Organic Friends' E‑zine: January 2015
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Organic Eprints
OACC is a collaborator within Organic Eprints, an international open access archive for papers and projects related to research in organic food and farming.
The United Nations has designated 2015 as the International Year of Soils! Please see our Director’s Message below for more information, and take a moment to reflect on the importance of our soils.
In this issue:
OACC Director's Message |
|---|
The International Year of Soils I am very excited that 2015 is the International Year of Soils as designated by the United Nations. Many soil science societies around the world are promoting recognition of the importance of soil and policy making that will support its conservation. Healthy soil is the foundation of viable and sustainable farming operations in organic agriculture. We spend most of our time thinking about how to manage soil properties to optimize the yield and quality of our products. The soil serves a much greater role than just a growing medium for our crops. Soil provides habitat for plants, animals and microorganisms, it is a filter for removing toxins, it holds nutrients that otherwise would be lost, it holds water and buffers extreme rainfall events, and it holds carbon which buffers climate change. The soil can be incredibly variable across the landscape and in different regions of the country, being influenced by the nature of the mineral materials left by glaciation, the shape of the land, climate, and of course the influences of biology, particularly vegetation. As Les Molloy stated “... only rarely have we stood back and celebrated our soils as something beautiful, and perhaps even mysterious. For what other natural body, worldwide in its distribution, has so many interesting secrets to reveal to the patient observer?” Let us take this year as an opportunity to celebrate soil as an entity of itself, as well as the foundation of our organic food system. A Rainbow of Soil
Sincerely, |
- Organic researchers receive boost: New funding for organic research could bring benefits for conventional farmers too [PDF, 12.5 MB. See page 14]
- Grainews. January 6, 2015 edition
- New study investigates success of local organic farm
- Manitoba Cooperator. 2014
- Manitoba Cooperator. 2014
Horticulture
- Apple Insect Pests Identification Sheet
- ATTRA. 2014
- Evaluation of Mungers Vinegar Plus for the management of sedges and rushes in cranberry
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Pesticide Risk Reduction Program. 2014
- Permaculture on Organic Farms Recorded Webinar
- eOrganic. 2014
Field Crops
Pest Management
- Natural Enemies 101
- Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 2014
Livestock
- Coccidiosis: Symptoms, Prevention, and Treatment in Sheep, Goats, and Calves
- ATTRA. 2014
- Integrating Livestock and Crops: Improving Soil, Solving Problems, Increasing Income
- ATTRA. 2014
- ATTRA. 2014
- Introducing Radishes into the Organic Pasture Recorded Webinar
- eOrganic. 2014
- Learning from Our Observations of Pastures & Livestock: Preventing Pasture Problems on the Organic Dairy Recorded Webinar
- eOrganic. 2014
Ecology and Environment
Special Information on Food Waste
- Food wastage footprint: Full-cost accounting [PDF - 2.1 MB]
- FAO. 2014
- Mitigation of food wastage: Societal costs and benefits [PDF - 2.7 MB]
- FAO. 2014
Soils and Fertility
- Accounting for soil biotic effects on soil health and crop productivity in the design of crop rotations
- Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2015) 95: 447-454
- Soil organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon under organic and conventional vegetable cropping systems in an Alfisol and a Vertisol
- Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems (2015) 101: 1-15
Horticulture
- Bacterial Endophytic Communities in the Grapevine Depend on Pest Management
- PLoS ONE (2014) 9(11): e112763
- Comparison Study on Soil Physical and Chemical Properties, Plant Growth, Yield, and Nutrient Uptakes in Bulb Onion from Organic and Conventional Systems
- HortScience (2014) 49: 1563-1567
- Economics of organically managed and conventional potato production systems in Atlantic Canada
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2015) 95: 161-174
- Effect of Different Defoliation Systems of Ryegrass–Clover on Yield and Selected Quality Parameters of Organic Potatoes for Industrial Processing at Harvest and After Storage
- Organic Eprints. 2014
- Organic Eprints. 2014
- Effects of organic vs. conventional farming system on yield and quality of strawberry grown as an annual or biennial crop in southern Italy
- Scientia Horticulturae (2014) 180: 63-71
- Evaluation of cauliflower genebank accessions under organic and conventional cultivation in Southern Germany
- Euphytica (2015) 201: 389-400
- An Interactive Economic Decision Support Tool for Risk and Return Analysis of Organic Apple Production
- HortTechnology (2014) 24: 757-770
- Pelargonic Acid for Weed Control in Organic Vidalia® Sweet Onion Production
- HortTechnology (2014) 24: 696-701
- Editor's Note: This is a US study, please consult with your certification body before using any new products to ensure compliance with the Canadian standard and permitted substances list.
Field Crops
Pest Management
- Optimizing field margins for biocontrol services: The relative role of aphid abundance, annual floral resources, and overwinter habitat in enhancing aphid natural enemies
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2015) 199: 94-104
- Tillage compromises weed seed predator activity across developmental stages
- Biological Control (2015) 81: 76-82
Livestock
- Fatty acid profiles and antioxidants of organic and conventional milk from low- and high-input systems during outdoor period
- Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2015) 95: 529-539
- Gastrointestinal metabolism of phytoestrogens in lactating dairy cows fed silages with different botanical composition
- Journal of Dairy Science (2014) 97: 7735-7750
- The influence of farm and herd factors on the health status of organic dairy cattle under low concentrate feeding considering an assessment-tool for siterelated breeding
- Organic Eprints. 2015
Ecology and Environment
- Diversification practices reduce organic to conventional yield gap
- Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences (2015) 282: 1799
- Effects of contrasting catch crops on nitrogen availability and nitrous oxide emissions in an organic cropping system
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2015) 199: 382-393
- Farmlands with smaller crop fields have higher within-field biodiversity
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2015) 200: 219-234
Nutrition, Safety and Health of Organic Foods
- Comparison of mineral and trace element contents between organically and conventionally grown fruit
- Fruits (2015) 70: 29-36
- Milk phospholipids: Organic milk and milk rich in conjugated linoleic acid compared with conventional milk
- Journal of Dairy Science (2015) 98: 9-14
Post-harvest Handling, Storage and Processing
- The influence of acid whey and mustard seed on lipid oxidation of organic fermented sausage without nitrite
- Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2015) 95: 628-634
Certificate of Specialization in Organic Agriculture - Online Courses Offered in the Winter 2015 Semester:
- Key Indicators of Agroecosystem Sustainability
- Organic Field Crop Management
- Organic Livestock Production
- Weed Control in Organic Agriculture
See the Education pages on the OACC website for links to additional programs.
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 34th Annual Guelph Organic Conference & Expo |
Guelph, ON |
January 29 - February 1, 2015 |
| Organic Master Gardener Course | Toronto, ON |
January 27 - April 28, 2015 |
| Organic Master Gardener Course |
Ottawa, ON | February 14-15 March 14-15 April 11-12 |
| Organic Agriculture Research Symposium | Lacrosse, WI |
February 25-26, 2015 |
| Organic Alberta 2015 Conference | Sherwood Park, AB |
February 27 - March 1, 2015 |
| Le premier colloque bio pour tous! (Simultaneous translation) Submit your poster summary by January 30, 2014 |
Victoriaville, QC |
March 5-7, 2015 |
| Organic Farming and Soil Management at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2015 |
Vienna, Austria | April 12-17, 2015 |
Organic Friends' E-Zine January 2015, Volume 11, Issue 3
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