Designing Production Strategies for Stewardship and Profits on Fresh Market Organic Farms

Non-Technical Summary: Small-scale farms throughout the country struggle to achieve profitability within the dominant food production and marketing system. An alternative direct marketing system shows promise of providing far higher economic returns for smaller growers. Increasing direct sales of local agricultural products can potentially improve the economic viability of small and mid-sized farms and enhance the economies of communities through the multiplier effect of consumer dollars. However, unleashing the potential of direct marketing opportunities and promoting small farm economic sustainability can only be achieved by addressing critical missing links or barriers in both production and marketing systems. Little is understood about the economic and agro-ecosystem characteristics of contrasting specialty crop production systems. The long-term goal of this project is to improve the agronomic and economic competitiveness of fresh market organic farms by developing integrated, systems-based solutions to their most significant soil and weed problems. We will investigate relationships between production management strategies, soil quality, weed pressure, and economic risks and returns in high-value, organic vegetable cropping systems; then incorporate our findings into practical farmer training programs and informational materials. The centerpiece of the project is a systems experiment comparing 12 organic management strategies for high-value, fresh market vegetable production, and their long-term effects on crop yield, soil quality, nitrogen management, and weed pressure. We will also replicate selected soil nutrient, physical, and biological measurements from the organic systems experiment on 6-8 partner organic farms. A multi-year economic analysis (costs, returns, risks) of the experimental cropping systems will be completed. Outreach will involve partnership with producers and stakeholders to design and offer courses, farm walks, field days, workshops, web materials, and publications, including programs for Hmong and Latino farmers. An Advisory Committee of farmer partners will provide guidance and evaluation. This project will make significant contributions to our understanding of how the soil ecosystem responds to different organically managed environments. It will provide insight into the value of alternative soil tests for organic farmers. We will also develop a better understanding of systems-based management strategies for improving farm ecosystem and economic performance. This new knowledge will help us develop practical educational materials and programs that provide guidelines for farm decision-making. Through this project we will pilot and share new models for interdisciplinary, farmer participatory research and extension. Anticipated benefits include farmer adoption of strategies that improve long-term soil quality while maintaining or improving economic returns. <P> Approach: The centerpiece of this project is a long-term organic vegetable systems experiment established at Washington State University (WSU) Puyallup in 2003. The experiment compares 12 organic management systems, including 3 cover crop treatments, 2 tillage regimes, and 2 organic amendment types, arranged in a split-split plot design with four replications (48 plots). Cover crops are the main plots, tillage is the first split and amendments the second split. Cover crop treatments include 1) a fall-seeded cereal rye-hairy vetch mix; 2) relay-intercropped hairy vetch planted into the cash crop; and 3) a short-term pasture planted to a mixture of annual ryegrass, perennial ryegrass, and red clover. Organic amendments include a low-C treatment (broiler litter) and a high-C treatment (mixed on-farm compost). The tillage regimes are conventional tillage (plow, disc, rototill) and modified tillage (rotating spader). Microbial constituents and their functions will be assessed by traditional and molecular techniques. Decomposer community functions will be assessed by soil enzyme activity. The bacterial and fungal communities will be analyzed using phospholipid fatty acid profiles and substrate induced respiration. Nitrifier community structure will be measured using DGGE. We will isolate Collembola using Berlese-Tullgren funnels and identify them to the family level. Nematodes will be isolated by a sieving-Baermann funnel procedure, identified at the genus level, and evaluated through ecological indices such as the enrichment and structure indices. Soil physical measurements include compaction, bulk density, infiltration, water holding capacity, and aggregate stability. Chemical/biochemical measurements include total and POM C, nutrients, total N, and N mineralization. Yield of each cash crop will be measured each year, along with weed pressure, and cover crop yield, C, and N. Results will be analyzed using general linear model methodology, complemented with path analysis and structural equation modeling to test and modify models that specify causal relationships among variables. We will also replicate selected soil nutrient, physical, and biological measurements from the organic systems experiment and collect information on soil management practices on partner organic farms. The potential economic costs, returns, and risks of each organic production system in the experiment will be systematically evaluated. The evaluation will entail preparation of 240 budgets covering 2003-2010. These budgets will be tracked by plot and rotation, so that each budget series will reflect the results of annual production risk for each rotation-tillage-cover crop-amendment system. Income risk will be examined by comparing annual income variability and ability to cover variable costs for each crop or rotation. Outreach will include partnership with producers and stakeholders to design and offer courses, farm walks, field days, workshops, web materials, and publications, and will include programs for Hmong and Latino farmers. Evaluations of changes in knowledge and actions from this project will be done using follow-up surveys, phone interviews, and observations.