Organic Friends' E‑zine: October 2016

Photo of the Month
The 2^nd Canadian Organic Science Conference was a great success! Held in Montreal-Longueuil in September, the conference provided a welcomed opportunity for organic researchers, producers and other stakeholders to interact, share their latest research findings, and spend time on local organic farms. Keynote talks, such as this talk by FiBL’s Urs Niggli, also prompted participants to reflect on the future of organic agriculture. Photos by Andy Hammermeister, Margaret Graves, Caroline Halde and Joanna White

In this issue:

• Organic Science Cluster II
  
• Practical Resources
• Scientific Results
• Organic in Canada
• Events

Organic Science Cluster II

Theme B: Horticultural Crops

• Photo Initiated Chemical Vapour Deposition to Increase Polymer Hydrophobicity
  • Nature Scientific Reports (2016) 6:31574

Theme C: Crop Pests

• New Innovative Weed Management Products for Organic Crop Production [PDF – 996 kB]
  • Poster presented at the 2^nd Canadian Organic Science Conference. 2016

Practical Resources

The Science behind Organic Agriculture

• Participate in the 2016-17 Research Needs and Priorities Assessment Process
  All stakeholders in the Canadian organic sector are invited to participate in this process. The information collected through this process will be used to guide organic research priorities to direct organic funding.
  
• Urs Niggli: The Science behind the Organic Movement (Video)
  
  • Keynote address from the 2^nd Canadian Organic Science Conference
• 2016 National Organic Research Agenda: Outcomes and Recommendations from the 2015 National Organic Farmer Survey and Listening Sessions (USA)
  • Organic Farming Research Foundation. 2016

Soils and Fertility

• New tool helps organic farmers assess and manage nutrients
  • OrganicBiz. 2016

Horticulture

• Crop Rotations, Composting and Cover Crops for Organic Vegetable Production
  • Iowa State University. 2016

Field Crops

• On-Farm Soybean Cultivar Evaluation for Suitability to Organic Production in Southern Manitoba.
  • Natural Systems Agriculture. 2016

Season Extension

• High Tunnels and Other Season Extension Techniques
  • SARE. 2016

Seed Production and Plant Breeding

• Organic Seed Production Webinar Series by eOrganic (Video)
  
  • Diseases and Pests
  • Seed Quality, Harvesting Techniques and Equipment

Ecology and Environment

• Can Organic Crop Production be an N₂O Mitigation Strategy?
  • Natural Systems Agriculture. 2016
• Redesigning Canadian prairie cropping systems
  • Natural Systems Agriculture. 2016

Scientific Results

Soils and Fertility

• DRIFT spectroscopy combined with sodium hypochlorite oxidation reveals different organic matter characteristics in density-size fractions of organically managed soils
  • Canadian Journal of Soil Science (2016) 93: 317-327
• Microbial crop residue decomposition dynamics in organic and conventionally managed soils
  • Applied Soil Ecology (2016) 107: 347-359
• The occurrence of pathogen suppressive soils in Sweden in relation to soil biota, soil properties, and farming practices
  • Applied Soil Ecology (2016) 107: 57-65

Horticulture

• No Tillage and Strip Tillage Effects on Plant Performance, Weed Suppression, and Profitability in Transitional Organic Broccoli Production
  • HortScience (2016) 51: 1103-1110

Field Crops

• Fungal communities in organically grown winter wheat affected by plant organ and development stage
  • European Journal of Plant Pathology (2016) 401-417
• Organic Supplemental Nitrogen Sources for Field Corn Production after a Hairy Vetch Cover Crop
  • Agronomy Journal (2016) 108: 1992-2002
• Weed Mortality Caused by Row-Crop Cultivation in Organic Corn–Soybean–Spelt Cropping Systems
  • Weed Technology (2016) 30: 648-654

Crop Rotation

• Cover crops to increase soil microbial diversity and mitigate decline in perennial agriculture. A review
  • Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2016) 36: 48

Pest Management

• Long-term weed dynamics and crop yields under diverse crop rotations in organic and conventional cropping systems in the Canadian prairies
  • Field Crops Research (2016) 196: 357-367
• Organic farming affects the potential of a granivorous carabid beetle to control arable weeds at local and landscape scales
  • Agricultural and Forest Entomology (2016) 18: 167-173

Livestock

• Assessing, and understanding, European organic dairy farmers’ intentions to improve herd health
  • Preventative Veterinary Medicine (2016) 133: 10-21
• Effect of replacing organic grass-clover silage from primary growth with regrowth on N digestion in dairy cows
  • Animal Feed Science and Technology (2016) 220: 57-66
• Perceptions of French private veterinary practitioners’ on their role in organic dairy farms and opportunities to improve their advisory services for organic dairy farmers
  • Preventative Veterinary Medicine (2016) 133: 10-21

Ecology and Environment

• Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Organic Farms in Denmark
  • Sustainability (2016) 8(9): 957

Organic in Canada

• We want your input! Have your say in guiding research priorities for Canada’s organic sector. Collect your thoughts with a group of peers and participate in the 2016-17 assessment of organic research needs and priorities.
  
  
• 2nd Canadian Organic Science Conference in the media
  
  • Priority setting for organic research in Canada begins
    • OrganicBiz. 2016
  • Global organic needs to move beyond one per cent
    • OrganicBiz. 2016
       
• 2016 Organic Week Feature in The Globe and Mail
  
  
• New comment period for Standards Interpretation Committee's Questions and Answers Regarding the National Standards for Organic Agriculture [PDF - 663 kB]
  
  • Comment period open until November 17, 2016
     
• Canadian Organic Growers - November 2016 Educational Offerings
  • Using Green Manure Crops - Short Mini-Course - November 1-27
    Join experts Lee McFadyen and Jacques LeCavalier as they explore the benefits, techniques, potential limitations, selection, cultivation, and practices of using green manure crops. This online course will actively engage the student, culminating with a test of their knowledge marked by an expert.
  • Changes to the Organic Standards – Webinar Series - November 22-23
    Canadian Organic Growers presents a 3-part webinar series in late November (sign up for one, two or all three). To ensure operators, producers, processors, certifying bodies, and verification officers are up to date on the revisions, COG will be offering an hour long webinar with opportunity for Q & A at the end with sector experts.

Events