ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY OF ORGANIC FARMING SYSTEMS: ON-FARM, EXPERIMENTAL, AND WATERSHED ASSESSMENTS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0222643
• Grant No.: 2010-51300-21234
• Proposal No.: 2010-01929
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2010
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2011
• Grant Year: 2010
• Program Code: [113.A]- Organic Agriculture Research & Extension Initiative

Recipient Organization
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE
(N/A)
COSHOCTON,OH 43812

Performing Department
USDA-ARS-North Appalachian Experimental Watershed

Non Technical Summary
Organic farming practices can reduce the levels of pesticides in the environment while not necessarily being sustainable. Because of frequent reliance on tillage for weed control and the use of animal manure to supplement soil fertility in lieu of herbicides and mineral fertilizers, potential negative effects include excessive loss of soil, nutrients, and animal wastes in surface and ground water and a reduction in soil organic matter levels and soil quality. These concerns have been addressed in a piecemeal fashion using small research plots and on-farm evaluations, but have not been addressed comprehensively. What is needed is a holistic examination of organic production systems in terms of a full suite of water and soil quality parameters (i.e., ecosystem services), including actual measurements of the volume and quality of surface runoff in order to truly assess the environmental sustainability of organic production systems. Therefore, the objective of this planning grant is to design a project to evaluate the effects of innovative organic farming systems using a multi-scale watershed, systems-based, approach. The research will be guided by small farmer needs and adapted to local conditions characteristic of the US Midwest and Northeast. The plan will include a modeling component so that the results can be scaled to larger systems and ungauged watersheds. The full proposal to be developed as a product of this planning grant will benefit producers of organic crops and animals by identifying and developing practical methods of organic production with reduced environmental impact.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

50%

Developmental

50%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
112	0199	2050	50%
132	0320	2050	50%

Knowledge Area
112 - Watershed Protection and Management; 132 - Weather and Climate;

Subject Of Investigation
0320 - Watersheds; 0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
2050 - Hydrology;

Keywords

runoff

water quality

nutrients

sediment

grazing

cropland

organic production

Goals / Objectives
The goal of this planning grant is to bring together a multi-disciplinary, multi-state team to develop a full proposal in which the effects of organic crop and animal farming systems on soil and water will be simultaneously investigated using a multi-scale watershed approach. This will be accomplished by assembling a select group of approximately 20 organic producers, cropping systems specialists, environmental scientists, and watershed researchers from Ohio, Wisconsin, West Virginia, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania for a two-day meeting at the North Appalachian Experimental Watershed near Coshocton, Ohio for a two-day meeting in October 2010. Specific objectives for the project will be developed during this meeting and group leaders will be selected with the responsibility of formulating and writing each component of the grant proposal. After the initial meeting, the group leaders will visit the proposed research locations in each state in order to assess the specific requirements needed to perform the research. This core group will also visit various organic research institutes in Europe to consult with researchers that have conducted similar research to build on their expertise and avoid duplication of their efforts. A completed draft proposal for internal review will be prepared by mid-January 2011 and a final proposal submitted before the 2011 deadline for submission as specified in the 2011 OREI request for applications.

Project Methods
This planning grant will be used to develop a full proposal to evaluate the environmental sustainability of organic farming practices. This will be accomplished by bringing together a group of organic producers, cropping systems specialists, environmental scientists, and watershed researchers for a two-day planning meeting. Background information on each participant will be collected and circulated before the meeting and a conference facilitator will be used to keep the group focused and on task. The outcome of this meeting will be clearly defined, researchable, objectives and specific investigators assigned to write each component of the proposal. Additional participants may be recruited to join the project if their expertise is required to fulfill the objectives. The investigators charged with writing each component will travel to the proposed research sites to gain additional knowledge of the capabilities at each location and the specific needs to address the objectives. They will develop and circulate their draft components to the other project participants and organic producers in order to refine the proposal in an iterative manner.

Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The North Appalachian Experimental Watershed (NAEW) was awarded a planning grant as part of the NIFA Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) for a proposal entitled "Environmental Sustainability of Organic Farming Systems: On-Farm, Experimental, and Watershed Assessments". The funds were used to assemble a group of researchers for a planning meeting in which the broad objectives of the project were deliberated and agreed to. The attendees included an interdisciplinary mix of 20+ scientists and representatives of stakeholder groups. The scientists were from The Ohio State University, University of Wisconsin, and University of New Hampshire and the ARS Appalachian Farming Systems Research Center in West Virginia, as well as the NAEW. Disciplines represented included hydrology, hydraulic engineering, dairy science, soil chemistry, biogeochemistry, soil science, entomology, ecology, and rural sociology. Stakeholders were from Organic Valley, Rodale Institute, Discovery Farms, Northeast Pasture Consortium, the Small Farm Institute, and USDA-NRCS. Following the initial, meeting select representatives visited some of the proposed research sites in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. A select group also visited institutes and organizations involved in organic agriculture research in Germany (Institute of Organic Farming in Trenthorst), Finland (Agrifood Research Finland - MTT), Switzerland Research (Institute of Organic Agriculture - FiBL in Frick). In addition, the group met with the Chairman of the International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems (ICROFS). PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
The collaboration fostered by the planning grant resulted in the identification of a major gap in organic research nationally and internationally. Namely, field-scale evaluation of the environmental impact of tillage in organic systems and development and holistic assessment of conservation systems that reduce the impact of tillage. This gap was addressed in a full proposal entitled "The Role of Tillage in Sustainability of Organic Farming Systems: On-Farm, Experimental, and Watershed Assessments" in which the impacts of organic production practices on soil and water quality were to be assessed with on-farm research, complimented with research using the unique field facilities under control of the participating scientists. The contributors to the proposal included 15 PD and Co-PDs and nine key personnel with representatives of the European organic research community included in the later. Although the proposal was not funded, the comments received from the reviewers will aid us in strengthening the proposal for re-submission.

Publications

• No publications reported this period