November 2011

Photo of the Month, by Julia Reekie
Organic ‘Honeycrisp’ apples growing in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. These three-year old trees are part of an Organic Science Cluster project, aimed at developing weed control technologies and a scab management strategy for organic apples grown in Canada. The goal of the research is to develop strategies that will increase profitability and sustainability while dramatically reducing the pesticide load on the environment, reducing carbon emissions and improving soil, water and air quality.

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
• Research Articles
• Courses
• Consumers
• Market Information
• Animal Welfare

Newspaper Articles

• The Not So Lowly Carrot: Import Replacement Opportunities for Canadian Organic Producers
• Growing oilseed pumpkins
• The Western Producer's Organic Matters Column:
  • Organic week a good time to take stock
  • Comparative trials help organic producers find their oats
    

Extension

About Organic

• The Globe and Mail's 2011 Organic Week Insert on Organic Food in Canada (Globe & Mail)(PDF, 5.2MB)

Soils and Fertility

• Better nitrogen use to improve organic wheat production (ICROFS)
• Measures of Soil Biology and Biological Activity (eXtension)

Horticulture

• Organic Blueberry Production Research Project (eXtension)
• Twelve Steps Toward Ecological Weed Management in Organic Vegetables (eXtension)

Field Crops

• Khorasan (Kamut Brand) Wheat Factsheet (Saskatchewan)
• Grazed Green Manures (Natural Systems Agriculture)
• Grazed Green Manures: Phase 2 - The Next Crop (Natural Systems Agriculture)

Research Articles

• Organic Eprints - making research in Organic Food and Farming more visible

Soils and Fertility

• Carbon pools and soil biochemical properties in manure-based organic farming systems of semi-arid New Mexico
• Diversity of rhizobia in soybean [Glycine max (Vinton)] nodules varies under organic and conventional management
• Earthworm populations under different tillage systems in organic farming
• Effects of 4 tillage systems on soil structure and soil microbial biomass in organic farming

Horticulture

• Challenges and opportunities for organic hop production in the United States
• Effect of alternative strategies for the disinfection of tomato seed infected with bacterial canker
• Organic viticulture and soil quality: A long-term study in Southern France

Field Crops

• Genotype × Environment Interactions for Mineral Concentration in Grain of Organically Grown Spring Wheat
• The influence of a long-term black medic cover crop on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization and nutrient uptake in flax under zero-tillage management
• Nitrogen delivery from legume cover crops in no-till organic corn production
• Plant and seed nutrient uptake in common bean in seven organic and conventional production systems
• Weeds and crop yields under conservation tillage in organic farming

Livestock

• An assessment of the economic performance of organic dairy sheep farming in Greece
• Effects of stored feed cropping systems and farm size on the profitability of Maine organic dairy farm simulations
• Helminth infections in laying hens kept in organic free range systems in Germany
• Technical efficiency and viability of organic dairy sheep farming systems in a traditional area for sheep production in Spain

Food and Health

• Does farm-management system affect milk-iodine concentration?  Comparison study of organic and conventional milk
• Quality of Organic vs. Conventional Food and Effects on Health

Ecology and Environment

• Influence of cropping systems on greenhouse gas emissions
  

Courses

• Nova Scotia Agricultural College's Certificate of Specialization in Organic Agriculture
  • Winter Semester 2012
• Organic Field Crop Management
• Organic Livestock Production
• Weed Control in Organic Agriculture
• Organic Master Gardener Online Course, Gaia College
  
  

Consumers

• Eat healthy, live healthy, says organic farmer (The Daily Gleaner)

Market Information

• Seventy–eight percent of U.S. families say they purchase organic foods (Organic Trade Association)
• Innovation and research in organic farming: A multi‐level approach to facilitate cooperation among stakeholders

Animal Welfare

• Socially Conscious Consumer Trends: Animal Welfare (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)
• Comparison of pig behaviour when given a sequence of enrichment objects or a chain continuously
• Four types of activities that affect animals: implications for animal welfare science and animal ethics philosophy
• A longitudinal study of the effects of providing straw at different stages of life on tail-biting and other behaviour in commercially housed pigs
• Tail docking dairy cattle: Responses from an online engagement