May 2010

Photo of the Month, by Caroline Halde.
Oats emerging in the organic no-till and tilled plots in Carman, MB (oats seeded on April 8th, picture taken on April 23rd).

In this issue:

• Research Articles
• Extension Information
• Student & Job Opportunities
• Newspaper Articles
• Issues

Research Articles

Have Your Say

• Contribute scientific papers to Organic Agriculture, a new international journal and venue for scientific findings related to organic agriculture
• Participate in a survey by the Agriculture Section of the Goetheanum exploring organic consumer behaviour
• Volunteer to help researchers at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre in Swift Current who are looking at the contribution of mycorrhizae to soil fertility
• Share your research ideas with the OACC research community
• Apply for an OCIA Research and Education Micro Grants

Soils and Fertility

• Available nitrogen and phosphorus in soil amended with fresh or composted cattle manure containing straw or wood-chip bedding
• Residues from a buckwheat green manure crop grown with phosphate rock influence bioavailability of soil phosphorus
• Long-term effects of organic amendments on soil fertility. A review
• Effects of band-steaming on microbial activity and abundance in organic farming soil
• Induced resistance as a putative component of compost suppressiveness
• Fate of manure phosphorus in a weathered sandy clay loam soil amended with three animal manures

Field Crops

• The sustainability of organic grain production on the Canadian Prairies – A review
• Organic and conventional field crop soil and land management practices in Canada
• Manipulating Crop Row Orientation to Suppress Weeds and Increase Crop Yield
• Cereal landraces for sustainable agriculture. A review
• The benefits of using quantile regression for analysing the effect of weeds on organic winter wheat

Horticulture

• Evaluation of Poultry Litter and Organic Fertilizer Rate and Source for Production of Organic Short-day Onions
• Performance of Paper Mulches Using a Mechanical Plastic Layer and Water Wheel Transplanter for the Production of Summer Squash
• Influence of Orchard Floor Management and Compost Application Timing on Nitrogen Partitioning in Apple Trees
• Integrating Rowcovers and Soil Amendments for Organic Cucumber Production: Implications on Crop Growth, Yield, and Microclimate

Livestock

• The impact of genetic selection for increased milk yield on the welfare of dairy cows

Ecology and Environment

• Impact of organic pig production systems on CO₂ emission, C sequestration and nitrate pollution
• Greenhouse gases and ammonia emissions from organic mixed crop-dairy systems: a critical review of mitigation options
• Seed predation increases with ground beetle diversity in a Wisconsin (USA) potato agroecosystem
• Biodiversity in Organic Horticulture – an Indicator for Sustainability and a Tool for Pest Management
• Scale matters: the impact of organic farming on biodiversity at different spatial scales
• Organic agriculture and climate change

Consumer Preferences and Behaviour

• Consumer preferences for additional ethical attributes of organic food
• Consumer choice of broiler meat: The effects of country of origin and production methods

Social Science

• Socioeconomic Obstacles to Establishing a Participatory Plant Breeding Program for Organic Growers in the United States

Organic Science Cluster Background Information and Supporting Documents
Project C: Organic Greenhouse Production

Activity C.1: Crop nutrition for vegetable plant propagation

• Organic tomato transplant production in compost-amended substrate
• Suitability of composts as potting media for production of organic vegetable transplants
• See more...

Activity C.5: Development of an organic greenhouse growing system for tomato that improves energy use efficiency and reuses the crop effluent as nutrient solution

• Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics Following Application of Pig Slurry for the 19th Consecutive Year
• Disinfestation of recirculating nutrient solutions in greenhouse horticulture
• See more...

Activity C.6: Development of an organic greenhouse system for intercrop tomato and extended sweet pepper crop grown under supplemental lighting for year-round locally-grown fruit production

• Effect of cultural management on tomato fruit health qualities
• Organic fertilizers for greenhouse tomatoes: productivity and substrate microbiology
• See more...

Activity C.7: Feasibility of using geothermal energy as heat and humidity control for an organic greenhouse tomato crop

• Innovative Technologies for an Efficient Use of Energy
• The Geskas Project, Closed Greenhouse as Energy Source and Optimal Growing Environment
• See more...

Activity C.8: Optimizing fertilization and irrigation management for a closed greenhouse organic tomato growing system

• Organic production of greenhouse tomatoes utilizing the bag system and soluble organic fertilizers
• Soil microbial biomass and activity in organic tomato farming systems: Effects of organic inputs and straw mulching
• See more...

Activity C.9: Production of organic cuttings and pot plants

• High-nitrogen compost as a medium for organic container-grown crops
• Production of high-quality composts for horticultural purposes: a mini-review
• See more...

Extension

• Breeding sheep for sustainable worm control (CSIRO)
• Selecting for Parasite Resistance in Sheep (OMAFRA)
• Organic Matters: Considerations in Organic Hog Production (ATTRA)
• Biopesticides for organic agriculture (OMAFRA)
• Paddock Design, Fencing and Water Systems for Controlled Grazing (ATTRA)
• National Fruit and Vegetable Organic Summary (USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service)
  • Available free every Tuesday, the new report provides an easy-to-use summary of the market data, including wholesale and shipping point prices and movement data.

Student & Job Opportunities

• ACORN Conference Coordinator
• Intern Opportunity at Horse and Garden Farm, Nova Scotia
• Post–doctoral fellowship in adaptive watershed management and agent-based modeling, York University
• Youth Internship Program in Guatemala

Newspaper Articles

• Reduced Till Termination of Sweet Clover
• Kootenay Alpine Cheese made in the old fashioned tradition may have you yodeling in the Kootenays

Issues

• Are biotechnology and sustainable agriculture compatible?
• A geographic approach to place and natural resource use in local food systems
• The Future of Organic Agriculture: Otopia or Oblivion?
• The New York Times take on Organic Food
  • Organic food resources from around the Web selected by researchers and editors of The New York Times.
• Organic farming: what’s next?
• A high-resolution assessment on global nitrogen flows in cropland