The Land Institute
At the close of his tenure as a Pew Fellow, Wes Jackson reported three major achievements. First, the Land Institute was able to plant 77 polyculture plots that helped in determining the most suitable grain species mixtures for a particular geographical range. The Land Institute also became engaged in the Matfield Green Project, identifying the number of people, assuming various ways of living, who can be supported by the prairie ecosystem in which they are embedded. Finally, he wrote a major report for the Secretary of Agriculture supporting a $1 billion research effort for Natural Systems Agriculture.
Wes Jackson is co-founder and president of The Land Institute, a nonprofit conservation, education, and research organization. His 1980 book, New Roots for Agriculture, and the 1987 book, Altars of Unhewn Stone, are credited with initiating new thinking into the dynamics and sustainability of what is now called Natural Systems Agriculture. Research results published in refereed journals in recent years have established the foundation for this new paradigm. Language in the 1995 Agriculture Appropriations Bill acknowledges these results, designating further exploration of the possibilities of Natural Systems Agriculture nationally.
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EDUCATION
Ph.D., North Carolina State University
1967: Genetics, North Carolina
Masters of Arts, University of Kansas
1960: Botany, Kansas, USA
Bachelor of Arts, University of Kansas
1958: Biology, Kansas, USA
KEY AWARDS & HONORS
Right Livelihood Award
2000
MacArthur Fellow
1992: MacArthur Foundation
Marine Fellow
1990: Pew Fellows Program in Conservation and the Environment
Distinguished Service Award
1988: Kansas Wesleyan
Environmental Quality Award
1979: EPA Region VII
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