Organic Friends' E‑zine: November 2014

Photo of the Month, by Matthew Holmes and Andy Hammermeister
Josée Boisclair, Entomologist with the Research and Development Institute for the Agri-Environment (IRDA) in Québec, took home a Best Poster Award from October's 18^th IFOAM Organic World Congress in Istanbul for her poster titled "Beneficial and Pest Insects Associated with Ten Flowering Plant Species Grown in Québec, Canada" [PDF - 5.6 MB], based on work conducted as a part of the first Organic Science Cluster.  Congratulations, Josée!

In this issue:

• Organic Science Cluster II
  
• Practical Resources
• Scientific Results
• Organic in Canada
• Student, Job and Apprentice Opportunities
• Events

Organic Science Cluster II

Organic Science Cluster II at the Organic World Congress

• Canada’s Organic Science Cluster: Science with impact for profitability, sustainability and competitiveness
  • Paper
  • Poster [PDF - 360 kB]

Practical Resources

Soils and Fertility

• Organic Risk Management: Soil Fertility and Soil Health
  
  • University of Minnesota. 2010

Horticulture

• The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming
• Organic Advantage: Vegetable Crops [PDF - 5.3 MB]
  • Organic Value Chain Roundtable. 2014

Field Crops

• Organic Advantage: Field Crops [PDF - 4.7 MB]
  • Organic Value Chain Roundtable. 2014
• Organic Risk Management: Corn Production, Soybean Production, Small Grains, Forages, and Alternative Crops
  
  • University of Minnesota. 2010

Crop Rotation

• Organic Risk Management: Crop Rotation and Winter Cover Crops
  
  • University of Minnesota. 2010
• Using Cover Crop Mixtures to Achieve Multiple Goals on the Farm Recorded Webinar
  • eOrganic. 2014

Pest Management

• Black Plastic: Is there a Viable Organic Mulch Alternative?
  • Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 2014
    
• Organic Risk Management: Weed Biology, Weed Management, and Weed Profiles
  
  • University of Minnesota. 2010
• Spotted Wing Drosophila Guide [PDF - 2.6 MB]
  
  • MAPAQ and PELI. 2014

Livestock

• Adapted breeds for organic and low input dairy systems
  • Sustainable Organic and Low Input Dairying. 2014
• Organic Advantage: Beef Production [PDF - 5.0MB]
  • Organic Value Chain Roundtable. 2014
    

Ecology and Environment

• Promoting High Quality Conservation on Organic Farms Recorded Webinar
  
  • ATTRA. 2014

Marketing and Economics

• 2012 US Census of Agriculture: Characteristics of All Farms and Farms with Organic Sales [PDF - 2.8 MB]
  
  • USDA. 2014

Transition to Organic

• Organic Risk Management: Transitioning
  
  • University of Minnesota. 2010

Scientific Results

18th IFOAM Organic World Congress

• Proceedings of the 18th IFOAM Organic World Congress
  
• Canadian papers from the 18th IFOAM Organic World Congress:
  • Beneficial and pest insects associated with ten flowering plant species grown in Québec, Canada
  • Canada’s Organic Science Cluster: Science with impact for profitability, sustainability and competitiveness
  • Grazing green manures to optimize nitrogen supply on the Canadian prairies
  • Potential of cranberry extracts as immuno-modulatory agent in organic broiler production
  • Transferring the science of organic agriculture through accessible written and oral communication
  • Weeds promote the development of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in organic wheat fields

Horticulture

• Effect of green manure and supplemental fertility amendments on selected soil quality parameters in an organic potato rotation in Eastern Canada
  • Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems (2014) 100: 135-146
• Effects of Different Organic Weed Management Strategies on the Physicochemical, Sensory, and Antioxidant Properties of Machine-Harvested Blackberry Fruits
  • Journal of Food Science (2014) 79: S2107-S2116
• The effect of minimum tillage with weed cover mulching on organic daikon (Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus cv. Taibyousoufutori) yield and quality and on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics
  • Biological Agriculture & Horticulture (2014) 30: 228-242
• Mulch Effects on Floral Resources and Fruit Production of Squash, and on Pollination and Nesting by Squash Bees
  • HortTechnology (2014) 24: 535-545
• Productivity, economics, and fruit and soil quality of weed management systems in commercial organic orchards in Washington State, USA
  • Organic Agriculture (2014) 4: 197-207

Field Crops

• Up to 92% increase of cancer-preventing lunasin in organic spring barley
  • Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2014) 34: 783-791
• Weed manifestation under different tillage and legume undersowing in organic wheat
  • Biological Agriculture & Horticulture (2014) 30: 253-263

Crop Rotation

• Green manure species respond differently to blade rolling
  • Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2014) 94: 1507-1511

Pest Management

• Mental models of organic weed management: Comparison of New England US farmer and expert models
  • Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2014) 29: 319-333
• Oviposition, adult longevity and temperature effects on the eggs of Tetanocera elata (Fab.) (Diptera: Sciomyzidae): a potential biocontrol agent for slugs
  • Journal of Applied Entomology (2014) 138: 670-676

Livestock

• Assessment of two modern milk farms (low input versus high external input) in Switzerland focused on sustainability and resilience criteria
  • Organic Eprints. 2014
    
• Comparison of zero concentrate supplementation with different quantities of concentrates in terms of production, animal health, and profitability of organic dairy farms in Austria
  • Organic Agriculture (2014) 4: 233-242
• Intake, feed conversion efficiency and grazing behaviour of two Holstein cow strains in a pasture-based production system under organic farming in Switzerland
  • Organic Agriculture (2014) 4: 175-186
• Maize silage and Italian ryegrass silage as high-energy forages in organic dairy cow diets: Differences in feed intake, milk yield and quality, and nitrogen efficiency
  • Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2014) 29: 378-387
• Postharvest grazing of hogs in organic fruit orchards for weed, fruit, and insect pest management
  • Organic Agriculture (2014) 4: 223-232
• Special Issue of Organic Agriculture: New results about organic dairy farming - selected papers from the Organic World Congress 2014
  • Organic Agriculture (2014) Volume 4, Issue 4
    

Ecology and Environment

• The alliance of agricultural bioenergy and organic farming topics in scientific literature
  • Organic Agriculture (2014) 4: 243-268

Post-harvest Handling, Storage and Processing

• Surface Processing: Existing and Potential Applications of Ultraviolet Light
  • Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (2014) 55: 469-484

Social Science

• Evaluating Research beyond Scientific Impact - How to Include Criteria for Productive Interactions and Impact on Practice and Society
  • Organic Eprints. 2014
    

Marketing and Economics

• Improving Eco-labelling as an Environmental Policy Instrument: Knowledge, Trust and Organic Consumption
  • Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning (2014) 16: 559-575
• Shoppers' perceived embeddedness and its impact on purchasing behavior at an organic farmers' market
  • Appetite (2014) 83: 57-62

Transition to Organic

• The contribution of conversion to organic food and farming to the analysis of dynamics and governance in transitions towards sustainable agri-food systems
  • Organic Eprints. 2014
    

Organic in Canada

• The Market for Organic & Ecological Seed in Canada.  Trends and Opportunities, 2014 [PDF – 6.3 MB]
  • Canada Organic Trade Association and The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security. 2014
• Latest proposed answers to questions regarding the National Standards for Organic Agriculture [PDF - 392 kB]. Comment period open to December 23, 2014
  
  • Standards Interpretation Committee. 2014
• The Organic Value Chain Roundtable presents three new reports that provide a strong business case for going organic:
  • Organic Advantage: Beef Production [PDF - 5.0 MB]
    
  • Organic Advantage. Field Crops [PDF - 4.7 MB]
    
  • Organic Advantage. Vegetable Crops [PDF - 5.3 MB]
• To Certify or Not To Certify: The perspective of small-scale organic farmers
  • A new OFC blog initiated by the Small Scale Organic Certification working group

Student, Job and Apprentice Opportunities

• Organic Alberta Agriculture Outreach Coordinator
  
• Organic Alberta Executive Office Manager
  
• The Guelph Organic Conference Eco-Scholar program is back!

Events