Resources

Landowners and Homeowners
Waterway Care
Wetland Care
Woodland Care
Prairie & Savanna Care
Drinking Water

Clean Air

Home Care

Sustainable Agriculture and Managed Grazing

What is living soil and how can it benefit my crops?

  • The world beneath the soil of our fields and woodlands is not dead. While conventional farming is more concerned with the single crop above the ground, an entire web of activity is happening in the soil.
  • Below our cash crops, fungi, bacteria, protozoans, nematodes, and other microorganisms are living their lives. These organisms help to keep the balance in their ecosystem (the soil). When this ecosystem is in balance, our plants, along with our bottom line, can thrive.

Farmers Guide to Applying for the Value-Added Grant Program (VAPG) - Fiscal Year 2017 Cycle

    • VAPG is a critical program for farmers and food entrepreneurs nationwide, because it helps them turn raw product into processed goods (e.g., milk into cheese or apples into apple-cider) that can bring in significantly more revenue. VAPG funds can be used for working capital, feasibility studies, business plans, and for marketing efforts to establish viable value-added businesses. Up to $75,000 is available for planning grants and up to $250,000 is available for implementation grants.

Investments in Beginning Farmer Training Are Paying Off
National Young Farmers Coalition's (NYFC) Land Link Directory

    • NYFC represents, mobilizes, and engages young farmers to ensure their success.

Sample Cropland Rental Agreement with Conservation Options

Building Local and Regional Food Systems

North Central Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research Education Program Partnership Grant Program

Silvopasture Resources

These are some possible places to go for information or help with silvopasture and other land use questions.  However, at present Wisconsin does not have educators dedicated to silvopasture, so the assistance available will vary.

National sources of information and assistance:

Working Trees: Silvopasture, An Agroforestry Practice

Hardwood Silvopasture Management

USDA National Agroforestry Center silvopasture publications

Cornell University publications

The Center for Agroforestry - University of Missouri 

Northeastern US Silvopasture group

Silvopasture group on Facebook

Local sources of information and assistance:

NRCS

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service maintains a service center in each county.  NRCS can help with both forest management and with grazing plans.  However, NRCS in Wisconsin does not provide assistance for grazing in woods.

UW-Extension

UW-Extension has both agriculture and (community/) natural resources agents in most counties.  They may be able to help you with grazing and general forest management questions.  Some counties also have Master Naturalist volunteers who may be able to provide information.

DNR

The Wisconsin DNR has foresters who may be able to help you assess you woods, manage invasive species, or refer you to consulting foresters.  DNR discourages grazing in woods.

Consulting foresters

Looking for guidance from a professional forester?  Use this by-county directory to view the names of DNR and Cooperating Foresters that are available to help.

My Wisconsin Woods

This partnership of public and non-profit organizations works to help woodland owners in southwest Wisconsin. Find events, news, resources, and organizations that work with private woodland owners.

County Conservationist

Staff at the county Land Conservation Departments may be able to help with grazing and land management advice.

RC&D Programs

Wisconsin's Resource Conservation and Development councils have resources to help with grazing and conservation.  Fore example, Southwest Badger's Grazing Broker program can help connect landowners and livestock farmers.

Prairie Enthusiasts

The Prairie Enthusiasts are a grassroots group committed to the protection and management of native prairie and savanna of the Upper Midwest.  Learn about prairie and oak savanna plant and animal communities through field trips, workshops, conferences, work parties, and a quarterly newsletters.

Savanna Institute

This non-profit organization performs research, education, and outreach about savanna-based agricultural systems.

Cherrie Nolden can help with questions about using goats to manage brush.  Email: canolden@wisc.edu or wonderacres@yahoo.com, phone:  608-477-1981.

Keefe Keeley can help with questions about integrating trees into existing pastures or thinning woods to create silvopasture.  Contact him via savannainstitute.org or at kkeeley@wisc.edu, phone: 608-632-2719.

Diane Mayerfeld can help with questions about thinning woods for silvopasture, and with identifying further resources from UW-Madison, UW-Extension, and the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.  Email dbmayerfeld@wisc.edu, phone: 608-262-8188.

Southwest Badger RC&D has just launched grazingbroker.org. The new
online tool seeks to connect owners of land with livestock farmers to recruit the next generation. Learn more here.

Invasive/ Exotic Species and Animal Control
Recreation
Hotlines
Representatives and Agency Directories
Recycling
Community Organizing

Bird City Wisconsin

Good Jobs First

Good Jobs First is a non-profit, non-partisan resource center promoting accountability in economic development. Based in Washington DC, it was founded in 1998. Its Corporate Research Project provides research resources for organizations and individuals concerned about all forms of corporate accountability.

How to Build a Movement for Transformational Change by Popular Resistance

Gardening and Food
Movie List

American Farm – 85 mins.
A struggle to preserve an American way of life.

Bad Seed: The Truth About our Food – 112 mins.
The truth about our food and facts about Genetically Modified Organisms.

The Biggest Little Farm

THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM chronicles the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. See more HERE

Big River – 30 mins. AVAILABLE FROM http://www.bigriverfilm.com/
Eco-documentary on the consequences of industrial agriculture, focusing on the water runoff of 1 acre of corn. (See King Corn).

Broken Limbs
Apple farmers in Washington State are squeezed out by corporate farms.

Controlling Our Food: the World According to Monsanto AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE VIEWING AT http://www.maryknollogc.org
Documentary on Genetically Modified Organisms.

Death on a Factory Farm
HBO special on the alleged abuse of animals on corporate farms. (Warning: Graphic).

Decoding the Driftless

Emmy Award-winning filmmakers George Howe and Tim Jacobson of Sustainable Driftless and Rob Nelson of Untamed Science have teamed up again to produce a feature-length film on the amazing origins, diversity, and resources of the Driftless Region. See more HERE

Dirt!: the Movie
Appreciation of the ground beneath our feet. (Airs on PBS, December 10, 2010).

Farming Forward – 50 mins.

Article about the film: http://makeyourlifecount.blog.gustavus.edu/2010/03/05/vote-with-your-fork/
Positive look at sustainable farming in Minnesota.

Fast Food Nation – 116 mins.
Look at how the Big Mac is born and the meat-packing industry.

Food for Thought: Honey, We’re Killing the Kids This is episode 11 of the series "Honey, we're Killing the Kids".
Families are given a chance for healthy food choices. (Discovery Channel).

Food, Inc. – 90 mins.
Look at the modern U.S. food industry – putting cost and convenience over nutrition and the environment.

Food Matters – 80 mins.
Current state of health and the relationship between the lack of nutrition in America’s diet and rising healthcare costs.

Forks Over Knives SEE http://forksoverknives.com/about/synopsis/
Rejecting animal-based diet and processed foods. (Coming out March 2011).

Fresh, the Movie – 72 mins. 1.27.11 – Madison, WI: Joel Salatin introduces the film FRESH in person at the Midwest Value Added Agriculture Conference. ALSO SEE: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5958/p/d/freshthemovie/shop/items.sjs
Celebrates the reinvention of our food system, including urban farming.

Fridays at the Farm – 19 mins.
Cinematic diary of organic Community Supported Agriculture.

The Future of Food – 88 mins.
Documentary on our food supply and information on Genetically Modified Organisms.

The Garden
Documentary on Latino farmers in West L.A. and using urban land for farming.

Heart and Soil AVAILABLE FROM http://www.heartandsoilfilm.com
Farming families in Southwestern U.S., farmers’ markets and farm-to-school program.

Killer at Large – 182 mins.
Reasons and solutions to the U.S. obesity epidemic.

King Corn – 88 mins.
Documentary following 1 acre of corn grown in America. (See Big River).

Kiss the Ground

Kiss the Ground reveals that, by regenerating the world’s soils, we can completely and rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. Using compelling graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, the film artfully illustrates how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon, soil is the missing piece of the climate puzzle. See more HERE

The Last Farm in Lowell – 60 mins.
Portrait of a surviving family farm, its struggles and support from the community.

Lunch Line (the Movie) POSSIBLY www.ugifilms.com OR www.applegatefarms.com
Made in 1965, features poverty in rural America. This movie apparently uses clips from a 60's movie. The latter was a movie made in 1965 which also explores the beginnings of school lunch programs called "Poverty in America Historical Film: Poverty In Rural America DVD (1965)" available from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Poverty-America-Historical-Film-Rural/dp/B001E1P87Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1290014814&sr=1-1

Mad Cowboy Available from http://www.amazon.com/MAD-COWBOY-Plain-Cattle-Rancher/dp/0684854465/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290023535&sr=8-1 OR http://www.madcowboy.com/02_VVFprods.002.html#MCD
Featuring a cattle rancher who does not eat meat.

My Father’s Garden – 56 mins. Available from http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/mfg.html
Use and misuse of technology on American farms; chemical-agriculture world of today.

Nourish: Food and Community – 50 mins.
An inspiring call to eat more consciously.

Our Daily Bread
 – 92 mins.
World of industrial food production and high-tech farming.

Peaceable Kingdom – 77 mins.
Highlighting treatment of farm animals.

The Real Dirt on Farmer John – 82 mins.
Struggle of an eccentric third-generation farmer to start Community Supported Agriculture in the Chicago area.

Super Size Me – 96 mins.
Documentary investigation into health hazards of fast food.

Troublesome Creek
Iowan farmers struggle to save the family farm.

Two Angry Moms (Food Fight) – 62 mins.
What our kids are eating in school.

We Feed the World – What’s On Your Plate – 96 mins.
Expose’ of our modern agricultural system.

The Women of Zeri – 52 mins.
Group of women in Italy raising sheep as their grandfathers did.

Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water by Maude Barlow & Tony Clarke

Flow: For the Love of Water a Stephen Starr production; in association with the Group Entertainment; Directed by Irena Salina

GMO Trilogy. Videorecording DVD, 2006, Yes! Books

The World According to Monsanto. Videorecording DVD, c2008, Yes! Books

Frac Sand Land

The Price of Sand

Mysteries of the Driftless

Seed

Gasland 1 & 2

Triple Divide

Books

The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan

CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations): The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories by Daniel Imhoff

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan

The Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin: Findings, Recommendations and Steps to a Healthy Future A Wisconsin Idea Program Policy Report of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

A Greener Life: A Modern Country Compendium by Clarissa Dickson Wright and Johnny Scott

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat by Michael Pollan

Renewing the Countryside, Wisconsin Jerry Hembd, Jody Pagdham, Jan Joannides, editors

Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms by Nicolette Hahn Niman

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability by Lierre Keith

Waters of Wisconsin: The Future of our Aquatic Ecosystems and Resources A Report of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency by Matthew Stein

Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization by Richard Manning

Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment by David Kirby

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan

Earth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet by Bill McKibben

The Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin: Findings, Recommendations and Steps to a Healthy Future A Wisconsin Idea Program Policy Report of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Green, Greener, Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life by Lori Bongiorno

Meeting the Expectations of the Land: Essays in Sustainable Agriculture and Stewardship edited by Wes Jackson, Wendell Berry, Bruce Coleman

Now or Never: Why We Must Act Now to End Climate Change and Create a Sustainable Future by Tim Flannery

Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms by Nicolette Hahn Niman

The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food by Ben Hewitt

Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds by Claire Hope Cummings

Waters of Wisconsin: The Future of our Aquatic Ecosystems and Resources A Report of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment by David Kirby

Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water by Maude Barlow

The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan

The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic Americans by Patricia Klindienst

Farewell My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living by Doug Fine

Farming for Us All: Practical Agriculture and the Cultivation of Sustainability by Michael Mayerfeld Bell

Farming in Natures Image: An Ecological Approach to Agriculture by Judith D. Soule and Jon K. Piper: foreword by Wes Jackson

Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to a Food and Farm Bill by Daniel Imhoff; Foreward by Michael Pollan

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan

Learning Native Wisdom: What Traditional Cultures Teach Us About Subsistence, Sustainability, and Spirituality by Gary Holthaus

Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment by Sandra Steingraber

Living Green: A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability by Greg Horn

The Riverkeepers: Two Activists Fight to Reclaim Our Environment as a Basic Human Right by John Cronin and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

The Seasons on Henry’s Farm: A Year of Food and Life on a Sustainable Farm by Terra Brockman

Sekem: A Sustainable Community in the Egyptian Desert by Ibrahim Abouleish

Water Wars: The Fight to Control and Conserve Nature’s Most Precious Resource by Olga Cossi

Worldchanging: A Users Guide for the 21st Century edited by Alex Steffen; Foreward by Al Gore

Ecology, community and lifestyle by Arne Naess Translated and edited by David Rothenberg

Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

Energy
Water
5G

Physicians For Safe Technology – Published scientific literature on 5G can be found HERE.

Environmental Health Trust – Published peer-reviewed science on 5G, 4G and wireless radiation and health can be found HERE. Also from Environmental Health Trust, "What You Need To Know About 5G Wireless and “Small” Cells."

Bioinitiative - "Reported Biological Effects from Radiofrequency Radiation at Low-Intensity Exposure" Table

In 2018, Martin Pall, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences wrote: 5G: Great risk for EU, U.S. and International Health: Compelling evidence for eight distinct types of great harm caused by electromagnetic field (EMF) exposures and the mechanism that causes them.

April 2018 – Over 200 scientists and doctors demand a moratorium on the 5G roll out. Read the 5G Appeal HERE.

Asbestos
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