Progress 07/15/08 to 07/14/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: We established outdoor-classroom facility for education, outreach, and research programs under SAERM that serves over 900 students during the life of this project. The living classrooms include the certified organic farms, herb garden and greenhouse, compost and vermicomposting projects which serve for a class demonstration project and site visits by faculty and students from the Plant Science, Food Science, Dietetic, and Culinology Programs at CSU Fresno, Fresno City College, 4H programs, and K-12 schools. We hired a total of 22 student field assistants working part-time on maintaining this outdoor classroom with 16 of them are from the under-represented groups (14 from Hispanic and two from Asian origins). Their majors are in Plant Science, Food Science, Ag Business, Science Education, and Public Health. They operated and maintained the 3-acre certified organic vegetable plots, and managed all aspect of organic vegetable operations including post-harvest and direct, and the additional 12-acre organic plot where dryland forages were planted during winter months. We provided fresh seasonal produce and herb for cooking classes. We organized nine Vermiculture Workshops more than 200 participants mainly families with children which they constructed 145 worm-boxes. Revenue from the sale of organic produce and workshops was invested back into SAERM related activities. In addition, we were seeking additional funding from government and private sources to expand and maintain the SAERM Research and Education Program, and establishing short-term and long-term organic/transition agriculture research plots. We established research collaborations with USDA-ARS, CSU Fresno-Center for Irrigation Technology, and a number of organic agricultural industries. Excess produce from selling were donated to local community food bank and food pantries. We worked with several student organizations, staff, and faculty who volunteered their time to harvest fresh produce for donation. In addition, the program sponsored two Hispanic students travel expense. They attended the MANRRS: Cultivating a Generation of Excellence, an Annual Career Fair and Training Conference (Overland Park, KS). PARTICIPANTS: The project sponsored Dr. Pasakdee's time to make a presentation and attend meeting with professional and local organic industry to promote an opportunity in organic education at CSU Fresno. We sponsored a number of students to attend several local professional meetings and field days, i.e., California Plant and Soil Conference, San Joaquin Valley Organic Conference, and field days organized by UC Extension offices. We organized more than 25 Organic Field Day/U-pick days between Fall 2008 and Summer 2011 where local community visited the SAERM sites and interacted with student assistants working on this project and purchase the seasonal organic vegetables. We demonstrated products available from this project and educate public about organic agriculture, composting, and vermicomposting at a number of outreach events, i.e., an Earth Day Festival and the Summer CSU Fresno Farm Festival with more than 500 community members stopping by our booth and showed their interest on SAERM related-projects. Students working on this project shared their experience about this project during this event and on Field Day/U-pick days, and also organized guided-organic farm tours. We facilitated student volunteer activities, i.e., Bulldog Pantry (CSU Fresno student managed charity), and student field assistants harvested excess organic produce and donated to local community food banks. We have established a social media website (Facebook) for the program activities and information with a link to JCAST and a number of agricultural related sites in California. Articles about FSU Organic Farm were featured by CSU Fresno Green Magazine, Fresno State News, Collegian (CSU Fresno Student Newspaper), Fresno Bee, California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, Capital Press, Business Street Online, and the Business Journal. The project sponsored Dr. Pasakdee's time to make a presentation and attend meeting with professional and local organic industry to promote an opportunity in organic education at CSU Fresno. TARGET AUDIENCES: We continue maintaining the outdoor-classroom facility for education, outreach, and research programs under SAERM programs. Currently we have a total of 15 acres certified organic plot. These sites including, organic greenhouse, organic herb garden, compost and vermicomposting project serve for class projects, ongoing demonstration projects and site visits by faculty and students from the Plant Science, Food Science, Dietetic, and Culinology Programs at CSU Fresno, Fresno City College, 4H programs, K-12 schools, and interested community members. We have to hire a total of four to six student field assistants working part-time during school year to maintain the SAERM living classroom. We continue growing all-year-long seasonal organic vegetables with three permanent organic plots for asparagus, blackberry, and strawberry. We continued offering seasonal organic produce to the community through our campus Gibson Farm Market, Univ. Dining Hall, and U-pick events. Revenue from the sale of organic produce was used to install drip irrigation system and meet other infrastructure needs for this project. Excess produce were donated to local community food bank and food pantries. More than 400 students from a number of classes related to agriculture visited this project during the semester. In addition, we organized nine Field Days, Vermiculture workshops and U-pick events on Saturdays which has about 50-80 interested individuals from local community and organizations participated at each event. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The Student Operated Organic Farm was established and is highly successful and visible in the community. This is an integral and a major part of SAERM education program. Students maintain the outdoor living-classroom of certified organic and transition area on CSU Fresno campus farm. They receive hands-on training and experience and are able to utilize what they learn from the classroom and integrate to practical aspects of organic farming, and have the opportunity to discuss opportunities and challenges of organic farming with faculty and others. We estimate more than 900 students from a number of classes related to crop production, plant health, ornamental horticulture, food science, dietetic, and culinary arts visited this project during this year. We also hosted visits by interested individuals (>400) from local community, i.e., Fresno City College, 4H programs, K-12 schools, and other non-profit organizations. We continue to be a part of the Organic Farming Enterprise which was established in 2008 under the University Agricultural Laboratory operated by the Agricultural Foundation of CSU Fresno. We continued receiving addition financial support and product donations from organic agriculture industry, i.e., the local CCOF organic farmers and donated $2,500 to support the Organic Internship Program. We received donations of organic fertilizers, cover crop seeds, and irrigation supplies from companies who want to support the organic research education programs at CSU Fresno. We completed monitoring on-farm water use project initiated in 2008 with Mr. Diganta Adhikari, Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT), CSU Fresno. This group of researchers installed Smart Tech. solar-operated on-demand irrigation system at one of the organic plots. This technology helped conserve water and increased water-use efficiency. We continued research collaborations with Dr. Gary Banuelos, Plant/Soil Scientist at USDA-ARS-Water Management Research Unit (Parlier, CA), and Dr. Anil Shrestha (CSU Fresno) on soil amendments from various organic by-products and weed competition studies. We initiated two new research collaborations with Dr. Shrestha on paper mulch use for weed control on organic blackberry, and under Dr. Pasakdee et al. on evaluating six varieties of Brassica spp. as winter cover crop for California Central Valley.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 07/15/10 to 07/14/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: PRODUCTS: We established outdoor-classroom facility for education, outreach, and research programs under SAERM that serves over 400 students during the third year of this project. We received multiple requests from K-12 schools and community organizations who are interested in learning about our program activities. The living classrooms include the certified organic plots, organic greenhouse, compost and vermicomposting project, and organic herb garden which serve for class projects and site visits by faculty and students from various majors in JCAST. We hired five student field assistants working part-time during this period. Three out of five student field assistants are from Hispanic origin. Their majors are Plant Science and Science Education. They operated and maintained the 3-acre certified organic vegetable plots, and managed all aspect of organic vegetable operations including post-harvest and direct sale. The 12-acre transition plot where oat hay (dry land) was planted during winter months. The long-term plan for establishing different crops in these transition fields is being discussed. We provided fresh seasonal produce and herb for cooking classes. We organized three Vermiculture Workshops more than 100 participants mainly families with children which they constructed 72 worm-boxes. Revenue from the sale of organic produce and workshops was invested back into SAERM. Excess produce from selling were donated to local community food bank and food pantries. We worked with several student organizations, staff, and faculty who volunteered their time to harvest fresh produce for donation. In addition, the program sponsored two Hispanic students travel expense. They attended the MANRRS: Cultivating a Generation of Excellence, an Annual Career Fair and Training Conference (Overland Park, KS). DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: We organized nine Organic Field Day/U-pick days between Summer 2010 and Spring 2011. Local community visited the sites and interacted with student assistants working on this project and purchased the seasonal organic vegetables. The project sponsored Dr. Pasakdee's time to make a presentation and attend meeting with professional and local organic industry to promote an opportunity in organic education at CSU Fresno. We participated on an Earth Day Festival with more than 500 community members stopping by our booth and showed their interest on SAERM related-projects. We demonstrated products available from this project and educate public about organic agriculture, composting, and vermicomposting. We participated in the Summer Farm Festival held on campus. Students working on this project shared their experience about this project during this event and on Field Day/U-pick days, and also organized guided-organic farm tours. We facilitated student volunteer activities, i.e., Bulldog Pantry (CSU Fresno student managed charity), and student field assistants harvested excess organic produce and donated to local community food bank and Poverello House. We have established a social media website (Facebook) for the program activities and information with a link to JCAST and a number of agricultural related sites in California. PARTICIPANTS: The principal investigator, Dr. Pasakdee, oversees all aspects of this project. She dedicated her time as an advisor of the Student Operated Organic Farm or Organic Enterprise which was established with the financial support from this grant. She teaches hands-on disciplines related to an annual cropping system, soil fertility, irrigation management, plant nutrition, harvest and post-harvest as well as professional development issues. She maintained grant account reimbursement related activities. This grant reimbursed her 40% time on working with students, attending local meetings with organic farmer groups, and collaborating with other faculty, staffs, and USDA scientists. The partner organizations are Horticulture Enterprise (organic greenhouse and herb garden), Gibson Farm Market Enterprise, Dept. of Plant Science, Food Science and Nutrition, and Culinology program, University of California Cooperative Extension, and non-profit organizations, CCOF: California Certified Organic Farmers, OFAC: Organic Fertilizer Association of California. We are a member of COOF Fresno/Tulare Chapter. We sponsored our students to attend their bi-monthly CCOF chapter meetings and OFAC annual conference, so they can interact with professional members, and gain knowledge on current event with organic industry. In addition, we sponsored students to give a presentation and/or attend the annual professional meetings, California Plant and Soil Conference and California Weed Society Conference. Two or our students received first and second prize award on undergraduate research poster presentation. In addition, the program sponsored two Hispanic students travel expense. They attended the MANRRS: Cultivating a Generation of Excellence, an Annual Career Fair and Training Conference (Overland Park, Kansas). TARGET AUDIENCES: We continue maintaining the outdoor-classroom facility for education, outreach, and research programs under SAERM programs. Currently we have a total of 3 acres certified organic plot with additional 12 acres will be certified in Fall-11. These sites including, organic greenhouse, organic herb garden, compost and vermicomposting project serve for class projects, ongoing demonstration projects and site visits by faculty and students from the Plant Science, Food Science, Dietetic, and Culinology Programs at CSU Fresno, Fresno City College, 4H programs, K-12 schools, and interested community members. We hired a total of five student field assistants working part-time on all aspects of organic production. We continue growing all-year-long seasonal organic vegetables with three permanent organic plots for asparagus, blackberry, and strawberry. We continued offering seasonal organic produce to the community through our campus Gibson Farm Market, Univ. Dining Hall, and U-pick evnts. Revenue from the sale of organic produce was used to install drip irrigation system and meet other infrastructure needs for this project. Excess produce were donated to local community food bank and food pantries. More than 400 students from a number of classes related to agriculture visited this project during the semester. In addition, we organized nine Field Days, Vermiculture workshops and U-pick events on Saturdays which has about 50-80 interested individuals from local community and organizations participated. We continued research collaborations with Dr. Gary Banuelos (USDA-ARS) and Dr. Anil Shrestha (CSU Fresno) on soil amendment, plant nutrition, and weed suppression studies in the organic plots. We initiated two new research collaborations with Dr. Shrestha on paper mulch use for weed control on organic blackberry, and under Dr. Pasakdee et al. on evaluating six varieties of Brassica spp. as winter cover crop for California Central Valley. We also facilitated student volunteer activities with a number of student clubs to harvest excess organic produce and donated to local community food banks. We have established social media website (Facebook) for the program with links to JCAST and a number of agricultural related sites in California. We are seeking additional funding from government and private sources to expand and maintain this program, and establishing short-term and long-term organic agriculture research plots. We are soliciting a long-term support from the university to sponsor a full-time Organic Enterprise manager, and a faculty position who is interested in working on organic/sustainable agriculture and integrated cropping systems. However, we anticipate some delay in this effort due to the current state budget crisis situation which has frozen all new hiring. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
OUTCOMES: The Student Operated Organic Farm was established and is highly successful and visible in the community. This is an integral and a major part of SAERM education program. Students maintain the outdoor living-classroom of certified organic and transition area on CSU Fresno campus farm. They receive hands-on training and experience and are able to utilize what they learn from the classroom and integrate to practical aspects of organic farming, and have the opportunity to discuss opportunities and challenges of organic farming with faculty and others. We estimate more than 300 students from a number of classes related to crop production, plant health, ornamental horticulture, food science, dietetic, and culinary arts visited this project during this year. We also hosted visits by interested individuals (100) from local community, i.e., Fresno City College, 4H programs, K-12 schools, and other non-profit organizations. We continue to be a part of the Organic Farming Enterprise which was established in 2008 under the University Agricultural Laboratory operated by the Agricultural Foundation of CSU Fresno. We continued receiving addition financial support and product donations from organic agriculture industry, i.e., the local CCOF organic farmers and donated $2,500 to support the Organic Internship Program. We received donations of organic fertilizers, cover crop seeds, and irrigation supplies from companies who want to support the organic research education programs at CSU Fresno. We completed monitoring on-farm water use project initiated in 2008 with Mr. Diganta Adhikari, Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT), CSU Fresno. This group of researchers installed Smart Tech. solar-operated on-demand irrigation system at one of the organic plots. This technology helped conserve water and increased water-use efficiency. We continued research collaborations with Dr. Gary Banuelos, Plant/Soil Scientist at USDA-ARS-Water Management Research Unit (Parlier, CA), and Dr. Anil Shrestha (CSU Fresno) on soil amendments from various organic by-products and weed competition studies. We initiated two new research collaborations with Dr. Shrestha on paper mulch use for weed control on organic blackberry, and under Dr. Pasakdee et al. on evaluating six varieties of Brassica spp. as winter cover crop for California Central Valley.
Publications
- Alatorre, S., S. Pasakdee, and A. Shrestha. 2012. Use of recycled paper mulch for weed control during establishment of blackberries. Proceeding of California Weed Science Society (CWSS) Annual Meetings, January 22-25 Santa Barbara, CA. Poster-Received a second place award for undergraduate student research.
- Solis, J., S. Pasakdee, A. Shrestha, S. Benes, and G. Srinivasan. 2011. Exploring the potential of Brassica spp. as a forage crop for grazinglands in organic cropping systems of California Central Valley. Proceedings of ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings. October 18th San Antonio, TX. Poster.
- Pasakdee, S., J. Solis, A. Shrestha, and S. Benes. 2011. Exploring the potential of Brassica spp. as a winter cover crop in organic cropping systems of California Central Valley. Proceedings of ASHS Annual Meetings. September 26th , Waikoloa, HI. Oral.
- Olsen, S. 2011. Organic farming grows: University farm project introduce hundreds of students to sustainable practices, marketing techniques. Fall 2011 Update: California Agricultural Technology Institute. CSU Fresno.
- Albert, T. 2011. Organic farming methods take root at Fresno State: University's agriculture department dips a tentative toe into teaching about organics.Fresno Bee on the the Web. 24 Apr.2011. 25 Apr. 2011 (http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/04/24/v-print/2362816/organic-methods- trickle-into-fresno.html).
- Rodriguez, A., G. Banuelos, S. Pasakdee, and A. Shrestha. 2011. Use of Selenium-enriched Mustard and Soy Seed Meals as Potential Bioherbicides and Green Fertilizer in Organic Spinach and Broccoli Production. Proceedings of California Plant and Soil Conference. Feb. 2nd Fresno, CA. Poster-Received a first place award for undergraduate student research.
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Progress 07/15/09 to 07/14/10
Outputs
We continue maintaining and expanding the outdoor-classroom facility for education, outreach, and research programs under SAERM programs. Currently we have a total of 3 acres certified organic plot (additional 2 acres were certified during this period) and 16 acres under transition to organics, organic greenhouse, newly certified 2,500-square foot organic herb garden, compost and vermicomposting project which serve for class projects, ongoing demonstration projects and site visits by faculty and students from the Plant Science, Food Science, Dietetic, and Culinology Programs at CSU Fresno, Fresno City College, 4H programs, K-12 schools, and interested community members. We had 19 applicants who were interested in working at "Student Operated Organic Farm" and doing "Organic Internship". We hired a total of nine student field assistants which about four to five students working part-time during school year. We also partially supported two student interns working for two local CCOF organic growers during Fall 2009 (pistachio orchards) and Spring 2010 (vegetable farms), and hosted one exchange student from Brazil. We continue growing all-year-long seasonal organic vegetables with two permanent organic plots for asparagus and strawberry. We continued offering seasonal organic produce to the community through our campus Gibson Farm Market, Univ. Dining Hall, and Univ. Restaurant. Revenue from the sale of organic produce was used to install drip irrigation system and meet other infrastructure needs for this project. Excess produce were donated to local community food bank and food pantries. More than 300 students from a number of classes related to agriculture visited this project during the semester. In addition, we organized nine Field Days, Vermiculture workshops and U-pick events on Saturdays which has about 50-80 interested individuals from local community and organizations participated. We initiated research collaborations with Dr. Gary Banuelos (USDA-ARS) and Dr. Anil Shrestha (CSU Fresno) on soil amendment, plant nutrition, and weed suppression studies in the organic plots. We also facilitated student volunteer activities to harvest excess organic produce and donated to local community food bank and Poverello House. We encountered a delay in establishing the project website due to the reorganization of IT Departments on campus and Dr. Pasakdee was on maternity leave during Winter 2010. The project website is schedule to launch in Fall 2010. We are seeking additional funding from government and private sources to expand and maintain this programs, and establishing short-term and long-term organic/transition agriculture research plots. We will maintain and operate organic and transition plots including investment on irrigation system and native hedgerows. We are soliciting a long-term support from the university to sponsor a full-time Organic Enterprise manager, and a faculty position who is interested in working on organic/sustainable agriculture and integrated cropping systems. However, we anticipate some delay in this effort due to the current state budget crisis situation which has frozen all new hiring. PRODUCTS: We established outdoor-classroom facility for education, outreach, and research programs under SAERM that serves over 300 students during the second year of this project. The number of students impacted positively by this project doubled from the previous year when we initiated this project. The living classrooms include the certified organic plot and transition plot, organic greenhouse, compost and vermicomposting project, and organic herb garden which serve for class projects and site visits by faculty and students from the Plant Science, Food Science, Dietetic, and Culinology Programs at CSU Fresno, Fresno City College, 4H programs, and K-12 schools. The project reimbursed 50 percent time for Dr. Pasakdee to manage all aspect of this grant. Overall, we hired nine student field assistants working part-time for two to ten months on the Student Operated Organic Farm, and provided partial support to two student interns who worked for local CCOF organic growers. In addition, we also partially sponsored an exchange student from Brazil who spent Fall 2009 semester working with a number of agricultural-related projects at CSU Fresno. Seven of these student field assistants are from the under-represented groups (Hispanic origin). Their majors are Plant Science, Agricultural Business, Science Education, and Public Health. They work and manage all aspect of organic vegetable operations including post-harvest and direct sale at the campus Gibson farm market, University dining hall, University restaurant, and a few local restaurants. Student assistants operated and maintained the 3-acre certified organic vegetable plot and 16 acre transition plot where oat hay (dry land) was planted during winter months. The long-term plan for establishing different crops in these transition fields is being discussed. The organic strawberry and asparagus accounted for 0.5 A of the newly certified plot (2 A). These are permanent crops that are being planted for the first time on our campus farm. In addition, students also planted organic broom corn and Fall pumpkins to provide for Halloween decoration. This area will become the first "pumpkin patch" that will be open to public for educational purpose. We provided fresh seasonal produce and herb for Culinology and Nutrition classes. We established an on-going vermiculture and compost demonstration for Organic Agriculture class, and other interest groups. We organized four Vermiculture Workshops in October and November 2009 and May and July 2010. Our workshops were well supported by local communities with more than 100 participants mainly families with children. They constructed 65 worm-boxes during this period. Revenue from the sale of organic produce and workshops was used to improve the irrigation and meet other infrastructure needs for this project. Excess produce from selling were donated to local community food bank and food pantries. We worked with several student organizations, staff, and faculty who volunteered their time to harvest fresh produce for donation. OUTCOMES: The Student Operated Organic Farm was established and is highly successful and visible in the community. This is an integral and a major part of SAERM education program. Students maintain the outdoor living-classroom of certified organic and transition area on CSU Fresno campus farm. They receive hands-on training and experience and are able to utilize what they learn from the classroom and integrate to practical aspects of organic farming, and have the opportunity to discuss opportunities and challenges of organic farming with faculty and others. We estimate more than 300 students from a number of classes related to crop production, plant health, ornamental horticulture, food science, dietetic, and culinary arts visited this project during this year. We also hosted visits by interested individuals (100) from local community, i.e., Fresno City College, 4H programs, K-12 schools, and other non-profit organizations. We continue to be a part of the Organic Farming Enterprise which was established in 2008 under the University Agricultural Laboratory operated by the Agricultural Foundation of CSU Fresno. We continued receiving addition financial support and product donations from organic agriculture industry, i.e., the local CCOF organic farmers and donated $2,500 to support the Organic Internship Program. We received donations of organic fertilizers, cover crop seeds, and irrigation supplies from companies who want to support the organic research education programs at CSU Fresno. We initiated research collaborations with Dr. Gary Banuelos, Plant/Soil Scientist at USDA-ARS-Water Management Research Unit (Parlier, CA) and Dr. Anil Shrestha, Weed Ecologist at CSU Fresno on soil amendments from various organic by-products and weed competition studies. We also continue monitoring on-farm water use project initiated in 2008 with Mr. Diganta Adhikari, Center for Irrigation Technology, CSU Fresno. This group of researchers installed Smart Tech. solar-operated on-demand irrigation system at the certified organic plot. This technology helped conserve water and increased water-use efficiency. We supported other enterprises such as ornamental horticulture on organic-related projects, by purchasing organic transplants and perennial natives from them for this project. We also purchased tools and materials used for this project from local business. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: We organized nine Organic Field Day/U-pick days between Summer 2009 and Spring 2010 while we only had four events during the first year of this project. Local community (approximately 50-80 members), visited the sites and interacted with student assistants working on this project and purchased the seasonal organic vegetables. Articles about FSU Organic Farm were featured by Fresno State News, Collegian (CSU Fresno Student Newspaper) and Fresno Bee (local news paper) and on local radio channels. The project sponsored Dr. Pasakdee"s time to make a presentation and attend meeting with professional and local organic industry to promote an opportunity in organic education at CSU Fresno. The Organic Farm and Organic Greenhouse were invited by the Campus Sustainability Committee to participate on Earth Day Festival, April 22, 2010. We had more than 120 students stopped by our booth and showed their interest on "Student Operated Organic Farm" projects. This led to hiring non-Ag majors working on this project because they are interested to incorporate "Ag Education" as a part of their degree. For example, two Science Education major plans to pursue "School Garden" project as a part of their future assignments, and one Public Health major did her internship with a local organization that establishes "Community Garden" in Fresno low-income neighborhood area. We demonstrated products available from this project and educate public about organic agriculture and vermicomposting. We participated in the Summer Farm Festival held on campus. Students working on this project shared their experience about this project during this event and on Field Day/U-pick days, and also organized Vermiculture Workshops. We facilitated student volunteer activities, i.e., Bulldog Pantry (CSU Fresno student managed charity), 4-H and K-12 students and student field assistants harvested excess organic produce and donated to local community food bank and Poverello House. We encountered a delay in establishing the project website due to the reorganization of IT Departments on campus and Dr. Pasakdee was on maternity leave during Winter2010. The project website is schedule to launch in November 2010. FUTURE INITIATIVES: We will continue hiring part-time student field assistants who want to work on the certified organic plot and transition plot. We will support the hiring of student interns to work with local CCOF organic farmers. We plan to obtain additional certified organic plots in Fall 2011 after completing the three-year transition period. However, due to the diminished funding from State government, our future plan for permanent crops is still under discussion among advisory board. We plan to increase the number of student enrollment for PLANT 180 (an undergraduate research project), PLANT 190 (an independent study of an agricultural system), and PLANT 196 (a crop project) by working with Plant Science faculty, USDA scientists, and organic industry to conduct field trials on areas related to organic agriculture. We plan to increase a number of outreach activities with other programs on campus and local community by working with student organizations on various aspects of healthy farming and healthy eating habits. We are seeking additional funding from government and private sources to expand and maintain the SAERM Research and Education Program, and establishing short-term and long-term organic/transition agriculture research plots. We will maintain and operate organic and transition plots including investment in irrigation system, native hedgerows, and creating biodiversity around designated parameters. We will solicit long-term support from the university to sponsor a full-time Organic Enterprise manager, and a faculty position who will be devoted to working on organic/sustainable agriculture and integrated cropping systems.
Impacts
Overall, this project has improved and enhanced the capacity of food and agricultural science education on Organic Agriculture for Plant Science, Food Science, Dietetic, and Culinology Programs. The grant helped create and facilitate an expansion of organic farm for teaching, research, and outreach programs. This project has attracted a number of under-represented student groups who are interested in learning and working with various aspects of healthy farming. We are able to establish year-round organic vegetable operation, organic greenhouse, organic herb garden, compost and vermicompost on campus farm operations for the first time which became an outdoor classroom demonstration to various classes and interested individuals, community, and local organizations such as Fresno City College, 4H programs, and K-12 schools. We were able to receive additional funding from California State University Agricultural Research Initiative to conduct two-year study on transition plot entitled "Exploring the potential of canola in organic cropping systems as a winter cash crop for generating bio-based products" which will allow us to provide financial support to one graduate student"s master thesis. We identified the graduate student (Hispanic origin) from this project who was one of the very first students who started working on this project in Fall-08. We enhance services to the community through the sale of organic produce from student projects conducted at the campus Farm Market, Univ. Dining Hall, and Univ. Restaurant, Field Day/U-pick, and donations to local food pantries.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 07/15/08 to 07/14/09
Outputs
We established outdoor-classroom facility for education, outreach, and research programs under SAERM that serves over 150 students. This includes the first certified organic plot and transition plot, organic greenhouse, compost and vermicomposting project, and transition herb garden which serve for class projects and site visits by faculty and students from the Plant Science, Food Science, Dietetic, and Culinology Programs at CSU Fresno, Fresno City College, 4H programs, and K-12 schools. Overall, we hired eight student field assistants working part-time for two to ten months on the Student Operated Organic Farm which was established during Fall-08, and partially support two student interns worked for local CCOF organic growers during the first year. Student assistants operated and maintained the 0.8 A certified organic vegetable plot and 15 acres transition plot since Aug-08. This is the first time seasonal organic vegetables were planted on the certified organic plot for commercial production, donation, research plot, and field demonstration. The long-term plan for establishing different crops in these fields is being discussed by the plant science advisory group. We provided fresh seasonal produce and herb for Culinology classes. The sale of seasonal organic produce was started since Oct-08 at the campus Farm Market, Univ. Dining Hall, and Univ. Restaurant. Revenue from the sale of organic produce was used to improve the irrigation and meet other infrastructure needs for this project. Excess produce from selling were donated to local community food bank and food pantries. More than two hundred students from a number of classes related to crop production, plant health, ornamental horticulture, food science, dietetic, and culinary arts visited this project during the year. Two classes (Organic Agriculture and Weed Science) utilized the certified organic plot as a part of the field trials. In addition, we hosted visits by interested individuals (~120) from local community and organizations. We initiated research collaboration with Center for Irrigation Technology, CSU Fresno utilizing Smart Tech. solar-operated on-demand irrigation system. We facilitated student volunteer activities to harvest excess organic produces and donated to local community food bank and Poverello House. We encountered a delay in establishing the project website due to the sudden departure of IT technician who was handling this project. We plan to have the project website established by Dec-2009. We are seeking additional funding from government and private sources to expand and maintain the SAERM Research and Education Program, and establishing short-term and long-term organic/transition agriculture research plots. We will maintain and operate organic and transition plots including investment on irrigation system, native hedgerows, and creating biodiversity around designated parameters. We will solicit a long-term support from the university to sponsor a full-time Organic Enterprise manager, and a faculty position who is interested in working on organic agriculture and integrated cropping systems. PRODUCTS: We established outdoor-classroom facility for education, outreach, and research programs under SAERM that serves over 150 students. This includes the first certified organic plot and transition plot, organic greenhouse, compost and vermicomposting project, and transition herb garden which serve for class projects and site visits by faculty and students from the Plant Science, Food Science, Dietetic, and Culinology Programs at CSU Fresno, Fresno City College, 4H programs, and K-12 schools. The project reimbursed 50 percent time for Dr. Pasakdee to manage all aspect of this grant. Overall, we hired eight student field assistants working part-time for two to ten months on the Student Operated Organic Farm which was established during Fall-08, and partially support two student interns worked for local CCOF organic growers during the first year. Six of these student field assistants are from the under-represented groups (five Hispanic and one Asian). Four of them with Plant Science major received 2-unit credit as part of Agricultural Internship class while they work and manage all aspect of organic vegetable operations including post-harvest and sale at the campus Farm Market, Univ. Dining Hall, and Univ. Restaurant. In addition, two student interns (one Hispanic) were hired by two local CCOF organic farmers, organic raisin and stone fruit grower in Spring and Summer-09, respectively. Student assistants operated and maintained the 0.8 A certified organic vegetable plot and 15 acres transition plot since Aug-08. This is the first time seasonal organic vegetables were planted on the certified organic plot for commercial production, donation, research plot, and field demonstration. Students also helped in preparing the first transition plot (~1.0 A) by planting with mixed cover crop (soil builder), and helped in field preparation, compost application in the additional transition plots (~14 A) which planted with winter wheat (dry land). The long-term plan for establishing different crops in these fields is being discussed by the plant science advisory group. We established an on-going vermiculture and compost demonstration for Organic Agriculture class, and other interest groups. We also organized Vermiculture Workshop during the summer Farm Market Festival which attracted ~20 families with children from local communities. We provided fresh seasonal produce and herb for Culinology classes. The sale of seasonal organic produce was started since Oct-08 at the campus Farm Market, Univ. Dining Hall, and Univ. Restaurant. The continuation of seasonal organic vegetable produce sales includes organic lettuce, radish, rainbow Swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower, arugula, spinach, Asian greens, mustard, turnip, beet, pepper, cherry tomato, okra, squash, eggplant, and melon. Revenue from the sale of organic produce was used to improve the irrigation and meet other infrastructure needs for this project. Excess produce from selling were donated to local community food bank and food pantries. We worked with several student organizations, staff, and faculty who volunteered their time to harvest fresh produce for donation. OUTCOMES: This funding made it possible to support an establishment of certified organic and transition area on CSU Fresno campus farm. More than eighty students received hands-on experience of the outdoor classroom settings. They are able to utilize what they learn from the classroom and integrate to practical aspects of organic farming, and discussed their challenges with faculty and others. We estimate more than two hundred students from a number of classes related to crop production, plant health, ornamental horticulture, food science, dietetic, and culinary arts visited this project during the year. Two classes (Organic Agriculture and Weed Science) utilized the certified organic plot as a part of the field trials. In addition, we hosted visits by interested individuals (~120) from local community, i.e., Fresno City College, 4H programs, K-12 schools, and other non-profit organizations. In addition, the Organic Farming Enterprise was established under the Univ. Agricultural Laboratory operated by the Agricultural Foundation of CSU Fresno. This led to an addition financial support and product donations from organic agriculture industry. For example, the local CCOF organic farmers and New Era Farm Service (compost operation in Tulare, CA) donated $2,500 and $5,000, respectively, to support the Organic Internship Program. We received donations of organic fertilizers, cover crop seeds, and irrigation supplies from companies who want to support the organic education programs at CSU Fresno. In addition, the Fresno Audubon Society donated owl boxes for the organic farm. We initiated research collaboration with Diganta Adhikari, Center for Irrigation Technology, CSU Fresno. They installed Smart Tech. solar-operated on-demand irrigation system at the certified organic plot. This helped conserve water and increased water-use efficiency. We supported other enterprises such as Ornamental Horticulture, by purchasing their organic transplants and perennial natives for this project. We also purchased tools and materials used for this project from local business. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: We organized four Organic Field Day/U-pick days in Fall 2008 and Spring 2009. Local community (approximately 60 members of the public), visited the sites and interacted with student assistants working on this project and purchased the seasonal organic vegetables. Articles about FSU Organic Farm were featured by CSU Fresno Green Magazine, Fresno State News, Collegian (CSU Fresno Student Newspaper), Fresno Bee, California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, Capital Press, Business Street Online, and the Business Journal. The project sponsored Dr. Pasakdee's time to make a presentation and attend meeting with professional and local organic industry to promote an opportunity in organic education at CSU Fresno. The Organic Farm and Organic Greenhouse were invited by the Campus Sustainability Committee to participate on Earth Day Festival, April 22, 2009. We demonstrated products available from this project and educate public about organic agriculture and vermicomposting. We attended the campus Farm Market Festival. Students working on this project shared their experience about this project during this event and also organized Vermiculture Workshop. We facilitated student volunteer activities, i.e., Students for Environmentally Responsible Agriculture (SERA) and Plant Science clubs who planted native headrows around the plot; Conciencia club, 4-H and K-12 students and student field assistants harvested excess organic produces and donated to local community food bank and Poverello House. We encountered a delay in establishing the project website due to the sudden departure of IT technician who was handling this project. We plan to have the project website established by December 2009. FUTURE INITIATIVES: We will continue hiring part-time student field assistants who want to work on the certified organic plot and transition plot. We will support the hiring of student interns to work with local CCOF organic farmers. We plan to obtain additional certified organic plots in Fall-10 after completing the three-year transition period. However, due to the diminished funding from State government, our future plan for permanent crops is still under discussion among advisory board. We plan to increase the number of student enrollment for PLANT 180 (an undergraduate research project), PLANT 190 (an independent study of an agricultural system), and PLANT 196 (a crop project) by working with Plant Science faculty, USDA scientists, and organic industry to conduct field trials on areas related to organic agriculture. We plan to increase a number of outreach activities with other programs on campus and local community by working with student organizations on various aspects of healthy farming and healthy eating habits. We are seeking additional funding from government and private sources to expand and maintain the SAERM Research and Education Program, and establishing short-term and long-term organic/transition agriculture research plots. We plan to obtain Transition Certification from CCOF prior to the sale of fresh produce under Transition or Pesticide Free label. We will maintain and operate organic and transition plots including investment on irrigation system, native hedgerows, and creating biodiversity around designated parameters. We will solicit a long-term support from the university to sponsor a full-time Organic Enterprise manager, and a faculty position who is interested in working on organic agriculture and integrated cropping systems.
Impacts
Overall, this project has improved and enhanced the capacity of food and agricultural science education on Organic Agriculture for Plant Science, Food Science, Dietetic, and Culinology Programs at CSU Fresno. The grant helped create and facilitate an expansion of organic farm for teaching, research, and outreach programs. This project has attracted a number of under-represented student groups who are interested in learning and working with various aspects of healthy farming. We are able to establish year-round organic vegetable operation, organic greenhouse, transition herb garden, compost and vermicompost on campus farm operations for the first time which become an outdoor classroom demonstration to various classes and interested individuals, community, and local organizations such as Fresno City College, 4H programs, and K-12 schools. We enhance services to the community through the sale of organic produce from student projects conducted at the campus Farm Market, Univ. Dining Hall, and Univ. Restaurant, Field Day/U-pick, and donations to local food pantries. We are establishing the Green Farm Landscape with diverse biodiversity by utilizing USDA NOP approach which shows our farm commitment to support the campus Green Initiative. In addition, with the growth of urban areas around our campus farm, the farm becomes an eco-friendly neighborhood and desirable green space so that the local community will be able to appreciate having nearby campus farm which serves as a green oasis in the midst of an urban setting.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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