Newsletter April 11, 2008

This week, in the best tradition of the old New Farm magazine and website, we feature a story about a Kansas family transition to both organic agriculture and from one generation to the next. Written by a member of the family, the article tells how keeping the lines of communication open led to a shared vision in which people, animals and the environment all come out winners.

Also inside you’ll find the second and final installment of our two-part piece on invasive weeds of the future. It’s not a science-fiction monster movie but research out of Cornell University that looks at what happens when you turn the dial up on CO2. The bad news is that weeds get more competitive. The worse news is that the more invasive perennial weeds—such as Canada Thistle and Quackgrass—seem to get the biggest boost of all.

We invite you to tune into Quantum Shift TV, which features Rodale Institute research and our own Dr. Paul Hepperly, who explains what we are learning about the potential of organically managed soils to sequester carbon and help cool the planet.

Plus, we’ve been scrubbing the planet for the latest news and research which help support our claims that organic agriculture is an answer to climate change, our current health crisis and can indeed feed the world’s hungry. And as always, there’s plenty of information for farmers, and for anyone who eats.

Enjoy!
The Rodale Institute editorial team