Although this column is customarily reserved for the "President's Message," I have o­nce again usurped the space until our current President, Jim Lassoie, returns later this month from his sabbatical in China. Unlike "Lake Wobegon," the last quarter has not been a quiet o­ne for AFTA.

I have been busy working behind the scenes o­n the almost total make-over of the AFTA website, our public face to the world. If you're reading this o­nline, you will have found our new home at www.aftaweb.org.

We invite you to click through and explore the new and revised content. Personally, I expect the site to be constantly "under construction;" it is a work in progress that will never be completely "finished." Our aim is to create an information resource that you will want to bookmark and revisit over and over again to read up-to-date news from the world of temperate agroforestry.

Continuing in its twelfth year of publication, our quarterly newsletter has also migrated to the digital world. More people will be able to access The Temperate Agroforester, at lower cost to AFTA, now that it is published o­nline.

This month also starts a new series in the newsletter: "The Business of Agroforestry." This o­n-going series will explore some of the practical economic and business aspects of operating successful agroforestry enterprises for a variety of products and environmental services.

The other major news from AFTA is the selection of hosts for our 2005 and 2007 North American Agroforestry Conference series. The Lake States and adjacent provinces are o­ne of the "hotbeds" of North American agroforestry, and the 2005 conference will no doubt attract a large group of both locals and visitors. Having recently traveled to Quebec City, I am personally looking forward to returning to that interesting city for the 2007 agroforestry conference. Needless to say, we will keep you well-informed as plans develop for these meetings.

January is membership renewal month, a very important time for the financial well-being of AFTA. We welcome both renewing and new members to the AFTA community, and sincerely appreciate your support. If you haven't already returned your dues payment, now is a good time to do so either via our new, secure o­nline payment option or by mail.

Our new website offers many ways that members can interact with o­ne another. We hope the searchable member directory will stimulate contacts among members sharing similar agroforestry interests. If you have questions, or answers, related to temperate agroforestry topics, our email listserv is a good meeting place.

As always, we welcome your ideas and suggestions o­n how we may improve our educational programs. Agroforestry information is our business, and the task of keeping up to date is daunting for an all-volunteer organization. What we really appreciate most are your contributions of information for the website and publications, e.g. info about new books or reports, interesting websites, research updates, newsletter articles, meeting notices, photographs, etc. If members all around North America will help by sending me (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) bits of information both large and small, AFTA can sustain a worthwhile information resource for agroforestry, and everyone will benefit as a result.

Best wishes and abundant growing in the New Year.

By Miles Merwin, Editor