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JJ centers while protecting the farmland upon which they depend for local food, says Andy Bowman, Metro Council planning director. SUCH UNIQUE STRATEGIES, indeed the very theme of AFT's conference, will provide an opportunity for a much -need- ed national dialogue, says Fred Kirschenmann,. a North Dakota farmer and executive director of the Leopold Center, a research center promoting sus- tainable agriculture in Iowa and beyond. Kirscheamann, who will deliver one of the conference keynote addresses, stress- es that protecting farmland near cities is not only a good idea., but also a way to retain medium- and small-sized family farms. "Without such farmers, we lose the ability to enjoy the most environmen- tal and social benefits," he says. "Ecologists say the only way to man- age natural systems is to have people on the ground knowing how to manage them," he continues. "Farms are ecologi- cal systems, and how to manage them from an ecological perspective can only be determined by people who live there Fred Kirschenmann, executive director of the Leopold Center, will speak at AFT's national conference. Photo by Bob Elbert, courtesy of Successful Farming. long enough" Moreover, offering city residents both fresh fruit and access to farms preserves a strong rural culture that is threatened. "It makes more sense to have teenagers gath- er around a garden raising vegetables than a street corner doing drugs," he says. The conference may help catalyze both communities and federal policy - makers to consider the importance of farmland to thriving urban areas. "The conversion and fragmentation of farmland is the most significant, defin- ing characteristic of urban - influenced agriculture," says Ed Thompson, AFT's senior vice president for public policy. "There is no better way to protect that agriculture than to make it a priority of farm policy to save productive farmland and improve the environment in those areas where Americans most often encounter agriculture." (_q For information on the confer- ence, "Farming on the Edge: Conservation, Community & Com- merce,"go to www.farmland.org and look for the button. Valerie Berton works for the USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. In cooperation with AFT and Kane Learn how agriculture and an' County, Illinois: increasingly urban environ- American Planning Association Campaign for Sensible Growth _ meet can COm lenient each p Environmental Protection Agency other, benefiting both land Illinois Farm Bureau The Izaak Walton League of America and people. AFT's national National Association of Counties National Governors Association conference wi ll. offer insights Center for Best Practices and inspiration, tech - Openlands Project C.William Swank Program for Rural- proven niques and successful strate- Urban Policy, The Ohio State University es to save land, stop s ravel Trust for Public Land and strengthen agriculture. US Conference of Mayors USDA Forest Service USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Wisconsin Farmland Conservancy For information, contact Doris Mittasch at (413) 586 -9330 or e-mail dmittasch@farmland.org. 20 AMERICAN FARMLAND SUMMER 4001