Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience of this project is organic dairy farmers and organic forage producers in the United States. Dairy farmers are seeking information about successful management of high-forage dairy systems that maintain herd health and production, milk quality, and farm economics in an increasing erratic climate. The decline in forage expertise and lack of funding and support for forage research and extension work threatens our ability to support a viable organic dairy system into the future, as well as other forage-based livestock systems. The proposed project would generate essential information for both farmers, extension, researchers, and technical service providers across the country to support successful and viable organic high-forage dairy systems. Changes/Problems:A no cost extension was requested to be able to complete all project deliverables. The pandemic created many challenges and our team was unable to carryout the project as originally planned. Originally, we had planned to hold the focus groups in-person following the completion of the survey and meeting of the research team. However, due to limitations of travel and in-person meeting with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus groups were held virtually. We were delayed in transitioning to a virtual approach because we had hoped that an in-person option might become a reality. As time progressed, we decidied it was in our best interst to proceed with a virtual event. We had initally hoped to host the meetings and outreach in collaboration with other organic conference around the country. Again because these were cancelled we had to reformulate an action plan to complete the work. At this point the project is well underway and will be completed by the new end date. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Focus groups were held virtually on April 21 and 23, 2021. The Focus Group meetings included organic dairy farmers and organic dairy stakeholders from throughout the United States. There were 24 participants representing organic dairies in 8 states. Through the Focus Groups we were able to share the goals of the overal project and gather critical feedback on the forage research and outreach needs of the organic dairy industry. The Focus Groups were recorded and notes were also taken. The Focus Group preliminary result were shared with attendees in May. Events: • Virtual focus group 1- 4/21/21 11:30am-1pm EST via Zoom. 9 attendees. • Virtual focus group 2- 4/21/21 3-4pm EST via Zoom. 6 attendees. • Virtual focus group 3- 4-23-21 1-2pm EST via Zoom. 9 attendees In addition, there have been multiple press releases and presentations that were able to share project goals and promote the national needs survey. • NODPA Field Days, October 1st, 2021. Presentation titled: Invest in your forages like your dairy depends on it because it does. Presentation included information about the project and focus group results and in-print surveys were made available to attendees. • NODPA Newsletter, November, 2021. Press Release to promote organic farmers completing the forage survey. • Organic Broadcaster Newsletter through MOSES, November 2021. Press Release to promote organic farmers completing the forage survey. Finally, following the researcher meeting in February and March of 2022, the team developed a peer reviewed publication and a research brief that was made available to stakeholders through field days, conference presentations, newsletter articles, and on websites. The materials directly reached 357 stakeholders. Eric Hatungimana, Heather M. Darby, Kathy J. Soder, Sara E. Ziegler, Andre F. Brito, Lisa Kissing Kucek, Heathcliffe Riday, and E. Charles Brummer. 2023. Assessing forage research and education needs of organic dairy farms in the United States. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems Journal. Awaiting Publication. Eric Hatungimana, Heather M. Darby, Kathy J. Soder, Sara E. Ziegler, Andre F. Brito, Lisa Kissing Kucek, Heathcliffe Riday, and E. Charles Brummer. 2022. Assessing forage research and education needs of organic dairy farms in the United States. University of Vermont Extension Publication. https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Northwest-Crops-and-Soils-Program/2022%20Research%20Reports/OREI_Forage_Survey_Highlights_FINAL.pdf Heather Darby and Sara Ziegler. 2022. Best strategies during times of high grain prices and unstable climate. Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance Annual Conference. 29-30 August, 2022. Middlebury, VT. 97 attendees. Bill Kipp, Heather Darby, and Sara Ziegler. 2022. Best nutrition strategies during times of high grain and input costs. Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance Newsletter. vol. 22 issue 6. Heather Darby and Sara Ziegler. 2022. UVM Forage and Dairy Research Organic Dairy Conference. Feb 24, 2022. Burlington, VT. 102 attendees. Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, and Sarah Flack. 2022. Focus on Forage Field Day. Fairfield, VT. June 17, 2022. 45 attendees. Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, and Sarah Flack. 2022. Organic Dairy Field Day. Strafford, VT. July 26, 2022. 62 attendees. Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, and Sarah Flack. 2022. Organic Dairy Field Day. Claremont, NH. Aug 1, 2022. 51 attendees. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Understand the critical forage knowledge gaps and resource needs of organic dairy farmers to help build resiliency and viability of those farms into the future via a national survey and focus groups. An IRB approval was received by the University of Vermont for both the Focus Groups and Survey on 15- March, 2021 (STUDY00001501). Due to limitations of travel and in-person meeting with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, the three focus groups were held virtually in late April , 2021. A total of 24 dairy farmers and related stakeholders from VT, NY, ME, VA, WI, MN, OR, and CA participated in the virtual focus groups. Prior to the meetings, a short survey was sent to each participant. At the meetings, the results of the short survey were shared with participants to help prepare for and facilitated discussion. We utilized the Dillman tailored design approach to disseminate the survey in print to 650 farms from a list of producers obtained from organic dairy processors and associations located in New Hampshire, New York, Wisconsin, and CA. (Dillman et al., 2016). Follow-up was done through dairy processors and associations through 4 follow-up mailings either through listserves or mail. A total of 165 respondents returned the survey resulting in a response rate of 25% of the direct distribution. The survey consisted of eight sections including a) demographic and general farm information, b) forage systems and forage management, c) impacts of forage systems on dairy production, d) factors affecting farm forage system, e) weather-related impacts on farm's forage system and strategies to mitigate those impacts, f) producer-perceived knowledge that may limit their ability to achieve farm goals, g) frequency of utilization of available tools/information resources to support forage program decision-making, and h) knowledge and skills needed by producers for forage production and management. Demographically, 53% of the respondents self-identified as belonging to plain-sect communities. Nearly all (96.6%) of respondents were organic dairy farmers and 2.4% only produced organic forage.The majority of respondents (89%) managed herds between 11 and 200 cows. Objective 2: Prioritize identified needs and develop research priorities and outreach that are integral in protecting and expanding our forage knowledge, especially under a changing climate through a focused researcher meeting. Forage needs identified through the survey and focus groups provided the platform for developing the research and outreach agenda at the two-researcher meetings held virtually in February and March of 2022. During the meeting, the group focused on research priorities that will address the needs identified by farmers. Objective 3: Develop a research and outreach agenda that leads to further collaborations of the team to develop grant proposal(s) and resource materials that addresses the needs identified through this project to further forage knowledge and farm viability. This project culminated into a peer-reviewed paper and research brief published for stakeholders that outline organic forage management systems, education opportunities, and research needs to promote the sustainability of the dairy industry. A researcher and extension team has beenformed to develop and submit a proposalto OREI in 2023. Several proposals were submitted and recently awardedbased on priorities outlined in the research report to USDA SARE ($175,000), NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant program ($285,000), and the Organic Valley Farmers Advocating for Organic grant program ($47,000) in 2022. The following research and education prorities were identified through the survey and focus groups. Organic dairy producers indicated they needed skills in pasture renovation and rotation with reduced or no-tillage. Regarding pasture fertility management, producers indicated they needed more information on cost-effective fertility sources that can be used to fertilize forage pasture fields. Producers also needed to know how to fertilize forage pasture fields with manure and composting with micronutrients. Concerning forages and forage mixtures, producers indicated the need for information on forage varieties, forages mixtures, or forage-legume mixes that are more dual-purpose that begin production earlier in spring and later into fall, or that are more resilient under different weather conditions (too wet or too dry). Additionally, producers indicated the need for research-based information about harvest timing for optimum quality, cultivar and variety information for pasture seeding, forage trials on diverse soil, and new forage species. They would like more information on new advances from forage breeding and production results for organic systems. Moreover, producers highlighted the need of information about weed control in corn, timing for seeding, nurse crop decision making, general crop management, and updating the nutrient management plan. Information on farm equipment and equipment access was revealed by producers to be also an important knowledge they needed. For educational purposes, visual aids and tools for education and management were indicated to be important. For example, producers indicated that pictures of miscellaneous forages showing optimal harvest timing and field education through pasture walks would help improve their knowledge and skills. Among important topics of forage research and education needs, the focus groups identified four major research areas. The first research and education need concerned climate change resilience. The focus group highlighted research needs on water and nutrient use efficiency at the farm level. Moreover, research on forage species and varieties that are resistant to pest and diseases, and forage varieties that are resistant to drought and heat during summer months were of paramount importance. In addition to research on forages that are resistant to drought, research on factors affecting winter survival of forages is important as is the identification of new forage mixtures to increase forage yields and carbon sequestration, or to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. In this regard, focus groups reported research needs on forage diversity that can adapt to local and regional environmental conditions, as well as research on soil biology connection to forage productivity and quality. The second research and education need was improving forage quality. As indicated by focus groups, research on forage quality should encompass forage nutrient concentrations of energy, sugar types, minerals, non-starch carbohydrates, and pectin. Moreover, evaluation of fiber digestibility and its relative volatile fatty acid (i.e., acetate) production and absorption versus milk butterfat content, and milk yield per ton of forages should be other research areas of interest. Research on forage quality should also focus on harvesting time for optimum nutrient content, forage storage, forage inventory management, and nutrient management. The third area of research and education need was to evaluate economic returns from soil fertility/soil health and the evaluation of economic returns from pasture renovation. There might be costs associated with maintaining soil fertility or pasture renovation, but limited research is available on economic returns from those efforts. Lastly, the focus groups indicated research needs on legumes for grazing, persistent perennial ryegrass, and corn that has a gametophyte factor to prevent cross pollination with transgenic varieties. Additionally, research on late maturity of forages and subsequent effects on nutrient content and nutrient digestibility is needed. Alternatives to common or traditional forages, research on novel forage species was also considered to be of high importance.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Eric Hatungimana, Heather M. Darby, Kathy J. Soder, Sara E. Ziegler, Andre F. Brito, Lisa Kissing Kucek, Heathcliffe Riday, and E. Charles Brummer. 2023. Assessing forage research and education needs of organic dairy farms in the United States. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems Journal. Awaiting Publication.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Eric Hatungimana, Heather M. Darby, Kathy J. Soder, Sara E. Ziegler, Andre F. Brito, Lisa Kissing Kucek, Heathcliffe Riday, and E. Charles Brummer. 2022. Assessing forage research and education needs of organic dairy farms in the United States. University of Vermont Extension Publication. https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Northwest-Crops-and-Soils-Program/2022%20Research%20Reports/OREI_Forage_Survey_Highlights_FINAL.pdf
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Heather Darby and Sara Ziegler. 2022. Best strategies during times of high grain prices and unstable climate. Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance Annual Conference. 29-30 August, 2022. Middlebury, VT.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Bill Kipp, Heather Darby, and Sara Ziegler. 2022. Best nutrition strategies during times of high grain and input costs. Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance Newsletter. vol. 22 issue 6.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Heather Darby and Sara Ziegler. 2022. UVM Forage and Dairy Research Organic Dairy Conference. Feb 24, 2022. Burlington, VT.
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience of this project is organic dairy farmers in the United States. Dairy farmers are seeking information about successful management of high-forage dairy systems that maintain herd health and production, milk quality, and farm economics in an increasing erratic climate. The decline in forage expertise and lack of funding and support for forage research and extension work threatens our ability to support a viable organic dairy system into the future, as well as other forage-based livestock systems.The proposed project would generate essential information for both farmers, researchers, and technical service providers across the country to support successful and viable organic high-forage dairy systems. Changes/Problems:A no costextension was requested to be able to complete all project deliverables. The pandemic has created many challenges and our team was unable to carryout the project as originally planned.Originally, we had planned to hold the focus groups in-person following the completion of the survey and meeting of the research team. However, due to limitations of travel and in-person meeting with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus groups were held virtually. We were delayed in transitioning to a virtual approach because we had hoped that an in-person option might become a reality. As time progressed, we decidied it was in our best interst to proceed with a virtual event. We had initally hoped to host the meetings and outreach in collaboration with other organic conference around the country. Again because these were cancelled we had to reformulate an action plan to complete the work. At this point the project is well underway and will be completed by the new end date. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Focus groups were held virtually on April 21 and 23, 2021. The Focus Group meetings included organic dairy farmers and organic dairy stakeholders from throughout the United States. There were 24 participants representing organic dairies in8 states. Through the Focus Groups we were able to share the goals of the overal project and gather critical feedback on the forage research and outreach needs of the organic dairy industry. The Focus Groups were recorded and notes were also taken. The Focus Group preliminary result were shared with attendees in May. Events: Virtual focus group 1- 4/21/21 11:30am-1pm EST via Zoom. 9 attendees. Virtual focus group 2- 4/21/21 3-4pm EST via Zoom. 6 attendees. Virtual focus group 3- 4-23-21 1-2pm EST via Zoom. 9 attendees In addition, there have been multiple press releases and presentations that were able to share project goals and promote the national needs survey. NODPA Field Days, October 1st, 2021. Presentation titled: Invest in your forages like your dairy depends on it because it does. Presentation included information about the project and focus group results and in-print surveys were made available to attendees. NODPA Newsletter, November, 2021. Press Release to promote organic farmers completing the forage survey. Organic Broadcaster Newsletter through MOSES, November 2021. Press Release to promote organic farmers completing the forage survey. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1:Understand the critical forage knowledge gaps and resource needs of organic dairy farmers to help build resiliency and viability of those farms into the future via a national survey and focus groups. In the next reporting period we will close the survey and compile and analyze the results. The results will be summarized into a farmer-friendly bulletin that can be shared via farmer publications and other informational avenues. The results will also be used to inform the creation of an organic forage research and education agenda. This agenda will be proposed to and modified with input from other collaborating researchers and industry stakeholders across the nation. Action items relating to the agenda will be created to be utilized in future grant submissions. Due to continuing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, a researcher meeting will likely be held virtually in 2022. Objective 2:Prioritize identified needs and develop research priorities and outreach that are integral in protecting and expanding our forage knowledge, especially under a changing climate through a focused researcher meeting. Due to ongoing challenges and limitations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, an in-person researcher meeting was postponed. We anticipate meeting with the research team virtually in late spring of 2022 to develop the research and outreach agenda informed by the national survey and focus groups. Objective 3:Develop a research and outreach agenda that leads to further collaborations of the team to develop grant proposal(s) and resource materials that addresses the needs identified through this project to further forage knowledge and farm viability. Due to postponing the researcher meeting and other limitations presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, new proposals based on information generated through this project will be delayed until late 2022 or 2023.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1:Understand the critical forage knowledge gaps and resource needs of organic dairy farmers to help build resiliency and viability of those farms into the future via a national survey and focus groups. An IRB approval was received by the University of Vermont for both the Focus Groups and Survey on 15- March, 2021 (STUDY00001501). Originally, we had planned to hold the focus groups in-person following the completion of the survey and meeting of the research team. However, due to limitations of travel and in-person meeting with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus groups were held virtually. In late April, three virtual focus group meetings were held. A total of 24 people from VT, NY, ME, VA, WI, MN, OR,and CA participated in the virtual focus groups. The participants included farmers, Extension professionals, University researchers and staff, and other industry representatives/advocates. Prior to the meetings, a short survey was sent to each participant. At the meetings, the results of the short survey were shared with participants to help prepare for and facilitated discussion. Project team members recorded and took notes during each of the focus groups and met afterwards to compile the main themes regarding research priorities, educational needs, and necessary resources to overcome organic forage production challenges. In the fall of 2021, a survey detailing current organic forage production practices, climate impacts, and needs for research, information, education, and outreach was distributed in-print to over 550 organic dairy producers across the country. In addition, dairy and forage producers received notification of the survey including a link and QR code to complete the survey online through farmer publications and email listservs (i.e. NODPA newsletter, WODPA newletter, Organic Valley and Maple Hill Creamery producer newsletters, organization listservs, etc.). To date there have been approximately 51 and 82 responses online and in-print respectively. The survey will remain open through at least January 2022. The information generated through the focus group meetings and the national survey will be used to create a forage research and education agenda that will be proposed to other researcher and industry stakeholders. In the next reporting period we will close the survey and compile and analyze the results. The results will be summarized into a farmer-friendly bulletin that can be shared via farmer publications and other informational avenues. The results will also be used to inform the creation of an organic forage research and education agenda. This agenda will be proposed to and modified with input from other collaborating researchers and industry stakeholders across the nation. Action items relating to the agenda will be created to be utilized in future grant submissions. Due to continuing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, a researcher meeting will likely be held virtually in 2022. Objective 2:Prioritize identified needs and develop research priorities and outreach that are integral in protecting and expanding our forage knowledge, especially under a changing climate through a focused researcher meeting. Identifying forage research and outreach priorities is crucial to furthering forage knowledge, education, extension, and future support. Forage needs identified through the survey and focus groups will provide the platform for developing the research and outreach agenda at the researcher meeting. The meeting will be held in a central location and will bring together agronomists, breeders, extension, research, and other industry professionals involved in forage-related research efforts to discuss the knowledge and resource gaps identified in Objective 1. During the meeting, the group will identify specific research priorities that will address the needs identified by farmers. Particular attention will be paid to research concerning forage performance under a changing climate. Due to ongoing challenges and limitations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, an in-person researcher meeting was postponed. We anticipate meeting with the research team virtually in late spring of 2022 to develop the research and outreach agenda informed by the national survey and focus groups. Objective 3:Develop a research and outreach agenda that leads to further collaborations of the team to develop grant proposal(s) and resource materials that addresses the needs identified through this project to further forage knowledge and farm viability. This project will ultimately culminate into a forage research and outreach agenda with a planned implementation schedule. Researcher and extension teams will be formed to develop and submit proposals to OREI in 2023 as well as potential proposals to the ORG program and other USDA NIFA grant opportunities. The research agenda will be available through project PIs websites. Due to postponing the researcher meeting and other limitations presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, new proposals based on information generated through this project will be delayed.
Publications
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