Source: UNIV OF MINNESOTA submitted to NRP
AGRICULTURAL DIVERSITY, RED RIVER, MN AND ND - OPPORTUNITIES IN ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN NORTH DAKOTA AND IMPLICATION OF FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
SPECIAL GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0219344
Grant No.
2009-34291-20076
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
2009-05154
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2009
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2010
Grant Year
2009
Program Code
[HA]- Agricultural Diversity, Red River, MN & ND
Recipient Organization
UNIV OF MINNESOTA
(N/A)
ST PAUL,MN 55108
Performing Department
Northwest Research & Outreach Center
Non Technical Summary
The first objective will be to increase in North Dakota the understanding of the organic agriculture market and increase awareness of what opportunities in organic production could exist for North Dakota producers. North Dakota farmers already grow a wide variety of organic crops, including soybeans, hard red spring wheat, rye, oats, sunflowers, barley, yellow flax, peas, corn, beef cattle and alfalfa. Organic agriculture offers a significant opportunity for North Dakota producers. The intent of this project is to continue increasing awareness of this opportunity through education and research and continue actions to take advantage of the opportunity. The second objective is to continue UMC/NGP's research on the impact of private sector protocols and the trend towards a globally harmonized system of on-farm production protocols on the region's producers and to develop regional strategies for gaining marketplace advantage for producers and processors in the Region through this research and analysis. The work will include development of the AmeriGAP system of protocols that could be benchmarked with the GlobalGAP standard.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
6015010301025%
6016030301025%
7115010301025%
7116030301025%
Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 711 - Ensure Food Products Free of Harmful Chemicals, Including Residues from Agricultural and Other Sources;

Subject Of Investigation
6030 - The farm as an enterprise; 5010 - Food;

Field Of Science
3010 - Economics;
Goals / Objectives
The first objective will be to increase in North Dakota the understanding of the organic agriculture market and increase awareness of what opportunities in organic production could exist for North Dakota producers. North Dakota farmers already grow a wide variety of organic crops, including soybeans, hard red spring wheat, rye, oats, sunflowers, barley, yellow flax, peas, corn, beef cattle and alfalfa. Organic agriculture offers a significant opportunity for North Dakota producers. The intent of this project is to continue increasing awareness of this opportunity through education and research and continue actions to take advantage of the opportunity. The second objective is to continue UMC/NGP's research on the impact of private sector protocols and the trend towards a globally harmonized system of on-farm production protocols on the region's producers and to develop regional strategies for gaining marketplace advantage for producers and processors in the Region through this research and analysis. The work will include development of the AmeriGAP system of protocols that could be benchmarked with the GlobalGAP standard.
Project Methods
Procedures Objective 1: (One-year Work Plan): Produce a financial analysis of organic production in ND that can be used as a decision-making tool for producers to help determine if they want to transition to organics. Produce an analysis of near-term, long-term and international markets for organics that can be used as a decision-making tool for producers to help determine if they want to transition to organics. Convene an "Organics Summit" to help producers learn about the economic potential of organics, how to transition to organics and how to enter the market. Develop a traveling education program about organics lasting one-half day in cooperation with NDSU Extension and hold the program in 4-6 locations in North Dakota. Procedures Objective 2: Keep current existing research and data on the major global private sector protocols, industry protocols and American private sector protocols currently in place. Continually update the research paper "Private Sector Protocols: Threats and Opportunities for American Farmers" that contains the findings of research to date and make that available to USDA, farm organizations, appropriate agriculture, consumer and environmental NGOs, Congressional leaders in agriculture, leaders of the major private sector initiatives, and major newspaper, television and radio outlets. Organize in cooperation with GlobalGAP and conduct a study program in Europe on private sector protocols with a focus on GlobalGAP. Continue membership in GlobalGAP. Organize a regional conference to discuss regional strategies for development of a regional protocol system

Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project conducted by Northern Great Plains, Inc. involved an analysis of organic agriculture in the state of North Dakota. Objectives were as follows: 1)Assess opportunities in organic agriculture for North Dakota, and 2) Outline a strategic response to the emergence of a global system of pre-farmgate private sector protocols. This infomation was compiled in a 23-page report entitled, Organic Agriculture: A Promising Future which was generously referenced to serve as a sourcebook for users. The down-loadable report was disseminated by posting on the Internet. Also, collaboration occurred with the Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture at Dakota College in Bottineau to provide a guide for program development. PARTICIPANTS: Jerry Nagel; Director, Northern Great Plains,Inc.;Fargo, ND Maggie Schmaltz; Research Associate, Northern Great Plains. TARGET AUDIENCES: Crop and truck farmers, consumers, economic development entities. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
The study concluded there is opportunity for organic agriculture in North Dakota; with more demand for organic products than supply. The choice to farm organic may be more of a philosophical choice than an economic one. Farmers may have a belief in health benefits or for land stewardship. Organic farming could also be economical but there are limited comparative data regarding profitablity in the northern plains. FINBIN (www.finbin.umn.edu) is a farm financial and production resource for farm producers, educators, lenders, and other agricultural professionals. The site consists of data from agricultural producers who use FINPACK for farm business analysis. FINBIN allows the selection of Income Statements, Balance Sheets, and Farm Financial Standards measures. It allows choosing crops or livestock along with different farmer characteristics. FINBIN contains data from several states but at this time, contains none for North Dakota so we used data for Minnesota. We compared 4 crops; conventional and organic. For cash rent soybeans, the total number of Minnesota farms in 2008 for conventional soybeans was 1,396 and 17 in organic soybeans. In 2008, the value for organic soybeans in Minnesota was $22.84/bu, while conventional soybeans were $9.57/bu. The net return over labor and management for organic soybeans was $160.55/acre and $86.79/a for conventional soybeans. For spring wheat, there were 7 organic spring wheat farms and 416 conventional in Minnesota in 2008. The value per bushel for organic spring wheat was $15.04 and $6.74 for conventional in 2008. Organic spring wheat had a larger net return over labor and management than conventional spring wheat; $306.70/a compared to $97.50/a for conventional spring wheat. Organic corn in Minnesota also had a higher return than conventional. Twenty-two Minnesota organic corn farms in 2008 had a net return over labor and management of $572.43/a compared to 1400 conventional corn farms with $125.39/a. These 3 different crops all saw organic being more profitable. Alfalfa hay is a different story. In Minnesota, there were 352 conventional alfalfa hay farms in 2008 and 20 organic. Conventional alfalfa hay was more profitable with $183.66/a in net return over labor and management compared to organic alfalfa hay with $86.15. Profitable or not, economic or philosophical, health benefit or respect for the land, people choose to farm or buy organic for varying reasons. Organic production is still relatively new; however, it is continuing to grow in popularity. Organic agriculture does have a future in the U.S. and in North Dakota. What the future entails is still unknown.

Publications

  • Schmaltz, M. 2010. Organic Agriculture: A Promising Future. A 23-page report. http://www.ngplains.org/articles/view/221