Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience included organic vegetable growers, growers practicing pastured poultry, extension staff, local food coordinators, Master Gardeners, Food Systems working group professionals, high school FFA teachers, industry professionals, and agriculture stakeholders. Changes/Problems:Although the project start date was September 2019, project investigators received initial funding starting in March 2020 (due to the shifting of NIFA headquarters to Kansas City and other administrative issues). Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic starting in March 2020, the project could not get started in full swing due to restrictions and shutdowns. The project did not start in California (UC Davis) due to the complete lockdown, although Iowa and Kentucky were able to start the project on a scaled-down version. But from 2021 onwards, there were no major issues, and the project progressed as planned. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided training and professional development for fivegraduate students, two technical staff members, and 16 undergraduate research assistants. Graduate students in Horticulture, Animal Science, and Soil Science gained valuable insights about integrated systems and created theses and dissertations. Their training opportunities included field experiment design, setting up of field and lab studies, data analysis, presentation at field days and grower conferences,preparation of manuscripts for publication, and authorship of outreach products, including extension publications. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results from the project have been disseminated through presentations, YouTube video clips,field days, webinars, andpresentingposters, and oral presentations at state, regional, andnational grower and scientific conferences. By addressing topics such as nutrient management, manure and compost, crop rotationand animal integration, chicken tractors, cover cropping, food safety, and poultry meat quality,the project increased growers' knowledge of integrated systems. This resulted in changed behavior by growers reaching out to the project team forchicken tractor models, sketches, and design and incorporating cover crops in their systems. Specialty crop producers (100%) identified increased knowledge from attending Field Days, workshops, and short courses, which were organized as part of this project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Integrating poultry with vegetable production and cover crops in an organic production system showed benefits to soil health, crop yields, and cover crop performance. Poultry integration increased the soil inorganic N, P, K, and other essential plant nutrients, supporting increases in vegetable crop yields and cover crop biomass. Although, concerns of excessive nutrient accumulation from poultry manure require further exploration. A summer cover crop included in the rotation further increased benefits from those provided by poultry integration alone, including decreasing weed populations, increasing earthworm abundance, and improving field-saturated hydraulic conductivity. Increasing on-farm diversity by integrating livestock and growing cover crops can provide substantial benefits to organic producers, reducing off-farm inputs and improving soil health. Integrating poultry in an organic vegetable production system did not lead to substantial changes in soil bacterial community composition, but increases in soil bacteria diversity were found. The abundance of bacteria at the phylum level stayed relatively consistent between poultry and no poultry plots, as well as the commonness of soil bacteria genera. Importantly, human pathogens Listeria and E. coli were not found in the soil following poultry integration, potentially made unviable by the cold Iowa winter. Explorations of the soil microbiome are complex and challenging, and fundamental questions remain to be answered. As technologies continue to advance and increase in accessibility, our understanding of the impact our management practices have on the soil microbiome will grow, deepening the need for advanced agroecological strategies. An experimental objective was to compare the performance, physiological, and economic outcomes of Freedom Ranger broilers raised in outdoor pastures versus conventional indoor settings. One hundred seventy-six slow-growing Freedom Ranger broilers were started in brooders for 21d, and then half were transferred to either indoor floor pens or outdoor chicken tractors for a 6-week grow-out cycle. Performance and welfare measures were recorded weekly. At d64, 40 birds per treatment were euthanized for tibia collection, and bone mineral density was analyzed by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA). Under our research conditions, performance and welfare measures were not significantly affected by housing treatments, but bone mineral content and density were significantly increased by 37.9% and 15.4%, respectively, in the outdoor flock (P<0.05). Assessment of meat quality of pasture-raised birdswas also a key objective of this study. The study utilized two breeds, Freedom Ranger and Ross 708 broiler chickens, to understand how meat quality differs when raised in integrated pasture systems versus traditional confinement systems. At three weeks old, 40 pullets of each breed were put onto pasture to graze on crop residue, while 40 were kept in confinement. At nine weeks, the meat quality was assessed. For Freedom Rangers, the rearing system used did not lead to any difference in carcass yield; however,pasture-raised birds hadhigher a* values in the thigh and b* values in the breast meat. These values are usedfor measuring meat color and represent the following: redness (a*),yellowness (b*), and lightness (L*). Both Freedom Ranger and Ross 708 breedsraised on pasturehad slightly higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids that can be beneficial to human health. The project extensively engaged growers, grower organizations, and stakeholders to create a robust extension and outreach program. Project team members delivered a number of presentations at grower meetings, professional meetings, and workshops and created YouTube videos, extension publications, and peer-reviewed journals. Numerous field days and grower conference presentations also shared the project's findings widely. Project evaluation was conducted in the final year, which focused on formative and outcome indicators to measure the extent to which the research team has coalesced, progress has been made towards research objectives, and outcomes met among target audiences. Methods included participant observation, partner interviews, outputs tracking, a survey of attendees at farmers conferences, a farmer survey, and a survey of ISU Fruit and Vegetable Field Day attendees. The following are highlights of the evaluation results: The research has successfully implemented similar research methods at three locations (IA, KY, and CA), yielding results of interest to farmers. All interviewees described the advisory board meetings, team meetings, and stakeholder engagement as pivotal experiences, bringing greater clarity for how to move forward. All interviewees said that working with a variety of disciplines has been the best part of working on this team. Growers appreciated direct access to researchers and their graduate students. Webinars, presentations, workshops, and field days were engaging and practical and taught growers the basic infrastructure to integrate poultry into vegetable systems. Growers highly rated the workshop that discussedhow to build chicken tractors. As a result of this project, organic vegetable growers in Iowa, Kentucky, and Californiahave gained a deeper insight into how poultry, vegetables, and cover crops can be effectively used as a rotation tool. Showing that integrated systems can be created without causing food safety risks was a game changer. Integrated systems can help ensure higher soil quality and health, a consistent marketable yield for vegetables, reduced off-farm inputs, and thereby opening new local market opportunities for organic produce.
Publications
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2025
Citation:
Anne M. Carey, C. Dutter, K. Mbacke, M.D. McDaniel, and A. Nair. 2025. Integrating poultry improves soil health and vegetable yield in organic, cover-cropped system. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment 382.
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Moriah T. Bilenky, Ajay Nair, Marshall D. McDaniel, Angela M. Shaw, Elizabeth A. Bobeck, and Kathleen Delate. 2024. Integrating pastured meat chickens into organic vegetable production increased nitrogen and microbial biomass with variability in presence of E. coli and Salmonella spp. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 2024;39:e11.
- Type:
Other Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2025
Citation:
Carey, A. and A. Nair. 2025. Evaluating ecosystem services of summer cover crop mixtures for organic cabbage production. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems
- Type:
Other Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Elmore, K., A. Nair, and E. Bobeck. 2024. Production, Bone Health, and Economic Comparison of Indoor versus Pasture-Raised Red Ranger Broilers. ISU Animal Husbandry Report
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Carey, A. and A. Nair. 2024. Integrating poultry and vegetable production. Annual Conference of Practical Farmers of Iowa, Jan. 2024, Des Moines, IA.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Carey, A., A. Nair, and R. Calvey. 2024. Multi-species cover crop in vegetable cropping systems. Annual Conference of Practical Farmers of Iowa, Jan. 2024, Des Moines, IA.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Carey A. and A. Nair. 2024. Integrating poultry with vegetables and cover crops in organic production systems. Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture Symposium, Ames, IA
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Anne Carey, Ajay Nair, and Adam Thoms. 2024. Evaluating the Soil Block Method and Growing Media in Organic Vegetable Transplant Production. HortScience 59(4):542-551.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Nair, A. 2024. Sustainable vegetable cropping systems including poultry integration. Horticulture and Crop Sciences Departmental Seminar, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
|
Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience included fruit and vegetable growers, growers practicing pastured poultry, extension staff, local food coordinators, Master Gardeners, Food Systems working group professionals, high school FFA teachers, industry professionals, and agriculture stakeholders. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Several graduate and undergraduate students were trained as a result of this project. The project organized a team meeting atUC Davis (9-11 October 2022), which was attended by project directors, graduate students, undergraduate interns, and professional and scientific staff from all three states (IA, KY, and CA). This meeting provided professional development opportunities through presentations and site visits to local organic farms (Full Belly Farm, Guinda, CA; UC Davis Student Organic Farm) and agricultureenterprises (Mariani Nut Company, Winters, IA). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Graduate students presented posters and oral presentations at national conferences highlighting research results and lessons learned. Results from this project were disseminated through field days, workshops, webinars, podcasts, research farm progress reports, and presentations made at grower and academic conferences. YouTube videos were created to expand the educational platform and outreach component of the project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The team is working on publishing results aspeer-reviewed publications. Several graduate students are working on completing theirthesis and dissertations. The team continues to engage stakeholders and advisory board members to disseminate research findings and observations. Team members will be presenting results at grower and academic conferences.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
One of the objectives of this multistate study, is the examination of theeffect of integrating chickens in vegetable cropping systems on insect pest management, with the hypothesis that chickens may help manage pests. Three treatments were established at ISU Horticulture Research Station: Treatment 1 rotation was Vegetable, Chickens, and then Cover crops; Treatment 2 was Vegetable, Cover crops, then Chickens; and Treatment 3 was Vegetable, Vegetable, and Cover crops. Pitfall traps were established in two plots per treatment and contents examined weekly. The first round of data were collected during the middle part of the rotation cycle starting in July, where Treatment 1 had chickens after a broccoli crop, Treatment 2 was planted to cover crops, and Treatment 3 was planted to vegetables. The cover crop mix was seeded on June 23, and was a mixture of cowpea (80 lb/acre) and teff (8 lb/acre). The vegetables were sweet potatoes and were transplanted on June 23. The chickens were moved to plots on June 22, and the pitfall traps were placed in those plots on June 27. The chicken tractors were over the traps on July 3 and July 18. In this cycle, no pests were observed on the sweet potatoes during weekly monitoring. The first collection from the pitfall traps occurred on July 5, 2023, after chicken tractors had been over the traps. Trap contents revealed no significant differences in insect populations between treatments, with apparently minor foraging on insects by chickens. Among the six main species of arthropods collected from traps (springtails, spiders, ground beetles, crickets, ants, and parasitic wasps) in the first collection, there were no significant differences in their populations between treatments. Springtails were the predominant group of arthropods found in traps, and even when their populations were not graphed, there were no significant differences among treatments. Plots with the chicken averaged 22 spiders and 11 ground beetles, while the cover crop plots averaged 15 spiders and 13 ground beetles, and vegetable plots averaged 13 spiders and 1 ground beetle. The plots with cover crops tended to support more crickets than the other treatments, averaging 4 per trap while the Chicken and Vegetable plots had 2 and 0 crickets per plot, respectively. In the cover crop plots, there was a trend towards more insects, outside of spiders and ground beetles. The second pitfall collection occurred on July 14, 2023. While there were no significant differences in insect populations among treatments, there was a trend towards more spiders, averaging 48 per trap; ground beetles, averaging 18 per trap; crickets, averaging 13 per trap; and ants, averaging 20 per trap, in Chicken plots. The Cover Crop plots tended to have more parasitic wasps than the other plots, averaging 5 per trap.The third pitfall collection occurred on July 24, 2023. The Cover Crop plots supported significantly greater populations of crickets, at 32 per trap, compared to Chicken and Vegetable plots, which averaged 6 and 10 crickets per trap, respectively. There was a trend towards more ground beetles and ants in the Chicken plots, compared to the Vegetable and Cover Crop plots. Spiders tended to be greater in the Cover Crop plots, with an average of 17 per trap, and more parasitic wasps, with an average of 5 per trap. Overall, the Vegetable plots tended to have less insects. The second round of the experiment began on August 30, 2023, when Treatment 1 rotated to Cover Crops, Treatment 2 became the Chicken plots, and Treatment 3 continued as Vegetables. Chickens arrived August 22 and the first set of data was collected on September 6. The chickens were over the traps on August 28 and September 12.Data from the September 6 pitfall trap collection showed some significant differences between treatments, with the Cover Crop plots having greater ant populations, averaging 13 per trap, while Vegetable and Chicken plots averaged 4 and 2 per trap, respectively. Overall, the Chicken plots tended towards supporting more insects, with averages of 8 spiders, 9 ground beetles, 5 crickets, and 15 parasitic wasps per trap. Cover Crop plots averaged 100 springtails per trap. Data from the September 15, 2023, collection showed no significant differences between treatments. Chicken plots averaged 6 spiders, and 15 parasitic wasps. Cover Crop plots averaged 6 spiders per trap, 6 crickets, 50 springtails, and 7 ants, while Vegetable plots averaged 2 ground beetles per trap. Data from the September 22, 2023, collection showed no significant differences between treatments. Chicken plots averaged 7 parasitic wasps per trap, while Cover Crop plots averaged 10 spiders, 16 crickets, 20 springtails and 4 ants per trap (Figs. 3-4). The Vegetable plots tended to have the least number of insects. The final collection occurred on October 2, 2023. The Cover Crop plots again supported significantly greater ant populations, averaging 9 per trap, while Vegetable and Chicken plots averaged 2 and 3, respectively. Cover Crop plots averaged 13 spiders, 4 ground beetles, 21 crickets, 50 springtails and 14 parasitic wasps per trap. Vegetable plots again appeared to support the least number of insects overall. In 2023, no significant pest or beneficial insect population differences were observed between the treatment where chickens foraged and treatments without chickens. Thus, this experiment did not support the hypothesis that chickens will aid in pest management in integrated vegetable systems. Cover crops appeared to exert the most significant effect on insect populations, perhaps due to the extensive cover in the plots, leading to greater populations in a more amenable climate/environment. The project also evaluatedfive certified organic sweet potato cultivars (B-14, Bayou Belle, Bellevue, Covington, and Orleans) for performance and quality under Upper Midwest growing conditions. Key takeaways include: B-14 had a greater number of marketable sweet potatoes than Bayou Belle, Covington, and Bellevue, although they did not differ in marketable weight, indicating a smaller average root weight of B-14. Bellevue produced more Jumbo grade sweet potatoes than the other cultivars and had the lowest Brix content. Covington sweet potatoes had the highest Brix content, but a greater number of small or misshapen roots and lower number of marketable sweet potatoes than most cultivars. In all, B-14 (Beauregard), with the highest number of marketable roots and a high Brix content, can be considered the best performing of the evaluated cultivars.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Carey, A. and A. Nair. 2023. Soil Blocking in organic vegetable transplant production. Great Plains Growers Conference, St. Joseph, MO (1/12/2023).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Nair, A. and D. Fillius. 2023. Integrated pest management in organic vegetable systems. Workshop for Amish and Mennonite produce growers, Lamoni Produce Auction, Lamoni, IA (2/8/2023).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Nair, A. and D. Fillius. 2023. Integrated pest management in organic vegetable systems. Workshop for Amish and Mennonite produce growers, Kalona Produce Auction, Lamoni, IA (3/22/2023).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Nair, A. 2023. Cover crops in vegetable cropping systems. USDA NRCS Field Day, Des Moines, IA (4/12/2023).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Nair, A., A. Carey, M. Pitesky, F. Duan, and D. Gonthier. 2023. ISU-CA-KY Workshop and Field Day - Integrating chicken tractors in vegetable rotations. ISU Horticulture Research Station, Ames, IA. (9/7/2023)
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Carey, A. and A. Nair. 2023. Organic sweet potato cultivars in the Upper Midwest. Farm Progress Report.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Halmos, Viktor, "Costs and Benefits of Integrating Poultry into Cover Crop - Vegetable Rotations" (2023). Theses and Dissertations--Entomology. 79.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/entomology_etds/79
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Halmos, V., Gonthier, D.J. Costs and benefits of integrating poultry into vegetable rotations. Organic Association of Kentucky Annual Meeting. Frankfort, KY (January 27, 2023).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Gonthier, D.J Agricultural multifunctionality: Harmonizing the costs and benefits of wild and managed birds in agriculture. Hope College, Biology Departmental Seminar. Holland, MI (February 17, 2023).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Gonthier, D. Integrating poultry into vegetable rotations: What poultry density increases crop yields. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. (2023). Virtual Webinar
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
KM Elmore and EA Bobeck. 2023. Vegetable-poultry-cover crop system vs. conventional housing: Year 2 broiler performance, bone quality, and welfare outcomes in a multi-year study. Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Elmore, K., Nair, A. & Bobeck, E., (2023) Production, Bone Health, and Economic Comparison of Indoor versus Pasture-Raised Red Ranger Broilers , Iowa State University Animal Industry Report 20(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/air.15445
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Delate, K. (2023) Organic Gardening. Winter Gardening Expo, Marion IA, February 18, 2023. Attendees: 82
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Delate, K. (2023) Integrated Organic Crop and Livestock Systems. Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Organic Conference, LaCrosse, WI, February 24, 2023. Attendees: 76
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Delate, K. (2023) Organic Research Update. Organic Crop Imporvement Association Annual Meeting, Madrid, IA, March 17, 2023. Attendees: 45
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Delate, K. (2023) Measuring the Effect of Chickens on Insect Populations in Organic Specialty Crop Rotations. OREI Field Day, Gilbert, IA, September 7, 2023. Attendees: 20
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Shulan Xiao and Dong Ahn. 2023. Chicken meat quality raised in an integrated organic production system. Iowa State University Animal Industry Report. DOI:10.31274/air.16193
|
Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience included fruit and vegetable growers, growers practicing pastured poultry, extension staff, local food coordinators, Master Gardeners, Food Systems working group professionals, high school FFA teachers, industry professionals, and agriculture stakeholders. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?There have been many training and professional development activities associated with this project, including field days, workshops, and conference presentations, webinars, YouTube videos, etc. These activities provided opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, technicians, Extension specialists, and farmer-educators to interact, implement, and discuss this project with peers, growers, and scientific community. This project also trained several undergraduate and graduate students field plot techniques, statistical design and interpretation, and data presentation skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated through field days, workshops, and conference presentations, webinars, and YouTube videos. Several conference presentations were made at grower and academic conferences. Two on-farm grower collaborator trials in Iowa engaged growers and led to farmer led information dissemination. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The final season of field activities will continue with data collection on crop and poultry production. A comprehensive soil data will be collected in all three states that will focus on soil physical, biological, and chemical characteristics. Economic analysis will continue to develop enterprise budgets. Meat and poultry behavior analysis will also continue.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In this experiment, at Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station, three treatments were established: Treatment 1 rotation was Vegetable, Chickens, and then Cover crops; Treatment 2 was Vegetable, Cover crops, then Chickens; and Treatment 3 was Vegetable, Vegetable, and Cover crops. Pitfall traps were established in two plots per treatment and contents examined weekly. In 2022, among the seven main species of arthropods collected from traps (springtails, spiders, ground beetles, crickets, ants, flea beetles and parasitic wasps), there were only two significant differences in their populations between treatments. Springtails were the predominant group of arthropods found in traps, and when their populations were not graphed, other patterns emerged. The plots with cover crops had an average of 5 spiders in traps, which was significantly greater than those collected in plots with vegetables. Vegetable and chicken plots had averages of 2 and 1 spiders, respectively. There was a trend towards more insects, except for ground beetles, recovered in traps in cover crop plots. The second pitfall collection occurred on July 15, 2022. While there were no significant differences in insect populations among treatments, there was a trend towards more ground beetles, averaging 7 per trap; parasitic wasps, averaging 14 per trap; and ants, averaging 19 per trap, in cover crop plots. The chicken plots tended to have more spiders than the cover crop plots, averaging 13 per trap; springtails, averaging 100 per trap; and crickets at an average of 12 per trap. Meat quality - One hundred and sixty broiler chickens from two strains (Freedom Ranger and Ross70, 80 for each strain) were raised in traditional confinement (CR) and integrated (FR) conditions (40 birds per each raising condition) and slaughtered. The carcasses were harvested, and parts yield, nutrient composition, and meat quality parameters were measured. Some significant differences in the yields of major parts (breast, thigh, and drumstick), meat color, the protein, fat, and ash contents, cooking yield, and tenderness of breast and thigh between the CR and FR groups within a strain were found, but the differences were small. However, the chickens raised in the FR had higher DHA content than the CR system. Between the strains, however, significant differences in parts yield, protein content, and color values were found: Ross70 had significantly higher breast yield, breast protein content, and cooking yield but lower color b*-value than Freedom Ranger. The results indicated that the plant-animal integrated (FR) conditions do not have any negative impact on the quality parameters of broiler meat and the integrated (FR) system is a good alternative to the traditional confinement production system that can enhance farm diversity, land use efficiency, and sustainability of farm agriculture. Food safety analysis-The presence and absence and quantification of Salmonella in soil, pasture, the finished produce and poultry occurred in California, Iowa, and Kentucky. The results from all sites revealed no Salmonella in the soil, pasture, and finished produce. In California Salmonella was present in one sample of poultry upon arrival but not at harvest. This is expected based on present knowledge of the low presence of Salmonella in poultry. Kentucky In spring of 2022, we maintained a randomized block experiment at the University of Kentucky Horticultural Research Farm (in the organic certified section) that manipulated three rotation treatments: low density poultry rotation (spring vegetable, summer cover crop, and fall poultry at a density of 10 broilers per plot), high density poultry rotation (spring vegetable, summer cover crop, and fall poultry at a density of 10 broilers per plot), and vegetable rotation without poultry (spring vegetable, summer and fall cover crops). Plots were approximately 32 x 32 ft in size and replicated 4 times in 4 treatment blocks. Crop productivity - Results suggest that integrating poultry in the fall of 2021 resulted in benefits to lettuce productivity in the spring of 2022, but only for the high poultry rotation treatment (following the same pattern as in 2021). Plots that received a high density of poultry had roughly 42% higher lettuce yields relative to plots that did not have poultry (in fall of 2020). However, there was no difference in lettuce yield between plots receiving low density poultry and no poultry. We also initiated a split-plot fertilizer experiment within each rotation treatment plot to assess the relative impact of poultry mediated yield augmentation relative to fertilizer mediated yield augmentation. Each of the 12 rotation plots received three pre-plant fertilizer (Nature Safe) treatments: no fertilizer, 3.5 lbs/A (med), and 71 lbs/A fertilizer treatment (high fertilizer). We found that the high fertilizer treatment had ~72% higher yields than the no fertilizer treatment, suggesting poultry integration had a smaller impact on lettuce yields than a full pre-plant fertilizer treatment. ??Arthropod biodiversity - Across two years, we examined how no poultry, low- and high-densities of broilers impacted cover crop biomass, ground-dwelling arthropods, and plant-dwelling arthropods in a rotationally grazed mixed-cover crop system. High- and low-density poultry treatments had 7.8-fold and 3.5-fold less cover crop biomass compared to the control treatment after 1-3 days of access, respectively. Despite the depletion of cover crops, there were substantial positive effects on ground-dwelling arthropods. Most striking was the impact on house fly larvae where high-density poultry treatments had ~1432-fold more house fly larvae relative to the control treatments. Dung beetle mean relative abundance increased 47-fold from the control treatment to the high-density poultry treatment. The mean relative abundance of ground-dwelling predators such as spiders and Staphylinid beetles was 2.4-fold and 3.5-fold higher respectively, in the high-density treatment relative to the control. In contrast, the mean relative abundances of plant-dwelling arthropod orders Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Hymenoptera were 4-, 5-, and 3.6-fold higher, respectively, in the control treatment relative to the high-density poultry treatment. However, the composition of vegetation-dwelling arthropods at the order level did not significantly differ by treatment. Overall, these results suggest that pasture-raised poultry may promote the abundance of ground-dwelling arthropods through bottom-up mechanisms by depositing fecal material but decreasing the abundance of plant-dwelling arthropods, likely by destroying their habitat and food resources (via consumption and trampling of cover crop vegetation) and direct consumption of arthropods.? California The field study was carried out with 1 acre of tomatoes harvested, and data collected on the yield and fruit quality of the experimental plots. 116 pastured chickens were raised in each autumn (after the tomato crop) and spring (after the cover crop) based on the study design and data such as weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were collected and compared to indoor controls. A cover crop was grown using a mixture of bell beans, oats, peas and common vetch over the winter and data was also collected on cover crop biomass. From June through September 2022, a crop of butternut squash was cultivated in the progression of the field study. Canopy cover data were collected during early growth of the squash crop. Soil samples were collected at 3 points of the season during the reporting period according to the experimental schedule and submitted for analysis in order to measure soil health indicators and to inform crop nutrient application needs (October 21' after harvest of the tomato crop, March 22' before termination of the cover crop, June 22' after planting of the squash crop).
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audience reached during this reporting period included organic vegetable growers, commercial vegetable growers, pastured poultry enterprises, cover crop seed vendors, extension professionals, and representatives of grower organizations (Practical Farmers of Iowa,Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, Organic Association of Kentucky, and The American Pastured Poultry Producers Association). Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Iowa • One graduate studentlearned about meat quality parameters and trained for their assessment methods. • Two graduate and sixundergraduate studentsexperienced slaughtering process of chickens • Onegraduateand two undergraduate students in the Poultry Nutrition Lab were trained to collect bird welfare and bone density data • Twograduate and fiveundergraduate students assisted with the field work of growing vegetables, raising chickens, insect data collection, and seeding cover crops. They also actively participated and presented the research at the Iowa State University Fruit and Vegetable Field Day Kentucky Viktor Halmos, MS Graduate Student, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, gained fieldresearch experience and assisted with field work,development of outreach materials, and presentation of results. Karina Garcia, PhD Candidate, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky -Field research experience, development of outreach materials, and presentation of results. Several undergraduate students also participated in the field work and data collection. California Over 10 undergraduate students and 1 graduate student gained valuable research experience through this project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated through presentations, field days, podcasts, newsletters, extension publications, and posters at national conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In Iowa, we plan to plant a spinalettuce ch crop within our rotations. We look forward to integrate poultry for the 2022growing season and collect data on poultry health, behavior, feed intake, meat quality, prevalence of food-borne pathogens, and a comprehensive soil nutrient testing and analysis. The vegetable only plot will be planted in to pepper squash after the spring lettuce crop. In Kentucky, the three rotations in 2022will be repeated with different crops (spring, summer, fall, winter): 1. Lettuce-eggplant-beets-cover crop (no poultry) 2. Lettuce-eggplant-cover crop- high-density poultry (20 birds per plot) 3. Lettuce-eggplant-cover crop- low-density poultry (10 birds per plot) In California, the next crop in rotation will be wintersquash.Cover crop termination is scheduled for March 2022that will then be followed by insertion of the chickens in the post-cover crop chicken treatment ahead of land preparation, cover crop incorporation and tillage work prior to transplanting of winter squashn transplants that will be grown and monitored in the summer of 2022. Economic analysis of this projecy will start in 2022 with development of enterprise budgets. We will continue to present the work at local and regional conferences.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Iowa trial Vegetable crop data All threerotations (vegetable-chicken-cover crop, vegetable-cover crop-chicken, and vegetable-vegetable-cover crop) started with spinach (Spinacia oleracea), a high valuecrop for organicgrowers in Iowa. Spinach is known to bolt, or go to seed, in warmer weather. Specific cultivars have been developed to tolerate higher temperatures of spring planting with delayed bolting, allowing growers to harvest spinach into early summer and increase the length of marketability and sales. The project utilized the spinach plantings toidentify spinach cultivars best adapted to direct seeding for spring growth under Upper Midwest growing conditions. The nine cultivars evaluated include Acadia, Seaside, Kolibri, Red Tabby (Johnny's Selected Seeds, LLC), Renegade, Verdil (High Mowing Organic Seed Company), and Apache, Space, and Aztec (Seedway, LLC). Aztec, with the highest number and weight of marketable leaves per plot performed the best among the nine cultivars. Seaside, with the lowest number and weight of marketable leaves performed the worst. With the highest total soluble solid content, Aztec would be the most preferred in taste to consumers. Seaside, with the lowest total soluble solid content, would be the least preferred. Verdil, with the only incidence of bolting and the worst insect damage, appears to not perform well in spring planting. Growers in Iowa considering spinach cultivars for spring planting should consider Aztec to be the best performer in terms of marketable yield and total soluble solid content. Seaside could pose challenges due to low yields and low total soluble solid content and Verdil due to the incidence of bolting and susceptibility to insect damage. Poultry data Year 1 of the poultry project was completed on farm- in conventional floor housing at the poultry farm as well as the horticulture Research Station where birds were kept in tractors on alternating food plots. Data pertaining to performance, feed intake, weight gain, welfare, bone density, and behavior were collected. Data are being analyzed from the first 2 sets of live bird replicates. The effects of two raising systems (integrated vegetable-poultry-cover crop system and conventional system) on the meat quality parameters of broilers were determined. The meat quality parameters, including carcass and carcass component yield, cooking yield, proximate analysis, color, pH and fatty acid profiles and tenderness of the breast and thigh meat, were determined. There were some differences in meat quality parameters, especially color values (L, a* and b*-values) and protein content, between the chickens raised in the integrated vegetable-poultry-cover crop and the conventional system when the Spring and Fall chickens were compared within the same slaughtering time. However, the differences were not consistent and clear when the values from the chickens slaughtered in July (Spring) and September (Fall) were considered. In summary, the quality parameters of chickens in the integrated vegetable-poultry-cover crop and conventional systems were not different. However, it is too early to conclude that the two raising systems do not affect the quality of broiler chickens. The results will be clearer when the upcoming studies (years 2 and 3) are compiled with the current ones. Kentucky trial In spring of 2021, we established a randomized block experiment at the University of Kentucky Horticultural Research Farm (in the organic certified section) that manipulated three rotation treatments: low density poultry rotation (spring vegetable, summer cover crop, and fall poultry at a density of 10 broilers per plot), high density poultry rotation (spring vegetable, summer cover crop, and fall poultry at a density of 10 broilers per plot), and vegetable rotation without poultry (spring vegetable, summer and fall cover crops). Plots were approximately 30 x 30 ft in size and replicated 4 times in 4 treatment blocks. For this project, we will repeat these rotational sequences for 4 years and measure the impacts of integrating poultry on soil health, vegetable productivity, arthropod biodiversity, and profitability. Crop productivity -In the spring of 2021, the first measurements of poultry integration impacts on the vegetable productivity were taken. The results suggest that integrating poultry in the fall of 2020 resulted in benefits to spinach productivity in the spring of 2021, but only for the high poultry rotation treatment. Plots that received a high density of poultry had roughly 37% higher spinach yields relative to plots that did not have poultry (in fall of 2020). However, there was no difference in spinach yield between plots receiving low density poultry and no poultry. We also initiated a split-plot fertilizer experiment within each rotation treatment plot to assess the relative impact of poultry mediated yield augmentation relative to fertilizer mediated yield augmentation. Each of the 12 rotation plots received three pre-plant fertilizer (Nature Safe) treatments: no fertilizer, 3.5 lbs/A (med), and 71 lbs/A fertilizer treatment (high fertilizer). We found that the high fertilizer treatment had ~37% higher yields than the no fertilizer treatment. Importantly, this result suggests that integrating high densities poultry into vegetable rotations increased yield in spring vegetables at a roughly equivalent rate as applying a 71 lbs/A rate of pre-plant fertilizer. Food safety - One of the greatest concerns for the integration of poultry into vegetable production systems is the possibility of increasing contamination rates with food borne pathogens given that poultry are known carriers of Salmonella spp. and other human pathogens. At the end of each rotation sequence (spring, summer, fall), we used boot-swab soil samples to test for the presence of Salmonella in each plot. In 2021, all samples taken across these integrated treatments were found to be negative for the presence of Salmonella (spring spinach, summer cover crop, and fall poultry), suggesting poultry integration into rotations is a low risk practice. California trial Questions including: at what extent does manure deposited by poultry on the farm reduce the need for off-farm soil fertility inputs? What benefits can we observe when crop residue is used to supplement the diets of the chickens? What stocking rate of chickens is the most advantageous in these systems? What type of crops and breeds of chicken work the best in such integrated systems across the country? and is it feasible to squeeze in a successful yield of broiler production into the transition window between different crop seasons? Finally, can all this be done effectively from a food safety perspective and economically from both a farmer and consumer level? To better understand and evaluate the potential to integrate poultry within vegetable cropping systems, panning multiple perspectives, the research objectives focused on evaluating growth yields, quality of agricultural outputs, food safety risks, agroecological impacts on soil and pests, and economic feasibility of such systems. Specific parameters measured included comparing the body weight of broilers raised in pasture versus those raised indoors showed that for both spring and fall chickens, there was no significant difference between final weights (at 6.5 weeks of age) of any of the 4 groups housed outdoors or the 1 group housed indoors. Comparing the body weight of broilers raised in the fall versus those raised in the spring, we found that although chickens raised in the spring achieved on average a higher BW than those in the fall, this difference was not statistically significant. Additionally, our results showed the average weight gain of fall chickens was greater than spring chickens ( 1109.9 g vs. 1093.1 g); however, this difference was not statistically significant.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Nair, A. and A. Carey. 2021. Poultry, cover crop, and vegetable integrated systems. ISU Fruit and Vegetable Field Day 7/22/2021.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Delate, K. (2020) Small Farm Sustainability Podcast: Iowa Organic Update , November 11, 2020, Iowa State University, Ames, IA https://www.extension.iastate.edu/smallfarms/small-farm-sustainability-podcasts
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Delate, K. (2020) Iowa Organic Conference, Nov. 23, 2020, ISU Dept. of Horticulture, Ames, IA: https://www.iowaorganic.org/2020_iowa_organic_conference
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Delate, K. (2020) OATS (Organic Agronomy Training Series) Podcast: The Dirt on Organic Farming https://www.organicagronomy.org/the-dirt-on-organic-farming
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Viktor Halmos. Multifunctionality of poultry-vegetable integrated systems. MS Proposal Seminar in the University of Kentucky, Department of Entomology Seminar Series. November, 4 2021.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Karina Garcia, Delia Scott Hicks and David J Gonthier. Ecological impacts of organic pasture raised poultry on cover crop and arthropod communities. August 2, 2021. Ecology Society of America.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Pitesky, M., F. Duan, and J.P. Mitchell. 2021. Do chickens boost soil health, increase profits on organic vegetable farms? . in Morning Ag Clips. April 19, 2021.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Scientists to see whether chickens boost soil health, increase profits on organic vegetable farms in UCANR Green Blog. April 16, 2021.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Duan, F., M. Pitesky, and J.P. Mitchell. 2021. Integrating Chicken and Vegetable Production in Organic Farming. Organic Farmer Magazine. December 2021.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Carey, A. and A. Nair. 2021. Appropriate Spinach Cultivars for Spring Planting. Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station Farm Progress Report. https://www.iastatedigitalpress.com/farmreports/article/id/15494/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Carey, A. and A. Nair. 2021. Evaluating Mini-Butternut Cultivars in the Upper Midwest. Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station Farm Progress Report. https://www.iastatedigitalpress.com/farmreports/article/id/15490
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Chickens-Tomatoes-Cover Crop, Chickens-Tomatoes-Cover Crop, Chickens-Tomatoes-Cover Crop; by Faye Duan, Jeff Mitchell, and Maurice Pitesky, Poultry Ponderings Edition 23, 2021
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Delate, K. (2021) NRCS Webinar: Organic Research to Support Transitioning , February 18, 2021, Des Moines, IA
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Delate, K. (2021) Surviving COVID, Derecho, and Drought Lessons from2020 - Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Organic Conference, La Crosse, WI, 2/25/21
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lgceptpiwih34vp/Surviving%20COVID%2C%20Derecho%2C%20and%20Drought%20Lessons%20of%20Resilience%20in%202020%20edited.mp4?dl=0
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Delate, K. (2021) Risk Management for Organic Production : March 10, 2021, ISU-FFED, Ames, IA
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/ffed/specialty-crops-risk-management-webinar-series/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Delate, K. (2021) Grain Place Foundation Field Day, July 17, 2021 http://www.grainplacefoundation.org/news/
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Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audience reached during this reporting period included dorganic vegetable growers and representatives of grower organizations (Practical Farmers of Iowa and Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association). Collaborators in Kentucky connected with representatives from Organic Association of Kentucky. Changes/Problems:Although the project start date was September 2019, project investigators received initial funding starting in March 2020 (due to shifting of NIFA headquarters to Kansas City and other administrative issues). Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic starting in March 2020, the project could not get started in full swing due to restrictions and shutdowns. The project did not start in California (UC Davis) due to complete lockdown, although Iowa and Kentucky were able to start the project on a scaled-down version. No animals could be introduced in Iowa plots due to COVID lockdown. Iowa trials were modified to run broccoli cultivar trials that identified appropriate heat tolerant broccoli cultivars for organic vegetable growers. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In Iowa, two undergraduates worked on the project and assisted with raising transplants, plot establishment and management, data collection and entry. Students were trained on field plot techniques, use of tools and equipment, production of broccoli, seeding and establishment of cover crops. The graduate student, Anne Carey, started in Fall 2020 and was trained on soil sampling protocols, data collection, and statistical methods and analysis. At Kentucky, Karina Garcia, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, was trained inField and lab research experience and data analysis. AnotherPh.D. student, Kantima Thongjued, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky learned about Field and lab research experience; meta-barcoding techniques; and data analysis. At California, to date, no formal external training and professional development activities have been conducted associated with the UC Davis project due to the postponement of our work. Invitations have been sent to three prospective farmer Advisory Board members in January 2021. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?At Iowa, discussions were held with growers at Practical Farmers of Iowa about the broccoli cultivar trial results. No formal presentations and field days have been organized. At Kentucky, Kantima Thongjued, presented preliminary research findings to the Department of Entomology during a Departmental Seminar. At California, informal conversations have been engaged with prospective project Advisory Board farmers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In Iowa, we plan to plant a spinach crop within our rotations. We look forward to integrate poultry for the 2021 growing season and collect data on poultry health, behavior, feed intake, meat quality, prevalence of food-borne pathogens, and a comprehensive soil nutrient testing and analysis. The vegetable only plot will be planted in to winter squash after the spring spinach crop. In Kentucky, the three rotations in2021will be repeated with different crops (spring, summer, fall, winter): Spinach-eggplant-beets-cover crop (no poultry) Spinach-eggplant-cover crop- high-density poultry (20 birds per plot) Spinach-eggplant-cover crop- low-density poultry (10 birds per plot) In California, we intend to fully begin the work at the UC Davis site during the coming months and are now underway to do so. Cover crop termination is scheduled for March 2021 that will then be followed by insertion of the chickens in the post-cover crop chicken treatment ahead of land preparation, cover crop incorporation and tillage work prior to transplanting of organic processing tomato plants that will be grown and monitored in the summer of 2021. The tomatoes will be transplanted around the 1st of May and likely machine harvested by the end of August at which time the post-vegetable chickens will be introduced. Work is beginning on fabricating the movable chicken cages to be ready by the time the 2021 cover crop will be terminated.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Although the project start date was September 2019, project investigators received initial funding starting in March 2020 (due to shifting of NIFA headquarters to Kansas City and other administrative issues). Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic starting March 2020, the project could not get started in full swing due to restrictions and shutdowns. The project did not start in California (UC Davis) due to complete lockdown, although Iowa and Kentucky were able to start the project on a scaled-down version. OBJECTIVE 1. Evaluate vegetable (growth, yield, and quality), cover crop, and bird performance in integrated organic production Iowa trials Because of COVID restrictions in 2020, the vegetable rotation with chickens was changed to a simple vegetable cultivar trial to deal with lockdowns and labor limitations. The objective of this study was to identify broccoli cultivars that could be transplanted late spring and would perform well irrespective of early summer high temperatures. High temperatures often lead to early bolting, increased disease incidence, and a high rate of unmarketable heads. The study was conducted on certified organic land at the ISU Horticulture Research Station. Broccoli cultivars were selected for being the most popular cultivars grown on Iowa vegetable farms and for their described heat tolerance by seed suppliers. Six broccoli cultivars- Belstar (High Mowing, LLC), Covina (High Mowing, LLC), Emerald Crown (Johnny's, LLC), Green Magic (Johnny's, LLC), Gypsy (Johnny's, LLC), and Imperial (Johnny's, LLC) were seeded at the Department of Horticulture greenhouses on March 17, 2020. Broccoli marketable yield.There was no statistically significant difference among the different cultivars for the number or weight of marketable heads per plot, ranging from 9-17 heads, weighing between 1.2-2.6 kg. Belstar produced the lowest number (9) and lowest weight (1.2 kg) of marketable heads per plot. Green Magic and Covina produced the largest number of marketable heads per plot, 17 and 16, respectively, both with a weight of marketable heads per plot reaching 2.3 kg. Imperial produced the largest weight of marketable heads per plot with 2.6 kg, from 14 heads, with the highest average weight per head of 186 g. Non-marketable broccoli.There was no statistically significant difference among cultivars for the number and weight of non-marketable heads per plot. Broken down into non-marketable categories, statistically significant differences between cultivars were found. Gypsy had significantly more brown discoloration than all other cultivars, with an average of three heads per plot. Covina was the only cultivar to experience beading of the heads, with an average of one head per plot. Emerald Crown and Covina heads had the most yellow eyes, with 2.8 and 2.3 heads per plot respectively, but no significant difference between cultivar was present. Belstar heads bolted significantly more than the other cultivars, with 5.3 heads per plot. Peak production.Belstar and Imperial broccoli heads reached peak production later than other cultivars, with the highest number of heads harvested per plot occurring on July 31, the sixth harvest. Green Magic and Gypsy were the earliest cultivars to reach peak production, with the highest number of heads harvested occurring on the first two harvest, July 2, and July 8. Covina reached peak production in the middle of the season, with the highest number of heads harvested occurring July 20. Emerald Crown held a steady yield throughout the first four harvests, with between 17-20 heads harvested each week from July 2-July 20. All other cultivars experienced a quick peak of number of marketable heads, lasting only one or two harvests. This information can be useful to Iowa growers seeking to use cultivar selection in a succession plan for late season planting for continuous harvest from a broccoli planting. Insect populations were censused throughout the summer on six cultivars, and nematode populations were determined after 6-inch soil samples were sent to the ISU Plant Diagnostic Lab for analysis. Due to the dry weather and, possibly, the isolation of the crop from other crucifers, very few insects were present at the experimental site this summer. The main insect pests included flea beetles, aphids, and imported cabbage worm. Due to high biodiversity in the surrounding area of the trial, parasitic wasp activity was observed in parasitized aphids (mummies) counts. Other beneficial insects were detected, including lady beetles and syrphid larvae. Damage ratings averaged less than 10% damaged leaves across all cultivars. Overall, there were no significant differences in insect pests, pest damage, and disease incidence between broccoli varieties. Kentucky trial To determine the impact of incorporating poultry into vegetable rotations, a 4-year rotation project was established with 3 rotation treatments (spring, summer, fall, winter): broccoli -cover crop-cover crop rotation (no poultry) broccoli-cover crop-high-poultry density- cover crop rotation (20 broilers per field) broccoli-cover crop-low-poultry density-cover crop rotation rotation (10 broilers per field). During the spring, summer and fall soil samples, Salmonella soil samples (food safety), arthropod abundance, vegetative biomass, and crop or poultry productivity were measured. Baseline spring broccoli yields and soil nutrient content did not differ between experimental treatments (measured before the treatment effect of poultry was introduced to the rotation). After the high- and low-density poultry treatments were established in the fall, poultry treatments had significant impact on the cover crop plant communities and on arthropod communities. Plots in the high- and low-density poultry treatments had significantly less cover crop biomass than the treatment that remained in cover crop (broccoli-cover crop-cover crop treatment). Further, an analysis of similarity revealed that the high- and low-density poultry treatment had different arthropod communities compared to the cover crop treatment without poultry. After the poultry treatments were completed in the fall, 1 of 4 high-density poultry plots tested positive for Salmonella, 1 of 4 low-density poultry plots tested positive for Salmonella and no vegetable-cover crop plots (without poultry) tested positive for Salmonella. California trial Due to the COVID situation in California and UC Davis policies significant delays occured. However, we have modified our timeline accordingly and expect to meet all the project objectives. Due to the University of California, Davis conducting a curtailment of research during the spring of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision was made to postpone implementation of the field work at the UC Davis site until the fall. Among other meetings an onsite project planning meeting was held on February 7, 2020 with California project leaders Maurice Pitesky and Jeff Mitchell along with Iowa State lead PI Ajay Nair and Brandon, and the manager of the Long-Term Research on Agricultural Systems facility where the project will be implemented, Israel Herrera. Initial experimental design planning was done and a visit of the intended study field was conducted. Plans were outlined for baseline soil sampling, sample processing and archiving. A mixture of one of the Multiplex commercial mixes of Lockewood Seed and Grain in Chowchilla, CA including 30% bell beans, 20% oats, 30% Dundale peas, and 20% common vetch (by weight) was seeded across the entire 1-ac experimental field in November ahead of the anticipated onset of winter rainfall at a rate of 125 lbs/ac. No fertilizer or irrigation were applied to the cover crop.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Carey, A. and A. Nair. 2020. Comparing Broccoli Cultivars in Late Spring Planting. Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station Report.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Organic Research in Iowa - Horticulture Dept., University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 3/18/20 (via Zoom)
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Video: Virtual Neely-Kinyon Farm Organic Field Day: 8/3/20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_PplV5EmT4
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Video: Gardening While Isolated: Organic Pest Management (with P. Lawlor): 5/11/20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrT1SymMKYA
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Iowa Organic Program Small Farm Sustainability Podcast: 11/11/20
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/smallfarms/small-farm-sustainability-podcasts
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Iowa Organic Conference: 11/23/20
https://iastate.app.box.com/s/u5d44k2ngn2jr8behked7hq0pvdipmyk
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Delate, K. 2020. Organic Agriculture Concerns Amid COVID-19. ISU Extension and Outreach, May 5, 2020. Available at: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/organic-agriculture-production-concerns-amid-covid-19
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Galindo, F.S., Delate, K., Heins, B., Phillips, H., Smith, A., and Pagliari, P.H. 2020. Cropping System and Rotational Grazing Effects on Soil Fertility and Enzymatic Activity in an Integrated Organic Crop-Livestock System. Agronomy 10: 803: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/6/803
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Carr, P.M., Cavigelli, M.A., Darby, H., Delate, K., et al. 2019. Green and animal manure use in organic field crop systems. Agronomy Journal. 2020:1-27: https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20082
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Press release: Gardening While Isolated: Transplanting and Fertilizing Your Seedlings , May 19, 2020 (with B. Turnbull): https://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/gardening-while-isolated-transplanting-and-fertilizing-your-seedlings
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
How to spread compost efficiently in organic fields: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxcDvQUEF6k&t=21s
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