Kearney, California
March 9, 2007
The University
of California is designating 10 acres at the UC Kearney
Research and Extension Center near Parlier for organic research.
The three-year transition period needed to meet organic
standards began this winter.
"We are committed to serving the research needs of all segments
of agriculture," said Fred Swanson, director of the Kearney REC.
"Organic agriculture is an area of increasing interest and
economic value to California agriculture, and we are there to
provide science-based information to help growers make important
production decisions."
Organic agriculture is essentially the production of crops
without using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. In 2002, the
USDA created the National Organic Program, which governs all
aspects of organic production, processing, delivery and sale.
Farmers who wish to use the term "organic" must follow
regulations that meet the federal organic standards, and the
farm must be certified by a designated agency, such as
California Certified Organic Farmers. Among the standards are
the usage of environmentally friendly farming techniques defined
by the program and the prohibition of genetically modified
plants.
California organic farmers have enjoyed steady sales growth in
recent years, according to Karen Klonsky, UC Cooperative
Extension agricultural economist at UC Davis. In 2005, organic
farmers took in $530 million, an increase of nearly 200 percent
since 1998.
An economic driver of organic production is the price premium
often paid by consumers for organic food. The premium is
especially attractive to small-scale farmers who need a
lucrative market niche to compete with the state's larger farms.
The opportunity for small farmers to transition to organic
agriculture prompted UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor
Richard Molinar to request that land at Kearney be designated
for organic research. Molinar has maintained a one-acre plot at
the research center for specialty crop field trials since 1996,
and three years ago he and his research assistant Michael Yang
began using organic production methods to study capers, jujube
trees, lemongrass, mini watermelons, cherry tomatoes, medicinal
herbs and other unusual crops. Later this year they will
register the original one-acre plot as organic. (Because the
crops are not sold, it doesn t require certification as
organic.)
For the organic farmer, long-term planning, patience and access
to practical, science-based data are important for success.
"In organic production, your objective is to build up more
productive and healthy soil," Molinar said. "Some people believe
organic matter and the diversity of microorganisms in soil
maintained organically result in healthier plants that can more
effectively fight diseases, fend off insects and out-compete
weeds."
Undertaking the organic transition on the one-acre research plot
helped Molinar to see that researchers needed ready access to
organically maintained land to study organic production.
"To accurately compare specific organic and conventional
practices, you need to first have the ground that organic
growers would use," Molinar said. "Then we can say with validity
that yes, it does work or no it doesn't."
Molinar requested the designation of land for organic
registration from the Kearney Research Advisory Committee, a
group of scientists, farmers and administrators who make
decisions about how Kearney's 261 acres of cultivated land is
used. After a thorough survey to gauge the level of interest in
organic research, the board approved Molinar s request.
"Organic production is going mainstream," said UC Davis
pomologist Louise Ferguson, the chair of the Research Advisory
Committee. "We see the value in giving people choices of what
they buy and helping growers decide whether it makes economic
sense to transition to organic production."
The Research Advisory Committee will entertain proposals from UC
farm advisors, specialists and campus-based scientists who wish
to conduct research on the organic farmland at Kearney. Ferguson
said the committee believes the organic research at the center
might also benefit the state's conventional growers.
"The information that is generated will also be available to
those who choose not to be totally organic, but may wish to
implement the research results into their production practices"
she said.
Designation of the new 10-acre organic research plot at Kearney
is part of an ongoing effort by the university to develop
science-based information on sustainable agricultural practices
and make it available to the state's farmers and ranchers.
Programs in UC with a focus on agricultural sustainability and
organic farming include the statewide Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education Program, the newly established
Agricultural Sustainability Institute and the Long-Term Research
on Agricultural Systems Project at UC Davis, and the Center for
Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz. In
addition, county-based UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors
with the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources conduct
field trials and extend research results on organic and
sustainable practices to growers throughout the state.
The chair of UC's Organic Farming Workgroup, Mendocino and Lake
counties farm advisor Glenn McGourty, said he was enthused to
see the university dedicate more land resources to alternative
farming systems.
"We have a tremendous investment in conventional innovations,
such as biotechnology, which potentially will have a great
payoff," McGourty said. "But we shouldn't overlook the little
things either. We need to be involved in organic agriculture."
Links to UC sustainable and organic agriculture research
programs:
Agricultural Sustainability Institute:
http://asi.ucdavis.edu/
Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems:
http://zzyx.ucsc.edu/casfs/
Long-Term Research on Agricultural Systems Project:
http://ltras.ucdavis.edu/
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program:
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ |
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