Final Report for FNC94-065

PROJECT BACKGROUND
We have approximately 9,000 acres being farmed sustainable in the Mid-Michigan area. This would include dairy production, rotational grazing, dairy goat production, educational seminars for schools, 4H projects and cash crops.

Before receiving this grant we had worked with small groups, advertising and promoting sustainable agriculture, helping them work towards being fully organic.

We held farm tours to show others what sustainable farming could do for them. We placed literature about our operation at welcome centers. We have worked with John Krohn who is the head of the Tittabasse Task Force for Cleaning Pollution from Rivers and streams in this area. We did a major add campaign to stop chemicals such as 2-4-D from being used in the rivers, lakes and streams in our area. We convinced 2 out of 3 townships to stop the use of unneeded chemicals.

With hard work and promotion you can get people to understand that they do not need the excessive use of chemicals to be profitable farmers.

Agriculture is more profitable to farmer without the use of chemicals.

The future of our environment and the health of generations to come rest solely on the shoulders of what our generation does to eliminate unneeded and unhealthy chemicals. The use of chemicals is like a chain reaction, the true impact will perhaps not be felt or the real health hazards know until it is too late for changes to be made. That’s why it is so important for us to make changes now, while we still can!

To get the message across to people we have advertised, held meetings, had farm tours, guest speakers, put a booth at the county fairs, supported a 4H organic group and held educational seminars for school children.

We plan to continue with more meetings, more displays at the welcome center and working with other 4H clubs and educational seminars. We are working with MS patients using organic Honey Bees for their bee venom therapy. We were able to get the University of Michigan and Oakland University to do the research on bee venom therapy. They are having great results.