Description: Few Americans give a second thought to the source of their food and fiber. Fewer still pause to consider how agricultural practices affect the natural environment, farm families, and rural communities. Yet, as a nation, we face critical choices today that will determine the future character of our rural landscape. Which approaches to farming hold the most promise of protecting the natural environment while maintaining opportunities for beginning farmers and revitalizing rural communities? What public action is needed to enable and encourage farmers to use more sustainable farming practices? Written for a wide audience, and especially for those involved in policy-making, Planting the Future addresses these questions by describing the character of "sustainable" and "conventional" farms in the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains; Assessing the socioeconomic impacts of these different approaches to farming; Highlighting the agricultural research alternatives needed to advance sustainable agriculture; and Providing policy options. Planting the Future offers a rare blend of scientific findings, reflection on the research experience, and analysis of policy implications. This mixture has grown from a diversity of cooperating investigators and authors: Social and agricultural scientists, farmers, and advocates. Planting the Future is the final report of a multi-state cooperative research effort sponsored by the Northwest Area Foundation of St. Paul, Minnesota.

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