May 2011

Photo of the Month, by D. Jans
Dr. Andy Hammermeister collects soil samples and reviews a soil test report. Spring is an ideal time to collect soil samples before planting. Soil sampling and testing is an important tool for organic farmers: it allows for monitoring of soil organic matter, pH and soil fertility, and is important for adjusting nutrient amendments to meet a crop's needs.

In this issue:

Editor's Note: Organic practitioners may find the information presented in the Newspaper Articles and Extension Information sections to be the most easily accessible and applicable.

• Newspaper Articles
• Extension Information
• Consumers
• Research Articles
• Animal Welfare
  
  

Newspaper Articles

• Agroecology is a big word, requiring broad research
• Organic ornamentals: Canadian researchers look beyond organic food
• Organic Potting Soil Considerations
• The Western Producer's Organic Matters Column:
  • Organic system offers potential for resistant weed control

Extension

About Organic

• Expert Panel Calls for 'Transforming US Agriculture': Changes in Markets, Policies and Science Needed for More Sustainable Farming (ScienceDaily)
• Looking for funding?  In support of making funds for farmers more accessible, ACORN and other farm-related organizations are collaborating to contribute to a free, easy-to-navigate website called farmgrants.wikispaces.com.  The farm grants wiki-site is designed to help farmers access various funding resources and programs. 

Horticulture

• Novel system for distributing predatory insects on field for
  biological control (Laval)
• An alternative strategy for Lygus (Tarnished Plant Bug) management in Ontario strawberries (AAFC)
• Could this possibly work? (farmcentre.com)

Field Crops

• Farmers Encouraged to Take Part in Participatory Wheat Breeding Program
• Organic and Conventional Farming Methods Compete to Eliminate Weed Seeds in Soil (ScienceDaily)

Livestock

• Organic Dairy Production Extension Resources (eXtension)
  • Introduction to Organic Dairy Farming
  • Transition to Organic Dairy
  • Organic Dairy Cropping Systems
  • Grazing Management on Organic Farms
  • Herd Health on Organic Dairy Farms
  • Milk Quality on Organic Dairy Farms
  • Organic Dairy Producer Profiles

Ecology and Environment

• Organic Agriculture and Biodiversity (FiBL)

Consumers

• Explore The Organic Center’s new consumer-oriented website, Generations of Organic
  

Research Articles

Soils & Fertility

• Choice of organic amendments in tomato transplants has lasting effects on bacterial rhizosphere communities and crop performance in the field
• Does soil biota benefit from organic farming in complex vs. simple landscapes?
• Modelling uncertainty for nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions based on a Swedish field experiment with organic crop rotation

Horticulture

• Effects of conventional and organic fertilization on spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) growth, yield, vitamin C and nitrate concentration during two successive seasons
• Effects of different organic apple production systems on seasonal nutrient variations of soil and leaf
• Soil properties change during the transition to integrated and organic apple production in a New York orchard

Field Crops

• Blade Roller–Green Manure Interactions on Nitrogen Dynamics, Weeds, and Organic Wheat
• Punch planting, flame weeding and delayed sowing to reduce intra-row weeds in row crops
• Tillage effects on weed communities in an organic winter wheat–sunflower–spelt cropping sequence

Livestock

• Incorporating native plants into multifunctional prairie pastures for organic cow–calf operations
• Organic or conventional? Optimal dairy farming technology under the EU milk quota system and organic subsidies
• Soil fauna in sheep-grazed hill pastures under organic and conventional livestock management and in an adjacent ungrazed pasture
• Technology Adoption and Technical Efficiency: Organic and Conventional Dairy Farms in the United States
• What Is It About Organic Milk? An Experimental Analysis

Food & Health

• Agroecosystem Management and Nutritional Quality of Plant Foods: The Case of Organic Fruits and Vegetables

Ecology & Environment

• Assessing the effect of the time since transition to organic farming on plants and butterflies
• A comparison of soil and water properties in organic and conventional farming systems in England
• Ecology in Sustainable Agriculture Practices and Systems
• Effects of organic farming on plant and arthropod communities: A case study in Mediterranean dryland cereal
• Environmental Impact of Different Agricultural Management Practices: Conventional vs. Organic Agriculture
• A meta-analysis of the differences in environmental impacts between organic and conventional farming
• Mixed effects of landscape structure and farming practice on bird diversity

Consumers

• Adolescents’ attitudes towards organic food: a survey of 15- to 16-year old school children
• Assessing the demand for value-based organic meats in Canada: a combined retail and household scanner-data approach
• The effect of information on consumers' willingness to pay for natural and organic chicken
• Importance of health and environment as quality traits in the buying decision of organic products
• Organic and local food consumer behaviour: Alphabet Theory
• Organic food: What we know (and do not know) about consumers
• Profiling alternative food system supporters: The personal and social basis of local and organic food support
• A review of the ‘consumer interest’ in organic meat

Animal Welfare

• Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada Presents “Is There a Future for Battery Cages in Canada?”
  Wednesday, May 25, Nova Scotia Agricultural College