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Editor’s NOTE:
Certified organic farmers do an odd thing –
they pay people to visit their farms with a critical
eye to assure they are adhering to every aspect
of the USDA’s national organic standard.
The farmers should already be trying to produce,
harvest and market their organic crops, livestock
and related products by these rules. The on-farm
review of fields, facilities and records by an
approved inspector sent by the farmer’s
accredited organic certifier is the critical point
in confirming that the farmer and the farm meet
the organic standards – and can prove it
to anyone who needs to know.
The visits are pivotal for applying farmers to
become certified, and for certified farmers to
keep that certification. For the good of organics,
we want to help build the foundation for effective
inspection visits. We’ve asked Jim Riddle
to provide an inspector’s inside view to
help farmers understand an inspector’s role,
responsibilities and limitations.
In the months ahead, Riddle will elaborate on
many items to help farmers understand regulations
that apply to them, and how to document their
compliance.
Jim Riddle has been on hundreds of farms in the
inspector role, and he’s been inspected
himself during his time as a farmer. His leadership
in bringing professional training to inspectors
helped to earn greater acceptance of organic farming
in the U.S. He serves as vice-chair of the National
Organic Standards Board, which advises the USDA
on organic agriculture policies and regulations.
He has been an organic farmer, gardener, inspector,
educator, policy analyst, author, and consumer.
Jim Riddle serves as vice-chair of the USDA’s
National Organic Standards Board and organic policy
advisor for NewFarm.org. He was the founding chair
of the Independent Organic Inspectors Association
(IOIA).
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January
27, 2005: I see a lot of good examples of crop rotations
on the farms I inspect. The best rotations are the ones designed
to meet the objectives described in my previous
article including improving soil, providing nutrients
to the plant and erosion control.
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| For
your information... |
| The National
Organic Program defines crop rotation as “the
practice of alternating the annual crops grown on
a specific field in a planned pattern or sequence
so that crops of the same species or family are
not grown repeatedly without interruption on the
same field." |
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Rotation planning and implementation should begin during
the transition period from conventional to organic. During
transition, you should use your crop rotation to build fertility,
break pest, weed and disease cycles, and prevent soil erosion.
It is also a good time to experiment with different rotational
crops to find out which ones work best on your farm.
In addition to the issues discussed in Part
1, factors to consider when designing your crop rotation
include:
- Cropping history
– transition using pasture, hay, legumes,
or smother crops; do not use heavy feeders such as corn,
grains, or vegetables
- Soil building –
use legumes and grasses; try intercropping; watch organic
matter and microbial activity
- Conserve nutrients
– keep in mind catch crops, cover crops and plow-downs
- Erosion control
– cover crops are key, also, soil structure, aeration,
moisture retention and filtration of runoff
- Weed suppression
– try smother crops, allelopathic crops, mowed or
grazed crops
- Pest control –
pest resistant crops, intercropping, strip cropping and
companion plants work well; avoid alternate hosts but provide
habitat for beneficials and pollinators
- Disease management –
break disease cycles by selecting resistant varieties, using
disease suppressing plow-downs and alternating crop families
- Maximize use of on-farm
resources – including seeds,
equipment, labor, knowledge, timing and nutrient cycling
- Crop value – don’t forget markets, contracts,
livestock feed, seed needs and quality demands
- Impact on subsequent
crops – inhibit seed germination,
ease of incorporation, impact on nutrient availability to
digest crop residues with high carbon content
When introducing new crops into a rotation, experiment with
the new crops on a limited scale--make sure that they fit
into your system before “betting the whole farm.”
Here are a couple of excellent options to consider working
into your rotation. Winter rye grain (not the same as ryegrass)
planted after crop harvest is a great way to improve soil
organic matter content, manage deficient or excess plant nutrients,
suppress weeds, and provide erosion control. Rye will even
germinate after frost. When used as a plow-down in the spring,
rye has an allelopathic effect on annual weeds. On our farm,
we always plant rye mixed with hairy vetch as a winter cover
crop. The vetch adds nitrogen.
Buckwheat is an excellent choice for summer plantings, especially
for vegetable growers. Planted in warm soil, buckwheat germinates
and grows rapidly, helping to control thistles and other weeds.
Buckwheat also improves soil fertility by accumulating phosphorus,
potassium and calcium and helping to make these and other
nutrients available to the following crop. To avoid problems
with volunteer buckwheat appearing later as a “weed”,
it should be tilled in before it forms viable seeds (about
4-6 weeks after planting).
In the concluding article in this series, I will present
steps to follow to design your crop rotation plan and give
examples of crop rotations for various types of farming operations.
Stay tuned…
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