AGRI 295 Agricultural Sustainability and Organic Farming

Sustainable agriculture is?

System that utilized natural processes and scientific advances to create resource-conserving farming systems

Why is sustainable agriculture systems important?

They help reduce environment degradation, are economically viable, maintain a stable rural community, and provide productive agriculture both short and long term

The components of Conventional Agricultural production include?

1. Intensive tillage

2. Monoculture

3. Addition of synthetic fertilizers

4. Irrigation

5. Chemical pest controls

6. Manipulation of plant/animal genomes

7. Vertically integrated confined animal production

What does it mean when a company/industry is vertically integrated?

The company owns multiple stages of it supply chain, from raw materials to end consumer

Negative impacts of Conventional Agriculture include?

1. Soil degradation

2. Fresh water depletion

3. Environment pollution

4. Dependence on external inputs

5. Loss of biodiversity

6. Loss of local control of agricultural production

Soil Quality is?

Capacity of soil to function to sustain biological productivity, environmental quality, and promote plant and animal health

Hypoxia in aquatic systems refers to?

Where dissolves oxygen conc of the water is below 2 mg/L

Waters that are hypoxic are known as?

Dead zones

What is an example of a dead zone?

Gulf of Mexico

What is the trend for the proportion of the world population involved in agricultural production?

World population increased but the number of people involved in agriculture is plateauing

What is the trend for the percentage of consumer food dollar to the farmer?

More of the consumer food dollar goes to marketing than the farmer

3 elements critical to agricultural sustainability are?

1. Generation of adequate income

2. Expanded availability of food and consumption

3. Conservation and enhancement of natural resources

Some management changes to enhance agricultural sustainability include?

1. Diversification of grain farms to include livestock

2. Rotation of row crops with legumes to provide nitrogen

3. Increase use of animal manure as fertilizer

4. Reduce use of pesticides through biological controls, and mechanical and cultural practices

What is organic farming?

Farming where synthetic fertilizers, pesticide usage, plant growth regulators, GMOs, and feed additives for livestock are excluded

Organic farming relies heavily on cultural practices such as?

• Crop rotation

• Crop residue

• Mechanical cultivation

• maintain good soil tilth, supply nutrients, and manage pests

IFOAM stands for?

International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement

Why should one farm organically according to IFOAM?

Sustain health of ecosystems and organisms and support fair trade and environmental stewardship

What is fair trade?

Fair prices and ethical purchasing

How many acres worldwide farm organically?

75 million

Why was there a push for organic farming?

Hybrid seed, large scale irrigation, large scale fertilization and pesticide usage that included ammonium nitrate and DDT

Where was the first use of the term organic farming?

Look to the Land by Lord Northbourne

Who were some authors that pushed for organic farming practices?

Rudolf Steiner (Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture), Lord Northbourne (Look to the Land), Sir Albert Howard, and Rachel Carson (Silent Springs)

What was the Haughley Experiment and who performed it?

Experiment comparing conventional vs. organic farming and was conducted by Lady Eve Balfour and Alice Debenham

Formal method of organic farming include?

1. Biodynamic agriculture: Rudolf Steiner

2. natural Farming: Masanobu Fukuoka

3. French Techniques

4. SPIN farming

SPIN stands for?

Small plot intensive farming

The 6 principles of organic farming are?

1. Biodiversity

2. Integration

3. Sustainability

4. Natural Plant Nutrition

5. Natural Pest Management

6. Integrity

The principle of biodiversity includes?

Diverse ecosystems lead to stability and diversity in crops creates greater ecosystem support and diversity in the soil

The principle of integration includes?

Tying crops and livestock together in efficient ways such as growing legume forage for livestock feed and using manure from livestock to replenish the soil

The principle of sustainability includes?

Economic sustainability and sustainable practices like conservation tillage and use of manure

The principle of natural plant nutrition includes?

Building the soil by promoting biological processes to provide nutrients to plants and belief that synthetic fertilizers offer limited nutrition and have greater risk of leaching

The principle of natural pest management include?

Using pests as indicators of soil pH, structure, fertility, and supporting natural control complex with natural enemies and parasites of pests

The principle of integrity includes?

Measures taken to assure consumer “gets what they pay for”, is not contaminated, and detailed records of production are kept

What is manure?

Organic matter used to supply nutrition to soil that can be animal or plant based

Ex of green manure include?

Oats, rye, clover, mustard, lupin, winter field beans

Intercropping is?

Cultivating 2 or more crops in the same space at the same time

What is the goal of intercroping?

Increase yield by using added crop to protect main crop of using other crops that enhance main crop

What are some reasons companion crops are added?

• Flavor enhancement

• Nitrogen fixation

• Pest suppression

• Trap cropping

• Protective shelter

Trap crops are?

Crops that attract insects away from economically important crops

Some examples of trap crops are?

• Alfalfa with cotton (Lygus bugs)

• Geraniums planted with roses (Japanese beetles)

• Rye or sickle pod among soybeans (stink bugs and velvet green caterpillars)

Most natural pesticides are made up of?

Secondary plant metabolites that are phytotoxic

What is composting?

Aerobic decomposition of remnants of organic matter that are plant or animal in nature in order to use as a soil amendment

What are the 2 types of composting?

Active (uses heat) and passive (natural decomposition)

What are the 2 types of standards for organic farming?

Voluntary and legislated

Which countries have legislative standards for organic farming?

Europe, Japan, and US

What are the 2 acts in the US associated with legislative organic farming?

Organic Food Production Act and National Organic Program (USDA)

What is the National Organic Program?

Regulatory program that sets standards for organic food production and implements regulations through accredited agencies

What is the main purpose of the national organic program?

Ensuring consumer protection

What are the 5 steps to organic certification?

1. Identify a suitable certifier

2. Submit an application

3. Completeness Review

4. On-farm inspection

5. Final review

What is the $5000 exemption for organic certification?

For producers that market less than $5,000 of organic products annually certification is voluntary but federal standards must be adhered too and can not use organic seal or claim product is certified

Average fee for organic certification is?

$700