   Organic Agriculture Field Tour - July 25, 2007 Jeff Schalau, Associate Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County As a Cooperative Extension Agent, I have the pleasure of learning about the latest developments in agriculture from my colleagues around the nation. I recently attended the National Association of County Agricultural Agent (NACAA) meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A recurrent theme at this meeting was the importance of locally produced foods from small farms. Of the thirty-some tours available, I selected one titled Organic Agriculture and Marketing. Below, I’ve tried to give readers a glimpse of organic agriculture and summarized some of the interesting things I saw and learned. Being an organic producer doesn’t mean that the grower cannot use pesticides and fertilizers. However, it does mean that the pesticide and fertilizer options are limited to products that are derived from plants, animal waste, and/or naturally occurring mineral products. These must be approved by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI). Most organic farmers strive for a “closed system”. In general, this means that you produce as much of the fertilizers and animal feeds needed on your farm and recycle wastes that are generated by your operation. There is more to this, but you probably get the idea. Our first stop on the organic agriculture field tour was a Michigan State University Experiment Station conducting research on organic apples and cherries. Here, they grew cover crops to cycle nutrients and minimize erosion, mulched to control weeds, and applied compost for additional nutrients. They also had Japanese beetles: a foliage feeding pest that we don’t have in Arizona (thankfully). Japanese beetles were being controlled by applications of kaolin clay which repelled them. The Experiment Station also had cherries being grown under tunnels: high metal frames covered with clear polyethylene. The tunnel provided a sheltered environment that provided frost protection, a mechanical barrier against insect pests and birds, and improved fruit quality. These were expensive, but have been used successfully in other countries. On the borders of the orchard, there were rows of mixed perennials that encouraged beneficial insects: pollinators, predators and parasites. Another stop was at a small, family owned and operated organic dairy with about 90 cows. The cows have access to pasture and almost all the feed is grown organically. Hay was harvested and silage was produced from corn grown on their farm and organic soybeans were purchased from a neighboring farm. These beans were culls (broken and undersized) that were purchased at a reduced price and roasted at the dairy to increase digestibility. The cows were Jersey/Holstein crosses and herd replacement cows were raised on the dairy. No hormones or antibiotics were given to the cows and the milk was purchased by one of the large national distributors. Our final stop was an 850 acre farm which raised organic chickens (meat and eggs) and beef. They grew organic corn, soybeans, barley, oats, spelt, alfalfa, and pasture. They milled all their own feeds as well as doing some custom feed milling for others in the area. Animals were pastured and supplemented with feed and minerals. They used rotational grazing (moving from pasture to pasture to allow periods of rest and regrowth). Chickens were grazed on pasture using chicken tractors: low coops with wheels that are moved to fresh pasture each day. The chickens also had supplemental feed and were grown to an average of five pounds before processing. All meat processing occurred on the farm where the family had a USDA inspected, certified organic slaughterhouse. As our group travelled from farm to farm by bus, our tour guide was the local County Agent who told us about all the small farms and farmers who lived and worked there. Some had day jobs to help support the farm and most were conventional (non-organic). Still, all the organic operations we visited were profitable and the farmers were passionate about what they produced. The common thread of the tour was the importance of maintaining healthy soils through the use of composting, manuring, and cover cropping. Coincidentally, these are things that we can easily apply to our home gardens and landscapes. The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has publications and information on gardening and pest control. If you have other gardening questions, call the Master Gardener line in the Cottonwood office at 646-9113 ext. 14 or E-mail us at cottonwoodmg@yahoo.com and be sure to include your address and phone number. Find past Backyard Gardener columns or submit column ideas at the Backyard Gardener web site: http://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/. |