January 2012

Photo of the Month, by Joanna MacKenzie
The OACC's certified organic Brookside research fields lay under a blanket of fresh January snow.

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.

• A Note from OACC's Director
• Newspaper Articles
• Extension Information
• Research Articles
• Courses
• Student & Job Opportunities
• Consumers
• Market Information
• Issues
• Animal Welfare

Newspaper Articles

• AAFC Gets to the Root of Organic Fruit Crops in BC
• The Western Producer's Organic Matters Column:
  • Is now the right time to move to organic production?
    

Extension

About Organic

• Organic for the future (ICROFS)

Soils and Fertility

• Queen of Compost: Dr. Elaine Ingham (Rodale)
• Worm compost can suppress plant disease, regulate nutrients, research finds (Cornell)

Horticulture

• Mulching for Weed Management in Organic Vegetable Production (eXtension)
• Vermicompost Beneficial for Organically Grown Tomatoes (Science Daily)
  • See the research abstract...

Field Crops

• An Organic Weed Control Toolbox (eXtension)
• Manage the Weed Seed Bank—Minimize "Deposits" and Maximize "Withdrawals" (eXtension)
• Manipulating Weed Seed Banks to Promote their Decline (eXtension)
• Promoting Weed Seed Predation and Decay (eXtension)

Livestock

• Animal Behavior In and On the Organic Pasture (eXtension)
• Developing a Grazing System for Your Organic Farm (eXtension)
• Establishing and Maintaining Productive Pasture on Organic Dairy Farms (eXtension)
• Pasture Plant Growth and Development on Organic Dairy Farms (eXtension)

Research Articles

• Organic Fruit 2012 International Research Symposium: Abstract Submission Deadline Extended to January 18, 2012

Soils and Fertility

• Can Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Reduce the Growth of Agricultural Weeds?
• The impact of biological pesticides on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
• Residual Effects of Compost on Soil Quality and Dryland Wheat Yield Sixteen Years after Compost Application

Horticulture

• Nitrogen efficiency of Brussels sprouts under different organic N fertilization rates
• Organically grown tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.): bioactive compounds in the fruit and infection with Phytophthora infestans
• Predation by Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) on immature Rhagoletis mendax Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae) in semi-field and field conditions
• Soil properties under different orchard floor management systems for organic apple production

Field Crops

• Crop rotation and crop management effects on cereal yields in arable organic farming in Denmark
• Experimental data confirm the importance of appropriate selection environments for breeding maize adapted to organic farming systems

Livestock

• Experimental improvement of cow milk fatty acid composition in organic winter diets
• Survival and development of Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis eggs in deep-litter on an organic pig farm

Ecology and Environment

• Endemic pollinator response to organic vs. conventional farming and landscape context in the Cape Floristic Region biodiversity hotspot
• Responses of plant, insect and spider biodiversity to local and landscape scale management intensity in cereal crops and grasslands

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing

• A cross-disciplinary approach to multicriteria assessment and communication of the effects of organic food systems
• Scenarios of the organic food market in Europe

Courses

• Sustainable Local Food Certificate at St. Lawrence College
• Implementing Canada's Organic Standard at Guelph Food Technology Centre

Student & Job Opportunities

• Nuffield Canada Scholarship:
  • Nuffield Canada searches out enthusiastic individuals with a passion for agriculture and a desire to expand your knowledge, pursue new ideas and to share your findings with others. Desired scholarship candidates are mid-career, between the ages of 30 and 45 (although exceptions are made) with a minimum of five years of agricultural business or farming experience.

Consumers

• Top 12 Reasons to Go Organic (Generations of Organic)

Market Information

• The Organic Market in Europe (FiBL and SIPPO)

Issues

• Robyn O'Brien and Chuck Benbrook webinar: GMOs & your health

Animal Welfare

• Effect of human-animal relationship and management on udder health in Swiss dairy herds
• Effects of health and welfare planning on the use of antibiotics and udder health in European dairy farms
• Welfare of organic poultry