The New Agriculture Network's on-line newsletter with seasonal advice for field crop and vegetable growers interested in organic agriculture.
Vol. 2, No. 1 - April 28, 2005
In this issue
Next issue posted May 12. Read previous issues through our calendar of issues.
Welcome to the 2005 publishing season
Welcome to the start of the 2005 publishing season for the New Agriculture Network (NAN). This year we plan to expand our coverage by increasing information about vegetable production (see the new reporting farmers in our grower reports section.). NAN is collaboration between farmers, researchers and educators in four states. Organic farmers from the represented states will share crop updates and advice with Extension personnel from the University of Illinois, Purdue University, Michigan State University and Iowa State University to generate information throughout the 2005 growing season. We have a conference call for this exchange which occurs the day before we post the articles and reports at this web site.
We are excited to provide another season of biological farming information to you. If you have topics you would like us to address during this season, please submit them to: newagnet@msu.edu and we will do our best to develop articles for them.-- From your network organizers:
Dale Mutch and Joy Landis, Michigan State University
Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, University of Illinois
Elizabeth Maynard, Purdue University
Jerry DeWitt and Kathleen Delate, Iowa State University
Farmers must build new skills to "Go Organic"
Maria A. Boerngen,
Ph.D. Candidate,
Dept. of Agricultural and Consumer Economics,
University of Illinois
The biological effects of transitioning to reduced-chemical or organic production practices are well known. Problems with weed control and nutrient deficiencies contribute to a "yield penalty" during the initial years of transition. Farmers must build a new set of management skills in order to successfully cope with these problems as they move away from chemical-intensive methods. But how much time is involved in the transition, and how long does it take to build the necessary skills? When I discovered that nobody had measured this before, I set out to answer these questions myself.
A survey of 1,000 farmers revealed that the transition to reduced-chemical or organic practices typically requires the farmer to invest 260 to 520 hours of learning time during a one- to two-year period leading up to adoption. In addition, all farmers spend time "keeping up" with information about the production practices they employ; while conventional farmers spend 3.3 hours each week in this activity, reduced-chemical and organic growers devote 3.9 hours per week to "everyday" learning after adoption of organic methods is complete. While small, the difference in "everyday" learning is statistically significant.
Hours spent learning are hours diverted from income-producing activities, which implies that time organic farmers spend building and maintaining their management skills has implications for their profits. If encouraging more farmers to transition away from chemical-intensive practices is a public policy goal, then knowing how much time farmers spend learning to make this transition may be useful in calculating conversion subsidies to compensate for the associated costs. This can also inform the debate on the amount of state extension resources to devote to reduced-chemical and organic farmers, in order to provide these individuals with information that can aid them in managing their systems both during and after the transition.
For more detailed information about my survey and research findings, please check out the Fall 2004 edition of Agro-Ecology News and Perspectives at http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/~asap/news/v13n3.pdf
New weed ecology book available through MSUE bulletin office
Dale R. Mutch
MSU - Kellogg Biological Station
A new ecologically based weed control bulletin was written at MSU this winter. Extension bulletin E-2931, Integrated Weed Management "One Year's Seeding. has arrived and can be purchased through the MSU bulletin office (www.emdc.msue.msu.edu). The cost for the publication is $10.
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Much of the material in this book came from meetings of the Michigan State University Integrated Weed Management working group in winter 2003-2004. This group was made up of 13 farmers, four weed scientists, four county Extension educators and one professional facilitator. With grant support from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5, Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP), the group met for four 8-hour working session. There were two objectives: 1) Discuss the integrated weed management systems that Michigan field crop producers already use and to find out what types of information would be useful to gather from scientific literature. 2) Weave this information into an integrated weed management guide that would follow the first two books in the Michigan field crop series: Michigan Field Crop Ecology (E-2646) and Michigan Field Crop Pest Ecology and Management (E-2704).
This process brought organic and conventional farmers together to discuss non-chemical ways to manage weeds such as:
. Soil properties
. Soil organic amendments
. Tillage
. Integrated crop and weed management
. Crop rotation
. Physical weed management
. Biological weed management
. Prevention
In the appendices we have "the dirty dozen," problem weeds, and organic farmer's view on rotation.
A highlight of the process of developing the publication was that conventional and organic farmers worked together with university people.The farmers learned to appreciate each, even though they farmed differently. Everyone came out a winner.
The biggest winner though is the individual who purchases this book. A lot of hard work went into this publication and it shows.
View page about soils.
View page about summer annual weeds and spring planted crops.
With organic produce now the fastest growing segment of agriculture, farmers and advisors are looking for accurate information about production and marketing. A new source of information is an online organic compliance handbook posted to the web site of the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP). The online handbook is organized in seven sections, including the principles of organic agriculture, national organic standards, setting up organic production plans, materials, marketing and economics, and resources and organizations.
Project cooperators are UC SAREP, Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), Washington State University Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, and New Mexico State University. The online handbook is posted at http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/organic/complianceguide/
Iformation about SAREP is posted at http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/Organic/index.htm which provides links to the national rules for organic farming, allowed inputs, and alternatives to pesticides and herbicides that cannot be used by organic growers. Questions may be directed to David Chaney, education coordinator for SAREP and federal Western Region SARE program representative at 530 754 8551; e-mail: DEChaney@UCDavis.edu
This informal network, started at the 2004 Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference, is for the purpose of sharing information and ideas to improve organic tree fruit production and market in the Upper Midwest. The Network offers organic tree fruit growers of all scales and interests a list-serv, field days, web site, and newsletter. No membership is required. Visit our webpage on the MOSES website at www.mosesorganic.org
The two issues of the newsletter, "Just Picked", is on the MOSES website at: http://www.mosesorganic.org/treefruit/news1.pdf
Contributions to future editions of "Just Picked" are welcome.
Three field days are scheduled for 2005:
May 4 - Gardens of Goodness, near Madison, Wisconsin. Hosts: James and Barbara Lindemann.
June 21 - Hoch Orchard, La Crescent Minnesota. Hosts: Harry Hoch and family. Guest: Mark Whalon, Ph.D., Michigan State University, "Orchard Ecological Assessment." Additional Sponsor: Minnesota Department of Agriculture, IPM Program
July 15- Countryside Orchard, Lansing, Iowa. Hosts: Jamie Bjornsen, owner; Bob Johnson, orchard consultant.
Field days will be from 10 AM to 3 PM, rain or shine. Lunch and educational materials will be provided.
Registration is $15 and is honored on a first-come, first-serve basis. Attendance numbers will be limited. A registration form is on the MOSES website. Anyone interested in more ecological approaches to tree fruit production are welcome. No host claims to have all the answers. They are simply sharing what they are learning.
If you wish to be on the list-serv, receive the newsletter by hardcopy or email, or to host or register for field days, please contact Deirdre Birmingham at 608-967-2362, or deirdreb@mindspring.com, or 7258 Kelly Rd.; Mineral Point, WI 53565.
Michigan
Southwest Michigan - Anthony Cinzori
We welcome Anthony Cinzori to our team of farmers. Here's his first report on his family's organic vegetable production: It's been dry from late March to about April 22. Since then we have gotten only about one-half inch of rain. Also early April was very warm, with some days over 80 degrees. We are done with primary tillage and some secondary. We have planted cole crops, potatoes, greens, lettuce and onions in the field. We've been harvesting greens and spinach out of the greenhouses for three weeks. In the next few weeks we will continue tillage and begin laying plastic. In the greenhouse we will be planting summer squash and cucumbers along with transplanting herbs and tomato.
Southwest Michigan - Matt Wiley
The conditions here are extremely dry: top is dry down to 12 inches. At the drip line next to a maple tree, it is so dry that I could not dig it with a shovel. I'm in the process of completing my first rotovation of red clover and getting ready to plant soybeans. I may rotovate a second time before planting.
Southeast Michigan - John Simmons
Warm and dry mid-April weather allowed me to complete oat planting, oat cover crop planting and perform primary tillage on almost all fields scheduled for spring planting. Twelve inches of wet, heavy snow received last weekend, followed by warmer weather and some rain, returned our soil/field conditions to more normal spring conditions.
Our current farming activities include greasing machinery, cleaning seed, etc. In the next two weeks I will plant barley, oats/peas and sunflowers, when the soils are dry again.
Southeast Michigan - Rob Malcomnson
Weather conditions haven't affected my cropping system yet, it's too early. Forty feet of sweet corn row is up 2 inches under a greenhouse. Current practices include some tillage in garden areas in preparation for mixed vegetable planting. Got some corn stubble chiseled for soybean planting in late May.
In the next two weeks I plan to do deep tillage, planting cool season transplants (like broccoli) and work in rye cover in some fields going to soybeans. Question: Who uses plastic for early sweet corn and what are your methods and planting dates?
Illinois
Southern Illinois - Stan Schutte
Welcome to Stan Schutte, a farmer filing his first report on his vegetable and row crops farm: Weather has been fairly cooperative; all tillage for vegetables and row crops has gone well. Rains have come in amounts of a half-inch or less, and in a timely fashion. Early warm temperatures have helped to get the first plantings of sweet corn and other vegetables off to a good start.
This week we covered early tomatoes with row covers to protect against cold weather coming in, opened ditches on some ground that will hopefully be going to wheat this fall, and planted another group of potatoes. We are getting animals moved around in preparation for the busy season. Moving beef cattle on different pastures and will be taking the first group of free range poultry to get butchered at the end of the week.
During the next couple of weeks we plan to get started on regular field corn and planting more groups of vegetables, this gives us a steady supply for the farmers' markets all summer. They are forecasting rain for the next week, so that may put us behind for awhile.
Northeastern Illinois - Dave Campbell
We've been very dry for the past four months, but so far that hasn't affected our cropping system. Forty-five acres of oats were sown between April 6 and April 9. All of the oats were sown with a cover crop of medium red clover, with the exception of a very small field that was planted to an alfalfa/grass mix. Last week I field-cultivated ground that will be going into corn, and field-cultivated a 22-acre field that has been a thistle problem. Rather than planting corn this year, this particular field will be planted to a variety of cover crops, such as buckwheat, Sudan grass, and rye, which will hopefully prove to be successful in reducing the amount of Canada thistle in this field.
Next week I intend to start plowing cornstalks, followed immediately by a disking, that will eventually be planted to soybeans.
East Central Illinois - Jon Cherniss
The last six weeks were relatively drier and warmer than normal. This allowed us to get off to a good start for the season. But as always in central Illinois "average" is between two extremes. Now it has turned wetter and colder than normal and it looks like this trend will continue for a few weeks. This past Wednesday (April 27), we were recovering a greenhouse with plastic that had been destroyed last Thanksgiving from wind. Hopefully we will be able to transplant our last round of hot-house tomatoes this Friday.
Most of our spring crops have all been planted. Tomatoes in our earliest planted hot-house are setting fruit and we are trying to keep up with pruning and trellising. In the next two weeks we will be waiting on the next weather break in order to mow and till vetch and rye cover crops, cultivate spring crops and prepare ground for summer crops.
Central Illinois - Dave Bishop
Cool weather is good for oats and alfalfa, but slowing down corn and bean planting. No great problems yet. Soil is dry here and rain has been spotty. Some of my neighbors' land got flooded.
We are working our corn and soybean ground to keep knocking down flushes of weeds and planting vegetable crops - potatoes, onions, radishes, and greens in and mostly up. We have our first batch of broilers (200) in the brooder and layers on alfalfa. Markets for about everything seem to be strong. In the next two weeks we plan to plant corn (field, sweet and pop corn) and maybe beans. Vegetable crops continue to go in as conditions permit. First hay cutting should be around mid-May. We'll have over 90 acres of alfalfa this year so we would like to get started as soon as possible.
Indiana
Southeast Indiana - Gary Reding
We have had a somewhat mild winter and it has been dry up to now (first quarter). The warm temperatures have gotten things started a little early this year as many conventional farmers are planting high percentages of their crops. Our grass has grown significantly already and we have plowed some sod and disked it once to prepare for planting our organic popcorn. I have had grass growing for the last several years on 300 acres and now all of it is certifiable for organic production. I used the intensive grazing as a transition crop and now I'm putting out 63 acres of popcorn. I have been custom conditioning popcorn for three years now. The demand has increased each year with this spring being the largest percentage of growth. I intend to work some of the ground for some specialty organic soybeans as well. With the years of grass and legumes plus the animal manure, I hope to have great fertility for the crop production. The weed control provided by the intensive grazing should help reduce the battle against weeds. I still intend to graze cattle on the remainder of the acreage and then work out a rotation with the crops. Grass/legume mix, popcorn, soybeans, small grain, and back to grass to two to three years.
In plowing the fields, I have left a 50 ft. border of pasture around the crop ground to provide a buffer, plus eliminates the end rows which tend to be less productive and take time to work. This allows me to let the livestock keep my fencerows clean and also gives me alleys to move livestock anywhere on the farm. Also this gives me a firm place to load crops onto wagons and trucks in the fall, preventing ruts. I will let you know how many times the cattle get into the popcorn! Good training and electric tape should hopefully minimize that occurrence.
In the upcoming weeks we hope to be able to go in and disc one more time and then field cultivate lightly to prepare a stale seed bed to plant into. We would like to plant the popcorn by no later than May 25. This should allow for a couple of weed flushes in the weeks ahead with the ample rain we were just supplied with. The cool temperatures may slow that up a bit, however. We were in the high 70s a week ago and now are having a hard time getting to 50 degrees. We received 3.2" of rain the last few days and things are pretty wet right now. Forecasts call for more rain and cool weather. We will just have to play the wait-and-see game for a while.
One concern I have, which I am sure most soybean growers have, is about the soybean rust situation. I would like to hear what others are planning in respect to this issue on organic production. This could make things very interesting and could help the price a little if we have any to sell. Acres magazine had a front page article this week on some solutions, but it did not sound like there was a lot of verifiable proof of efficacy. If anyone knows of anything, I would like to hear it.
South Central Indiana - Dale and Sandra Rhoads
We're glad to have Dale and Sandra Rhoads join our team of farmer reporters. Their main market is restaurants in Bloomington, Indiana. Here's their initial report: Cold weather has delayed our planting outside later this year than in years past. Often I would begin to work the ground in January and we would plant in mid- February and put row covers over the plantings. This year it was well into March before we did our first salad greens plantings. We would regularly be harvesting salad greens outside by now. We anticipate starting to harvest next week, again two to three weeks later than normal for us. The cool weather during Asian pear bloom season has made it appear to not be a heavy fire blight season. Rain is affecting tilling right now (Wednesday, April 27).
We actually have a lot of the annual (kales, leafy greens) outside planting done, except for our regular weekly rotations of salad greens and herbs. These leafy greens are under heavy row covers that raise temperatures about 10 degrees above regular outside temperatures.
Rain and some mechanical problems are slowing down tilling of other planting areas for later salad greens plantings. In the green house we are currently pulling out early season salad greens and replanting to basil and tomatoes. Over the next two weeks we plan to plant weekly salad greens, finish planting basil and tomatoes in greenhouses, till and prepare beds. We still have some areas in winter rye that have been mowed to make tilling possible. We will also keep up on organic fruit tree sprays. We missed getting nailed by frost the night it snowed, I don't know how. Good fruit set at this point on everything but peaches, which had winter bud kill. We are doing an organic herbicide trial testing that includes some new treatments for us: propane burning and vinegar. Apparently the growers in California have been using vinegar for some years and in some quantities as a herbicide, according to the person I purchased vinegar from.
Northern Indiana-- Dan Flotow
I'm located near Fort Wayne, Indiana, and have been going to a farm market all winter with greenhouse-grown vegetables like lettuce and kale. I planted some peas, mustard greens, and other crops about two weeks ago. It has been dry, but recent rains should help them come up. A few potatoes have been planted. I have a lot of vegetable transplants ready to go out when it warms up again.
