From The Director: SAREP, Small Farm Program, Cooperative Extension collaborate in new county organic programs
Mark Gaskell, UCCE Santa Barbara County/San Luis Obispo farm advisor.
As California’s organic industry grows in size and value, so does SAREP’s commitment to funding of statewide research and extension services to clientele interested in organic production systems and rules. I am pleased to report that Bruce Hirsch, executive director of the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation and Kerry Anderson, trustee/program officer, for the True North Foundation, have authorized three-year renewable grants to SAREP for a total of $299,810 to support the creation of new organic research and extension activities in existing UC Cooperative Extension (UCEE) programs in Sonoma, Mendocino, Nevada/Placer, Sutter/Yuba, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Fresno, and San Joaquin counties.
The programs in the latter four counties, funded by the Heller Charitable Foundation, have been initiated through Desmond Jolly’s vision and cooperation with SAREP. Jolly is the director of the UC Small Farm Center located at UC Davis. Each county will receive support for up to three years to create an organic production research and extension program. These grants will allow county directors to address key local subjects in organic and transitional agricultural systems. The grants offer a minimum of three years of assistance to the UCCE offices and the eventual production of new organic farming extension publications in order to increase program services to clientele. It is expected that this project will result in the permanent establishment of transitional and organic farming extension projects in the targeted counties and serve as a model for the establishment of future county-based programs.
Funded by the True North Foundation:
Sonoma County
Organic horticulture. Linda Chávez, county director,
Paul Vossen, farm advisor [olives for oil: varietal differences,
pest management (including European approaches to organic management of
Dacus oleae) soil management).]
Mendocino County
Organic winegrape program. John Harper, county director,
Glenn McGourty, farm advisor (winegrapes: varietal issues,
pest management, cultural controls, cover crops, sanitation).
Sutter-Yuba counties
Organic stonefruit production program. John Williams,
county director, Janine Hasey, farm advisor (stonefruit:
nitrogen budgets and application issues, green manure and compost management,
insect and weed management).
Placer-Nevada
counties
Organic small farm production. Sharon Junge, county director/farm
advisor (organic production compliance, scale and certification issues;
marketing, compost, fertility).
I will report on the success of the True North Foundation-funded activities in a future issue of Sustainable Agriculture.
Funded by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation:
San Joaquin County
Many experienced organic farmers
have faced problems with weed control in producing vegetable and specialty
crops. While mowing and mulching often provides substantial weed control
in tree and vine crops, vegetable and specialty crop growers do not have
the room to use equipment and mulch between closely spaced crops like
beans, cole crops, basil, cucurbits, tomatoes and onions. Many organic
farmers spend considerable time hand weeding, or they must hire extra
labor to weed.
Small farms and specialty crops advisor Benny Fouche, UCCE San Joaquin County, will be investigating the control of various annual weed species with the uses of allowed materials on a commercial, certified organic farm. Fouche will conduct replicated, randomized trials of products like glacial acetic acid and yucca extracts (All Down Green Chemistry Herbicide), clove oil (Matran), vinegar and lemon products (Burnout) and others that have become available for organic farmers. He will produce research reports that will be made available through UCCE, the Small Farm Center, SAREP and the annual ANR Organic Workgroup conference. Short courses and field days will be scheduled for growers and others interested in this project.
San Diego
County
San Diego County has approximately 400 organic farmers, the largest concentration
in California. Many of the crops are unique to the county and grown on
small acreages. Local growers have limited information to guide their
production and marketing decision-making processes, which poses significant
challenges for local growers to produce and market their crops. There
is a need for information about the organic sector and developing and
implementing research and extension activities targeting organic producers
and marketers. Farm advisor Ramiro Lobo will expand UCCE
San Diego project plans to establish an Organic Advisory Board in San
Diego County. It will shape a research and extension agenda to address
the needs of local organic growers, and may help promote the agenda with
industry groups. It will also assess the markets and challenges faced
by local organic growers. This effort will result in the development of
an organic market directory for San Diego County. The Board will establish
an organic blueberry research project to complement conventional blueberry
research efforts. This research will focus on evaluation of blueberry
varieties under organic growing systems, and evaluate soil pH management
techniques and acidifying compounds for optimal blueberry production.
Fresno County
Diabrotica beetles, commonly known as cucumber beetles, are among the
most difficult insect pests to control in organic vegetable systems. Spotted
and striped cucumber beetles are the most common in the Central Valley,
and they are especially harmful to cucurbits (squash, melons, cucumbers,
many Asian vegetables). Besides the damage caused by the larvae on plant
roots and the chewing by the adults on foliage, the beetles are also vectors
of mosaic virus. UCCE Fresno County farm advisor Richard Molinar
and Michael Yang, Hmong agricultural assistant, will
work with several farmer collaborators to set up replicated trials in
cucurbits to test organic insecticides including rotenone, sabadilla,
pyrethrum, diatomaceous earth and others, and to use reflective mulches
and tachinid parasite flies. The objective is to find methods that will
provide cost-effective control of the pest.
Santa Barbara
County
Efficient and cost-effective nitrogen and phosphorous nutrient management
systems for organic fruit and vegetable production is the focus of UCCE
Santa Barbara County/San Luis Obispo farm advisor Mark Gaskell.
Nitrogen (N) is often a critical limiting nutrient in organic fruit and
vegetable production. Research has shown wide variations in seasonal N
available from different organic amendments. Phosphorous (P) has fewer
problems related to availability, but repeated use of materials containing
P, including compost, at high rates may cause P contamination problems.
The best nutrient management system for organic production varies depending
upon specific crop, soil type, cropping period and other factors. Liquid
organic N sources also present special problems for growers applying fertilizer
with irrigation systems. Gaskell will continue to do field trials with
farmer-cooperators and provide soil and plant analysis in an attempt to
determine efficient and cost-effective fertilizer systems for organic
fruit and vegetables.
Each designated county will focus on disseminating information developed from research projects undertaken with the yearly funding. The designated farm advisor from each county will demonstrate and adapt new research-based organic and transitional techniques for their particular clientele each year. They will link campus-based researchers, other Cooperative Extension advisors, growers and consumers, if necessary, in this research.
During the project period, each selected farm advisor will hold at least one yearly extension meeting and one final local short course on the organic production practices for the selected crop(s). SAREP and the Small Farm Program will separately fund certain costs associated with the short courses and production of relevant manuals (or other extension materials).
SAREP will continue to carry out our legislative mandate to extend information on organic production methods and marketing with new and existing county programs.—
