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Since World War II, Midwestern farmers have been encouraged to use machinery, chemicals and government policies to ramp up crop and livestock production to feed the growing population and economy. But since then, many farmers have felt the harmful effects of this quantity-over-quality production model, and have started to investigate how to make their methods more sustainable.

During the past few decades, small organizations promoting sustainable agriculture have been popping up and banding together across the Midwest to create a patchwork of information, support and tools for those interested in taking part in the sustainable agriculture movement.

Groups like the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and its lobbyist sister group the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition started promoting ideas of sustainable farming in 1988. The coalition is made up of farm, food, rural, religious and conservation organizations that work together to advance grassroots sustainable agriculture perspectives within the Department of Agriculture.

Other organizations, like the Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service and the Foundation for Agricultural and Rural Resources Management & Sustainability, provide resources, create programs and host conferences and workshops for communities and farmers interested in sustainability. MOSES hosts one of the largest annual farming conferences in the country (in my hometown of La Crosse, Wis.), provides an organic farming directory, and supports a host of educational projects to support farmers who want to transition from traditional to organic farming.

Information providers, like the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA), offer farmers a database of searchable success stories and informational links about how farms are choosing to invest in renewable energy and in efficient machinery that saves water, conserves fuel and protects the soil.

Under success stories, ATTRA lists Wisconsin farms Deer Ridge Farm in Nelsonville and the Tinedale Farm in Wrightstown. Each has recently installed anaerobic digesters, a machine that turns biodegradable waste into electricity. These farms report that they are now creating so much energy, that they're able turn a profit by selling their surplus power back to the grid -- now creating a mutually beneficial production model. ATTRA hopes that success stories like these will encourage other farmers to try producing renewable energy on their own land.

The work of world changing organizations like these helps show farmers and other community members that new ideas and technologies concerning sustainable agriculture can not only reduce harm to our environment, but can also help them reduce energy costs and improve their own economic conditions.

According the Union of Concerned Scientists fact sheet on Renewable Energy and Agriculture, tripling U.S. use of biomass energy could provide as much as $20 billion in new income for farmers and rural communities, and reduce global warming emissions by the same amount as taking 70 million cars off the road.

Solar and wind power are two other renewable energy solutions that are helping farmers and our environment. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists:

Solar heat collectors can be used to dry crops and warm homes, livestock buildings, and greenhouses. Solar water heaters can provide hot water for dairy operations, pen cleaning, and homes. Photovoltaics (solar electric panels) can power farm operations and remote water pumps, lights, and electric fences.

Wind energy alone could provide 80,000 new jobs and $1.2 billion in new income for farmers and rural landowners by 2020. Each turbine uses less than half an acre, so farmers can plant crops and graze livestock right next to the turbine's base. Some farmers have also purchased wind turbines; others are starting to form wind power cooperatives.

Farmers generating and using renewable energy creates a win-win situation that is just the tip of the iceberg for the Midwest sustainability revolution. When I imagine a bright green future for my childhood home, I can see myself traveling back to Wisconsin from Seattle on a high-speed, zero-emissions public transportation system (like France’s TGV). I can see wind turbines slowly spinning above the fields and small-scale farmers working together to share in creating methane digestors to power their farms and neighboring towns. I see fewer acres of cropland being used by megacorporations for things like corn syrup production, and more communities buying their food straight from local farmers.

I see vibrant sustainable communities, working together to create a local food and energy economy.

What do you see?

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(Posted by Sarah Kuck in Columns at 4:46 PM)