22. Garth Youngberg, leader in alternative agriculture

Sustainable Agriculture Policy with Ron Kroese

Garth Youngberg’s work has had a large impact on the agricultural industry, leading farmers to reexamine conventional agricultural practices and explore alternative approaches.

This week, Ron interviews Garth, the founder and director of the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture located in Greenbelt, Maryland. He directed the Institute since its formation in 1983. The Institute joined Winrock International in 2000.

He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Western Illinois University, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois (1971) in political science, with an emphasis in agriculture policy and administration.

Garth began his career in education, which included teaching and research positions at Iowa State University and Southwest Missouri State University.

In 1979, he joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Science and Education Administration, where he served from 1980-82 as USDA's Organic Farming Coordinator.

The author of numerous publications on agricultural policy, he co-authored the landmark 1980 USDA study, "Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming." He was editor of the Wallace Institute's peer-reviewed American Journal of Alternative Agriculture from its inception in 1985 until 2000.

In 1988, Dr. Youngberg received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship Award, the first awarded in agriculture. He retired in 2003.

In 2013, Garth co-authored (with Suzanne DeMuth) "Organic Agriculture in the United States: A 30-Year Retrospective," in Renewable Agriculture & Food Systems.

The interview was conducted on Dec. 6, 2016.

Additional links this episode:
National Sustainable Agriculture Oral History Archive (video link)
Practical Farmers of Iowa
“A Time to Choose: Summary Report on the Structure of Agriculture,” 1981
Garth’s Wikipedia Page
Garth in the USDA National Agricultural Library

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