Carolina, among the nation s most agriculturally and geographically diverse states, grows more than 70 commodities across widely varying climates and soils. That diversity means no universal solutions apply to production problems that cut into a farmer s profits, Baldwin says.