Progress 09/01/01 to 12/31/04
Outputs
A new class was developed in spring 2002. The class is co-taught in spring and fall semesters by instructors in the Departments of Agricultural Economics & Agricultural Business, and Agronomy and Horticulture. The Honors College adopted the class starting in Fall 2004 (AGE and HORT 330G and 331G and HON 430G). Students from many majors such as journalism, geography, anthropology, family and consumer sciences, agricultural extension education, agronomy, horticulture, and agricultural economics have taken the class. Honors students are required to work with social service agencies who address local hunger issues. In spring 2005, the class will be included in the General Education program, making the class more accessible to students from across campus. In 2003, we conducted a logo contest for NMSU and local community college art students and handed out cash awards. In 2002 and 2003, the class, named Organic Agriculture Students Inspiring Sustainability (OASIS) used a
0.66-acre field on the NMSU Fabian Garcia farm. In 2004, a new 0.10-acre field was planted in perennial herbs and flowers and three 100-square foot experimental beds of biointensive production. In 2004, a 0.40-acre field came under temporary OASIS management for rotational purposes. OASIS has grown 366 different varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers and grossed $54,000 in revenues in three years. Fifteen students were hired by the OASIS project. Detailed production information has been kept on all varieties grown, and the creation of an online-accessible database of that information has been undertaken by two successive classes of students in the College of Business. The website is http://agecon.nmsu.edu/oasis/. We have hosted numerous visitor groups to the farm, such as local school elementary school classes, the Master Gardeners, the El Paso County Extension Agents, and agroecology and agribusiness professors from Prescott College in Arizona, and the Universidad Autonoma
Agraria "Antonio Narro" in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico. In three years, OASIS sold 163 vegetable memberships to faculty and administrators from across campus, people in the community, and even to the local food co-op. In 2004, OASIS began selling flower memberships separately. The project has been featured in numerous campus and community news articles. A journal article, "Teaching Diversified Organic Crop Production Using the Community Supported Agriculture Farming System Model" was accepted for publication by the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education. Four selected presentations (including posters) have been made at professional societies and nine presentations have been made at other local, national, and international meetings. We co-hosted a two-day seminar with the NM Organic Commodity Commission on transition to organic production at the university farm site where OASIS is located in October 2003 and November 2004. Several affiliated grant proposals have been
submitted, including one that was funded starting in fall 2004: to collaborate in the Cornell University Organic Seed Partnership, to grow out organic seed varieties on organic university farms.
Impacts
From 0.66 acres, we have supplied about 54,000 pounds of 366 varieties of fresh organic produce, flowers, and herbs to the local community in three years. Numerous groups have visited the farm, such as local school elementary school classes, the Master Gardeners, the El Paso County Extension Agents, and agroecology and agribusiness professors from an agriculture university in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico. Two classes of business students have worked on our database and website so that users can conduct on-line dynamic queries of our production information. About 160 members in three years purchased shares in OASIS, including the NMSU administrators and faculty from across campus, people in the community, and even the local food co-op. We conducted a logo contest for graphic design students and handed out cash awards. We co-hosted workshops on transition to organic production in 2003 and 2004 with the NM Organic Commodity Commission. We have had one student in class who
intends to start a 30-acre organic farm in central New Mexico. We organized a group of four farmers at elevations from 5,000 to 8,000 feet in the state to participate with us in the Cornell University Organic Seed Partnership, to grow organic seeds in certified production systems (OASIS will certify fall 2004). I hired a student to initiate a campus project to start local procurement of fresh produce and have begun conversations with local farmers about diversifying into organic produce production. We have gotten approval for the class to be included in the university General Education program.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
We have been growing organic vegetables, flowers, and herbs for two years. We have begun planning with the Community Action Agency to prepare a joint proposal to grow local organic vegetables for distribution to regional food pantries and other agencies that serve low-income residents.
Impacts
We have helped two local growers start CSAs. From 2/3 of an acre, we have supplied 36,000 pounds of more than 160 varieties of fresh organic produce, flowers, and herbs to the local community in two years. We have analyzed the economics of the system, created a web site, and hosted numerous visitor groups to the farm, such as local school elementary school classes, the Master Gardeners, the El Paso County Extension Agents, and agroecology and agribusiness professors from the Universidad Autonoma Agraria "Antonio Narro" in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico. We have hired a student club to prepare a database for our information management system. We have had over 100 members in the past two years purchase shares in OASIS, including the NMSU provost and two vice presidents, faculty from across campus, people in the community, and even the local food co-op. We conducted a logo contest for NMSU and DABCC art students and handed out cash awards. Students from an array of majors
have taken the class, including journalism, geography, anthropology, family and consumer sciences, agricultural extension education, agronomy, horticulture, and agricultural economics. We co-hosted a two-day seminar on transition to organic production at the Fabian Garcia farm in October 2003 with the NM Organic Commodity Commission.
Publications
- Falk, C.L., P. Pao, and C.S. Cramer. 2003. An Organic Vegetable Production Class using the Community Supported Agriculture Farming System Model. Revista Mexicana de Agronegocios. 13(2003):11-34. In English and Spanish.
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Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
This project provides students with an experiential learning opportunity through the participation in a student-managed fresh vegetable and herb garden, whose production is marketed through a Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA) organization. The project name, OASIS, stands for Organic Agriculture Students Inspiring Sustainability. The southern New Mexico USDA 2501 Agriculture Assistance Offices have begun collaborating with OASIS. The 2501 office was established in Dona Ana and El Paso Counties to address the needs of small underserved Hispanic farmers. The Dona Ana office identified a local farmer, who has adopted the OASIS CSA model and began his own CSA farm this fall, with over 110 members, and about 75 memberships. We helped the farmer order seeds, prepare transplants, layout his field, organize his membership recruitment, distribution and core group. OASIS provided the farmer with a waiting list of over 50 names to begin his membership drive. I will be giving a
talk on the project in February 2003 in Santa Fe at the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission annual conference, where 300 farmers are generally in attendance. I've had visitors from the Department of Agroecology, at the Autonomous Agriculture University 'Antonio Narro' in Laguna (UAAAN - UL), in Coahuila, Mexico, and three groups of elementary school children. We are quantifying the economics of small scale intensive organic production using drip irrigation.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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