LISA

Excerpt

THE U.S. Department of Agriculture's research and education grants program, known as Low-Input/Sustainable Agriculture (LISA), responds to an emerging interest by many farmers for a more cost-effective and environmentally benign agriculture. There is growing public concern about groundwater contamination, pesticide residue in foods, high cost of modern-day agriculture, soil health, and lack of crop diversity for wildlife habitat. LISA research and education projects are designed to help farmers substitute management, scientific information, and on-farm resources for some of the purchased inputs they currently depend upon for their farming enterprises.

The LISA program also has responded to a congressional mandate to involve a broader spectrum of the agricultural community in administering the program and carrying out the projects. Innovative methods are being used to enable scientists, educators, and farmers to work as teams in selecting projects to be funded, setting research goals, designing and implementing the projects, and devising strategies to ensure that the findings are made available to producers and other audiences.

The LISA program is administered through host institutions in four regions: the University of Vermont for the northeastern region, University of Nebraska for the north centralregion, University of Georgia for …