Sustainable Horticulture!!

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Sustainable Horticulture!!
Carl Motsenbocker Co-State Louisiana SARE
Director School of Plant, Environmental and Soil
Sciences www.lasare.agcenter.lsu.edu
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The primary goals of sustainable agriculture
include

• Providing a more profitable farm income.

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Promoting environmental stewardship, including

• Protecting and improving soil quality
• Reducing dependence on non-renewable resources,
  such as fuel and synthetic fertilizers and
  pesticides, and
• Minimizing adverse impacts on safety, wildlife,
  water quality and other environmental resources

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• Promoting stable, prosperous farm families and
  communities
• (SARE, sare.org)

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Sustainable Production

• Farm profitability
• Environmental stewardship
• Quality of life for farm families and rural
  communities

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Sustainable Goals

• Sustain economic viability
• Sustain environmental stewardship
• Sustain social responsibility and quality of life

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Sustainable is Not Always Organic

• But it is innovative

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What is Sustainable Agriculture?

• Answer Sustainable includes many types of
  agriculture

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When is Agriculture Sustainable?

• Maintains a diverse ecosystem
• Reduces environmental impacts
• Minimizes pest problems
• It has to be profitable

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Sustainability is . . .

• A goal
• A direction
• A guiding principle

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Is Sustainability a Philosophy or a Set of
Practices?

• Sustainability has to be adaptable and supportive
  of community environments

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Sustainability is Profitable

• Includes production and processing
• Business concepts and marketing

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Sustainable is Environmental Management

• Soil management
• Crop management
• Livestock management
• Water management
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

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Dont Forget Marketing

• Most sustainable operations fail not from poor
  production practices but from lack of marketing

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USDA S.A.R.E. the Louisiana Program

• SARE Sustainable Agriculture Research and
  Education
• SARE PDP Professional Development Program
• Mutual goal of both programs is to teach
  technical skills and to provide information
• Focus on agriculture professionals

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Louisiana SARE

• Dr. Owusu Bandele, Southern University
  Agricultural Center
• Dr. Carl Motsenbocker, LSU AgCenter
• Model State Program
• Ms. Emily Neustrom, State Program Assistant
• La SARE Board
• http//www.lasare.agcenter.lsu.edu

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Community Food Program Components

• nutrition education
• market gardening
• community gardening
• youth gardening
• school gardening
• community supported agriculture (CSA)
• micro-enterprise development

• gleaning
• consumer education and marketing
• buying clubs
• business training
• community kitchens
• farm to school programs
• farmers markets.
• food policy councils

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• In the United States, approximately 80 of the
  population and almost 73 of Louisiana
  residents, live in metropolitan areas
• (US Census Bureau, 2007).
• The complexity of the food production and
  transport system has increased as food production
  has shifted to centralized production areas with
  food typically traveling from 1500 to 2500 miles
  from farm to consumers table
• (Halwell, 2002).

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• Food insecurity
• is where people skip meals or eat too little and
  they tend to have lower quality diets or rely on
  emergency food because they are unable to afford
  necessary food for their families.
• US poverty rate was 12.6 percent in 2005 with 37
  million people, including 13 million children
  living in households at risk for hunger or that
  experience hunger
• (US Census Bureau, 2007).
• The poverty rate for Louisianans was 17.1 in
  2005 with almost 25 of children in Louisiana
  living in poverty.
• Many Louisianans and Americans do not get enough
  to eat on a daily basis and often depend on
  emergency food sources.

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Food Access

• In many low-income areas, full-service grocery
  stores are not available.
• Example, in Old South Baton Rouge (OSBR),
  Louisiana there are no full-scale grocery stores
  and availability of fresh fruits and vegetables
  is limited.
• Residents must travel out of the neighborhood to
  larger grocery stores as the local markets
  generally have few fresh produce available.
  Public transport available?
• The elderly poor, with little disposable income
  and fragile health issues often find it difficult
  to travel out of the neighborhood for grocery
  items.

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• Urban Agriculture
• Local Food Systems
• Why buy local food?
• It is fresher, tastier and more nutritious.
• It supports local farmers and keeps more of your
  food dollar working in your hometown.
• It conserves energy and reduces output of
  greenhouse gases.
• It gives you a better picture of how your food is
  produced.
• Community Food Programs

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School Gardening
Can we interest students in science through
gardening and garden-based activities? Can we
impact childrens attitudes towards preference
for fruits and vegetables?
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Community Gardening

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Youth Gardening

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Market Gardening

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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
Partnership between local community members and
local growers that work together to create and
maintain an economically stable food system,
encourage land stewardship, and promote community
development.  

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Farmers Markets

Union Square, NYC
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• Nationally the estimated number of farmers
  markets has increased almost 250 percent from
  1994 to 2006
• Over 3700 farmers markets currently operating in
  the US
• (USDA-AMS, 2007).

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Community Kitchens

• Assist development of recipes and food
  production.
• Preparing, cooking, filling, labeling,
  flash-freezing and cooling food for sale.

Ex Jubilee Project Inc., East Tennessee
(http//www.jubileeproject.holston.org/)
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Farm to School Programs

• Garden sessions
• Garden based nutrition education
• Garden tastings
• Farm field trips
• Local food in school lunches

Alice Waters, Edible Schoolyard
www.edibleschoolyard.org http//www.esynola.org/
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Community Food Program Components

• nutrition education
• market gardening
• community gardening
• youth gardening
• school gardening
• community supported agriculture (CSA)
• micro-enterprise development

• gleaning
• consumer education and marketing
• buying clubs
• business training
• community kitchens
• farm to school programs
• farmers markets.

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Food Miles Lettuce

• Salinas, CA to Baton Rouge, LA
• 2100 miles
• Charles and Jaynell Glaser, New Roads, LA
• 36 miles to Red Stick Farmers Market

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Community Food Shed

• Urban Agriculture