The New Agriculture Network's on-line newsletter with seasonal advice for field crop and vegetable growers interested in organic agriculture.
Next issue will be posted October 11, 2006 . Read previous issues through our calendar of issues.
Agricultural research site in transition to organic production: What will the fourth season (end of transition) tell us?
Cathy Eastman and Edmond Zaborski (Illinois Natural History Survey); Michelle Wander, Darin Eastburn, John Masiunas, Leslie Cooperband, Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, Dan Anderson, Carmen Ugarte, Shin-Yi Lee, and Isabel Rosas, (University of Illinois); Jonathan Lundgren, USDA Northern Grain Research Laboratory, Brookings, South Dakota.
For any chef trying to create a new cake recipe, there finally comes that long-awaited time when the cake comes out of the oven and the results (yum!) can be evaluated. This summer we are beginning to “open the oven door” on our experiment, only we have been waiting four growing seasons for the results.
We began our experiment in 2003 to evaluate approaches to organic transition that differ in management intensity and type of organic inputs. Three farming-system treatments with different cropping intensities (levels of soil disturbance) – representing viable options for Midwest growers to choose from in deciding how to transition their land for organic certification – were established in research plots in Champaign:
- Intensive vegetable production
- Intermediate-intensity organic cash-grain
- Low-intensity perennial pasture mix.
Within these major treatments were three sub-treatments differing in organic matter and fertility management:
- Cover crop inputs alone
- Cover crop inputs plus compost or
- Cover crops inputs plus manure.
These treatments were maintained through the 2003 – 2005 growing seasons. The low-intensity treatment plots of perennial pasture mix (alfalfa, red clover, Timothy, orchard grass, and Alsike clover) were planted in 2003. Crops grown in the other treatments during that time were Roma tomato (high-intensity system) and food-grade soybean (medium-intensity system), 2003; broccoli/cabbage (high-intensity) and winter wheat (medium-intensity), 2004; and winter squash (high-intensity) and field corn (medium-intensity), 2005.
The 2006 growing season (our fourth) signifies the end of the transition period. Intensified data collection activities are in progress to document changes in variables such as soil organic matter and nutrient availability, soil invertebrates, weeds, insect pests and beneficial species and plant pathogens since initiation of transition in 2003. To facilitate evaluation of these changes, the same crops (paste tomatoes and peppers) were planted across all farming systems treatment plots.
The soil fertility researchers are focusing this season in particular on soil nutrient stocks and soil quality variables such as water holding capacity. In addition to collecting another season of data on emerged weeds, the weed ecology researchers are evaluating their weed seed bank samples. In preliminary results from those evaluations, John Masiunas reports that the weed seed banks are becoming more diverse during transition, with a greater number of species than in year 1 of the experiment and with increasing weed seed density.
Plant pathology researchers are evaluating soil samples from the different farming-system treatments collected in the 2003 – 2005 seasons to determine capabilities of these soils to suppress major soil-borne disease organisms. For the entomologists in the group, one question of great interest will be whether or not the initial changes in beneficial ground-beetle populations seen between 2003 and 2004 (i.e., greatest density and diversity of ground beetle species found in the pasture treatment) will still be evident with the conversion of the pasture plots to high-intensity vegetable production in 2006. In addition to these research activities, we will be filing documentation with certifier Cissy Bowman (Indiana Certified Organic, Clayton, Ind.) later this year to obtain organic certification of our research site.
In addition to data collection activities specific to each researcher’s expertise, we will be spending considerable time as a group to synthesize our findings scientifically and, in consultation with our grower advisors, to put them in contexts most meaningful to current and prospective organic growers. This ultimately will help us determine how well our “test recipes” for transitioning land to organic production turned out.
Acknowledgments: Funding for this project is provided primarily by grant number 2003-51106-02086 from the Organic Transitions program of the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.
No-till organic soybeans at MSU/KBS
Dale R. Mutch
Kellogg Biological Station
Michigan State University
Michigan State University Extension’s Covercrop/IPM Program has been developing an organic no-till soybean system for several years now. Here are the results from 2006.
On August 24, 2005, vetch and rye plus vetch were drilled. Due to drought in 2005, we irrigated about two inches of water on these treatments to stimulate germination. Rye was drilled on September 15 at a rate of 2.5 bu/A. Vetch was drilled at a rate of 30 lbs/A. The rye plus vetch was drilled at 2 bu/A and 25 lbs/A, respectively. Weed-free controls were drilled to rye at 2 bu/A (Table 1).
The first crimping treatment was on vetch alone on May 25, 2006. Treatments 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9 were all crimped on June 2 (Table 1). Treatments 1 and 7 were crimped on June 5. Treatments 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9 were crimped a second time and soybeans drilled at 150,000 seeds/A on June 5. Treatment 3 had soybeans drilled into standing rye and then crimped/rolled on June 5. Treatments 10 and 11 were controls where the rye was flail mowed on May 25, the stubble rotor-tilled on June 2 and soybeans drilled at 180,000 seeds/A (Table 1). Soybeans were drilled rather than row planted because there were very few, if any, weed seedlings in these plots. Due to heavy mulch and poor seed-to-soil contact, Treatments 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 were replanted on June 15, 2006.
Biomass was sampled from these treatments. When rye was drilled, we averaged 5,262 lbs/A and vetch averaged 4,573 lbs/A. Rye plus vetch averaged 6,345 lbs/A (Table 2).
Table 2
|
Biomass (lb/A) |
|
Treatment |
Rye |
Vetch |
1-3 |
5262 |
0 |
4-6 |
0 |
4573 |
7-9 |
5403 |
942 |
View images of the following:
Images 1-3
Images 4-5
Images 6-9
2006 has been an excellent growing season at KBS. We are extremely pleased with the weed control and soybean growth in our no-till organic soybeans. Replanting soybeans into the existing soybean stand increased soybean populations. Additionally, replanting reduced weed populations in the vetch cover crops. Cereal rye appears to be the cover crop of choice. We have better weed control and soybean stands drilling into rye. Vetch is harder to kill with the crimper/roller system than rye. The combination of rye plus vetch resulted in too much mulch/residue and made it difficult to drill soybeans into it. Next season we are planning to evaluate two rye varieties and barley. We will not be rolling/crimping vetch anymore.
Bilingual publication advises fresh produce sellers
The publication Selling fruits and vegetables by Eldon Everhart and Barbara Lovitt gives advice on growing and selling fresh produce. It warns that although it can be a profitable and satisfying family business; risks are involved. Before investing money, time and energy into any new business venture, it is advisable to first evaluate personal skills, market conditions, financial resources and overall project feasibility.
The publication is in English and Spanish and is available at the Iowa State University Extension web site at: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/store/ListItems.aspx?Keyword=PM%201887
Print the publication at the web site from a pdf file or purchase a print copy for $1.
Midwest organic farmers seeking a means to communicate and interact
Vicki Morrone
CS Mott Sustainable Food Systems Group
Michigan State University
During the September 13th organizational conference call for the New Ag Network, several farmers expressed an interest in establishing a listserv to maintain communication with their fellow farmers and university extension educators throughout the year. You may find the Michigan Organic listserv fits your needs. The list currently consists of primarily Michigan farmers and educators, but is open to all who may benefit or wish to contribute to aspects of organic production in USDA zones 4, 5, and 6. Membership consists of organic farmers as well as educators interested in organic agriculture. On a weekly basis, I compile news articles and events that are relevant to organic agriculture in the Midwest. All those registered for the listserv are encouraged to exchange questions, ideas and observations about organic agriculture production, market opportunities and soil building. The listserv is as much as the members make it, so this is your chance to build a network without great expense or trouble.
The Michigan organic farmer listserv is sponsored by the CS Mott Sustainable Food Systems Group at Michigan State University. It is intended to serve farmers and educators to interact and share information about farming and educational opportunities. Those who have information on upcoming events, fact sheets, resources and opportunities (such as a new market or coop), please feel free to post on this listserv. Information that can be verified and may be useful in the future will be saved and placed on a web page (in progress). In the mean time, the listserv will serve as a running record of our organic farmers’ and promoters’ interactions through the archive.
Please consider joining this listserv if these topics are of interest to you. If you would like to subscribe, follow the directions below. If you have lists of persons whom you think would be interested, please share this information with them.
Please, as with all listservs, be respectful of other’s opinions and ideas. Do not state a fact unless you are certain it is a fact (providing any reference is good, too) and if you are not certain about the statement PLEASE indicate you suspect or believe it to be the case.
Process to register for the listserv
To subscribe to the list, send email to listserv@list.msu.edu with this command in the body of the email:
SUBSCRIBE MICH-ORGANIC YOUR NAME
For example, if your name was Rob Clarke, you would type this command in the body of the email:
SUBSCRIBE MICH-ORGANIC ROB CLARKE
You will be sent a confirmation message, and will need to reply to that message according to the instructions in the message, in order to complete your subscription.
Among other things, this ensures that the request really came from you and not from a hacker forging your address.
To remove your subscription, use this command in the body of the email: SIGNOFF MICH-ORGANIC
Note that you give your name on the SUBSCRIBE command but not on the SIGNOFF command.
Organic grain farmers more profitable
Compiled by staff of Michigan Farmer for its July 2006 publication.
Submitted by Vicki Morrone, Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems, Michigan State University
Grain farmers could make more money by switching to organic grain crops according to a new study released at last week's American Agricultural Economics Association's annual meeting. Records showed that organic crops fetched much more than conventional crops: soybeans, up to $14 more per bushel; corn, up to $3 more; and wheat, up to $5 more. Organic alfalfa hay is too new to have a track record, so researchers recorded it as selling for the same price as conventionally grown hay.
Over four years the study analyzed both economic risks and transition effects of switching to organic farming of the Agricultural Research Service's Swan Lake Research Farm near Morris, Minn. The 130-acre Swan Lake farm is representative of typical corn-soybean farms in Minnesota.
ARS economist David Archer and soil scientist Hillarius Kludze compared an organic corn-soybean rotation and an organic corn-soybean-spring wheat/alfalfa rotation – half grown with conventional tillage and half with strip tillage – with a corn-soybean rotation using conventional tillage. Strip tillage involves tilling only the middle of the seedbed. The scientists found that when strip tillage is used with organic farming, one of the transition risks is an increase in weeds until farmers learn to manage the system.
Computer simulations projected costs, yields and risks over a 20-year period, using yield and economic data from the four-year study, as well as crop price records of recent years.
Another computer model projected that farmers would net an average $50 to $60 more per acre a year by going organic, even with the highest transition costs. The premium price advantage would outweigh the initial higher costs and possibly lower yields, even if organic prices were to drop by half.Reports from organic growers
Illinois
Southwest Central Illinois—Floyd Johnson
The weather has affected our crops, but I’m not sure how to put it. We were dry and now we have rain. Crops and weeds are both growing. So now I think it is too late to cultivate. When it was time to cultivate the second time, it was so dry there was no reason to cultivate; nothing growing then, but it is now. Asking if the weather has affected our crops is kind of a silly question to ask a farmer, isn’t it? Maybe not.
I’ve been mowing ditches and stubble. I bought a JD 15-foot bat wing mower last summer and it is one of my favorite investments; it really covers the ground and does a good job. I’m making plans for next year and fixing machinery. I just got our books caught up for summer. I hope this can become a more pleasant job in the future; it’s not good always finding more bills than money.
In the next two weeks I will finish mowing ditches and stubble, and then moldboard plow one stubble field to see if we notice a difference in it. It seems like where we have plowed, crops do better. We no-tilled for years and are wondering if we might have a stratification problem.
Questions
How is blue corn supposed to look? It looks much different to me and I am not sure what I should be doing. One stalk will be green and the next looks ready to harvest, it just isn’t very consistent.
West Central Illinois—Anne Patterson
Since my last report of August 22, I have seen 4.5 inches of rain scattered over the weeks with several days or mornings of rainout. For the most part, it has been cooler than normal. Not beneficial for tomatoes; however, the market for them has waned. It seems like people just get taste fatigue from over-consumption of beans, tomatoes, etc. and just quit buying them. Very few of my customers buy in quantity for canning, freezing or drying.
I have continued harvesting plus cleaned old beds to plant Asian greens, head lettuce, mesclun, arugula, carrots, beets and baby turnips for fall and early winter harvesting. Continue to harvest: herbs, flowers, tomatoes, tomatillos, squash, beets, carrots, eggplant, pears, peppers, potatoes, cucumbers and beans. Winter ‘Delicata’ squash and ‘Baby Pan’ pumpkins have been harvested. Potatoes are all out. Most all beds needing seeding of winter cover crop have been done. I plant some beds in hairy vetch + winter rye and some in red clover + oats. Some beds I just add composted chicken manure covered by leaf mulch in fall. The second crop of cucumbers and summer squash is bearing, however, one row was decimated by squash bugs and disease, even though it had been covered up to bloom time with row cover. I continue with biweekly seeding of head lettuce and mesclun in field. I will try hoops with plastic to extend season into winter on a small number of beds in the field. I sent out marketing postcards to all old customers and potentially new customers for weekly email list. Plus I’ve made one restaurant call for winter hoophouse grown greens.
I will plant Asian greens this week. In the next two weeks we will plant hoophouse in winter crops of mesclun and spinach; build new wildflower propagation beds along wooded path for next spring; build new cut flower beds in front of the barn for pick your own beds for next season. I also plan to take a vacation—something I could never do this time of year when I was running a CSA.
Question
Are growers relying on rotenone and pyrethrin for cucumber family crops?
West Suburban Chicago—Steve Tiwald
It’s been raining so much that we are behind in getting in our fall cover crops. Yesterday we got 2.2 inches. Harvesting is still going strong; we are in our 14th harvest week. Last week there were 16 items in the CSA box. Harvesting is taking the lion’s share of our time, occupying most of four out of five days each week. As we have time, we are doing the mow-down of finished strips (broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, peas, lettuce) followed by scarf pass of rototiller, then planting of winter cover crop. Our farm is involved in testing certain organic herbicides, working in conjunction with Dale Rhoades. Last Saturday we did the herbicide applications involved in our third round. In the next two weeks, besides the harvesting, we hope to have our winter cover crop planted in the beds of all the finished vegetable crops. For winter cover crop we are doing a mix of red clover and rye in some places and red clover and oats in other places.
Questions
I would like to hear about high-cal liming my fields.
Also, a friend is looking for popcorn, buckwheat and sunflower seeds:
Art Scheele, Owner
American Organics
PO Box 385
Warren, IL 61087
Phone: 815-266-4010
Fax: 815-745-2773
email: art@american-organic.com
Northern Illinois—Dave Campbell
A lot of rain has fallen in the past couple of weeks along with cooler temperatures. The rain has been good to see, although as of now I would be glad to see the rain leave the area and replace it with plenty of sun and some warm temperatures. I've been clipping the weeds out of my wheat fields that were seeded down to alfalfa and grass with the haybine. We've also been cutting weeds out of my soybean fields. In the next two weeks I will finish cutting weeds out of the soybeans and harvesting the third-cutting hay. Beginning this week I will load out last year's crop of soybeans and also service the combine.
Iowa
Northwest Iowa – Paul Mugge
We’ve had some rain recently, but it was pretty dry the first part of September. I think both corn and beans are too mature to be helped much. The beans look very good and are about two weeks out. The corn is more variable. It was hurt by the hot and dry weather in May, June and July. It’s hard to predict yield, but it should be respectable. I still have some manure to haul. I need to clip my red clover cover crop following oats and flax. During the next two weeks I need to start getting machinery ready for harvest. I also have a few beans and triticale that I’m trying to get the buyers to take delivery on.
Michigan
Southwest Michigan – Matt Wiley
We have received more rain so field work is on hold until we dry out. We rotovated the spelt stubble and red clover trying to deteriorate crop residue. We also planted oats and oilseed radish on very rough once over (broadcast). Volunteer, spelt, oats, radish, red clover, lambsquarter and velvetleaf are all doing very well. One week of rain germinated oats and oilseed radish laying on top of soil. We plan to harvest soybeans and plant spelt in the next two weeks and possibly harvest corn about October 1.
Funding to initiate this network was provided by the American Farmland Trust and EPA Region 5. Web site is hosted by the MSU IPM Program. Contact webmaster. |
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