All Four UNL Organic Farms Now Certified, Research Underway (0905010)

May 01, 2009

LINCOLN, Neb. — All four University of Nebraska-Lincoln organic farms now are certified by the Organic Crop Improvement Association International.

"Now that we have the four farms certified, research will be conducted that will give producers information specific to Nebraska organic crop production," said Liz Sarno, UNL Extension educator and organic project coordinator. "Not only will this give us valuable organic crop information, but it will continue to attract new research and new farmers to organics."

The four research farms are located at the Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead, the Haskell Agricultural Laboratory near Concord, the South Central Agricultural Laboratory near Clay Center and the High Plains Agricultural Laboratory near Sidney.

The three farms in the eastern half of the state have corn, soybeans and winter wheat in their crop rotation. Each research station is conducting research with some type of cover crops. This research not only is of interest to organic producers, but no-till farmers as well, Sarno said.

The western location near Sidney has winter wheat, proso millet or sunflower in its crop rotation, along with summer fallow. A pea green manure or composted cattle manure is used during the summer fallow period to provide fertility to the system. Research also is being done on nitrogen fertility using green manure, composted cattle manure and Summit 10 liquid fertilizer.

"Having organic crop ground at these various research farm locations allows each station to follow a crop rotation best suited for that farmer's area," Sarno said. "Researchers can eventually help organic farmers determine what are the best crop rotations, best varieties and cultural practices."

The UNL organic project began in October 2005. A team of Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources researchers received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service's Integrated Organic Program to expand organic farming research and education, enhance collaborations with growers and develop science-based information for organic food production in Nebraska.

Other components of this grant were to develop a tool for measuring a farm's biodiversity, educational outreach for students and farmers, and weed control by flaming, Sarno said.

"An integral part of the grant has been to develop the Healthy Farm Index as a tool for landowners to measure their farm's ecological health and maintain or improve crop productivity," Sarno said. More information about this is at Healthy Farm Index.

As part of the Healthy Farm Index, two years of data have been collected on 27 organic farms research focused on bird assemblages and vegetation structure, along with preliminary insect data.

"This really offers a whole different perspective," Sarno said. "For example, a wood lot can provide habitat for birds, help control insects or provide habitat for beneficial insects, increase yields, increase profit and at the same time enhance what's happening in a farmer's ecology. It's a good 21st century tool."

Parameters for measuring a farm's ecological health have focused on the ecological, economic and social aspects of farming and consideration of the ecosystem services as part of the production equation.

Results from the four research stations and on-farm farmer-driven organic research also were incorporated in classroom education programs, Sarno said. These teach principles and practical knowledge that help students envision future agricultural systems. They also were disseminated to farmers in response to production questions. More information about that can be found at Classes.

Sarno said there will be several field tours this summer across the state. Sarno has organized past meetings and workshops with farmers at each research farm site to collect their input about their research needs.

Farmer input from these meetings led to an organic winter wheat variety study, "Developing Small Grains Cultivars and Systems Optimally Suited for Organic Production," funded by the USDA-CSREES. Stephen Baenziger, Small Grains Breeding and Genetics program leader, and Richard Little, organic wheat breeding specialist and coordinator, are in charge of the project. For more information go to Wheat.

Another project, flaming to manage weeds in organic crops, started with the 2005 grant and continues with the winter wheat study.

Dose response curves were determined for propane (based on usage rate of gallon per acre) needed for safe and economical weed control. To further investigate weed management with flaming, UNL received a 2008 NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant Award with matched funds from the Propane Education and Research Council for the project, "Reducing Soil Erosion through Thermal Pest Control."

With these funds a commercial type flamer will be manufactured for field demonstration purposes and for working with four organic farmers to conduct on-farm experiments. Stevan Knezevic, UNL integrated weed management specialist, at the Haskell Ag Lab is in charge of the project. For more information visit Weed Flaming.

For information about organic research at UNL visit the Organic Working Group Web site or contact Sarno at esarno2@unl.edu or (402) 309-0944.

5/1/09-SK