Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Target Audience: This project's target audience included regional producers (conversational, organic, and transitioning to organic), soil conservationists, growers' associations (commodity boards), researchers, academicians, and various stakeholders. Why These Audiences Were Targeted: Producers transitioning to organic farming were the primary audience, as this group is most directly affected by weed management challenges and nitrogen sources for organic farming. Weed control and nitrogen are particularly difficult in organic farming, and the project's focus on living mulch as a weed management solution as well as nitrogen-fixing from legumes holds significant potential to address these issues. In order to cover the cost of living mulch, a grazing component was also included wherever possible. How These Audiences Were Reached: During the reporting period, we developed a robust communication strategy to reach broad audiences. This included the news articles about the funding of the projects from Washington State University (https://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/article/wsu-researchers-to-study-feasibility-of-organic-inland-northwest-wheat/) and North Carolina State University (https://www.farms.com/news/organic-accelerator-new-study-investigates-grazing-living-mulches-for-soil-health-207371.aspx). Several other regional news agencies with much larger outreach also covered these news articles. The news and concept of this project were also conveyed to the target audience through a podcast recordedby Washington State University (the Podcast has not been published yet). In addition, the audience was also reached through field days. During the reporting period, the project reached approximately 500 producers, soil conservationists, researchers, academicians, and various stakeholders at the Rodale Institute's Annual Organic Field Day on July 19th, 2024. This event served as an excellent platform to present the project's work on living mulch, weed management, and soil health practices to a broad audience, including organic farmers and other key agricultural stakeholders.The Rodale Institute's Organic Field Day served as the primary engagement platform. Participants were introduced to the project's experimental plot designs, initial soil health data, and early observations on weed dynamics. The field day included presentations and field tours that facilitated hands-on learning and discussions around the practical implications of living mulch in transitioning to organic systems. The project has successfully reached these critical audiences during this period (will continue to engage the target audience), ensuring that producers and other stakeholders are informed about sustainable practices that can improve both soil health and weed management in organic farming systems. The project has successfully reached these critical audiences during this period, ensuring that producers and other stakeholders are informed about sustainable practices that can improve both soil health and weed management in organic farming systems. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the reporting period, the project provided multiple training and professional development opportunities to students, postdocs, and research technicians at all the study sites in the pacific northwest, southeast, and northwest sites. This is the project's first year, during which data has been collected and will be analyzed to inform subsequent research activities. Preliminary findings will be presented at upcoming conferences and meetings, such as the ASA-CSSA-SSSA Tri-Society Meeting, to engage with the broader scientific community along with regional stakeholders. The project has provided significant training and professional development opportunities for the team. At Washington State University, two master's students will be focusing partial thesis from this project providing them with first-hand experience of organic farming. Both theses will focus on various aspects of the project including weeds, soil fertility, soil health, and soil microbial dynamics.Research Technician at Rodale Institute, Carolyn Garrity, has gained hands-on experience in managing various aspects of the project, including living mulch systems, weed management strategies, and soil health assessments. This has enabled her to develop a deeper understanding of these critical areas. Additionally, Carolyn has been participating in the Advanced Soil Health International Certificate Training Course offered by Cornell University. This training has allowed her to further enhance her expertise in soil health, complementing the practical knowledge gained through the project's fieldwork. The combination of in-field training and formal coursework has positioned her well for contributing to the project's future phases and sharing insights with stakeholders. At North Carolina State University, PIshave been mentoring technicians, postdocs, and students as part of this grant. Two temporary employees, a post-doc, a field technician, a PhD student, and station personnel (~4 people) contributed to establishing this study and taking care of the related work. Dr. Ozlu supervised these personnel within person (hands-on) training. Overall, these training and professional development activities have helped build technical capacity within the project team and supported the dissemination of findings to the broader scientific and agricultural community. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This is the first year of the data collection and no results have been disseminated among the target audience yet. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue the field trial and data collection: All study sites will continue and replant the trials at all three study sites and continue the data collection from those trials as discussed below: Post-Harvest Soil Sampling: Collect soil samples from all experimental plots following harvest to assess the impact of treatments on soil properties. Soil Health and Microbial Analysis: Analyze collected soil samples for key soil health indicators, including organic matter content, and nutrient levels. Conduct microbial community analysis using PLFA to evaluate changes in microbial diversity and functional groups in response to different clover treatments. Weed Density and Distribution Assessment: Quantify weed density and map the distribution of weed species across the plots. Evaluate the influence of clover treatments on weed suppression effectiveness compared to control plots. Evaluate the allelochemical activity in the clover treatment plots. Data Analysis and Statistical Evaluation: Perform statistical analysis to determine relationships among soil health parameters, microbial communities, and weed dynamics. Assess the impact of clover treatments on soil health and weed management to identify significant trends and interactions. Addressing Challenges and Unmet Goals: Address any issues encountered during the initial year, such as variability in weed emergence and challenges in sample processing timelines and planting windows. Revisit and refine sampling protocols or experimental designs as needed to ensure the accurate measurement of key variables.6. Personnel Hiring for the Project: At North Carolina State University, PIsaim to hire a student for this project. Develop data from the experiment. We also aim to join more conferences, commodity events, field days, and extension talks to provide deliverables for this project. We also aim to get in touch with 4K education and look for opportunities to deliver to those clientele. We may try to develop some other publications indicating short term impacts of this study. All PIs Annual Meeting 2024: In order to meet and discuss the progress and path forward for the project, PIs will meet in-person at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA annual meetings 2024 in San Antonio, TX on Nov. 11, 2024. This meeting will be attended by PIs and/or representatives from all study sites.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Problem Addressed: The key challenge addressed by this project is the development of sustainable weed and nitrogen management strategies and improved soil health for farmers transitioning to organic farming systems. Weed management and nitrogen sources arepersistent issues in organic farming, especially for farmers seeking to maintain soil health and productivity without the use of synthetic herbicides and fertilizers. The project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of integrated legume-based living mulch and grazing techniques to tackle these issues across different cropping systems. Who is Helped and How: The most immediate beneficiaries of this work are organic farmers and producers who are transitioning from conventional to organic farming systems. By providing research-backed strategies for weed control and soil health improvement, the project directly supports the economic viability and sustainability of these farming operations. The outcomes will also inform researchers, extension agents, and educators engaged in promoting organic farming practices. Accomplishments Under Each Objective: Objectives 1 & 2: Crop and Livestock Performance & Soil Health Major Activities: The project established three fieldexperimental sites with various clover and grazing treatments in the Pacific Northwest, Southeast, and Northeast regions to assess the impact of legume-basedliving mulch on crop yields, nitrogen dynamics, and weed population density and dynamics. Pacific Northwest site: Field trials were established in Adams, OR with treatments: Aberlasting clover (with and without grazing), Red clover (with and without grazing), and cover crop mix. Northeast site:The project established 80 experimental plots with various clover treatments and concurrent cash crop planting systems. Southeast site:Four different clovers, crimson clover, white clover, red clover, and kura clover, were planted in a mixture with rye grass (2.5:1 ratio) with considering animal health conditions. Each plot size was 15-9 meters (~0.3 acres).In the spring of 2024, study area was grazed by using same size and hunger level animals. Data Collected: Initial soil health baseline data were collected from different soil depthsincluding pH, organic matter, carbon, and fertility. Currently, the data collection is in the process of the first year of the trials. Objective 3: Weed Management Major Activities: Weed density and distribution data collection have begun across the experimental plots. Data Collected: Early weed classification and density data were collected, with ongoing analysis expected to provide insights into the effectiveness of clover treatments in weed suppression. Key Outcome: Preliminary data suggest that clover-based living mulch systems could offer a viable solution for weed suppression in organic farming. Objective 4: Educational and Extension Activities Major Activities:The target audience was reached using various methods such as news articles about the project, field day events, poster presentations, and podcast (not published yet). The project was featured at the Rodale Institute's Annual Organic Field Day, engaging over 500 producers and stakeholders. Key Outcome: These activities provided awareness about organic farming, direct knowledge transfer to producers, and showcased the practical benefits of living mulch and grazingtechniques for organic farming. Impact: The project has provided critical insights into sustainable weed and nitrogen management strategies and soil health improvement, directly benefiting organic producers and informing broader agricultural practices.
Publications
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