Summary of the Organic Farming Symposium

The American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America are very concerned about developing alternative farming systems. For this reason, they decided to hold a symposium on organic farming. Equally important, the Societies wanted to focus attention on organic and alternative farming systems and to draw public attention to some of the severe problems facing agriculture. The paucity of information on organic or ecological farming has been blamed on lack of public and scientific acceptance and support of research on alternative agriculture. There is a pressing need for information and research in organic agriculture in a number of areas. Management techniques are needed for increasing soil organic matter levels and improving nutrient utilization. Another aspect of organic farming is technology transfer to developing countries. It is common to see a picture of a starving child in our news media pointing out the need for us to grow food to feed them.