Released: January 18, 2002

Sustainable Agriculture Roundup Slated Feb. 16 in Salina

SALINA, Kan. – To most Americans, it may seem very simple. But putting food that is safe to eat on the family dinner table doesn’t happen by chance.

From the farmer to the consumer, maintaining a safe food supply requires monitoring and dedication by everyone in the food and fiber chain.

That’s the purpose of the Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Roundup, which brings together farmers, ranchers and consumers each year.

The eighth annual event will take place at the Salina Senior Center (945 North 9th Street) on Feb. 16. The Saturday session is geared toward producers and consumers, said Jana Beckman, coordinator of the Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops at Kansas State University.

"This conference is held because there is a huge variety of topics involved in a sustainable food and fiber system," she said.

Other meetings address some of the same issues, Beckman added, but don’t "always address those areas in a holistic way. The Roundup ties all the components together."

This year’s event features keynote speakers Mary Hendrickson from the University of Missouri-Columbia and Joel Brown from the Natural Resources Conservation Service in New Mexico.

Hendrickson’s work as a rural sociologist includes studying the global nature of the dominant food system and how farmers, processors and consumers take part. She is co-director of the Food Circles Networking Project, which seeks to create infrastructure for an alternative food system by building direct connections between those who grow food (farmers) and those who eat it (consumers).

She will speak Saturday morning on what the concentration of agriculture and food systems means to the general public.

Brown currently is a special assistant on global change issues with NRCS. He will talk about the world’s changing climate and its impact on agriculture.

On Saturday afternoon, the Roundup will feature concurrent workshops on various farming practices, direct marketing, water quality, business planning and the role of youth in shaping the future of agriculture.

The registration cost is $15 ($25 for a family) and covers lunch, participation in the conference and a new Heartland Network Directory. Childcare will be provided on-site for ages 2-7.

Registration for the Saturday event is due by Feb. 11 by calling the Kansas Rural Center at 785-873-3431 or sending e-mail to ksrc@rainbowtel.net.

The Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Roundup is co-sponsored by the Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops, the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment, and the Kansas Rural Center.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Pat Melgares, News Coordinator
pmelgare@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News