Summer Gatherings Foster Organic Growth

By Brenda Frick, Ph.D., P.Ag.

The summer calendar is filled with opportunities for growth in the organic community. A number of organic groups host field days over the summer - opportunities to tour fields, to discuss issues and to celebrate the organic community.

Steve, Robert and Rosemary Snider, of Little Red Hen Mills hosted an event sponsored jointly by Going Organic Network, an umbrella group of organic producers, processors, sellers and consumers “who want to see organics bloom in Alberta” and Alberta Organic Producers Association, a group of producers and processors certified with Organic Crop Improvement Association.

The Sniders host research plots for the cereal breeding group working under the direction of Dean Spaner at University of Alberta.

Alison Nelson is primarily interested in mycorrhizal fungi and how they may be associated with different management systems or different crop combinations. Her plots include several wheat varieties and intercrops of wheat, barley, pea and canola. Plots with barley had fewer weeds, and barley grown with pea or canola suppressed those crops as well. Alison will soon be washing roots from soil samples to look for mycorrhizae.

Klaus Strenzke is looking at the performance of 51 wheat varieties from Canada and from CIMMYT (an international centre for wheat breeding). He is especially interested in their performance on low phosphorus soils. Several studies have shown that organic farms generally test low for available phosphorus, so identifying varieties that require less phosphorus could be important for organic producers.

Todd Reid is asking if it is worthwhile to breed specifically for organic production. Traditionally, breeders have used a “one size fits all” approach, where the best varieties selected on conventional land are considered to be the best varieties for organic production. Todd is selecting the best lines grown on organic land and the best lines grown on conventional land. So far, most of the lines judged best for organic production have been different from those judged best under conventional production.

Researchers from the Agricultural Research and Extension Council of Alberta also have plots at Sniders’ farm. Amy Kaut discussed a test of several fertility amendments, including kelp, fish emulsion and calcium. Cindy Nikolaisen of Soil Solutions Inc also spoke about the use of these products.

One of Steve Snider’s specialties is fall rye. He showed us an area where last year he had a green manure plow down on one part of the field, but he cropped the rest of the field. This year both parts of the field are in fall rye, and the difference is striking. The previously cropped land had a substantial Canada thistle problem, while the green manured land was virtually weed free.

After a lovely lunch at the Edberg hall, organized by Rosemary Snider, we divided into two groups for roundtable discussions on transitioning to organics.

Steve Snider recommended that people transitioning to organic production start with plow down crops. He recommends alfalfa hay during the transition period, followed by oats. If that isn’t possible, he suggested a legume plow down, followed by fall rye. According to Steve, green manures allow you “to put weed problems in the back seat, not in the driver’s seat”.

Steve has a seed cleaning plant on his farm. This allows him to work with intercrops. He finds that barley and faba bean, for instance work particularly well together. Together they suppress weeds better, they are easier to handle and to store, and the splits that can not be separated make a good feed mixture. Milling grains are less ideal intercrops, as millers are less accepting of splits or other crop seeds in the grains they buy.

Ben Brandsema, an organic dairy farmer from BC talked with dairy producers considering organic production in Alberta. His organic milk production is based on grass, with supplemental amounts of organic corn, barley, and wheat. Protein is harder to source. Ben uses organic flax, though not enough to produce an omega-3 rich product. Ben stressed quality: “You’ve got to play by the rules, and not tinker with them. You need to do the very best job you can.”

The Alberta field day and round table provided a range of information for transitional producers. More importantly, it brought people together to share concerns, techniques and fellowship and to build networks that will allow them to continue to grow organics on the prairies.


Brenda Frick, Ph.D., P.Ag., is the Research and Extension Associate for OACC at the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan. She welcomes your comments at 306-966-4975 or via email at organic@usask.ca.


This article first appeared in The Western Producer, and is published here on the OACC website with permission.


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Posted August 2007