July 2010

Photo of the Month, by Andy Hammermeister
Martin Entz (University of Manitoba) standing beside an excellent wheat crop under organic management following a green manure crop in the previous year. This research is being conducted at the University of Manitoba's Organic Field Lab in Carmen, MB.

In this issue:

• Research Articles
• Extension Information
• Courses
• Student & Job Opportunities
• Newspaper Articles
• Issues
• Animal Welfare

Research Articles

General Organic Research

• Organic Farming Research Worldwide – An Overview
• Strategic Research Agenda for organic food and farming (EU)

Soils and Fertility

• Economically Optimal Compost Rates for Organic Crop Production

Horticulture

• Effects of conventional and organic nitrogen fertilizers on soil microbial activity, mycorrhizal colonization, leaf antioxidant content, and Fusarium wilt in highbush blueberry

Field Crops

• Choosing Organic Pesticides over Synthetic Pesticides May Not Effectively Mitigate Environmental Risk in Soybeans
• Performance of Winter Wheat Cultivars in Organic and Conventional Farming Systems
• Reducing the germinable weed seedbank with soil disturbance and cover crops

Livestock

• Organic poultry: Consumer perceptions, opportunities, and regulatory issues
• Trends in the Northeast dairy industry: Large-scale modern confinement feeding and management-intensive grazing

Ecology and Environment

• Organic agriculture promotes evenness and natural pest control

Food and Health

• Differences in sheep and goats milk fatty acid profile between conventional and organic farming systems
• Survey of the fatty acid composition of retail milk differing in label claims based on production management practices

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing

• Cheese liking and consumer willingness to pay as affected by information about organic production

Policy

• Generating Policy Capacity in Emerging Green Industries: The Development of Organic Farming in Denmark and Australia
• Cost-effectiveness of organic farming for achieving environmental policy targets in Switzerland

Proceedings of Joint Conference of the Canadian Society of Soil Science and the Canadian Society of Agronomy, Beyond Organics session

• Adapting Mechanical Weed Control to Conventional Cropping Systems: What are the Possibilities?
• Biological Contributions to Plant Phosphorus Uptake in Organic and Conventional Dairy Farm Soils
• Can Plants Access P Pools not Accounted for in Traditional Soil Tests? A Study of Organically Managed Soils Across Saskatchewan
• Continuous No-Till Organic Grain Production: Possible?
• Enhancing the Competitive Ability of Organic Oat (Avena sativa L.) Cropping Systems
• Examining the Nitrogen Economy of Organically Selected Wheat Genotypes
• Exploring Organic Agriculture's Place within the Agricultural Revolution
• Growth and N Supply from Legume Cover Crops in Organic Rye and Wheat Production
• Learning from the Present and Past: A Review of Agricultural Impacts on Soil Fertility
• Mainstreaming Organic Research: Canada's New Organic Science Cluster
• Managing Annual Green Manures to Improve Yield and Soil Health in Organic Production Systems
• Nitrogen Dynamics and Wheat Yield in a No-Till Organic Green Manure System Using the Roller Crimper
• Organic Lessons for Conventional Ag in Wheat-Fallow Montana: Do Green Manures Make Agronomic Sense?
• Phosphorus Fertility Management on Prairie Organic Farms
• Phosphorus Source and Band Application on Spatial Distribution and Chemical Speciation of Soil
• Productivity, Soil Quality Changes and Nitrogen Losses Under Extended Organic Vegetable Rotations
• Quantifying the Benefits of Cool Season Pulse Crops to Subsequent Barley Crops in Rotation
• Soil Properties of an Irrigated Rotation Study with Sustainable and Conventional Management Practices

Organic Science Cluster Background Information and Supporting Documents
Project E: Environmental Stewardship and Product Branding

Activity E.1: Modeling farm scale energy and nutrient efficiency, and Global Warming Potential, as affected by management

• Energy efficiency in farming systems: organic and conventional agriculture
• Energy utilization in crop and dairy production in organic and conventional livestock production systems
• Life cycle assessment of milk production - a comparison of conventional and organic farming
• See more...

Activity E.2: Modeling Global Warming Potential (GWP) reductions associated with sub-watershed wide transition to organic farming

• Agronomic and environmental implications of organic farming systems
• Nitrous oxide emissions from organic and conventional crop rotations in five European countries
• Quantifying the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of composting dairy and beef cattle manure
• See more...

Extension Information

• Assessing the Pasture Soil Resource (ATTRA)
• Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia (COABC) Conference Webiar series
  • Soil Nematodes and Their Control with Rosy Smit
  • Breaking Down Market Barriers with Alida Cantor
  • Transition Towns with David Johnson
  • Rethinking Economic Development: Using Standard Tools to Promote a Local Food Economy with Rob Marqusee
  • Using Grandin-like Principles in Livestock Production: Small Things Can Sure Make a Difference with Jane Morrigan
• Pest Management Centre’s Sustainable Production Factsheets
• Potential Organic Energy Ingredients for Swine Diets (OMAFRA)

Courses

• Certificate of Specialization in Organic Agriculture, NSAC Distance Education
• Fall Semester 2010:
• Transition to Organic Agriculture
• Composting and Compost Use
• Principles of Organic Horticulture
• Winter Semester 2011
  • Organic Field Crop Management
  • Organic Livestock Production

Student and Job Opportunities

• Loblaw Chair in Sustainable Food Production, University of Guelph
• Food System Administrator (McGill University)
• New Local Food Fund to Award $10,000 in Grants - Local Food NS

Newspaper Articles

• Hard Working Fungi Boost Crop Production
• The Western Producer's Organic Matters Column: Organic Food: What's Behind Certification and the Organic Logo?

Issues

• Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century

Animal Welfare

• An audit of transport conditions and arrival status of slaughter cattle shipped by road at an Ontario processor