Organic Friends' E‑zine: October 2015

Photo of the Month, by Helen Jensen
Evaluation of open pollinated maize selections for production in cold climates in Ste-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Quebec, part of the Participatory Plant Breeding research activity in Organic Science Cluster II.

In this issue:

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

Practical Resources

Seed Production and Plant Breeding

• Recordings from the 2015 US Organic Agriculture Research Symposium
  • Breeding high nutritional value corn for organic farmers
  • Building a healthy organic seed system for potatoes through farmer-researcher partnerships
  • Collaborative Release of an Open-Pollinated Sweet Corn Variety
  • Evaluation of carrot for traits related to early seedling establishment and canopy growth at different planting densities in organic systems
  • Participatory Breeding of Wheat, Spelt, Emmer and Einkorn for Organic Farming
  • The Carrot Improvement for Organic Agriculture Project: Location and Genetic Background Influence Carrot Field Performance and Flavor

Ecology and Environment

• Recorded webinar series by the Science and Technology Library of USDA
  • Environmental Benefits of Organic Agriculture: Biodiversity
  • Environmental Benefits of Organic Agriculture: Energy and Climate Change
  • Environmental Benefits of Organic Agriculture: Soil
  • Environmental Benefits of Organic Agriculture: Water Quality

Marketing and Economics

• Sales from U.S. Organic Farms Up 72 Percent, USDA Reports
  • US Department of Agriculture. 2015
• US Organic Survey Report [PDF - 12.3MB]
  
  • USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service. 2015

Transition to Organic

• Organic Transition: A business planner for farmers, ranchers and food entrepreneurs
  • Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. 2015
    

Scientific Results

Soils and Fertility

• Farm system management affects community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
  • Applied Soil Ecology (2015) 96: 192-200

Horticulture

• Key Traits and Promising Germplasm for an Organic Participatory Tomato Breeding Program in the U.S. Midwest
  • HortScience (2015) 50: 1301-1308
• Organic farming and host density affect parasitism rates of tortricid moths in vineyards
  • Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2015) 214: 46-53
• Weed Management, Training, and Irrigation Practices for Organic Production of Trailing Blackberry: I. Mature Plant Growth and Fruit Production
  • HortScience (2015) 50: 1165-1177

Field Crops

• Comparative analysis of performance and stability among composite cross populations, variety mixtures and pure lines of winter wheat in organic and conventional cropping systems
  • Field Crops Research (2015) 183: 235-245
• Effects of weed harrowing and undersown clover on weed growth and spring cereal yield
  • Weed Research (2015) 55: 493-502

Crop Rotation

• Effect of intercropping normal-leafed or semi-leafless winter peas and triticale after shallow and deep ploughing on agronomic performance, grain quality and succeeding winter wheat yield
  • Field Crops Research (2015) 180: 80-89

Livestock

• Organic egg production. I: Effects of different dietary protein contents and forage material on organic egg production, nitrogen and mineral retention and total tract digestibility of nutrients of two hen genotypes
  • Animal Feed Science and Technology (2015) 209: 186-201
• Phytoestrogens and Their Metabolites in Bulk-Tank Milk: Effects of Farm Management and Season
  • PLoS ONE (2015) 10(5): e0127187

Nutrition, Safety and Health of Organic Foods

• Effect of Organic Diet Intervention on Pesticide Exposures in Young Children Living in Low-Income Urban and Agricultural Communities
  • Environmental Health Perspectives (2015) 123:1086–1093

Social Science

• Food networks: collective action and local development. The role of organic farming as boundary object
  • Organic Agriculture (2015) 5: 235-243

Organic in Canada

Standards Revisions

• Drafts of the 2015 revised Canadian Organic Standards documents, which are expected to be published in November 2015, are now available through OFC.
  • Draft Organic Production Systems General Principles and Management Standards [PDF - 1.1 MB]
    
  • Draft Organic Production Systems Permitted Substances Lists [PDF - 1.3 MB]
     
• Review of the Canadian Organic Standards: Interviews with the Chair of the Technical Committee and the Conveners of the Working Groups by the OFC
  • Crop Production and Specific Production Requirements
  • Livestock Production and Apiculture
  • Maintaining Organic Integrity, Product Composition, and the Permanent PSL Project
     
• In preparation for the release of the revised and updated standards, Canadian Organic Growers is offering webinars this fall and winter (winter dates to be announced) to ensure operators, producers, processors, certifying bodies, and verification officers are up to date on the revisions. For more information and to register, please visit the COG website.
  
  • Friday, October 16 5:00PM EST - Crop Production
  • Friday, October 23 3:00PM EST - Livestock Production
  • Friday, October 30 3:00PM EST - Preparation including Processing
  • Friday, November 6 3:00PM EST - Crop Production
  • Friday, November 13 11:00AM EST - Livestock Production
    
  • Friday, November 20 11:00AM EST - Preparation including Processing
    

Organic Week

• Organic Week in the Globe & Mail
• Think Before You Eat Video
  • Canada Organic Trade Association. 2015

Student, Job and Apprentice Opportunities

• Prairie Organic Grain Initiative Program Manager
  
• 2016 Summer Sustainability Special Projects Internship - CROPP Cooperative, Organic Valley
  

Events