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Arkansas:

Matlock to chair committee developing
national sustainable agriculture standard

By Marty Matlock

Biological and Agricultural Engineering

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, Arkansas (November 19,2008) – The committee spearheading development of a national standard for sustainable agriculture on Nov. 3 elected Marty Matlock, associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering and director of the Center of Agricultural and Rural Sustainability in the University of Arkansas System's Division of Agriculture, as chairman.

  The center links U of A Division of Agriculture research and extension programs that address sustainability in production and marketing of agricultural products.

  Also elected were Ronald Moore, Moore Farms and American Soybean Association, vice-chair; Will Healy, research and technical manager at Ball Innovations, secretary; and Grace Gershuny, representing the Organic Trade Association (OTA), vice-secretary.

  The officers were elected by members of the standards committee and appointed by Leonardo Academy, the neutral, third party American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited organization facilitating the development process for the Scientific Certification System (SCS-001) of the sustainable agriculture standard.

   "Leonardo Academy is very pleased that such a diverse group of individuals has been elected to lead the workings of the standards committee," said Michael Arny, president of Leonardo Academy. "This leadership exemplifies the depth of agricultural expertise and range of viewpoints represented on the committee."

  Arny said Matlock will work with the committee to identify and deliberate the issues that will be considered for inclusion in the sustainable agriculture standard, as well as to assign tasks to committee members and subcommittees to foster progress on issues under consideration.

  "Sustainable production of agricultural products is the one of the most challenging issues our generation faces. There will be 9.5 million people coming to dinner by 2050. The decisions we make today will determine how we feed them and their children, how we eat tomorrow and how future generations eat--from now to eternity," Matlock said.

  Vice-Chair Ronald Moore stressed the importance of sustainability standard in meeting this challenge. "It is vitally important that production agriculture from the Midwest is represented during the process of developing a standard for sustainable agriculture," he said. "The farmers that I represent are the environmental stewards of millions of acres of land, so it is an advantage for all stakeholders to have farmer input and leadership on this committee. All sectors of agriculture must work together on a final standard that is socially responsible, environmentally sound, and economically viable today-and in the future-for the production of low cost, high quality food, feed, fiber, and fuel."

  Will Healy, committee secretary, said that defining sustainability is crucial to the industry of agriculture. "The problem today is that the agricultural heritage of America is being lost," he said. "There are a lot of misunderstandings, misconceptions and misinformation generated about what we as growers do and how this impacts the nation's food system. Identifying a framework and set of indicators for sustainability will give us all a target to move toward, improving production systems and products that are not only better for the environment but for growers and consumers also."

  Committee Vice-Secretary Grace Gershuny said the theory and practice of organic agriculture has been at the leading edge of the concept of sustainability from its inception. "Many of us believe organic should be recognized as the foundation of this current discussion around standards for Sustainable Agriculture," she said. "I believe that it is important for OTA, which has the mission to 'promote and protect the growth of organic trade, to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy,' to actively engage in this discussion."

  While ideas vary on a number of issues, Healy said, "We are all concerned about water consumption, land use, chemical inputs. This process allows us to come together as a group and to send a common message that the agricultural industry is concerned about sustainable production and that we want to move forward in a positive way."