National Agriculture Week, March 16-22, 1997

Contacts:
Rich Pirog, Leopold Center, (515) 294-1854
Mary Adams, Leopold Center, (515) 294-5832

ISU'S NON-FARMERS' GUIDE TO AGRICULTURE BRIDGES RURAL-URBAN GAP

AMES -- What do farmers and urbanites really think about each other? How can they form partnerships to achieve their common goals?

Working to answer these questions is the "Non-farmers' Guide to Agriculture," an educational program in the Iowa City area that is collecting residents' thoughts on improving urban-rural relationships and acting on their suggestions. The program is sponsored by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.

Last year, six focus groups explored agricultural topics. Among the 37 participants were farmers, Iowa City and Coralville residents, people who live on rural acreages but work in urban areas, and small-town residents. Project leaders were Wayne Petersen, an urban conservationist with the USDA's National Resources Conservation Service, and Rich Pirog, the Leopold Center's education coordinator.

Farmers in the group said the true story about farming was not being clearly conveyed to urban and other non-farm residents. They said urban dwellers had little idea of the financial risks and heavy workloads farmers face. They believed farming had been singled out for blame in local environmental problems linked to nitrate and herbicides.

The farmers said they felt strong pressure from the increased growth and urban sprawl that have fueled rising land prices and potential conflicts with non-farm neighbors. Farmers said they sought common ground, although they viewed urban residents as being unconcerned about agriculture.

The non-farm participants said they wanted to learn more about the move toward industrialized agriculture, the use of agricultural chemicals, soil conservation, farm business and finance issues and crop rotations. They did not say farming was the primary cause of local environmental woes. The non-farm dwellers said they had a clear, positive picture of the realities of farm life, though they said they would not choose farming as a career because of the risks and uncertainty.

The focus groups agreed that increased growth and development in the county posed the greatest concern. Participants wondered how growth would affect quality of life.

The participants had several ideas for bridging the gap between the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, including: inviting urban residents to the Farm Progress Show and Johnson County Fair; placing farmers on urban committees and urban residents on farm committees; developing an exchange program in which urban residents could work on a farm; and organizing a community-sponsored agriculture project so that urban dwellers could contract with farmers to produce vegetables and other foods.

"The focus-group information gave us ideas and insights we hope to use to build an even more effective educational program," said Petersen. In 1997, the Non-farmers' Guide will increase its promotional efforts to attract more Johnson County residents.

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