F.H. King Students of Sustainable Agriculture is a student organization working to promote sustainable agriculture at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Founded in 1979, F.H. King was named after a UW professor and author of the 1911 book Farmers of Forty Centuries. Professor King was one of the first people to consider the sustainability of North American farming, and this group meets in his honor to continue to work for sustainable agriculture.

The largest F.H. King project is an on-campus garden that demonstrates organic and sustainable gardening techniques. This half-acre garden produces vegetables, fruit, flowers and herbs grown by students, faculty, staff and community members interested in learning organic and sustainable gardening. Student volunteers benefit from receiving produce from the garden, as well as taking pride in the fact that F.H. King provides campus-grown, organic produce to the UW Cafeterias. F.H. King also provides roughly 500 pounds of produce annually to local food pantries. CIAS provides financial support for this educational garden.

Educational activities include:

Workshops
F.H. King members learn by doing. From garden planning and seed ordering to garden cultivation and harvesting, members participate in all aspects of garden management. The group offers workshops throughout the season during which experienced members provide instruction on seed starting, crop rotation, weed identification, weed management, and a variety of other topics. At each workday, facilitators and experienced gardeners provide ongoing opportunities to learn about gardening.

On Campus
Several University courses (in Rural Sociology and Environmental Studies) currently use the F.H. King garden for instruction. The group is actively working to develop relationships with faculty from diverse departments to increase course use of the gardens. Each semester, group members participate in Organic Dinner events in the campus dining halls. During these events, they offer tastings and information on sustainable agriculture in the four main campus dining halls.

Activity Days
During the growing season, the group holds Saturday events in the garden during which members facilitate activities for all ages. In the children’s garden, kids are welcome to explore, dig, pick and pull. Activities for older participants highlight sustainable agriculture and agroecology topics. At each event, participants can learn to prepare a seasonal dish made from garden produce.

For more information on F.H. King, visit their web site: http://fhking.rso.wisc.edu/