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Organic Broadcaster Home
Field Days Highlight Organic Farming Research in Three States
by Harriet Behar
Even though the summer months are busy with many farming chores, it is worthwhile to find the time to take in an organic field day to learn more about seed varieties, soil fertility strategies and organic systems. MOSES personnel attended a sampling of organic field days this summer, and found information about a wide variety of useful and exciting projects.
As organic agriculture continues to be more widely recognized as a viable option for farmers, many public funded institutions (your tax dollars at work!) are conducting research and having field days focusing on organic methods. Iowa State University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin all have organic research plots at their experimental stations. Each institution is working with cooperating organic farmers to replicate their research studies in a “real-life” type situation.
The long-term field trials at Iowa State University’s Neeley Kenyon Research and Demonstration Farm have shown with their side-by-side organic and conventional fields that organics can produce acceptable yields after 4-5 years of organic production. Reduced yields tend to occur only in the early years, when both the land and the farmer are transitioning to the organic system. As all organic farmers know, it takes time to learn the fine points of timing, equipment, seed varieties and soil fertility strategies and having them all come together to produce a good crop. These trials have been valuable in gaining credibility among universities and farmers, illustrating both the short term and long term value of organic agriculture.
At Lamberton, MN, the University of Minnesota Agricultural Research Station is doing extensive trialing and development on soybean varieties that produce well under organic conditions. The research is looking not only at yields, but also at speedy emergence, quick canopy and other factors that organic farmers favor in a soybean variety. These trials have resulted in new varieties being released this past spring and others coming in the future. See the Organic Ecology website (www.organicecology.umn.edu) for more information. At the Lamberton Field Day Jeff Moyers of the Rodale Institute gave a stimulating presentation on no-till organic, using either rye (with soybeans) or hairy vetch (with corn) planted in the fall and rolled down the next spring when it is flowering. Rolling will kill the cover crop and put down a thick mulch for the crop, which is planted using an aggressive drill or row crop planter. The specifics of roller/crimpers was discussed as well as the timing. Plans for the roller crimper are on the New Farm website (www.newfarm.org). To be successful with organic no-till, it is important to get a thick stand of the cover crop established early enough in the fall, so it will be lush the next spring. Another important aspect of the roller/crimper is to have it mounted on the front of the tractor, so it gets fully crimped every 7 inches or so on the stalk. If it is mounted on the back, then the tractor wheels make a depression and this wheel-crushed cover crop doesn’t get the correct crimping and may not be killed. The cover crop must be mature enough so it will be killed by the roller and will not stand up. A timely rain after planting is also needed for a strong stand of corn or beans. Cutworms and seed maggots can also be issues, since you are basically planting into a sod. The benefits to this system are tremendous, tillage only occurs the fall before the crop when planting the cover crop and then the following spring after the crop to prepare the soil for the next crop in the rotation. No cultivating is done all season. While there are still many “bugs” still to be worked out, this system shows a lot of promise. (Ed. Note: Jeff Moyer has been invited to present at the Organic Research Symposium (at the same time as the Organic Conference in La Crosse, Feb 21-23, 2008). Plan to attend that talk if you missed the field day and would like to learn more.
At Earlham IA, Practical Farmers of Iowa held a field day where a no-till system was used for tomatoes at the Cleve Pulley Farm. Oats were planted in the spring, and then plastic was spread on it to solarize it and kill it. This did not work well, as the oats disintegrated under the plastic. Cleve plans to plant rye this fall and try this system in a manner similar to how it is used in soybeans.
At the TIPI Produce Farm in south central WI, Steve Pincus and Beth Kazmar transplanted zucchini plants in mid July into a field of mowed mature rye. Yields were very good, and moisture retention was excellent during the drier portion of the summer. Insect pressure was also very low, but it was also minimal on the plastic-mulched zucchini. In August, heavy rains did cause some fungal problems in the mowed rye, but at the time of writing this article, it is still hard to say if this is going to be significant. A standard waterwheel transplanter was used for these zucchini plants into the mowed rye, which made a bright yellow, thick reflective mat across the field.
At the University of Wisconsin Arlington Research Station, the field day started out with a seminar geared to personnel who work at Agricultural Research Stations around the state. A full classroom learned about the needs of organic farmers, and the special requirements (no treated seed, clean equipment etc.) necessary to have their research stations certified for organic production. Look for more organic production and test plots to occur around WI in the near future. Farmers joined this group in the afternoon and three wagon loads were taken through the Research Station fields to review their no till/rolled rye plots, their long term organic trials on soybeans and corn, and the latest research, which is the beginning of a 4 year or longer trial on beans, corn and grains. This systems-based trial will also be monitoring trace minerals and base saturation levels such as calcium to magnesium ratios. This exciting trial is reviewing the long-term effects of various soil compositions on plant vigor, yields and insect activity (both good and bad insects). Since organic farming is based in management and not only on input use, it is exciting to see this type of long-term research, since it should offer practical information to farmers.
All of these research projects are either focused on crops or vegetables. The need for more research on organic livestock was very apparent. With the current success and obvious viability of organic crop production, hopefully animal science researchers will build on the crop research and begin to look at organic solutions to various issues such as fly control, breeding issues and basic animal health, using an open minded approach and the tools that nature provides. Over 350 people attended these various field days, and it appeared everyone felt their experience was worthwhile. Check the MOSES event calendars regularly for an organic field day near you!
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