Forages in Organic Production
- Resources
- Soils and Fertility
- Horticulture
- Field Crops
- Crop Rotation
- Pest Management
- Season Extension
- Seed Production and Plant Breeding
- Livestock
- Ecology and Environment
- Nutrition, Safety and Health of Organic Foods
- Post-harvest Handling, Storage and Processing
- Social Science
- Marketing and Economics
- Transition to Organic
- Canadian Organic Research Priorities
Practical Resources
- Examining root nodule activity on legumes
- FiBL. 2017
- Fall Control of a Red Clover Cover Crop
- Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. 2012
- Frost Seeding to Improve Forage Stands
- Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. 2012
- Frost Seeding: A Cheap Alternative to Improve Hay and Pasture Land
- eOrganic. 2012
- Hedging Bets: Legume Mixtures in Pasture
- The BHU Future Farming Centre. 2014
- Legume Inoculation for Organic Farming Systems
- eOrganic. 2012
- Legume Pick 'n' Mix
- Organic Research Centre. 2011
- Management of Sweet Clover for Nitrogen Supply, Soil Conservation and Weed Control [PDF - 603 kB]
- OACC. 2008
- Organic Risk Management: Forages [PDF - 1.3 MB]
- University of Minnesota. 2010
Scientific Results
Forages for livestock
- Annual and seasonal changes in production and composition of grazed clover-grass mixtures in organic farming
- Agricultural and Food Science (2004) 13: 309-325
- Biomass production and feeding value of whole-crop cereal-legume silages
- Agronomy Research (2009) 7: 684-690
- Quantification of nitrogen inputs from biological nitrogen fixation to whole farm nitrogen budgets of two dairy farms in Atlantic Canada
- Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems (2013) 96: 93-105
- Red clover increases micronutrient concentrations in forage mixtures
- Field Crops Research (2014) 169: 99-106
- Yield and herbage quality from organic grass clover leys—a meta-analysis of Norwegian field trials
- Organic Agriculture (2016) 6: 307-322
Forages in crop rotations
- Barley yield and nutrient uptake in rotation after perennial forages in the semiarid prairie region of Saskatchewan
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2013) 93: 809-816
- Companion Crops for Organic Alfalfa Establishment
- Agronomy Journal (2014) 106: 309-314
- Dry matter and nitrogen accumulation by three leguminous green manure species and the yield of a following winter wheat crop in an organic production system
- Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (1996) 57: 189-196
- Forage Performance and Soil Quality in Forage Systems under Organic Management in the Southeastern United States
- Agronomy Journal (2015) 107: 1641-1652
- Influence of ley duration on the yield and quality of the subsequent cereal crop (spring oats) in an organically managed long-term crop rotation experiment
- Organic Agriculture (2011) 1: 147-159
- Legume based plant mixtures for delivery of multiple ecosystem services: An overview of benefits
- Organic Eprints. 2012
- Legume cover crops with winter cereals in southern Manitoba: Establishment, productivity, and microclimate effects
- Agronomy Journal (2001) 93: 1086-1096
- Nitrogen Availability in an Organic Potato Crop Following 3-Year Transition under Contrasting Farming Systems
- Journal of Sustainable Agriculture (2010) 34: 821-835
- Potential of Forages to Diversify Cropping Systems in the Northern Great Plains
- Agronomy Journal (2002) 94: 240-250
- The potential role of annual forage legumes in Canada: A review
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2010) 90: 403-420
- Rotational benefits of forage crops in Canadian prairie cropping systems
- Journal of Production Agriculture (1995) 8: 521-529
- The role of pollinators, pests and different yield components for organic and conventional white clover seed yields
- Field Crops Research (2017) 210: 1-8
Forage nutrients and soil quality
- Biological nitrogen fixation and biomass production stability in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) genotypes under organic management conditions
- Biological Agriculture & Horticulture (2015) 31: 177-192
- Biological nitrogen fixation in mixed legume-cereal cropping systems
- Plant and Soil (1992) 141: 155-175
- Biological nitrogen fixation in mixed legume/grass pastures
- Plant and Soil (1992) 141: 137-153
- Decomposition and nitrogen mineralization from legumes and non-legume crop residue in a subarctic agricultural soil
- Biology and Fertility of Soils (1994) 17: 269-275
- Dinitrogen fixation and transfer in legume-crested wheatgrass mixtures on semiarid rangelands
- Arid Land Research and Management (1993) 7: 1-13
- Earthworm abundance and species composition in organic forage production systems of northern Colorado receiving different soil amendments
- Applied Soil Ecology (2011) 48: 219-226
- The influence of a long-term black medic (Medicago lupulina cv. George) cover crop on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization and nutrient uptake in flax (Linum usitatissimum) under zero-tillage management
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2011) 91: 1071-1076
- Influence of boron in organic red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) seed production
- Grass and Forage Science (2014) 69: 285-293
- Legume-based cropping systems have reduced carbon and nitrogen losses
- Nature (1998) 396:262-265
- Legume cover crops with winter cereals in southern Manitoba: Fertilizer replacement values for oat
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2005) 85: 645-648
- Nitrogen Availability from Composts for Humid Region Perennial Grass and Legume–Grass Forage Production
- Journal of Environmental Quality (2004) 33: 1509-1520
- Nitrogen contribution of rye–hairy vetch cover crop mixtures to organically grown sweet corn
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2013) 28: 59-69
- Nitrogen fixation and transfer in grassclover leys under organic and conventional cropping systems
- Plant and Soil (2013) 371: 237-255
- Nitrogen fixation and yield of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), as affected by co-inoculation with Sinorhizobium meliloti and arbuscular mycorrhiza under dry organic farming conditions
- Organic Eprints. 2013
- Organic Eprints. 2013
- Nitrogen supply in stockless organic cereal production under northern temperate conditions. Undersown legumes, or whole-season green manure?
- Organic Eprints. 2007
- Preliminary trials using a white clover (Trifolium repens L.) understorey to supply the nitrogen requirements of a cereal
- Grass and Forage Science (1992) 47: 366-374
- Repeated use of green-manure catch crops in organic cereal production - grain yields and nitrogen supply
- Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B - Plant Soil Science (2011) 61: 164-175
- Soil phosphorus effects on forage harvested and nitrogen fixation on Canadian organic dairy farms
- Agronomy Journal (2013) 105: 845-853
- Soil physical properties and organic matter in forages receiving composts, manure or fertilizer
- Compost Science and Utilization (2005) 13: 252- 261
- Synchrony between legume nitrogen release and corn demand in the upper Midwest
- Agronomy Journal (1995) 87: 1063-1069
- Use of legume green manures as nitrogen sources for corn production
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2012) 27: 180-191
- Vegetative composition, AMF root colonization, and biological N fixation distinguish organic and conventional perennial forage systems
- Agronomy Journal (2017) 109: 1697-1706
- Water use by annual green manure legumes in dryland cropping systems
- Agronomy Journal (1994) 86: 543-549
Forages and weeds
- Effect of sweetclover cultivars and management practices on following weed infestations and wheat yield
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2007) 87: 973-983
- Impact of preceding crop on alfalfa competitiveness with weeds
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2017) 32: 28-32
- Influence of annual forages on weed dynamics in a cropping system
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2000) 80: 187–198
- Relay-intercropped forage legumes help to control weeds in organic grain production
- European Journal of Agronomy (2013) 49: 158-167