TRANSITIONING TO ORGANIC GRAIN PRODUCTION: STRATEGIES TO MAXIMIZE PROFITABILITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES WHILE REDUCING RISKS AND BARRIERS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1020579
• Grant No.: 2019-51106-30195
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $499,977.00
• Proposal No.: 2019-03517
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2019
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2024
• Grant Year: 2019
• Program Code: [112.E]- Organic Transitions

Recipient Organization
UNIV OF MARYLAND
(N/A)
COLLEGE PARK,MD 20742

Performing Department
Environmental Science & Techn

Non Technical Summary
Farming in the Delmarva (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) region is dominated by commodity grain production (particularly corn, soybeans, and wheat) which has inherently low value (~$600) and profit (~$200) per acre, resulting in a trend toward fewer but larger farms. Organic grain production has the potential to boost farmer profits via premium prices about double conventional prices and new markets opening up for organic corn and soybean. Thus converting to organic grain production has the potential to greatly enhance farmer income, even if organic yields are substantially lower than conventional. However, the three-year transition period required to achieve organic farming status presents a major barrier to wider organic grain production because during this period farmers receive only conventional prices but must forgo their customary use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides upon which they have depended for high-yield production. As a result, farmers are faced with producing significantly lower yields, sometimes at higher costs, while receiving conventional prices for their grain. These factors result in the likelihood of farmers experiencing much lower profits, or even net losses, during the three transition years.The US as a nation is the world's major exporter of corn, soybeans and other grains, while it has had to import most of its organically certified supply of these feed grains to meet the demands of the US organic poultry and livestock industries. The demand and prices for organic grain are so much higher than for conventional grain that fraud is being uncovered. To meet the growing demand, the amount of certified land producing organic corn and soybeans will have to triple from the current 650,000 acres to approximately 2 million acres in the next few years. Chicken producers in the region are aggressively seeking domestic sources of organic grain to lower their dependence on imports. Further, low milk prices are spurring dairy farmers toward organic which will require still more organic grains. Thus, there is a great need to find ways to make the transition to organic production easier and less risky for grain farmersConsumers purchase organic food both for food safety (fewer pesticide residues) and for environmental reasons (less impact on water quality and climate). There is good evidence that organic foods do, indeed, contain lower levels of pesticide residues than conventionally produced food, although this difference is less for grain crops than for fruits and vegetables. Organic farming is often perceived as also having fewer damaging impacts on the environment compared to other farming systems that use synthetic chemicals. However, the change in environmental impacts due to the transition from "conventional" to organic farming could be either positive or negative, depending on the particular system of practices utilized in the conventional and organic systems.In Maryland, most grain farms considered to be "conventional" practice some form of no-till agriculture, grow some cover crops and use strict nutrient management plans with split fertilizer applications and restricted application rates of animal manures, nitrogen, and phosphorus fertilizers. Most organic farmers use animal manures as well as legume cover crops to maintain soil fertility and rely on tillage to prepare seedbeds, incorporate amendments, and control weeds. Since the ratio of available P/N in manures and composts far exceeds that required by crops, manure use is restricted by Maryland nutrient management regulations to allowable P levels, often restricting or even excluding manure and compost as fertility options for organic farmers. These limitations on manure and compost and the very high cost of organic fertilizers that are high in N but low in P make cover crops especially important to organic farms.Whether converting land from conventional to organic grain production would reduce or increase environmental impacts is an open question, especially in the Delmarva region where the majority of conventional farmers already employ such conservation practices as integrated pest management, nutrient management, and cover crops. Since Maryland grain farmers predominantly use no-till or minimum-till soil management, a switch to traditional organic farming methods could involve significant increases soil disturbance, likely accompanied by greater erosion, and runoff losses, especially during the transition period when soil organic matter has not yet been built up. Also, organic and vegetative (legume) nitrogen inputs are not as easily and precisely timed and controlled as are inorganic fertilizer, so it is unclear as to whether nutrient losses would decrease or increase with conversion to organic farming.Organic production, per se, may not reduce environmental impacts such as sediment and nutrient loss and greenhouse gas emissions. However, organic grain production, if done regeneratively, may minimize these environmental impacts and provide substantial ecosystem services. Among these, nutrient loss reduction is vitally important given that about 40% of nutrient pollution to the Chesapeake Bay comes from agriculture. Other ecosystem services from regenerative organic farming may include carbon sequestration, soil erosion control, protection of above and below-ground biodiversity, and provision of clean water to aquifers and streams. This project aims to research a suite of practices that make organic farming more regenerative than typically practiced. Therefore, the adoption of organic farming presents a rare opportunity for grain farmers, especially those on the Delmarva Peninsula, to realize increased income as well as potentially provide better stewardship of their land and water.This project's overall aim is to develop strategies and practices to minimize soil disturbance, environmental impacts, and input costs while providing profits during the transition comparable to those realized under conventional grain farming.We propose an integrated research-extension project to mentor transitioning farmers and develop systems to minimize soil disturbance, environmental impacts, and input costs while providing profitability during the transition period. The research goal is to compare four transition strategies along a continuum of soil disturbance, soil cover, and input cost. These will be replicated in farm-equipment scale plots on contrasting soil at two research stations and on two or more commercial farms. They will be evaluated for effects on soil health, leaching and runoff nutrient loss, crop yields, profitability, and ease of management. In order of least to most disturbance, the four systems are 1) Perennial alfalfa-grass hay, untilled; 2) Minimum-till corn-soybean-wheat rotation with precision-zoned high-biomass diverse cover crops; 3) Reduced-till corn-soybean-wheat with high-biomass cover crops; and 4) Traditional full-tillage organic soybean-corn, with simple cover crops and input substitution (using organic-appro ed forms of the same types of inputs used by conventional farms). The project will assess the impacts of these transition strategies on soil health, farm profitability, and crop productivity. It will include an outreach component that involves farmers in the research and employes experienced organic grain farmers in mentoring farmers who are interested in learning how to transition to organic production.

Animal Health Component

70%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

20%

Applied

70%

Developmental

10%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
102	0199	1070	75%
601	1599	3010	25%

Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships;

Subject Of Investigation
1599 - Grain crops, general/other; 0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology; 3010 - Economics;

Keywords

bio-strip till

cover crop

crop rotation

organic transition

reduced tillage

soil health

Goals / Objectives
Project objectives: This project directly addresses priority areas 1, 2, and 4 of the USDA Organic Transitions RFP. Furthermore, our project will directly address at least two areas of research recommended as priorities by the National Organic Board (National Organic Standards Board, 2018), namely "#2. Organic no-till practices for diverse climates, crops, and soil types" and "#8. Production and yield barriers to transitioning to organic production to help growers successfully complete the transition." University of Maryland, UME, and FH-CASA will build on their long-standing partnership to work together on a suite of fully integrated research and extension activities to encourage and better support farmers making the transition to organic production. Our overall goal for this project is to demonstrate and compare the feasibility and relative advantages and disadvantages of four alternative cropping systems for the transition to organic grain production. We hypothesize that systems with less disturbance and less reliance on purchased inputs will also produce less N and P losses to the environment.Research objectives: This project's research component's overall aim is to study four different transitional cropping strategies/rotations that represent a continuum of soil disturbance, soil cover, and input intensity. They will be evaluated for effects on soil health characteristics, leaching water quality, crop yields and profitability, and ease of management. This interdisciplinary project aims to improve the profitable management of crops and soils in transitional and organic farming. It will address knowledge gaps regarding effects of minimal- and low-tillage transition systems on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties (see Table 2), as well as on profitability, nutrient leaching losses, and the learning curve for farmers used to using no-till soil management and herbicide-terminated cover crops. The specific objectives of the research, which were developed in response to interdisciplinary stakeholder input, are to 1) provide farmers with practical, field-tested information about the agronomic and economic performance and management challenges of four different approaches to transition to organic grain production; 2) determine how the four transition systems affect soil health and 3) contribute to a growing scientific body of knowledge on profitability and ecosystem services (including carbon sequestration, soil organic matter accumulation or loss, and water quality ) provided by a continuum of transitional strategies in a range of environments.The research component - via its on-farm and on-station trials and geographic focus on Maryland's Delmarva Peninsula - is designed specifically to be transferable to farmers and service providers operating in, and scientists studying, grain production systems in the Mid-Atlantic and, with appropriate consideration of climate and soils, in other regions, as well. For example, although cover crops are widely used in the Delmarva region, most are minimally managed, consisting of wheat or rye planted late in fall and terminated early in spring with little biomass accumulation and minimal agronomic and environmental benefits. Likewise, most US organic grain growers use full tillage (leading to soil erosion and reduced soil health) and high amounts of manure and compost (that can lead to excessive P levels and losses). While there has been some recent research (Finney et al. 2017) on environmental benefits of precision-zoned, high-biomass, diverse cover crops, such cover crops are rare in the Delmarva region. The current study seeks to fine-tune the management of and demonstrate environmental and economic incentives for using such cover crops, while at the same time providing the logistical support and mentorship necessary for farmers to be willing to adopt these and other soil health-promoting practices in organic farming.Extension objectives: The objectives of the project's extension components, based on the interdisciplinary stakeholder input above, are to 1) extend the project's research findings to grain farmers, agriculture educators, and service providers so they can make informed decisions when tackling, or helping others to tackle, the transition period; 2) extend the project's research on ecosystem services provided by the researched transition strategies to other scientists and farmers and stakeholders, including to the Chesapeake Bay Program, which is ramping up efforts to address nonpoint sources of pollution; and 3) provide support and mentorship for grain farmers with the further goal of increasing the number of organic grain producers by a minimum of 15. All three objectives will focus on increasing farmer understanding of benefits of certification; reducing barriers to certification, and offering support and mentorship during the transition and the first two years under certification.

Project Methods
Project staff will assemble an advisory committee of stakeholders tohelp to lead the direction of the educational program and assist with outreach and marketing, ensuring that the project continues to meet real-world needs and that all potential transitional farmers and their service providers are aware of the project's programs and research results.Research Activities: Four systems representing a continuum of tillage intensity, cover crop optimization, and purchased inputs will be compared during the three-year transition period are (starting with August/September of Year 1). In addition,the initial certified organic corn crop will be assessed. Crops harvested for sale are in bold.alfalfa-grass >alfalfa-grass hay >alfalfa-grass hay >corn. All N from legumes. 1 tillage in 3 yrs.Radish-oat-Sunn hemp cover crop>corn>rye cover crop>soybean>wheat>radish-oat-Sunn hemp cover crop>corn. Most N from cover crops, legumes, some poultry manure. Minimum tillage.Vetch-rye cover crop>corn>rye cover crop>soybean>wheat>vetch-rye cover crop> corn. Most N from cover crops, legumes, some from poultry manure. Reduced tillage.Rye cover crop>soybean>vetch-rye cover crop>corn>rye cover crop>soybean>vetch-rye cover crop>corn. Most N from purchased poultry manure & compost or org. fertilizers. Full tillage.Experimental Design: These foursystems will be compared in replicated trials both on experiment station land and on commercial farms. All four systems will be compared in randomized complete block experiments on two contrasting soils representing the coarser and finer textured soils typical of the Delmarva's grain cropping coastal plain region.In addition, field-scale plots will be established on two or more private farms on the Delmarva Peninsula, comparing between three and four of the experimental transition strategies, according to the interests and facilities of the farmers in question. Three or four system treatments will be replicated on each farm at least 3 times, with either whole fields or large strip plots serving as the experimental units. When fields are used as experimental units, they will be matched as far as possible to have similar soil type and management history. Within each experimental unit, representative and relatively uniform sampling plots approximately 45 ft (13.7m) wide and 150 ft (35.7m) long (sizes depends on equipment and field geometry) will be established by field markers and GPS to provide for repeated soil, leachate water, and plant sampling. Response variables (costs, returns, profitability, yields, soil properties, and leaching and runoff losses) will be analyzed statistically with R and SYSTATpackages using General Linear Models and regression analysis. When comparable data are available for a suite of two or more Systems, the analyses will be combined across on-station and on-farm sites. Indices of disturbance, input, and labor intensity will be calculated for each system. Multivariate analyses will be conducted to compare the systems with regard to the whole suite of soil, economic and agronomic variables.?In addition to the systems experiments, it may be necessary to conduct a few much smaller, single-factor experiments at one or more sites to answer specific or mechanistic questions that arise.Analytical Methods:A suite of detailed data will be collected three times per year: stand establishment, crop yield, crop value, soil health parameters, weed population and biomass, pest infestation (occurrence, population densities, and damages), and seasonal trends for soil temperature and water. Suction lysimeters installed to 1 m depth in both research station and on-farm plots (three per plot) will be sampled during the fall-winter-spring leaching season and the water analyzed for nitrate, total dissolved N, C and P (using Lachet and Shimadzu instruments).Soil Chemical and Physical Properties. Soil bulk density, porosity, and the water stability of 4 mm diameter aggregates will be determined from large diameter (7.5 cm) cores taken from the surface 7.5 cm soil each spring.At ten locations per plot within a meter of the above coring, soil strength (penetration resistance) will be measured simultaneously with volumetric soil water content using a recording penetrometer and capacitance probe. This will allow correction of soil strength measurements for soil water content effects. Temperature and moisture of the surface soil (7.5 cm) will be monitored using a combined capacitance water content sensor and thermistors in early spring near planting time and again in summer during periods of potential heat and drought stress.Soil Quality: Biological Properties. Arthropod and Earthworm Community Response. Soil samples for arthropodand earthworm assays will be collected three times annually: September, April-May, and June-July. For each sampling occasion, five randomly located undisturbed soil cores 10-cm deep x 7.5 cm diameter will be collected per plot. Diversity indices will be used to determine treatment effects on soil micro-arthropods diversity. Earthworms will be enumerated using a mustard extradition method, backed up by counting middens on the soil surface and excavation and hand sorting to 20 cm depth. Slugs will be assessed using shingle traps in spring and plant damage to young crops. Carbon and nitrogen lability will be assessed using short term release upon wetting. Active or easily oxidizable soil carbon will be measured as POXC.Soil Health Indices. Because of the complex variables involved, a soil quality index will be developed to simplify the tracking and comparison of changes in soil health. Several soil quality functions will be chosen (such as the provision of water to crops, the resistance of structural degradation, the release of plant-available nutrients, and suppression of plant diseases, etc.) and corresponding indicator properties will be assigned functional scores. A second approach will be more statistical in nature and aims to provide an index that can be used to compare overall soil quality. The t-scores for each variable will be weighted as in the first approach and then averaged to give a relative soil quality index.Economic Analysis:Enterprise budgeting will be conducted for each of the four strategies on both the experiment station land and commercial farm replicated trials. These budgets will track all inputs and outputs during the duration of the study to calculate income, variable costs, and fixed costs for all research plots. These economic data will then be generalized to infer income, expenses, and profit per acre and per unit (hay/ton, grain/bushel) of production. Breakeven for both price and yield will be calculated. This enterprise budgeting analysis will then be generalized to whole-farm budgets to theoretically analyze the long term profitability of the organic crop rotations on commercial-sized farms. The farmers will be required to log their time spent working on each site, crop yield, crop value, and input and fuel expenses.

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Scientists researching or interested in organic transitioning or organic farming practices and effects soil health; farmers interested in transitioning or already growing organic crops, along with farm-advisors in private practice or government agencies. Changes/Problems:The project has undergone some major changes as stated in previous annual progress reports. The major changes since the last progress report (during the final year of the project ) are: 1) We are continuing to work on peer-reviewed manuscripts and some microbial genomics data for the soil health assessment. 2) One of the four original sites (Farm B) was eliminated from the final cropping year of the project because of excessive wildlife damage by deer and because getting organiccertification was made impossible by the farmer inadvertently planting GMO corn as a border around theproject areaplots to be certified. The yield, soil health,and economic analysis reported for the final year therefore focuses on the other three sites. Several goals that were planned to be achieved by the end of the project in August 2024 are ongoing and will be completed in 2025 without any further funding from the NIFA project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One PhD student, Biwek Gairhe, completed his coursework and research and will receive his PhD degree shortly after the project completion date. His dissertation is focused on this NIFA-supported project.Two MS degree students helped work on the project and gained knowledge and experience in organic farming practices even though their dissertations were focused on non-organic research. About 17 undergraduate students gained research experience and knowledge of organic farming practices and challenges by assisting in field and laboratory operations on the project. Of these, seven participated in the laboratory and field work during the final year of the project.Certified crop advisor credits were provided on several occasions by project workshops that educated crop advisors on organic practices and practices for the transition. Approximately 65 crop advisors gained knowledge about organic transition, practices, and barriers to growing organic grain during the Delmarva crop School in Ocean City in November 2023.Farmers and crop advisors learned about organic grain transition practices and challenges during our workshop session at the annual Future Harvest conference in College Park in January 2024 which was attended by mainly farmers interested in or already growing organic crops. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Certified crop advisor credits were provided on several occasions by project workshops that educated crop advisors on organic practices and practices for the transition. AField-day on "Advanced Cover Cropping" was held on 6 Dec 2023 at threelocations in Queen Anne's County, MD. This field daywas attended by 82 farmers and farm advisors who learned about organic cover cropping practicesat Mason's Heritage organic farm. Approximately 65 crop advisors gained knowledge about organic transition, practices, and barriers to growing organic grain during the Delmarva crop School in Ocean City in November 2023.Farmers and crop advisors learned about organic grain transition practices and challenges during our workshop session at the annual Future Harvest conference in College Park in January 2024 which was attended by mainly farmers interested in or already growing organic crops. An oral presentation to researchers interested in transition to organic grain was made at the internatonal annual meetings of the Agonomy and Soil Science Societies of America in St. Louis, MO in November 2023. Three manuscripts for peer reviewed journals are under preparation. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In October 2024 we harvested our first certified organic corn crop across all sites and treatment plots to assess the impacts of 3 years of transitional management strategies. Soil health parameters were measured and we conducted a survey of farmers considering transitioning to organic grain production to ascertain what barriers they faced. Research objective one. Provide Farmers with practical information about agronomic and economic performance and management challenges. 1. Activities. All the treatment plots were given the same management and planted to corn to compare the residual effects of the previous management on soil quality and productivity. One farm dropped out of organic certification and the program because of deer damage and mistaken use of GMO corn borders. We evaluated the economic performance of treatments at the remaining three sites (CMREC, LESREC, and Farm A) using inputs and outputs to calculate profit per acre. 2. Data. Corn yields were measured by calibrated combine yield monitors and by hand.We also measured crop stand, weed biomass, standard fertility soil tests, and soluble soil nitrate nitrogen at corn V5-7 stage.Forage quality analysis was done on 32 hay samples from CMREC and LESREC (at Dairyland Labs). The economic analysis included costs for materials (seeds, fertilizers, etc) and operations (planting, harvesting, etc), and revenues from crop sales. University of Maryland extension custom operation rates were used. Revenue was calculated using average farmgate prices for the respective years. Profit was calculated as (total revenues) - (total costs) for each crop year and Trt. Maryland cover crops incentives and organic certification costs were omitted. Overall profit was calculated in $/acre for the 4 year project duration. 3. Results.Due to planter and wildlife problems at LESREC, there was usable yield data at only 2 project sites in 2023. Corn in Trt4 (hay during the transition) far outperformed the other Trts. Yields by hand and combine harvest were correlated but, as expected, hand harvest yields exceeded combine harvest yileds, due to less crop loss and avoidance of planting skips or groundhog holes. Hand harvest corn yield at CMREC was ~10,000 kg/ha for Trt4, compared to 4500 to 6500 kg/ha for Trts 1-3. The effects of the Trts on yields varied by site. At CMREC, the sum of corn grain plus weed biomass produced on each plot varied from 9,200 to 12,100 kg per hectare, with no difference between fertilized and unfertilized subplots. Treatments did not affect the sum of corn grain + weed biomass. A regression decision tree that included all soil and plant parameters measured indicated that the soil test K was the first determining factor between the high-yielding and low-yielding plots, probably resulting from potassium sulfate applied only to Trt4 to compensate for the high K removal in harvested hay. The second factor was POXCwith low-yieldingplots having <243 mgC/kg soil. The finalfactor was weedinessin August with low-yielding plots having >2,400 kg/haof weed dry matter. Profitability varied across Trts and research sites as influenced by differences in yield and crop selection. At Farm A, Trt1 was most profitable, partly because the farmer was well-acquainted with these practices, but reduced tillage practices were new to him. At CMREC, Trt4 was most profitable, due to excellent 2023 organic corn yields. At LESREC, poor crop stands, wildlife damage, and lack of cultivation equipment caused Trt4 (hay) to be the only profitable Trt. Trt2 (reduced tillage) consistently incurred the lowest costs across sites, but revenue generation was limited. Trt4, despite higher costs, often delivered the greatest profitability. At Farm A, Trt1 produced a total profit of $1014.91/acre over four years. At CMREC, Trt 4 gave the highest overall profit ($626.89/acre), despite having to replant the hay crop in year 1. The second highest overall profit ($365.75/acre over four years) came from Trt1. LESREC suffered net loss or very nominal profit each year in Trts 1-3, primarily due to low crop stand or crop failure. Trt4 was the only treatment with overall profitability ($520.29/acre) driven by excellent hay crops in 2021 and 2022. Certified organic corn in 2023 was the most consistently profitable crop across all treatments, with profits ranging from $187.04 to $755.65/acre. Research Objective two: determine how the four transition systems affect soil health. 1. Activities. We measured soil respiration, total C and N, dry macro-aggregation, wet macro aggregate stability, penetration resistance with depth, and Mehlich-3 soil tests. 2. Data. To assess the impacts of 3 years of transitional management on soil health parameters at CMREC, LESREC, and Farm A, total C and N were analyzed on July 2023 soil samples (0-15cm and 15-30 cm) and aggregate stability and soil respiration (24 hr and 72 hr CO2 burst) were anlayzed for August 2022 samples (0-10 cm). Soil penetration resistance and infiltration rate were measured at 3 sites. Macroaggregates (1-4 mm) were dry-sieved to get a percent of the whole soil and the stability of those macroaggregates was determined by wet sieving. In addition, soil microbiome analyses are still ongoing. 3. Results. Across 3 sites, the 24-hour CO2 burst soil (0-10 cm) respiration at 3 sites was significantly higher for the minimum till and no-till (Trs 2 & 3) than for Trt1. This indicates Trts 2 & 3 had accumulated more labile carbon and active microbial biomass than Trt1. Total soil C and N contents were greater in Trts 3 & 4 than in Trt1, while the C/N ratio was lower in Trt4 than in the other Trts. While there were no treatment effects on the water stability of 1-4mm macroaggregates (all > 95%), the % macroaggregates in the whole soil was greater for the Trts with less tillage (10, 16, 18, and 20% for Trts 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively). Penetration resistance readings reached amaximum of 2,500 kilopascals at 15 cm and then remainedthe same below that. Soil penetration resistance increased from 5 to 12.5 cm. At 5,7.5 and 10 cm,treatments2& 3 hadsignificantly greater penetration resistance than treatments1 & 4.Generally, the standard organic practice (Trt1) with shallow tillage several times a year plus cultivation for weeds resulted in reduced soil health outcomes and less stored C. Penetration resistance was overall dramatically lower on our reduced and no-tillage organic plots than on an adjacent (20 m away) field with the same soil type that had grown vegetables with standard tillage for 10 years. Research Objective three: contribute to a growing scientific body of knowledge on profitability and ecosystem services. Activities: In early spring 2024, while all plots at CMREC were vegetated with a young rye-hairy vetch cover crop mixture, we conducted simulated rainfalls with distilled water using Cornell sprinkler infiltrometers for 110 mm of runoff. We measured soluble P in every 20 mm increment. We monitored soil water at 2 depths using data loggers. Data: The cumulative P loss (g/ha) was greatest for Trts 1 & 3 (> 200 g/ha) but significantly lower (100-110 g/ha) for Trt2 and 4. The infiltration rate and time to runoff were not affected by treatments. Sediment loss was negligible as all plots had a cover crop growing. Carbon concentration was reduced in Trt1 compared to Trts 3 and 4. Results: Continuous legume-grass hay during the transition period (Trt4) generally showed improved soil health compared to the standard organic with tillage management (Trt1). This relationship was significant for soil respiration, labile and total soil carbon, and aggregation.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Gairhe, B., and Weil, R. (2023). Transitioning to organic grain production in Maryland: Evaluating soil-health impact of four strategies. International annual meetings of the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America. Indianapolis, IN. 30 Oct. 2023. ASA/CSSA/SSSA. https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2023am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/154129
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Hirsh, S., S. Dill, B. Beale, E. Crowl, A. Kness, A. Leslie, N. Little, K. Nichols & M. Todd. 2024. Oral presentation-- Cultivating Conservation for Maryland and Delawares Small and Historically Underserved Farmers. National Association of County Agricultural Agents Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference. Dallas, TX. 16 July 2024. Discussed technical and financial assistance available for conservation practices including transitioning to organic agriculture; programming emphasized resources for Historically Underserved growers.

Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Scientists researching or interested in organic transitioning or organic farming practices and effects soil health; farmers interested in transitioning or already growing organic crops, along with farm-advisors in private practice or government agencies. Changes/Problems:As originally proposed, during the fourth field season we plan to do most of the soil health and water quality measurements so as to reflect the influence of the previous three-year transition strategies on these properties. Due to the very dry winter season, suction lysimeters did not provide consistent leaching water samples. Therefore, we use several Cornell Sprinkler Infiltrometers (Van Es and Schindelbeck, 2005) to apply simulated rainfall to each plot during early 2023 and collected both surface runoff water and leachate (using suction lysimeters set at 20 cm under each rain simulation cylinder). These samples are being analyzed for dissolved and total N and P to assess the impact of the transition strategies at four sites on the potential for nutrient losses via surface runoff and leaching. In this fourth year of the study, all plots are treated alike so that the first certified organic crop (food-grade corn) will serve as a bioassay to indicate the effectiveness of the four transition strategy treatments in terms of crop productivity. Once the 2023 corn crop is harvested and data collected, we will still need to process soil, plant, and water samples collected in 2023, analyze the samples, run statistical analyses on the data, and write manuscripts, reports, and extension publications. However, in the Spring of 2023, young corn plants in our field research plots at two sites (LESREC and Farm B) were severely damaged by wildlife (deer at Farm B and raccoons at LESREC). The raccoon damage appeared to be quite uniform throughout the experiment, but the deer damage was greatest on the most vigorously growing plants. Reliable yield data is unlikely to be attainable for these two sites. The Organic and Transition Grain Marketing Directory and the Mentee-Mentor pairing programs were cut short when the main person from Future Harvest working on them, Niamh Shortt, tragically passed away. Future Harvest personnel are working to tie up any loose ends with those programs. On the positive side, we were able to create an alliance between the University of Maryland Dining Services Head Chef, the farm manager for the Central Maryland Research and Education Center, and a Future Harvest farmer and UMD alumnus who has a small feed mill. The farm manager has to agree to harvest, segregate, and deliver an expected 6,000 pounds of food-grade corn from our research plots at CMREC to the farmer-miller-alumnus in Mongomery County who will clean, grind into grits and flour, and bag and deliver the corn products to UMD Dining Services, who, in turn, will serve NIFA-sponsored, Terp-Grown, Terp Processed and Terp-Cooked masa, grits and polenta dishes to UMD Terp students. We hope to get some good extension attention and media coverage for this whole process. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As part of this project, we are supporting the Ph.D. program for one graduate research assistant, Biwek Gairhe. We anticipate that he will receive his Ph.D. degree with the conclusion of this project in 2024. We also continue to provide research experience and professional development to nine undergraduate students at the University of Maryland, some of whom are working on aspects of the study for internship or research experience credits and some of whom are being paid hourly. The project is providing them with hands-on first-hand experience with agricultural research, data handling and curation, and soil and plant analysis. This helps them to complete their bachelor of Science degree and giving them a head start on their scientific careers. Finally, we are also educating several farmers through the mentor and extension programs, providing them with professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project has an active extension component which has conducted online and in-person workshops and informative sessions as well as published several videos on YouTube. Through our relationship with Future Harvest, we have presented our results to a diverse audience of farmers and food activists. We have also kept the Maryland Department of Agriculture, especially the organic certification branch, abreast of our results. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?As stated in the original proposal and the recently approved no-cost extension request, we plan to continue the field research at the four sites where we have replicated experiments through harvest in fall 2023. In the Fall of 2022, we harvested and measured the soybean crop components and planted cover crops to prepare for the 4th cropping season of the project. The first certified organic crop was planted in spring 2023 and is now being grown. During Fall 2023 and Winter 2024 we plan to complete the soil health and water quality measurements so as to reflect the influence of the previous three-year transition strategies on these parameters. In the fourth crop year of the study, all plots are treated alike so that the certified organic corn crop will serve as a bioassay to indicate the effectiveness of the four transition strategy treatments in terms of crop productivity. Late 2023 and early 2024 will be spent processing samples, analyzing data, and writing manuscripts, reports, and extension publications. We plan to graduate the project Ph.D. student in May 2024 and keep the project going through August 2024 to complete the data analysis and produce reports and publications.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? As of 31 August 2023, our project was in its fourth and final crop season for which the harvest is expected to be certified organic food-grade corn. In fall 2022, we harvested our third transition crop (soybean) grown under three contrasting strategies. Farmers at three sites struggled with a lack of equipment. The farmer at the fourth site has over a decade of experience in organic grain farming and is currently transitioning to organic in a few additional fields, one of which is a project research site. Planting soybeans into tall cover crops using a planter better adjusted for planting into a traditional tilled seed bed resulted in poor stands and little competitiveness against weeds. In plots using no-tillage, we planted soybeans with narrow row spacing (planted in 36 cm wide rows or drilled in 18 cm wide rows). At two sites this narrow row strategy allowed soybeans to close canopy quickly and outcompete weeds. At CMREC all three strategies produced yields ~ 5,500 kg/ha (60-65 bushels/acre), well above the state average. Practical lessons were conveyed to farmers, farm advisors, and government agency personnel in online videos, Zoom panel discussions, and in-person presentations. Farmers will be able to avoid making costly mistakes highlighted by our research. Our results at some sites give hope to farmers interested in maintaining soil health with minimal soil disturbance. Research objective 1. Provide farmers with practical information about agronomic and economic performance and management challenges... Activities. We completed the third year (soybean) and began the fourth and final project year (certified organic corn) for replicated field experiments at four sites. Data. Fall 2022 soybean yields and seed weights were determined. Cover crop ground cover and biomass were determined in Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 just before termination. In Spring 2023 corn crop stand establishment and weed biomass were measured in July. Results. Actual stands ranged from 450,000 to as low as 50,000 plants per hectare, with the best stands in trt1 with full tillage at one site (experienced organic farmer), but no effect of treatment on soybean stands or yields at another site with the highest overall yields. At the experienced organic farmer site, stands within a treatment were highly variable due to wet soils, Canada geese damage and especially planter settings inappropriate for heavy cover crop biomass. Where the crop stand and soybean stands were poor, weed pressure became quite high. Final soybean yields varied from 1,000 to 6,800 kg/ha. At one site yields were higher in trt 1, but in another where soybeans were drilled in narrow rows all three treatments yielded about 6,500 kg/ha. Soybean stand density in July accounted for 82% of the variability in combine-harvested soybean yields. All four strategies could produce high yields under some conditions, but that achieving uniform crop stands was a critical challenge. By the end of August 2023 the organic corn was filling grain and yield potential looked good at two of our sites, but the other two sites had poor stand establishment and damage by deer and raccoons. Key outcomes. Farmers learned how transitional soybean yields were closely related to careful planter adjustment and the use of narrow rows to establish high-density weed-competitive stands in cover-cropped soils. Research objective 2): how transition systems affect soil health. Activities. Soil health impact sampling was begun in August 2022 and soil health measurements will continue to be made in the field or on samples obtained in 2023 which will reflect the three previous field seasons during which the four experimental strategies were implemented. Data collected. In the fall of 2022, we measured aggregate slaking stability and the 24-hour and 72-hour CO2 burst activity (soil respiration) as a biological measures of soil health. We buried the tea bags in June 2022 at three sites and they were retrieved after 90 days in Sept. 2022. We measured fractional dry matter loss for each type of tea, as well as the calculated stability factor (a) and decay rate (k) according to Keuskamp et al. 2013. Soil samples taken from 0-15 and 15-30 cm were collected in June 2023 for pre-side dress nitrate test (PSNT) to aid in assessing N fertility needs. The 0-15 cm samples were also sent for routine soil tests (Mehlcih3 nutrient extraction and loss on ignition soil organic matter). Results. Across 3 sites and 3 treatments, the tea bag stability factor (a) was significantly lower in the full tillage treatment No. 1 compared to reduced tillage treatments No. 2 and 3. Averaged across the three sites for which samples were available, Trt #1 with traditional tillage had lower rates of microbial activity (both 24-hour and 72-hour soil respiration) than the less-disturbed treatments. Trt #1 also had significantly lower aggregate stability scores averaged across three sites, and in particular in silty soils at LESREC. Soil active carbon (POXC) was not affected by treatment at most sites but was significantly lower in Trt #1 than the less disturbed TRTS 23 at Farm A. The June 2023 PSNT indicated that despite the heavy hairy vetch -rye cover crop, most treatments had too little soil nitrate for optimal corn yields. The 0-15 cm samples from June 2023 revealed that after 2.5 years, the low-disturbance Treatments #2 & #3 had ~7% higher soil organic matter than the traditional tillage Treatment #1 (2.5% v 2.3%), averaged across all four sites. 4) Key outcomes. Farmers and researchers learned about indicators of soil health and how levels of soil disturbance and cover cropping intensity affect soil health. Research objective 3: Profitability and ecosystem services. 1) Major activities completed / experiments conducted. The lack of activity in economic analysis is partially because our collaborating economist, Dr. Dale Johnson, was on sabbatical leave in Kenya. 2) Data collected. All input and operational costs are being recorded for all sites, and either actualized returns or standard market value returns will be used to calculate partial Enterprise budgets. 3) Summary statistics and discussion of results. No economic results to report. 4) Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. No economic outcomes for this reporting period Extension and outreach objectives. Activities. The program that paired experienced organic grain farmers with farmers wishing to transition but without organic experience set up two mentor-mentee relationships. Expansion of this program as well as field days was tragically limited by the sudden death of our main collaborator from Future Harvest, Niamh Shortt. The project PI and lead Ph.D. student presented, at the annual Future Harvest conference in January 2023, an extension workshop focused on managing the transition to organic grain farming. Data collected. We are not collecting data on human subjects. Results. The project paired farmers wanting to transition to organic grain with two recognized, experienced organic grain producers, and online extension videos and workshops received over 200 views. Key outcomes. Underserved and inexperienced farmers wanting to transition to organic grain production underwent changes in knowledge when the participants in the workshops and mentoring program learned about alternative management approaches for the transition. They were able to consider managing soil with less disturbance and using crop competition and cover crops for weed suppression Research Summary here: Transition to Organic Grain-Summary of Agronomic and Soil Health Results 9/2022 - 8/2023: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lySCVC4JWDIVIyH4XGB9MOYN13A6XYsC/view?usp=sharing

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Weil, R., and Gairhe, B. 2023. Planting green then rolling vetch-rye w cultipacker for organic corn Organic Transition Project Funded by USDA/NIFA, University of Maryland, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLutWkqjmOI
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Gairhe, B., and Weil, R. (2022). Strategies to transition to organic grain: Impacts on soil health. Communication and public engagement for healthy people and a healthy planet, the International Annual Meeting of the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America. Baltimore, Maryland. 6-9 NOVEMBER 2022 ASA and SSSA. https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2022am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/145841
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Weil, R., and Gairhe, B. (2023). Final year of organic grain transition: Impacts on soil health and crop productivity. A Time to Grow: Regenerative Farming for People & the Planet. College Park, Md. 13 January 2023 Future Harvest - Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture. https://futureharvest.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/January-2023-Program-Final-No-Marks.pdf
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Weil, R., and Gairhe, B. (2023). Transitioning to organic grain production: Strategies to maximize profitability and ecosystem services while reducing risks and barriers. USDA/NIFA Organic Project Directors Meeting. Washington, DC. Poster. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E71YRl3wl_dpdxpu4_IV6BLmtpzaB1E-/view?usp=sharing
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Weil, Ray. 2022. Measuring Soil Health- Which Tests Provide the Most Useful Information? Delmarva Soil Summit. Feb. 7, 2022, Salisbury, MD. In-person and Virtual audience of ~200. https://viewstub.com/watch/2022-Delmarva-Soil-Summit. Use access code: 74C5DFCE
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Weil, R., and Gairhe, B. 2023. Organic regenerative farming #2: Soil mulched & full of life as organic no-till corn emerges. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkbJikFpaF4
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Weil, R., and Gairhe, B. 2023. Regenerative organic corn no-till planting green without chemicals. Organic Transition Research Funded by USDA/NIFA, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc9WbjVyzZo

Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:Scientists researching or interested in organic transitioning or organic farming practices and effectssoil health; farmers interested in transitioning or already growing organic crops, along with farm-advisors in private practice or government agencies. Changes/Problems:As originally proposed, during the fourth field season we plan to do most of the soil health and water quality measurements so as to reflect the influence of the previous three-year transition strategies on these properties. Due to the very dry winter season, suction lysimeters are not providing consistent leaching water samples. Therefore, we plan to use several Cornell Sprinkler Infiltrometers (Van Es and Schindelbeck, 2005) to apply simulated rainfall to each plot during early 2023 and collect both surface runoff water and leachate (using suction lysimeters set at 20 cm). These samples will allow us to assess the impact of the transition strategies at four sites on the potential for nutrient losses via surface runoff and leaching. In this fourth year of the study, all plots will be treated alike so that the certified organic corn crop in 2023 will serve as a bioassay to indicate the effectiveness of the four transition strategy treatments in terms of crop productivity. Once the 2023 corn crop is harvested and data collected, we will still need to process soil, plant, and water samples collected in 2023, analyze the samples, run statistical analyses on the data, and write manuscripts, reports, and extension publications. Carrying out this critical climax of the project will require an additional 1-year no-cost extension (beyond the current August 31 2023 end date) to fund the Ph.D. student through graduation in May 2024 and keep the project going long enough to complete the data and produce the reports and publications. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As part of this project, we are supporting the PhD program for one graduate research assistant, Biwek Gairhe. We anticipate that he will receive his PhD degree with the conclusion of this project in May 2024. We also are providing research experience and professional development to nine undergraduate students at the University of Maryland, some of whom are working on aspects of the study for internship or research experience credits and some of whom are being paid hourly. The project is providing them hands-on first-hand experience with agricultural research, data handling and curation, and soil and plant analysis. This is helping them to complete their bachelor of Science degree and giving them a head start on their scientific careers. Finally, we are also educating several Farmers through the mentor and extension programs providing them professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project has an active extension component which has conducted online and in-person workshops and informative sessions as well as published several videos on YouTube. Through our relationship with Future Harvest we have presented our results to a diverse audience of farmers and food activists. We have also kept the Maryland Department of agriculture, especially the organic certification branch, abreast of our results. As an example, here's the Extension announcement for the December 10, 2021, virtual webinar: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KSX8wf4GVKQT4K72D0YWZhGbVppVuVWm/view?usp=sharing What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?As stated in the original approved proposal, we plan to continue through harvest in fall 2023 the field research at the four sites where we have replicated experiments. In the Fall of 2022, we harvested and measured the soybean crop components and planted cover crops to prepare for the 4th cropping season of the project. The first certified organic crop will be grown in spring 2023. During 2023 we plan to do most of the soil health and water quality measurements so as to reflect the influence on these properties of the previous three-year transition strategies. In this fourth year of the study, all plots will be treated alike so that the certified organic corn crop in 2023 will serve as a bioassay to indicate the effectiveness of the four transition strategy treatments in terms of crop productivity. Late 2023 and early 2024 will be spent processing samples, analyzing data, and writing manuscripts, reports, and extension publications. Carrying out this critical climax of the project will require an additional 1-year no-cost extension to fund the Ph.D. student through graduation in May 2024 and keep project going long enough to complete the data and produce the reports and publications.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Impact of our project.We aim to comparealternative strategies for managing crops and soils during the organic transition period. As of August 2022, our project was in its third crop season. During this reporting period, we harvested our second organic crop (corn)grown under three contrasting strategiesfrom typicalfull tillage to innovative no-tillage organic with intensive cover cropping.The collaborating farmers and research station managers encountered many problems that conventional grain farmers thinking of converting to organic are likely to face. Most conventional no-till grain farmers have little cultivating, tillage, roller crimping, or hay-making equipment. Transitioning to organic is likely to be tried on just a field or two at first, making it difficult to justify investing in expensive equipment. Farmers at three sites struggled with lack of equipment while the fourth is an experienced organic farmer who is transitioning a few additional fields.Planting into a heavy cover crop using a planteradjusted to plant into a traditional tilled seed bed resulted in poor stands in the low disturbance treatments. Poor crop stands resulted in little competitiveness against the weeds. Such practical lessons were conveyed to farmers, farm advisors, and government agency personnel in online videos, Zoom panel discussions, and in-person presentations. Armed with this information, farmerswill be able to avoid making costly mistakes highlighted by our research. Our results also gave hope to farmers interested in maintaining minimal soil disturbance as at some sites, low-disturbance low-cost systems produced very respectable yields. Research objective 1. Provide farmers with practical information about agronomic and economic performance and management challenges... 1) Activities. We completed the second year (corn) and began the third year (soybean) for replicated field experiments at four sites. 2) Data. Fall 2021 corn yields and seed weights were determined. Cover crop ground cover and biomass were determined in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 just before termination. Spring 2022 soybean crop stand establishment and weed biomass were measured in July. 3) Results. Actual stands ranged from 80,000 to as low as 20,000 plants per hectare, with the best stand in trt1 with a full tillage. Stands were highly variable due to wet soils, Canada geese damage and especially planter settings inappropriate for heavy cover crop biomass. Where the crop stand was poor, weed pressure became quite high. Final corn yieldsvaried from 12,000 to 1,000 kg/ha. At three sites yields were higher in trt 1, but in one site trt 3 had the highest corn yields. A regression tree showed that the main factor affecting yield was plant stand density. Secondarily, weed dry matter exceeding 4,350 kg/ha predicted very low yields. We concluded that all four strategies could produce high yields under some conditions, but that achieving uniform crop stands was a critical challenge. 4) Key outcomes. Farmers learnedhow corn yields were closely related to careful planter adjustment. Research objective2):how transition systems affect soil health. 1) Activities.Soil health impact sampling was begun in August 2022 but mostsoil health measurements will be made in the field or on samples obtained in 2023 which will reflect the three previous field seasons during which the four experimental strategies were implemented. 2) Data collected. In 2022 the baseline samples collected during 2020 were analyzed for bulk density and permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC) as well as soil chemical tests. In addition, during summer of 2022 we buried 88 pairs of red and green tea bags (Keuskamp et al., 2013) at 8 cm depth as indicators of microbial decomposition dynamics. Red tea (Rooibos leaves) isa difficult-to-decompose plant tissue with many aromatic compounds. Green tea is much easier to decompose. When the two types of tea bags are buried in pairs, the difference in decomposition rates can be used toderivethe decomposition rate and litter stabilization factor. We buried the tea bags in June 2022 and they were retrieved in Sept. 2022. 3)Results. Soil bulk density increased with depth at all sites, and was lower in treatment 1 at one site, but this was due to recent tillage. The POXC values weremarkedly different among sites and lower withdepth. At the Lower Eastern Shore commercial organic farmtrt 1 (full tillage), had lower levels of POXC at 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm depths. 4) Key outcomes. Farmers and researcherslearnedabout indicators of soil health. Economic viability objectives.1) Major activities completed / experiments conducted. During the reporting time frame for this progress report we did not perform economic analyses. The lack of activity in economic analysis is partially because our collaborating economist, Dr. Dale Johnson, was on sabbatical leave in Kenya.2) Data collected. All input and operational costs are being recorded in all sites, and either actualized returns or standard market value returns will be used to calculate partial Enterprise budgets.3) Summary statistics and discussion of results. No economic results to report.4) Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. No economic outcomes for this reporting period. Research objective 3: ...profitability and ecosystem services ...1) Activities. These activities will occur during the final cropping season of the project.2) Data. NA3) Results. NA 4) Key outcomes. NA Extension and outreach objectives. 1) Activities.The mentor - mentee program that paired experienced organic grain farmers with farmers wishing to transition but without organic experience set up two of these relationships. Expansion of this mentor - mentee program as well as Field Days was tragically limited by the sudden death of our main collaborator from Future Harvest, Niahm Shortt. We conducted several virtual extension events including a farmer panel discussion under the auspices of Future Harvest's annual conference. The PI made an extension visit on 08 July 2022 to Purple Mountain Organic grain farm (an African American small grain farm) and University of the District of Columbia Farm (an Historically Black College) to assist with organic corn and rice grain production practices. 2) Data collected. We are not collecting data on human subjects. 3) Results. The project paired farmers wanting to transition to organic grain with two recognized, experienced organic grain producers and online extension video and workshops received over 200 views. 4) Key outcomes. Underserved and inexperienced farmers wanting to transition to organic grain production underwent changes in knowledge when the participants in the workshops and mentoring program learned about alternative management approaches for the transition. They were able to consider managing soil with less disturbance and using crop competition and cover crops for weed suppression. Summaries of the results can be found in these URLs: Results for Soybean and soil health, Jan to Aug 2022 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/19XcfFd2HnYkI5yjlM_04509L91QZm1nR/view?usp=sharing Results for Corn Sept. to Dec. 2021 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JWU8Hnv_3ha9fX2-289loXDSiWVKH4hW/view?usp=sharing

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Weil, R.R., B. Gairhe and S. Hirsh. (2021) Transitioning to organic grain production: Strategies to maximize profitability and ecosystem services while reducing risks and barriers. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting - A Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, Salt Lake City, Utah. 09-11 Nov. 2021. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America. https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2021am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/136882
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Weil, Ray. 2022. Measuring Soil Health- Which Tests Provide the Most Useful Information? Delmarva Soil Summit. Feb. 7, Salisbury, MD. In-person and Virtual audience of ~200. https://viewstub.com/watch/2022-Delmarva-Soil-Summit. Use access code: 74C5DFCE
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Weil, R., Gairhe, B., and Hirsh, S. (2021). Interested in $10 corn and $30 soybeans for certified organic, but not sure how to transition? Agronomy News 12:21-24. https://extension.umd.edu/resource/interested-10-corn-and-30-soybeans-certified-organic-not-sure-how-transition
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Weil, R., Hirsh, S., and Shortt, N. 2021. New lessons learned in organic grain transitions. University of Maryland Extension, Agriculture and Food Systems, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USVur-GAl0o&t=5910s

Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:The primary audience consists of innovative grain (corn, soybean, wheat, barley, etc.) farmersinterested in transitioning all or parts of their farms to organic certified production, and scientists who study organic farming systems. Theimmediate focus is on such farmers and scientists working in the mid-Atlantic region, but research will be largely applicableto farms in much of the East Coast, upper South, and mid-West, as well. Secondary target audiencemembers include farm advisors and farm managers on commercial and research farms who desire to gainknowledge of organic and transitional practices and impacts. Additionally, our target audience willinclude members of the public and government who are interested in the issues of organic food and soil health. Changes/Problems:One of the project key personnel, Nathaniel Richards,left Maryland Extension and the project in 2021 and we will try to replace him with another extension agentin a grain-producing county. However,our biggest problem for the project - and also for transitioning farmers - is probably the lack of specialized equipment for farm operations unique to organic farming, especially equipment used for mechanical weed control such as high-residue, low-disturbance cultivators. Because most non-organic Maryland grain farmers use no-till techniques, both research stations and commercial grain farmers in our state typically lack specialized equipment for tillage and cultivation. While experienced organic grain farmers acquire a complement of machinery, farmers considering transitioning to organic one or two fields at a time find it difficult to economically justify the purchase of such equipment. In spring 2020, we conducted a preliminary trial of a new organically approved herbicide that is based on eugenol, an essential oil of the clove plant. We conducted this trial to determine whether this OMRI-approved herbicide would be useful in terminating cover crops to facilitate no-till planting in the organic transition system that was designed to minimize disturbance and maximize cover cropping and soil health. The results of this preliminary trial showed that the herbicide (brand named Weed Slayer™) was highly effective against grassy weeds with effects similar to glyphosate, but only partially effective against broadleaf species, such as vetch and clover, used for cover cropping. Unfortunately, in December 2020 the California Department of Food and Agriculture came out with a warning that they had found both glyphosate and paraquat in the AGRI-Gold sticker part of the two parts that are mixed to make Weed Slayer. Although weinquired extensively, wewerenever able to find out the concentrations that they found and get the lab data because they said there was a lawsuit involved. So, we don't know if these contaminants were there inhigh enough amounts to have herbicidal activity or whether they were in amounts that might have just been accidental contamination. It was a pretty big set-back to not be able to use theWeedSlayerforweedcontrol and cover crop termination as planned for some of the research treatments. We did buy another product called Suppress that was much less effective. Nonetheless, the corn in several of the treatments is doing quite well at most sites, despite a fair amount ofweed pressure. No Cost Extension The project was originally written and approved with 4 years of activity but only 3 years of funding. This was necessary as, by definition, the organic transition period is a full 3 years. The research was set up to use the crop growth and yields in the first year of certified organic grain production (by definition, the 1st year after the transition period and the 4th year of the study), as a critical biological indicator of the success of the four different 3-year transition strategies. Therefore, there was a need for a no-cost extension of one year built into the project design and timeline. However, it is now apparent that we will need to request a 1.7-year extension to the project for the reasons outlined here. First, although we were initially notified of the decision to fund our proposal in late July 2019, we were told not to make the grant public until mid-October 2019. Funds also did not become available for us to use until late October 2019. This timing meant that the initiation of the grant activities was hampered in several ways causing us to lose most of the full first year of cropping activities. We were not able to begin recruiting farmers until late October and held our first meeting with farmers in January. We have now established two pairs of mentee-mentor relationships and do have two collaborating farmers who are managing replicated research plots on their farms. The research proposal called for treatments to be applied in the field during August 2019 to establish cover crops and forage seedings to prepare for the coming spring 2020 as the 1st crop year of the 3-year transition period. Because of the timing factors mention above, it was not possible to begin the project treatments as planned in August-September 2019. However, we were able to adjust our plans and plant spring oats in April 2020, thus preventing us from losing the entire 2020 cash crop season. The cover crop and perennial forage planting treatments originally planned to begin inAugust of 2019 were established in August of 2020. This obviously putus behind by one year as compared to the original plan that assumed funding would begin July 1st and fieldwork could begin in August of 2019. The second reason for the need for a 1.7-year extension is the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our project activities. For most of the year from mid-March 2020, Maryland was put on lockdown and the University of Maryland campus and laboratories were closed. This meant that our normal research workforce of undergraduate students is no longer available to us. While vaccines brought reduced Covid-19 risks in the first quarter of 2021, cases and risks, and restrictions increased again in the second quart of 2021. We are moving ahead with research as best we can in the field, the Covid-19 limitations are still restricting what we are able to do. Therefore, in order to meet the project objectives, we anticipate that we will need an extra 9 months on top of the initially planned 1-year extension. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One Ph.D. student is supported in the Graduate School as a GA by the project and is gaining comprehensive experience and training in research design and implementation. He hasalso had the opportunitiesto write a research grant proposal (graduate student grant from NE SAFE), write and submit an abstract for a paper t be presented to the Agronomy Society of America national meetings, .and prepare presentations for an extension field day planned for September 2021. Seven undergraduate students have assisted in conducting the research and have gained experience in everything from field experiment layout, to soil sampling, to lab analysis and data management. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The early results have been disseminated via a conference panel discussion at the annual Future Harvest conference which was attended by 700 + farmers and food system professionals. In addition, an abstract for a scientific presentation has been submitted to the Agronomy Society of America for their November 2021 international meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Activities Planned to Meet Research Objectives: Analyze baseline soil samples from all treatments and sites for remaining physical, chemical, and biological properties. Measure and analyze corn yields from trt 1,2, and 3 Measure hay yields and forage quality. Collect soil samples after harvest of corn to investigate the difference in soil properties among different treatments. Continue measuring the soil temperature, moisture, EC and other soil parameters in the field to elucidate treatment effects and mechanisms. Establish cover crop and tillage treatments after harvest of corn, analyze cover crop plant samples to assess their contribution to soil fertility. Plant Soybean in trt 1,2 and 3 in spring 2021 using adaptive research practices Continue collecting operational and input expenses and income for economic analysis. Activities Planned to Meet Extension objectives: Publish at least one extension article to disseminate information about the organic transitions study and early findings/lessons. Organize at least one farmer's field day in one of our experiment sites. The first field day has been planned for September 2021. Publish a beta version of the Grain Marketing Guide. Continue mentor-mentee activities for the two established relationships.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Field Research experiments have been established at four locations, two on experiment stations and two on commercial farms. The four treatments are conceptually defined and are shaped by adaptive research decisions made in collaboration with the two commercial farmers and two research farm managers. The experiment consists of three or four treatments (depending on the site) along a continuum of tillage intensity, cover crop optimization, and purchased inputs to be compared during the three-year transition period are (starting with spring of 2020) and concluding with acertified organic corn crop in summer 2023.The treatments are Traditional full-tillage, full input, organic oat-corn-soybean-corn, with simple cover crops and input substitution. Reduced-till, moderate input, oat-corn-soybean-corn with high-biomass, early-planted cover crops terminated by roller-crimping. Minimum-till, minimum input, oat-corn-soybean-corn rotation with early-planted, precision-zoned high biomass diverse cover crops terminated by roller-crimping. Perennial alfalfa-grass hay, untilled, implemented in experiment stations only. Limed and fertilized with, manure and rock powders. Due to the lack of hay-making equipment owned by the commercial farmers or available locally to borrow or rent, the fourth treatment was established only on the two experiment stations. Field Research Accomplishments (August 2020-July 2021) August, 2020 - Planted summer cover crops in Trt 3 at CMREC, LESREC, and Cooper sites - Baseline soil sampling at CMREC, Cooper and LESREC sites - Calculation of bulk density of baseline soil samples - Subsampling and storage of baseline soil samples at -20 degrees C for later DNA analysis, rest of the samples were air dried and processed for further analysis September, 2020 - Biomass sampling of summer cover crops in Trt 3 from three locations per plot before termination, the samples were dried, taken dry weight, ground and stored. - Termination of summer cover crops in CMREC, LESREC, and Cooper sites. - Planting of cover crops in Trt 1, 2 and 3 at CMREC, Cooper and LESREC sites. - Planting of alfalfa-grass in Trt 4 at CMREC and LESREC. October, 2020 - Baseline soil sampling at Cavanaugh's site. - Planting of cover crops in Trt 1, 2 and 3 at Cavanaugh's site. November, 2020 - CANOPEO analysis of cover crop establishment at CMREC, LESREC, and Cavanaughsite December, 2020 - Biomass collection of cover crop samples, the samples were dried, taken dry weight, ground and stored. January, 2021 - Collection of operations, inputs, expenses details from all four sites - Meeting with the organic transitions team for a discussion of accomplishments, issues, challenges, and future plans - Installation of soil temperature, moisture, and EC dataloggers at Cooper (2 loggers and 12 sensors) and LESREC (3 loggers and 18 sensors) - Attended Future Harvest's 22nd annual conference at which three project participants and the PI presented preliminary results and lessons learned at a panel discussion. February, 2021 - Installation of soil temperature, moisture, and EC dataloggers CMREC (4 loggers and 24 sensors) March, 2021 - Attended soil health innovations conference. Adaptive management discussions among researchers and four farm managers took place to develop specific practices for the four transition strategies adapted to the conditions at each site. April, 2021 - Installation of soil temperature, moisture, and EC dataloggers at Cavanaugh's (2 loggers and 12 sensors) - Submission of a research grant to NE-SARE titled "How the transition to Organic Grain Effects Biological Indicators of Soil Health" to leverage additional funds to allow exploration of the transition treatments' effects on soil metagenomics. May, 2021 - Collection of cover crop biomass samples from all four sites. The samples were dried, taken dry weight, ground, and stored. - Organic Termination of cover crops in Trt 1, 2 and 3 at CMREC, Cooper and LESREC by tillage, mowing, and/or roller-crimping. Precision bio-strip till cover crop was highly successful LESREC. - Harvesting of hay from trt 4 at LESREC - Planting of Blue River organic corn hybrid in Trt 1, 2, and 3 (no-till) at CMREC, Cooperand LESREC sites June, 2021 - Planting of Blue River corn hybrid in Trt 1, 2 and 3 (no-til) atCavanaughsite - Assessment of corn establishment at all four sites - LECO analysis of cover crop samples for measuring percentage of C and N - Soil sampling for Pre-Sidedress Nitrate test (PSNT) analysis at V5 stage of corn at CMREC, LESREC and Coopersites, accompanied by rapid nitrate extraction and analysisusing a Horiba potentiometric ion-selective Nitrate Meter. July, 2021 - Soil sampling for Pre-sidedress Nitrate test (PSNT) analysis at V5 stage of corn at Cavanaughsite, PSNT analysis using Horiba Nitrate Meter - Assessment of weeds in all treatments - Harvesting of Hay from Trt 4 at CMREC Future Harvest and Extension Accomplishments. Future Harvest committed to matching three farmers new to the transition process with three farmer consultants well versed in the process of converting from conventional to organic grain production. Additionally, Future Harvest committed to running 2 workshops (one on Delmarva and one on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay) on organic grain transition. Thus far, Future Harvest has made two of the three mentor-mentee matches proposed. It turnedout that while a number of farmers were interested in growing organic grain, few were willing to make the switch from conventional to organic due to lingering questions about the finances of the process. This is a valid and realistic concern given the narrow profit margins farmers face, the different equipment needs from conventional to organic (hence possibly high transition costs as farmers may have to purchase new equipment), the uncertainty of their ability to find buyers willing to pay a premium for their transitional grains during the 3 yr transition process, and general questions about the market conditions for organic grain locally. Future Harvestpartnered with Extension to run a workshop called "Ask A Farmer -- Organic Grain, Does It Pay?". This workshopconsisted of a panel discussion and Q&A space to allow farmers to identify whether a transition is a good fit for them and if so to get connected into our Future Harvest's Great Grains Project. Farmers Aaron Cooper of Cutfresh Organics and Steve Krazowski of Mason's Heritage Farm were thefarmer panelists answering conventional growers' questions about organics. Extension agent Shannon Dill was on the panel to answer financial questions and extension agent Sarah Hirsh both facilitated the session and answered questions about soil health. The second Future Harvest workshop is being organized in partnership with the Common Grain Alliance. As the Organic Transitions project research moved forward in 2020, the research team decided to integrate a small grain into the crop rotation (oats). As wesearched for premium buyers of these oats, we've learned much along the way. We learned that the brewer community is interested in purchasing local oats, but that they have very specific types and quantities they need. For this second Future Harvest workshop, we will bring a local brewer together with a local farmer to model the conversation about requirements and preferences in the buying and selling process so that members of the research, farming, and brewing communities know how to meet each other's needs. Lastly, Future Harvest has been working on creating a directory of buyers for local, transitional grain. This process is well underway and continues with the assistance of three Univesity of Maryland undergraduate students working for the project.

Publications

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The primary audience consists of innovative grain (corn, soybean, wheat, barley, etc.) farmers interested in transitioning all or parts of their farms to organic certified production. The immediate focus on such farmers in the mid-Atlantic region, but research will be largely applicable to farmers in much of the East Coast, upper South, and mid-West, as well. Secondary target audience members include farm advisors and farm managers on commercial and research farms who desire to gain knowledge of organic and transitional practices and impacts. Additionally, our target audience will include members of the public and government who are interested in theissues of organic food and soil health. Changes/Problems:The project was originallyapproved with 4 years of activity but only 3 years of funding because the program was funding 3-year projects but, by definition, the organic transition period itself is a full 3 years. The research was set up to use crop growthin the first year of certified organic grain production (by definition,the 4th year of the study), as a critical biological indicator of the success of the 3-year transition strategies. Therefore, ano-costextensionof one year was built into the project design and timeline. However, it now appears that an additional 9 months will be required to complete the project due to circumstances beyond our control during the initial phases. First, although we werenotified of the decision to fund our proposal in late July 2019, we were told not to make the grant public until mid-October 2019, and funds were not available to us until late October 2019. This timing meant we were not able to begin recruiting farmers until late October. The research proposal called for treatments to be applied in the field during August 2019 to establish cover crops and forage seedings to prepare for the coming spring 2020 as the 1st crop year of the 3-year transition period. Because of these timing factors we were not able to begin the project treatments as planned in August-September 2019. However, weadjusted our plans and planted spring oats in April 2020, thus preventing us from losing the entire 2020 cash crop season. The cover crop and perennial planting treatments originally planned for August-October of 2019 will be established in August-October of 2020. This put us behind by 1 year as compared to the original plan that assumed funding would begin July 1st and fieldwork could begin in August of 2019. Secondly, asof mid-March, the COVID pandemic closedthe University of Maryland campus, and laboratoriesuntil mid-summer. While we were able to obtain "essential worker" designation for a few people,our normal research workforce of undergraduate students was (and is)largely not available. The COVID-19 limitations severely restrictwhat we can do, presumably until sometime in 2021 when vaccines mayalleviate thepandemic.The University is gradually openingcampus labs, but as of mid-August, we have limited occupancy and no undergraduate students allowed in campus labs. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project recruited and hired a graduate research assistant Ph.D. student, Biwek Gairhe, whose assistantship began 02 August 2020. He will pursue a Ph.D. degree with his dissertation centered on this project. He began doing actual workon the project on 15 July 2020. In addition, four undergraduate students (Psurek, Godbey, Owens and Layer) have been involved in field and online work for the project. Covid-19 restrictions have prevented them from working in the on-campus lab setting, but they have been gaining valuable research experience under the mentorship of the PI (Weil) and the Research Assistant (Gairhe). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A report was published in Agronomy News regarding the organic herbicide study. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Research Objectives: All four treatment plantingwill be established in the field by October 2020. The perennial hay will be seeded for treatment #4 in late August. Treatments1, 2, and 3 will receive cover crops of varying intensity to prepare for a corn planitng in spring 2021. Treatment #1will be tilled and mowed to control weeds subsequent to oat harvest and a monoculture legume cover crop (winter peas) planted in late September. Treatment #2 will receive some tillage and an early planted mixed species cover crop sown in early September. Treatment #3 already has a multi-species cover crop sown in July which will be terminated by close mowing and a second early fall cover crop planted without soil disturbance, if possible. This cover crop will consist ofrows of radish planted 72 cm (30") apartwhere the corn rows will be in spring, and a mixture of crimson clover and rye drilled in the middles. Baseline soil samples were collected from at 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm depth in all treatment plots at all 4 sites in July and August. These samples will be processed and analyzed for soil health parameters during the fall and winter of 2020 -2021. The biomass and C/N ratio of the cover crops will be determined in late fall and at spring termination. Weed, pest and fertility issues will be assessed. The economic data collected through the end of the cover cropping season will be analyzed. Extension objectives: Therefore FH plans to partner with UMd Extension on am "Ask A Farmer -- Organic Grain, Does It Pay?"workshop with a panel to allow farmers to identify whether a transition is a good fit for them and if so to get connected into the ourProject. Farmers Aaron Cooper of Cutfresh Organics and Steve Krazowski of Mason's Heritage Farm will be our farmer panelists answering conventional growers' questions about organics. Extension agent Shannon Dill will be on the panel to answer financial questions and extension agent Sarah Hirsh will both facilitate the session and answer questions about soil health. The second Future Harvest workshop is being organized in partnership with the Common Grain Alliance. As the Great Grains Project research moved forward, the research team decided to integrate a small grain into the crop rotation (oats). As we've searched for buyers of these oats, we've learned much along the way. We discovered the brewer community is interested in purchasing local oats, but that they have very specific types and quantities they need. For this second Future Harvest workshop, we will bring a local brewer together with a local farmer to model the conversation of what each of their needs are in the buying and selling process so that members of the research, farming, and brewing communities know how to meet each other's needs. Lastly, Future Harvest has been working on creating a directory of buyers for local, transitional grain. This process is well underway and continues.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? On January 27th, 2020 we held the kickoff meeting for the entire project team to get to know each other better and plan strategies for accomplishing the project goals in agronomic and economic research, outreach, and farmer mentorship. On February 11th, 2020 we held our first meeting with potential farmer collaborators who were interested in hosting on-farm research or in being mentors or mentees in the organic transitions program. At this meeting, we and our collaborators from Future Harvest arranged for two mentors with many years of experience growing organic grains to work with and guide two mentees, farmers who are just embarking on the transition process with no organic farming experience. We also recruited two farmers to participate in the in-farm replicated research comparing transitional strategies. Each of these commercial farmers will compare three strategies in four replications. One of the farmers is one of the mentors and another is one of the mentees. Initially, we had another two farmers interested in doing the on-farm research, but they had to back out for logistical reasons. The fields they wanted to put through the transition was so far from their headquarters that managing, on that field, three or four different systems requiring different operations, at different times with different equipment was simply not feasible for them. Our farm management economist, Dale Johnson, set up a detailed protocol for recording all the relevant economic data (costs, hours, revenues, etc.) The managers of the four remaining research sites, two on the University of Maryland research stations and two on commercial farms, all agreed that we would begin the transition process by growing spring oats. Efforts were made in collaboration with Future Harvest and the Great Grains Alliance to find premium price markets for transitional oats. It turned out that most local specialty buyers, such as distillers, required awn-less or "naked" oats versus whole awned oats, and some of the farmers did not have the ability to clean the grain to the high degree needed for marketing at local breweries. However, all four did move ahead with the planting of spring oats as the first transition cash crop. Since this is a close-growing crop and was planted uniformly across the four field research sites it would also serve as a uniformity trial to help assess soil productivity variations as they occurred, are especially within-field variability. Replicated plots were laid out and when the oats were harvested in July individual plot yield values were recorded so that trends in spatial trends in productivity could be assessed for future use in blocking the experiment and as potential covariates for future analysis. At one of the sites, these oat yield data allowed us to rearrange the treatment plots for much better within-block homogeneity. Simultaneously with the planting of spring oats, we conducted a preliminary trial of a new organically-approved herbicide that is based on eugenol, an essential oil of the clove plant. We conducted this trial to determine whether this materialcould terminating cover crops to facilitate no-till planting inorganic transition systems.The results of this preliminary trial showed that the herbicide (brand named Weed Slayer™) was highly effective against grassy weeds, but only partially effective against broadleaf species, such as vetch and clover, used for cover cropping. In mid-July, the harvest of spring oats at 3 sites was immediately followed by laying out the replicated treatment plots and planting a multi-species warm-season cover crop, includingSunn Hemp, Cowpeas and Soybeans, to start building soil health, organic matter and nitrogen in treatment #3 (maximum cover cropping, minimum disturbance). At the fourth site, the oat harvest was delayed until mid-August so the summer cover crop was omitted. At two sites treatment #4 (perennial alfalfa-grass hay) will be established in late August using mowing and a minimum of tillage to control weeds. Extension Accomplishments Future Harvest (FH) promised to match three farmers new organic farming with three farmer consultants well versed in the process of converting from conventional to organic grain production. Additionally, FHcommitted to running 2 workshops on organic grain transition (one on each side of the Bay).Thus far, Future Harvest has made two of the three mentor/mentee matches. While a number of farmers expressedinterest in growing organic grain, most havelingering questions aboutfinances and profitability, including about high transitions costs as farmers may have to purchase new equipment andthe uncertaintyfinding buyers willing to pay a premium fortransitional grains.

Publications