Organic Friends' E‑zine: April 2018

What's your pick? Take survey now.

The Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA) has been mandated by the Organic Value Chain Roundtable (OVCRT) to update the campaign previously called "Think Canada Organic". Based on recent consumer research compiled by COTA, consumer perceptions regarding organics have shifted since the inception of the Think Campaign.

It’s a call to action for everyone along the organic value chain - consumers, farmers, food manufacturers, retailers, chefs, communities - not to just Think Before You Eat, but to actually Choose Canada Organic!

The campaign has always counted on input from consumers and industry alike, and so you are being called on to get in on the ground floor of this redesign and help select the new logo for the Choose Canada Organic campaign!

Survey closes May 1st, 2018. Click here to take the survey.

In this issue:

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

Organic in Canada

• Organics in Canada by the Numbers [PDF – 4.75mB]
  • Canadian Organic Trade Association. 2018
• Organic production systems - General principles and management standards [PDF - 910kB] -
  
  • Standards Council of Canada. 2018
• Organic production systems - Permitted substances lists [PDF - 977kB] -
  • Standards Council of Canada. 2018

Practical Resources

Horticulture

• Organic Tomato Foliar Pathogen IPM
  • eOrganic. 2018

Field Crops

• New organic oat varieties in the pipeline
  • OrganicBiz. 2018

Pest Management

• Abrasive Weeding: Efficiency, Multifunctionality and Profitability
  • eOrganic. 2018

Seed Production and Plant Breeding

• Conducting On Farm Variety Trials to Manage Risk for Organic and Specialty Crop Producers Part 1
  • eOrganic. 2018

Nutrition, Safety and Health of Organic Foods

• Food handling on the farm
  • OrganicBiz. 2018

Transition to Organic

• Transition to Organic Started Kit [PDF – 2.9mB]
  • Pivot and Grow, Prairie Organic Grain Initiative. 2018

Scientific Results

Soils and Fertility

• Agroecosystem tradeoffs associated with conversion to subsurface drip irrigation in organic systems
  • Agricultural Water Management (2018) 202:1-8
• Long-term soil accumulation of potentially toxic elements and selected organic pollutants through application of recycled phosphorus fertilizers for organic farming conditions
  • Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems (2018) 110:427-449
• Microbial biomass and activity down the soil profile after long-term addition of addition of farmyard manure to a sandy soil
  • Organic Agriculture (2018) 8:29-38

Horticulture

• Influence of cultivar, conventional and organic agricultural practices on phenolic and sensory profile of blackberries (Rubus fruticosus)
  • Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2018) eArticle

Pest Management

• Cover Crop Species and Management Influence Predatory Arthropods and Predation in an Organically Managed, Reduced-Tillage Cropping System
  • Environmental Entomology (2018) 47:340-355
• Deployment of organic farming at a landscape scale maintains low pest infestation and high crop productivity levels in vineyards
  • Journal of Applied Ecology (2017) 55:1516-1525
• Influence of Winter Cover Crop Mulch on Arthropods in a Reduced Tillage Cucurbit System
  • Environmental Entomology (2018) 47:292-299

Livestock

• Classification of trace elements in tissues from organic and conventional French pig production
  • Meat Science (2018) 141:28-35
• Short communication: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in conventional and organic dairy herds in Germany
  • Journal of Dairy Science (2018) 101:3380-3386
• Sow level risk factors for early piglet mortality and crushing in organic outdoor production
  • Animal (2018) 12:810-818

Ecology and Environment

• Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in organic and conventional grain crop production: Accounting for nutrient inflows
  • Agricultural Systems (2018) 162:89-96
• ‘Farming for Biodiversity’ – a new model for integrating nature conservation achievements on organic farms in north-eastern Germany
  • Organic Agriculture (2018) 8:79-86

Post-harvest Handling, Storage and Processing

• Effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) pre-treatment coupled with osmotic dehydration on physico-chemical characteristics of organic strawberries
  • Journal of Food Engineering (2018) 213:2-9

Marketing and Economics

• Consumer preference and physicochemical evaluation of organically grown melons
  • Postharvest Biology and Technology (2018) 141: 77-85
• Sustainable school food procurement: What factors do affect the introduction and the increase of organic food?
  • Food Policy (2018) 76: 109-119

Student, Job and Apprentice Opportunities

• Special Project Assistant, Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network (ACORN)
  • Deadline to apply: April 20^th, 2018
• Government and Regulatory Affairs Manager, Canadian Organic Trade Association
  • Application Deadline: May 27^th, 2018

Events