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May | June 2015Volume 23 | Number 3

By Audrey Alwell

To Poultry Processing on page 8

Sunn hemp gains popularity as stress-tolerant cover crop

By Jody Padgham

To Sunn Hemp on page 6

crop also can be rolled down to create an effective ground cover. While reported totals vary, sunn hemp can produce as much as 6,000 pounds of biomass and 145 pounds of actual nitrogen per acre in 60 days.

Sunn hemp has been used to improve soil in tropical regions for centuries. In countries such as India and Bangladesh, farmers grow sunn hemp for livestock forage—the leaves are 30% protein—and fiber, since the plant has a fibrous stalk when allowed to mature.

Group finds advantages in working together to serve market

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Sunn hemp is a fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing soil builder that Midwest growers are just starting to appreciate as a cover crop. Like other cover crops, sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) suppresses weeds, reduces erosion, and improves soil tilth. It’s this legume’s ability to thrive in poor soil conditions and withstand drought, heat and wind while producing tons of bio-mass that is getting growers’ attention.

Sunn hemp is a warm-season annual that grows upright and tall, reaching a height of 4 to 6 feet in 60 days. It has simple, oblong-shaped leaves that are 2.5 to 5 inches long. Branching occurs about 2 feet from the ground or higher if planted in a thick stand as a green manure crop. The plant has a strong taproot and well-developed lateral roots with branched and lobed nodules. Research has shown it suppresses parasitic nematode popula-tions in the soil.

To use as a green manure, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recom-mends mowing and plowing it under at bud or early bloom stage (around 60 days) when the nitrogen content is high and decomposition will be rapid. If sunn hemp is left to grow longer it becomes fibrous and difficult to turn under. The

There’s a growing market for grass-fed, locally raised poultry, but access to processing and the high cost of quality feed create challenges for small-scale poultry operations. The farmers of Pasture Perfect Poultry (PPP), an LLC operating near the southern shore of Lake Superior outside of Ashland, Wis., have found a sustainable way to overcome these challenges by working collectively.

“There is lots to be gained in working together,” claimed founding member Chris Duke. “Each member has skills that they bring to the group that helps to make it strong.”

Pasture Perfect Poultry was created in 2007 by three neighboring farmers as a solution to a lack of poultry processing facilities. The farmers, Chris and his family of Great Oak Farm near Mason, Jay Cablk and Carrie Linder of Vranes Farm near Benoit, and Jason and Melissa Fis-chbach of Wild Hollow Farm outside of Sanborn, (all about 15 miles apart) were each raising small numbers of pastured poultry and selling to neigh-bors and friends.

“We all came to the same crux,” Chris explained. “We could sell every bird we raised, but we struggled with access to able and consis-tent processing.”

Each had explored a diversity of processing options, including driving three hours to an inspected plant, but found none were sustain-able. Efficient poultry processing equipment is available, but not cost-effective for small-scale producers. Chris and Jason started talking, and quickly recognized that there was more to be gained by collaborating than competing. Jay was soon brought into the conversation, and the three farmers began exploring how they could work together to overcome obstacles.

Nine years later, Pasture Perfect Poultry is a thriving group with five farm members—Brian Clements of Northcroft Farm in Moquah and

Bob Rice of Muskeg Ridge Farm near Iron River recently joined the group. All of the operations are diversified, with some full-time and others part-time farmers. PPP provides processing, joint pur-chasing and marketing to its members. PPP will sell over 3,000 pastured broilers and 250 turkeys this year to customers throughout the region.

Chris said the group’s goals from the beginning have been to enable individual farmers to stay in production, make enough money for poultry to be worthwhile and sustainable, and stay friends. Numerous long discussions and a well-crafted operating agreement, based on a model created by Jason, (who is the area’s Agricultural Extension Agent), have been key.

“It seemed like a lot of work at the time. After all, we’re just friends, working together,” Chris remembered. “But now I’m really grateful. The operating agreement provides the organizational framework.”

The operating agreement describes how new farmers can buy into the group, and how a farm can leave. Production practices are detailed, and the financial end of things is laid out. The agreement is revisited every year, and revised if needed. Annual meetings, held each fall, are used to discuss the year’s outcomes and hash through any issues.

Solving the Processing DilemmaThe group’s first joint activity was to solve the

processing dilemma. After doing research, the group decided to set up a mobile processing plant that the farmers could take from farm to farm, and agreed to each contribute labor to run the plant. While able to utilize some equipment Chris already had, they decided to buy a really nice, thermostatically controlled rotary scalder with a timer from PoultryMan equipment in Pennsylva-nia for over $3,200.

Photo by Molokai Seed Company

Sunn hemp has bright yellow flowers that bloom at about 60 days. Due to its rapid growth and nitrogen-fixing capability, sunn hemp is gaining popularity as a cover crop in the Midwest.

High consumer demand makes ancient wheats hot commoditiesBy Steve Zwinger and Elizabeth Dyck

The ancient wheats—einkorn, emmer, and spelt—are “trendy” right now thanks to demand by increasing numbers of consum-ers. There is something intriguing about eat-ing grains that were domesticated in ancient times—at least 10,000 years ago in the case of einkorn and emmer, while the more “mod-ern” spelt has been part of the human diet for thousands of years. For a number of reasons, the renewed interest in these grains may be not just a passing fad, but a lasting part of both healthy diets and sustainable cropping systems.

Research shows that these crops, when eaten as whole grain or whole grain flour can deliver significant nutritional benefits. All three ancient wheats tend to be higher in mineral content and protein than many com-mon wheat varieties. The yellow-gold color of einkorn kernels and flour is due to high con-centrations of lutein, a carotenoid that reduces risk of “aging” diseases, such as high blood pressure and macular degeneration. Emmer has a lower glycemic index than common wheat and may be of special value for diabetics. Some consumers also report that these grains are more easily digested than common wheat.

To Ancient Wheats on page 12

2 | Organic BrOadcaster — May | June 2015

Volume 23 #3 May | June 2015

Notes from the Executive Director’s Desk

Spring is here and it’s hard not to get excited when the sun is warm, there’s green grass and everything is springing to life with new growth.

The MOSES staff is busy planning field days and our summer activities—we’ll have them up on our field day webpage soon. Find Organic Field Days at mosesorganic.org under the Events tab. We’ve also listed our summer field days on page 9 in this issue. This year

many of our field days feature cover crops; cover crops have gone from organic to mainstream in just a few years. Every agricultural paper I read has something on cover crops.

Greg and Mary Reynolds of River Bend Farm, the 2015 MOSES Organic Farmers of the Year, are hosting a field day on Sept. 15. They grow a diversity of fresh market vegetables and have extensive cover crops to build soil health. Greg has been saving and selecting seed that work well on his farm. You can see Greg’s talk from the 2015 MOSES Organic Farming Conference on our website conference page.

In addition to our own field days, we are proud to sponsor Practical Farmers of Iowa’s (PFI) field day program featuring over 50 events this summer. The PFI field day schedule comes out later in May—watch for updates on our online community calendar (also under the Events tab). That’s where you can find many other summer trainings, field days and workshop to help farmers learn more about successfully using organic and sustainable farming practices.

A wide range of topics are covered in this issue—everything from growing ancient wheat to using fermented grape extract to de-worm lambs. (They used organic Pinot Noir!) Don’t miss the story on the poultry farmers who found an interesting way to overcome issues with processing and marketing. The “Inside Organics” column on the next page also is worth your attention. Once again, Harriet Behar dives into a topic that many of us might not be aware of, and makes the case for fixing it.

After reading the cover story on sunn hemp, I’m excited to try it as a summer cover crop on my farm. It grows rapidly and is stress tolerant—both great features for summer cover crops. A group of us in the MOSES office are going to buy seed together to share and compare our results growing it.

Sharing is what MOSES is all about—just about every resource we’ve created for farmers is available free on our website to read, download, and share. There’s so much knowledge packed into that website, and more people than ever are accessing it. I hope you’ve found help there, too, or through our Organic Answer Line (715-778-5775). MOSES exists to help you farm. Browse our website 24/7 or call us weekdays to get answers to your farming and certification questions.

Wishing you all a productive and safe farming season. ~ Faye Jones, MOSES Executive Director

Executive Director Faye Jones

Managing Editor Audrey Alwell

Contributing Editors Harriet Behar Jody Padgham

Advertising Coordinator Eric Hatling

Online Coordinator Carly Stephenson

The Organic BroadcasterTM is a bimonthly newspaper published by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), a nonprofit that promotes organic and sustainable agriculture through education, resources and practical advice.

Opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Inclusion of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of a product. We reserve the right to refuse inappropriate advertising.

© 2015 MOSES

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MOSES, P.O. Box 339,Spring Valley, WI 54767 Online: mosesorganic.org/donate

MOSES educates, inspires, empowers farmers to thrive in a sustainable,

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MOSES Staff:

Faye Jones, Executive Director | faye@mosesorganic.org

Audrey Alwell, Communications Director | audrey@mosesorganic.org

Harriet Behar, Organic Specialist | harriet@mosesorganic.org

Sarah Broadfoot, Registration Coor. | sarahb@mosesorganic.org

Eric Hatling, Business Relations Coordinator | eric@mosesorganic.org

Lisa Kivirist, Rural Women’s Project Coor. | lisa@innserendipity.com

Cathy Olyphant, Administrative Assistant | cathy@mosesorganic.org

Jody Padgham, Financial Director | jody@mosesorganic.org

Carly Stephenson, Communications Coor. | carly@mosesorganic.org

715-778-5775 • mosesorganic.org

Board of Directors:

David Abazs, TreasurerRound River Farm, Minn.

Mike Bollinger | River Root Farm, Iowa

Sylvia Burgos Toftness, Vice PresidentBull Brook Keep, Wis.

Dave Campbell | Lily Lake Organic Farm, Ill.

Darlene CoehoornViewpoint Organic Acres, Wis.

Carmen Fernholz, PresidentA-Frame Farm, Minn.

Melinda Hemmelgarn, SecretaryFood Sleuth, LLC, Mo.

Nick Olson | Prairie Drifter Farm, Minn.

Carla Wright | Savanna Hill, Wis.

| 3mosesorganic.org | 715-778-5775

Let’s get serious about taking ingredients off §205.606

INSIDE ORGANICS

By Harriet Behar

Commercially available: The ability to obtain a production input in an appropriate form, quality or quantity to fulfill an essential function in a system of organic production or handling, as determined by the certifying agent in the course of reviewing the organic plan.

While most organic producers are aware of the National Organic Program’s National List of prohibited natural and approved synthetic substances, many may not be aware of the last section 205.606. This section allows agricultural ingredients that are not organic to be included in “organic” labeled products (usually 95 percent or more organic agricultural ingredients) at any amount if “commercially available” organic ingre-dients cannot be found. The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) must place these “not commercially available as organic” agricultural products on the National List.

Organic certification agencies or food proces-sors cannot determine non-commercially avail-able status on their own. Even if the agricultural ingredient is on §205.606, organic processors are supposed to annually prove to their certification agencies that they are searching for the ingredi-ent in an organic form. Since these ingredients are on the National List for five years until they hit their sunset review date, it is important that certifiers continue to require this search in case an organic form becomes available during that five-year period.

If a food manufacturer wants to use a non-organic agricultural ingredient that is not on 205.606—even if it is less than 5 percent of the product—the finished product will move down the organic labeling hierarchy, and the product would be in the “made with organic” category.

When the organic regulation was implemented in 2002, there were quite a few ingredients that were considered not commercially available as organic. Hops was on this list for 10 years, and organic beer was produced with non-organic hops, using this allowance for non-organic ingredients. Hops is no longer on the list, and organic beer now contains this important ingredient in an organic form.

Organic production worldwide has expanded to the point that just about anything that can be grown or produced non-organically, could be produced organically. As the number and toxic-ity of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides used on non-organic crops increase, it becomes more important that this list of non-organic ingredients allowed in organic foods shrinks at a much more rapid pace than what we are currently seeing.

Consumers expect their purchases to support the human and environmental health benefits of organic farming, and when we allow these non-organic ingredients in organically labeled foods, organic consumers are not getting what they assume they are paying for. In addition, organic farmers are not reaping the benefits of selling more raw organic agricultural products to the marketplace. The National Organic Program must implement systems that would result in more aggressive development of organic equiva-lents for the non-organic ingredients on §205.606.

Eighteen of the items on §205.606 are colors derived from agricultural products, items such as elderberry juice color or pumpkin juice color. Other items include celery powder, chipotle chile peppers, and whey protein concentrate.

It has been said that listing an item on §205.606 is an advertisement to manufacturers that there is a market for an organic version of this ingredient, but this is somewhat naïve. Buy-ers, who are now allowed to purchase and use the lower-priced non-organic ingredients, need to do more to stimulate the production of these ingre-dients as organic—more than just “being ready to buy them” if and when they are produced. In the manufacturing world, most processors will not take the chance on making a new product

without having a clear volume price to be paid and a solid buyer contracting to purchase this ingredient. Are there no organic growers and processors of chipotle chile peppers? There is organic celery, what is the barrier to producing organic celery powder? I know many people grow-ing organic elderberries; why aren’t the buyers of the elderberry juice color working with the color manufacturers to source organic elderberries?

The NOSB has reviewed and clarified the protocols for farmers to meet both the letter and spirit of the law when they use non-organic seed in organic production under the “commercial availability” exemption. The same clarification and consistency of implementation has not been done for materials used in processing, which are also subject to a “commercial availability” requirement. It is time to provide these protocols, to petitioners for new items to add to the §205.606 list as well as items up for renewal under the sunset review process.

All barriers to the production of an organic alternative must be comprehensively reviewed by the NOSB, beyond just making a few phone calls and not finding the product available. Only after it is clearly shown that the barriers to commer-cial availability are insurmountable should the non-organic agricultural ingredient be allowed on §205.606 as not being commercially available.

Agricultural ingredients are subject to many different types of production and manufacture norms. There are minimum production runs in order for a manufacturer to consider the produc-tion of an organic equivalent, making it difficult to source small amounts. However, if handlers worked with others—even their competitors—to consolidate orders to meet the minimum run requirements, it may become possible to produce that same ingredient organically, making it com-mercially available.

Another roadblock might be the need to con-tract for agricultural production of organic crops necessary for manufacturing a product. Unless growers know there is a market for a particular crop, they will probably not grow it. A contract with a buyer can help overcome that barrier. A consistent checklist should be developed to help the NOSB determine not only if the ingredients on the National List are available as organic, but also identify the stumbling blocks to producing it organically.

See the box for examples of questions that should be answered by all new petitioners and the NOSB when reviewing both new and sunset items for §205.606. Ingredients listed in §205.606 should not only be currently unavailable in the marketplace in an organic form, but also have barriers to its production that are difficult-to-impossible to overcome.

Harriet Behar is the MOSES Organic Specialist who represents MOSES on the National Organic Coalition and National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

What are the barriers to producing this ingredient in an organic form? 1. Is there insufficient raw organic agricultural produc-

tion within the necessary proximity of the main manufacturing facility? Shipping costs are not to be part of the consideration.

2. What proximity constraints are in place for either a manufactured or raw agricultural commodity in organic form? Examples include perishability, political climate (war zone) of the area where the agricultural production occurs or the location of the manufacturing facility.

3. Are there other manufacturing facilities that may have organic agricultural raw ingredient production nearby, or could be enticed to produce this ingredi-ent in an organic form?

4. If raw agricultural production is required in a spe-cific climate or soil type where there currently is no organic production and prospects for organic pro-duction are difficult, has production in other areas of the world been researched and work begun to develop new sources of organic crop production of the source ingredients for this product?

5. If there is only non-organic production near a manu-facturing facility, what are the barriers to having these producers transition some or all of their pro-duction to organic?

6. Has the petitioner or users of this §205.606 ingredi-ent worked with both the manufacturing facilities and pools of growers in the area to develop a supply of raw organic crops to produce this ingredient?

7. Is the demand for this ingredient across the organic industry sufficient to meet the minimum manufac-turing production run?

8. Have all possible manufacturers of this ingredient been researched to determine their minimum pro-duction runs and regions where the raw agricultural ingredient or ingredients are grown?

9. Can the ingredient be manufactured from not only raw agricultural ingredients, but possibly a secondary manufactured ingredient, such as beet color made not only from raw organic beets, but also from a preprocessed beet juice or beet powder that could be obtained in an organic form? Another example would be instant nonfat dry milk powder made not just from liquid organic skim milk, but from non-instant organic nonfat dry milk powder.

10. Is the process under which this product is manufac-tured patented, and if so, is the manufacturer willing to produce an organic equivalent?

11. If the ingredient is of limited quantity due to manu-facturing constraints other than lack of availability of raw organic crops, what are these constraints?

12. If there is an exclusive-use agreement with select buyers that effectively removes access to an organic or §205.606 ingredient by their competitors, causing them to request a different ingredient to be put on §205.606 as a replacement? Is this market constraint agreement transparent and considered an accept-able reason for inclusion on §205.606 by the NOSB?

13. If this §205.606 ingredient is a fraction of another agricultural ingredient, such as wheat germ from wheat, has the availability of this organic frac-tion been requested? Have the manufacturers of the whole agricultural product been approached to see if they can produce the required organic sub-ingredient?

14. If the non-organic ingredient is typically a crop that is grown mostly or wholly on contract, and may be a perennial, such as hops, has the petitioner explained to the satisfaction of the NOSB, why pre-contracting with organic producers for the ingredient is impos-sible or extremely difficult?

Depending on the ingredient, there may be other barri-ers to organic production that are not listed above, and the petitioner, as well as the NOSB should be researching these barriers and deciding if they are sufficiently difficult that these non-organic ingredients must be put on the National List.

4 | Organic BrOadcaster — May | June 2015

Most farm operations encounter months in which the money coming in from sales of milk, livestock, produce or other products is not quite enough to cover all of the bills. Hopefully, the farm’s checking account balance is enough to carry it through until cash flow turns positive again. But what if the checking account runs dry? What will the farm family do to get by?

Often, the first move when cash runs short is to slash family living costs such as health insur-ance. Next, decisions are made about which bills absolutely must be paid and which can be pushed off for a month or two. Some farms may opt to use vendor financing programs at 7-10% interest rates, or pay bills with credit cards that accrue interest at 18% or more. We once worked with a farm family that dealt with negative cash flow by taking a loan with a household finance company at an interest rate in excess of 30%! Any of these strategies can potentially damage a farmer’s credit rating and make it more difficult to operate in the future.

There is a better way to deal with periodic cash flow shortages but it requires some planning ahead. If you wait until you run short of cash, it’s likely too late. The best way to prepare for sea-sonal cash shortages is to establish an operating loan for the farm.

An operating loan is essentially a short-term reserve fund held by a lender that is available for the farm to use when cash flow is tight. Interest rates are typically less than vendor financing or credit cards. Interest charges only accrue when funds from the line-of-credit are being used, and stop accruing when the funds are paid back. If the operating loan is never used, it generally won’t cost you anything to have it available just in case you might need it. Once the operating loan has been established, funds can be accessed quickly with an electronic transfer to the farm’s checking account or other means.

To establish an operating loan, you first must decide the maximum amount of operating credit the farm might need to have available. The best way to make this decision is with a month-by-month cash flow projection that covers at least one full year. Look for the biggest monthly deficit

Manage seasonal cash shortages with farm operating loanBy Paul Dietmann and Ron Bula

you might encounter during the year. Your line-of-credit should cover that amount, plus a bit more.

The month-by-month projection should start with the amount of cash on-hand on the first of the month. To that amount, add all expected income each month (including non-farm income) and subtract all cash expenses being paid out each month. The monthly cash outflow should include all operating expenses, scheduled princi-pal and interest payments on loans, and family living expenses. The bottom line will be a predic-tion of that month’s ending cash balance and the beginning cash balance for the following month.

Tip: Badgerland Financial offers a fillable spread-sheet to help you project your month-by-month cash flow. Go to badgerlandfinancial.com/en/Pages/Resources.aspx and select “Simple Cash Flow Projection Worksheet” under the fourth bullet.

Going through a month-by-month cash flow projection is a very valuable planning exercise for any farm of any size. After reviewing the projection, you might decide to make changes in your farm enterprises that will smooth out the farm’s cash flow. Maybe you’ll decide to build up the farm’s working capital reserves during good months to reduce the need for a line-of-credit. Perhaps you’ll choose to work off-farm at certain times of the year to supplement farm cash flow.

Applying for an operating loan is similar to applying for any other type of farm loan. Your lender will need a recent, detailed balance sheet that lists all of your farm’s assets and liabilities. He or she will also need several years of tax returns and will want a copy of your month-by-month cash flow projection. The underwriting process will include a check of your credit bureau report.

The first time you take an operating loan, the lender will likely ask for collateral to secure the loan in the event that you are not able to pay it back. The collateral might be a security interest in crops or livestock, machinery, or other assets. Because an operating loan is only intended to be used for short-term cash flow needs, it typically

needs to be completely paid off within one year. One unique feature of an operating loan is that

there usually is not a required monthly payment. The farm makes payments on the operating loan as cash becomes available. Loan payments are first applied to cover accrued interest and then to pay down the principal balance. The flexibility of not having a set monthly payment is nice but it is important to have the discipline to pay down the operating loan as soon as you are able. You don’t want to reach the end of the year and suddenly have to pay back the entire operating loan in one lump sum.

After your first year of successful experience with your farm operating loan, you may be able to renew it for a term longer than one year.

The benefits of having an operating loan avail-able for your farm’s use are obvious. However, an operating loan also carries its own risks. The biggest risk is the possibility of not being able to pay it off within a year. This sometimes happens when the operating loan is used to purchase farm equipment or other capital assets. That can be rectified by shifting the equipment off of the oper-ating loan to a longer term loan. A more serious situation is when the operating loan is used for its intended purpose—short term cash expenses—but there isn’t enough cash flow during the year to pay off the loan.

A rise in interest rates is another potential risk with operating loans. Often, an operating loan will have a variable interest rate, which means the rate can possibly change each month. Some lenders offer operating loans that are tied to an index such as the prime lending rate or the London Interbank Offer Rate (Libor), which can reduce the risk associated with a potential inter-est rate increase.

There are many tools that farmers can use to accomplish tasks on the farm. Consider an operat-ing loan to be a helpful financial tool to include in your toolbox.

Paul Dietmann is the Emerging Markets Specialist and Ron Bula is an agriculture lender at Badgerland Financial, a member-owned Farm Credit System institution in southern Wisconsin.

WE KNOW IT BETTER.When it comes to lenders, you have options. But if you value more than an interest rate, the choice is easy. To us it’s about more than financing. It’s about providing you with industry-specific solutions and expertise to meet your goals, not ours.

If you haven’t already, get to know Badgerland Financial. Let us prove why we’re the better option.

Others know ag lending.

(877) 789-9058 badgerlandfinancial.com

©2015 Badgerland Financial, ACA. NMLS ID 458065.

| 5mosesorganic.org | 715-778-5775

ASK A MOSES SPECIALIST

MOSES Organic Specialists answer your questions about organic production and certification.

CALL: Organic Answer Line 888-551-4769 or 715-778-5775

SUBMIT: Send us your question— click the “Ask a Specialist” button at mosesorganic.org/ask.

READ: Browse answers to previously asked questions at mosesorganic.org/ask.

DOWNLOAD: Organic Fact Sheets at mosesorganic.org/publications/ organic-fact-sheets.

“My neighbor is certified organic by a different agency than I am. He uses a blended fertilizer product on his certified organic land. Can I use the same fertilizer on my organic land?”Answer by Harriet Behar

Since the materials you use are part of your specific organic system plan, you must verify with your own agency if it has reviewed and approved this product before you apply it to organic land or crops. Some, but not all, certification agencies will accept any OMRI-listed products, but you still must inform your agency if you choose to add an OMRI-listed product to your Organic System Plan’s list of inputs used on your organic land or

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crops. You can ask your certifier what the agency’s policy is on OMRI-listed brand name products to help you when deciding which products to purchase.

Since product formulations may change period-ically, certifiers will want you to update each year what inputs you are purchasing and using, so they can check that they have current ingredient information to verify the product is still in compli-ance with the organic regulations.

It can be frustrating to know that some certifi-ers accept a product and others may not. However, the National Organic Program is currently work-ing with the National Organic Standards Board to develop procedural guidelines for certifiers and organizations like OMRI, who review and approve these inputs for organic producers. Once these guidelines and NOP oversight are in place, this should provide a level of confidence between certi-fiers where they feel comfortable allowing the use of brand name products that have been reviewed and approved by another certifier who has met these NOP guidelines.

“I would like to purchase an older sprayer that had been used with prohibited synthetic materials. Can I do this and use this sprayer to apply products approved for organic production?”Answer by Harriet Behar

Yes, you can purchase and use this sprayer. However, you will need to perform some cleaning and refurbishment activities and document these before you may use it on organic land.

Most certifiers recommend a clear water rinse first. Completely fill the tank and spray it until empty on non-organic land. Second, fill the tank again with diluted household ammonia, such as one quart of ammonia per 125 gallons. Run this through the sprayer again on non-organic land. Perform another clear water rinse as above. If you continue to smell the residues of the prohibited chemicals, do another ammonia and clear water

rinse again. Poly tanks are porous so you may need to repeat this procedure a few times.

Replace all rubber parts including hoses, washers, and nozzles with new ones, as these are very difficult to clean completely.

Many certifiers require that once you have con-verted this piece of equipment from non-organic to organic production, you can no longer use it for spraying prohibited materials. In other words, if you are sharing this piece of equipment with a non-organic farmer, or you manage split produc-tion on your own farm, you may need to dedicate this sprayer, once cleaned, to organic and not go back and forth between organic and non-organic use, even if you perform this cleaning activity each time. Check with your certification agency on its policy for sprayer use to see if it mandates dedication to organic.

6 | Organic BrOadcaster — May | June 2015

Sunn Hemp — from page 1Researchers in the U.S. first looked at sunn

hemp for production here in the 1930s, but aban-doned it when they found the plant won’t set seed above 28 degrees N latitude—only Hawaii, the Florida peninsula and southern Texas are below that latitude. Today’s Midwest farmers find sunn hemp’s inability to form seed appealing—it’s non-invasive and easy to control in the field.

In the early 1980s, the NRCS and the Univer-sity of Hawaii collaborated on a sunn hemp culti-var called “Tropic Sun.” Seed from the Tropic Sun cultivar can be produced consistently in the U.S. only in Hawaii. Molokai Seed Company, owned and operated by Bradley Sakamoto, is a 35-acre farm in Hawaii that has been growing Tropic Sun organically since 2011. The farm was certi-fied organic in 2014. Sakamoto said Tropic Sun is the only sunn hemp cultivar that has research to prove it’s nontoxic to livestock.

“Other species of Crotalaria contain poison-ous alkaloids and, under certain conditions, can be toxic to animals,” he explained. “Forage guys are quickly realizing that animals will eat Tropic Sun virtually over any other crop. This is a huge potential for cattle, goat, sheep, and rabbit farm-ers, or even guys just wanting to grow a food plot for deer.”

Dion Puzon, Jr., the CEO and publisher of Organic Producer magazine, has just begun a three-year trial of Tropic Sun on OrgPro Farms near Spring Green, Wis. He’s growing sunn hemp on a half-acre plot to compare it with a half-acre plot of clover.

“It’s not necessarily a scientific study,” Puzon said. “I just want to see how the stuff grows.” He’s hoping the sunn hemp will improve his field’s “marginal” soil. “It’s generally sandy soil around here, and takes a lot of work to improve.”

While Molokai Seed’s Tropic Sun is the only certified organic sunn hemp seed available in the U.S., other seed sources are available. Cover Crop Solutions out of Pennsylvania sources untreated non-GMO sunn hemp seed out of Asia and sells it under the brand name Tillage Sunn™ through a system of distributors nationally. Tillage Sunn™ is another line of Crotalaria juncea. Cover Crop Solutions also offers sunn hemp as part of its TillageMax™ mix with sorghum sudangrass and Tillage Radish®.

Several members of Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) experimented with sunn hemp both by itself and as part of diverse cover crop mixes in 2013 and 2014. They sourced non-organic seed from Green Cover Seed in Bladen, Neb., which sells sunn hemp sourced from South Africa. PFI released a four-page fact sheet in March detailing the farmers’ experiences with “quick turnaround cover crops.” (See bit.ly/QuickCovers.) In general, the plant germinated well and provided good biomass and nitrogen.

Rick Hartmann of Small Potatoes Farm near Minburn, Iowa participated in the “quick turn-around” project. He compared sunn hemp with several other cover crops on his vegetable farm and said he liked it.

“It is a good summer cover crop and one of the few to fix nitrogen,” Hartmann said. He recom-mended it for vegetable growers.

Jon Bakehouse, of Maple Edge Farms near Hastings, Iowa, planted sunn hemp on his own as part of an eight-species cover crop mix after harvesting rye in early July 2013. Rather than turning it under in the fall, he left it in the field over the winter.

Sunn Hemp Resources

Tropic Sun™ (origin Hawaii)

Molokai Seed Companywww.molokaiseedcompany.com 808-658-9979Certified organic seed

Tillage Sunn™ (origin Asia)

Cover Crop Solutions www.covercropsolutions.com 800-767-9441Supplies Tillage Sunn and TillageMax mix. Site includes fact sheet about using sunn hemp as a cover crop.

Distributors (more at www.covercropsolutions.com)

Albert Lea Seedwww.alseed.com | 800-352-5247

Johnny’s Selected Seedswww.johnnyseeds.com | 877-564-6697

Prairie Creek Seedwww.prairiecreekseed.com | 877-754-4019

Sunn hemp (origin South Africa)

Green Cover Seedwww.greencoverseed.com | 402-469-6784

Additional Information:

Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS)1.usa.gov/1F7v86CSunn hemp Plant Guide with facts on history and management

“It grew well in our mix and I really liked the way the stalks stood over winter,” Bakehouse said. He said they did have some trouble with the stalks wrapping around the closing wheels when directly planting beans into the stubble, but nothing that would prevent him from planting it again. He noted that it’s definitely a summer cover crop.

“It needs some good growing days, and is expensive, so we don’t usually include it in our fall-planted covers,” he added. Sunn hemp seed can run from $2 to $5 a pound, depending on the quantity ordered, making it cheaper than alfalfa or clover, but more expensive than other legume cover crops.

Planting, Growing Sunn HempSunn hemp grows best on well-drained soils

with a pH from 5 to 7.5. The NRCS recommends planting it in early June when the soil is at least 65 degrees or up to eight weeks before the first fall frost. The seed requires a cowpea-type inoculant to ensure effective nodulation, as some soils may not contain the correct Bradyrhizobium strain.

The NRCS recommends a broadcast rate of 40 to 60 pounds per acre, using the higher seed-ing rates when the crop will be turned under in 30 to 45 days or when weed pressure is expected to be severe. Cover Crop Solutions, the source for Tillage Sunn, recommends drilling from ½ to 1 inch deep for good seed-to-soil contact. The recom-mended seeding rate with drilling is 15 pounds per acre.

Audrey Alwell is the Communications Director for MOSES and Managing Editor of the Organic Broadcaster.

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BOOK REVIEW

Scanning my dry pastures mid-summer last year, I pondered the feasibility of wandering with my small sheep flock about my rural neighbor-hood, allowing them to graze the still lush road-side ditches. The appeal of becoming a roaming shepherd was strong—the animals would benefit from a diversity of plants to choose from, and I would gain from the tranquil wandering along the quiet roads. Lacking a herding dog and the vast amount of unscheduled time I’d need to make my dream a reality, however, I never put my plan into action. Probably all the better, as my cow dairy neighbors would most likely not have been as excited by the activity as I was, and the sheep perhaps more excited than I could handle.

This desire to wander with my sheep drew me to The Art and Science of Shepherding: Tapping the Wisdom of French Herders, published in 2014 by ACRES U.S.A. “With this book we hope to raise awareness of what’s possible if people rely less on fences and grazing systems and more on rekindling our relationships with livestock and landscapes, linking soil and plants with herbi-vores and human beings,” the editors outline in the introduction. I opened the dense 430-page book with much anticipation. My excitement heightened as I saw that 34 authors were listed—indulging my love of collective wisdom.

Digging into the book I realized that my basic premise for taking it up was incorrect. While I learned a few things that will be relative to my own operation, the majority of what I took away was a deep appreciation for the revered occupa-tion of “shepherd,” most specifically as it functions in the French Alps. I am not disappointed by this twist, as this book presents interesting back-ground, meaning, impact and stories about this grand occupation.

The presentation of 11 “categories” or ways to be involved with sheep and goat herding indicates the reverence with which this book treats the subject. From the history of the French rangeland areas to description of modern day French schools dedicated to training new people in the craft of shepherding, (four of them!), this book offers depth of understanding from all angles.

The editors, Michel Meuret, an animal sci-ence researcher who became enamored by French shepherds early in his career, and Fred Provenza, a well-known advocate of behavior-based manage-ment of livestock, wildlife and landscapes from Utah, explain that their goal with the book is

By Jody Padgham

more so!) to the reasons for sequencing forages in specific order. The two shepherds delight in shar-ing how goats and sheep are alike and different.

The idea for this book originated with a pro-posal from the Behavioral Education for Human, Animal, Vegetation and Ecosystem Management network (behave.net), an association of “research-ers, livestock farmers, and private- and public-land managers from across five continents” with a goal to “stimulate sharing of scientific and experimental knowledge about how to nurture the health of soil, plants, animals, and people by interacting more skillfully with animals and people and more respectfully with soil, plants and the environment.”

BEHAVE’s mission is a strong and noble one, and this book represents their commitment to keeping important agricultural practices thriving. “With growing concerns over the high costs and consequences of technology, the practices of shep-herds represent another way to manage livestock, wildlife and landscapes. Their approach is apro-pos given the rising interest in managing grazing intensively and using stockmanship to move and place animals,” the editors inform us.

A surprising combination of science and art, this book takes a serious look at all aspects of shepherding. Not a nostalgic, biblical, or third-world-only pursuit, this age-old occupation is given the recognition and study it deserves. Any-one with a passion for understanding sheep, an interest in French ways or access to enough land to consider taking on some elements of herdsman-ship will want to take a look at this book. There is a lot to digest and thrill over.

One of these days I just might take my little flock down the road. I’ll be watching their behavior a little closer as I do.

Jody Padgham, the Financial Director for MOSES, raises sheep and poultry on her 60-acre grass-based farm near Boyd, Wis.

to create enough appreciation for the skills and benefits of shepherding that new people decide to learn and take up the occupation so that flock owners can hire them, creating alternatives to fenced flocks.

As I browsed through this book what came out is how much the herders know about and under-stand their animals, and how valuable that infor-mation can be to other sheep owners. Although the direct context of this book is most relevant for sheep owners in mountainous regions with open rangeland, I do think that anyone interested in sheep, or even other grazing animals, would be fascinated by the information presented. While most of us won’t be quitting our jobs or taking down fences so we can follow our sheep all day, there are things we can learn from the shepherds.

Several chapters involve scientists working directly with shepherds to quantify exactly what they are doing to manage their sheep. While the language can be tedious, the results are inter-esting as flock flow and grazing patterns are discussed.

The most interesting part of the book for me was Chapter 7: How to Stimulate Animal’s Appe-tites. “Shepherds move livestock from meal to meal during the day and across a landscape in ways that stimulate appetites, thus improving the nutrition, health, welfare and production of the animals. By designing daily grazing circuits, a skilled shepherd can stimulate appetite of indi-viduals by encouraging the flock to use different forages from a mix of plants, some highly palat-able and others less palatable.”

Editor Meuret interviews two experienced shepherds about their observations on how, what and why sheep and goats eat. Reported in a con-versational way, the dialogue wanders from the palatability of dogwood (very!) and acorns (even

French shepherds’ methods, wisdom offer inspiration to farmers raising sheep, goats

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Poultry Processing — from page 1Finding the finances for start-up expenses

for a group like this, especially from generally cash-strapped new farmers, can be burdensome. Exploring financing options, PPP was thrilled to secure a $2,500 flexible-term micro-loan from the area food co-op. The loan covered the majority of the expense, with the farmers each able to put in a few hundred dollars instead of over a thousand dollars. The business was able to pay off the co-op loan from profits over the next two years. None of the farms was in a position to put over $1,000 into additional infrastructure. Without this loan, handling the processing would have been a real sticking point, Chris said. Other costs, such as marketing, bags, propane, ice, etc. are paid out of PPP’s portion of the sales income.

The group constructed a mobile processing unit on a 16-foot snowmobile trailer with a ply-wood deck. It holds the scalder, a picker, stainless steel processing tables, and (now 2) bulk tanks to hold ice for chilling the processed birds.

“With a five-person crew, we can process, chill, pack, and label, 325 birds in under 10 hours,” Chris noted. The processing trailer (and PPP-member crew) are brought to each member farm when a batch of birds is ready. Customers come in the late afternoon and early evening to pick up pre-ordered processed birds. Each farm has chest freezers for storing late-season birds, and PPP has a walk-in freezer at one of the member farms that the LLC uses for longer term storage.

Wisconsin law limits operations that process and sell on-farm to 1,000 birds per year, and so, for the time being, none of the farms can go over this amount. Any growth in production would necessitate adding more producers. This year the group has begun exploring what would be involved in putting up an inspected brick- and-mortar processing facility to expand their capac-ity, but for now the mobile plant serves them well.

Economies of ScaleEarly on, the group recognized the value in

joint marketing the processed birds. Customers purchase a Pasture Perfect Poultry broiler or tur-key, and buy through the PPP website, or through an area CSA (Bayfield Foods), with pick-up on the member farms or at the CSA drop-off sites. All birds are labeled with the PPP label, and

available fresh (at limited times) or frozen. Joint marketing under a unified label led to

the need for standardized production practices so customers could expect a consistent product no matter which farm produced it. Production standards for PPP are laid out in the operating agreement and encompass issues such as time in brooder (3 weeks), access to pasture (full access from 4 weeks to butcher via day-range or indi-vidual pen), the number of birds allowed per pen (75) and acceptable finish weights (4-6 lbs.). Indi-vidual farmers make their own decisions about production style and equipment, based primarily on predator pressure. Broiler batches are gener-ally 300-325 birds at one time, with two to three batches per year, depending on the farm.

The group found it was easiest and most eco-nomical for Pasture Perfect Poultry to purchase the chicks, poults (young turkeys) and certified organic feed, with bagged feed delivered by the pallet to a centrally located place rather than shipped by the bag to each farm individually. This year the LLC will also purchase brooder bedding and grit by the pallet. With the LLC “owning” the inputs in the production, each farmer opera-tor contributes the equipment, land, utilities and labor. Each farm also provides one laborer to work on each processing day, joining the crew as the unit moves from farm to farm. Processing dates are planned well in advance each spring, taking into account vacations and family commit-ments. Each PPP farmer is responsible for attend-ing each processing date, or hiring a replacement in case of illness, etc.

The financial aspect of the LLC has been well thought out. The goal is to pay farmers $20 per hour for their labor. “In 2014 at our farm we made $21.09 per hour!” Chris added. The $4.69/lb. they currently charge (for broilers and turkeys, fresh or frozen, not certified organic but fed organic feed), allows each farmer to be paid $2 for each processed bird that meets the weight expectations. Each farmer also gets paid $200/day for each pro-cessing day, unless they can’t contribute labor, and then the farmer pays PPP $200 so replacement labor can be hired. If birds are processed that are damaged or don’t meet the weight parameters (4-6 lbs.) the farmer must pay a $5 processing fee and then can take the bird home to eat.

Farmer payments at this point are once a year when the season is over so that any adjustments for mortalities can be considered. The group is talking about ways to modify this to payments after each processing/sales day to help with each farm’s cash flow.

More than $$Another benefit of this shared production

model is the group’s agreement to share each farm’s risk. Because PPP “owns” the chicks and feed, which are the major inputs for poultry, the group decided that it only made sense that they all share in the financial implications of any disasters. Chris related one farm’s tragedy when

90% of the 10-week old turkeys were killed by a lightning strike.

“When we realized we were not going to be able to get folks their Thanksgiving turkeys, we refunded them their down payments. That way, the farmer was not out the money from the sales, PPP was – PPP had paid for the chicks and feed,” Chris said. “Since we don’t get paid until the end of the season, the loss was shouldered equally by each producer – it could have happened to any one of us!” In another instance, Jay was out for a sum-mer because of a broken leg. Members stepped in to take Jay’s birds onto their operations and com-plete production, insisting Jay still take 50% of the net income from each bird.

Starting with three farms, growing demand and the 1,000-bird limit led Pasture Perfect Poul-try to take on a fourth farm in 2014 and a fifth for the 2015 season. Each of these new farms have been taken on with great care, as PPP members want to be very careful to maintain quality stan-dards. The two new farmers had each helped on the other farms over the years, and had some experience raising poultry. Current members visited the new farms and looked at every aspect of the operations, asking questions and making recommendations to ensure that the PPP stan-dards would be met.

One advantage of the group is allowing flex-ibility in an individual farm’s production year. Overall production levels for Pasture Perfect Poultry are decided at a spring planning meeting. The largest producers are raising three batches of 325 birds per year (under the 1,000 bird limit). Those who wish to take a vacation or need time off for other reasons can opt out of their “quota” and allow others in the group to take on more produc-tion. The two newer members have started out with fewer birds and will be refining, improving and expanding into full production capacity, allow-ing room for Pasture Perfect Poultry’s growth.

Pasture Perfect Poultry presents a wonder-ful model of how producers that could poten-tially be competitors can turn things around to become strong collaborators. The benefits of group decision-making and combining skills adds up to a successful business that is good for both the eating community and the farmers. The keys to this group’s success are clearly the well thought out operating agreement, a careful commitment to quality as well as the needs of the individual producers, and the commitment to maintaining friendships. Even those not raising poultry should look closely at what this innovative group has done.

“Overall, Pasture Perfect Poultry seems to be serving both customers and farmers well—it’s a work in progress, but we really think this is a good model for others to use!” Chris concluded.

Learn more at pastureperfectpoultry.org.

Jody Padgham, the Financial Director for MOSES, raises sheep and poultry on her 60-acre grass-based farm near Boyd, Wis.

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Organic Processing Institute digs into poultry processing issues

Producers of relatively small numbers of poultry have indicated that access to processing plants, especially those offering organic process-ing, are a limiting factor.

During 2014, the Organic Processing Insti-tute (OPI) engaged in conversations with poultry producers, processors, retailers and personnel from regulatory, academic and extension agen-cies in Minnesota and Wisconsin regarding the issues and barriers in building capacity to sup-port regional, small-flock pastured poultry pro-duction, processing, and sales.

Scale of Production Poultry processors face dual challenges in

determining scale of production. Operating under capacity is costly, but increasing volume may require additional and more qualified labor, new or improved equipment, greater water capac-ity, and provisions for the disposal of increased quantities of waste. Maintaining a reduced scale of production may be a more sound financial decision in spite of concomitant market outlet restrictions.

Because the supply of organic and pastured poultry is lower in the winter for processors serv-ing small-scale organic and pastured poultry producers, these processors operate at a deficit off-season or compensate by serving larger, non-organic producers. Also complicating processing scale and scheduling is the influx of game ani-mals during the fall hunting season.

Small Batches One problem revealed in previous studies is

that processing flows do not easily accommodate

smaller organic batches due to protocols for cleaning and sanitizing processing equipment. However, two processors included in OPI’s con-versations indicated that small batch size is not a barrier provided that daily base quotas were met.

Producer CommitmentProcessors indicated that working with small

producers involves challenges if the producer can’t commit to delivering specific quantities or bird weights at specified times. This is thought to be due to complicating factors such as com-munication difficulties, procrastination on behalf of the producer, or variable yields and higher mortality in pasture-raised systems. The bottom line is that producer-processor communication is critical so that processors can set their schedules and plan for equipment and labor.

OPI has worked to increase awareness about the limited numbers of certified organic process-ing facilities for both meat and poultry, includ-ing with colleagues on the Wisconsin Organic Advisory Council, universities, certifiers, and businesses. For regional poultry production to better meet the region’s needs, inspected pro-cessing integrated with distribution and retail is needed. Communication will continue to be important: producers need to communicate with their processors, request organic certification, talk with each other, and ask consumers—and retailers—what they need to make better use of local, organic poultry.

Elena Byrne works for the Organic Processing Institute. Contact her at elena@organicprocessinginstitute.org.

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Registration will open soon; see Organic Field Days under the Events tab at mosesorganic.org. Call 715-778-5775 to request the event brochure. These events are free unless noted.

2015 Schedule: Friday, June 26, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Harold Wilken, Janie’s Farm, Danforth, Ill.Topics: Organic feed and food-grade small grains, edible beans, corn and forages, how to transition to organic, value-added organic flour mill startup With University of Illinois Extension & Illinois Organic Association

Thursday, July 9, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Margaret Smith & Doug Alert, Ash Grove Farm, Hampton, IowaTopics: Organic no-till cover crops , row crops, harvesting and storing small grains, and landlord- tenant relations in organic productionMOSES-sponsored Practical Farmers of Iowa event

Tuesday, July 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Harriet Behar & Aaron Brin, Sweet Springs FarmGays Mills, Wis.Topics: Standard and unusual cover crops, living mulches and rolled rye mulch with organic veg-etable production, soil health

Friday, July 31, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Katy Dickson, Christensen Farm, Brownton, Wis.In Her Boots workshop: $50 (includes lunch)Topics: Rural CSA, cover crops management, working with your kids, choosing affordable and efficient equipment

Thursday, Sept. 10, 1 to 4 p.m.Christine Mason, Standard Process, Palymra, Wis.Topic: Using cover crops to enhance large-scale production of vegetables, field crops and forages

Tuesday, Sept. 15, 1 to 4 p.m. (tentative)Greg Reynolds, Riverbend Farm, Delano, Minn.MOSES Organic Farmer of the YearTopics: Fresh market organic vegetables, seed production and saving, efficiency and soil health

Organic Field Days2015

10 | Organic BrOadcaster — May | June 2015

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Record number attend 2015 MOSES Organic Farming ConferenceBy Audrey Alwell

Just over 3,500 people “packed their plaid” and participated in the 26th MOSES Organic Farming Conference Feb. 26-28 in La Crosse, Wis. Feedback shows participants enjoyed the high-energy event and brought home innovative ideas, cool tools, and new knowledge to apply on their own farms or support their quest to start a farm.

Keynote speaker John Jeavons, executive direc-tor of the nonprofit Ecology Action, shared how his

“biointensive” methods are helping small-scale farmers in 151 countries yield more using less water and resources, making organic farming truly sustainable. He told the packed auditorium, “Organic agriculture is a major step in the right direction, but we need to keep walking.”

Long-time organic farmers Greg and Mary Reynolds of Riverbend Farm in Delano, Minn., received the 2015 MOSES Organic Farmers of the Year award at the conference. The Reynolds grow vegetables and small grains on their certi-fied organic farm, selling to restaurants, co-ops, nursing homes, hospitals, and schools. They are building resilience in their systems by selecting seeds from crops that fare best in the changing

Minnesota climate.The keynote presentations are posted on You-

Tube (www.youtube.com/mosesorganic). Audio recordings of all of the workshops are available through our online store at mosesorganic.net or by mail—the order form is on the next page.

Contact information for all of the exhibitors, sponsors and presenters from MOSES 2015 is included in both the Program (mosesorganic.org/conference), and in the MOSES Conference App, available free to download through iTunes and Google Play.

Audrey Alwell is the Communications Director for MOSES and the Managing Editor of the Organic Broadcaster.

Scenes from MOSES 2015: Farmers gather new ideas in workshops (left). In his keynote speech, John Jeavons carves an apple to show the portion of the Earth that is farmed (bottom left). Visitors arrive early to the Arena Exhibit Hall (below). Dancers of all ages join in the Friday night square dance (above right). Singer/songwriter Susan Werner shows her ‘best’ side during her entertaining show at the Conference KickOff (above).

Photos by Mary Farrell

Workshop suggestions?Submit by May 15: mosesorganic.org/conference

Save the date:27th MOSES Conference

Feb. 25-27, 2016 in La Crosse, Wis.

Photos by Laurie Schneider Photography

| 11mosesorganic.org | 715-778-5775

Business, Market and Certification ___ Basics of Organic Certification (Menken) ___ Build a Strong Farm Business with the Law on Your Side (Armstrong|Duke) ___ Generate More Income through Diversification (Ivanko|Kivirist) ___ Navigating Finance Options for Success (Bishop|Joannides) ___ Scaling Up to Meet the Demand for Local Food (Day Farnsworth|Pfeiffer) ___ Time and Productivity Management for Farmers (Blanchard) ___ What Matters Most: Leaving the Paycheck Behind (Dietz)___ Why Your Financial Numbers Matter (Chase) ___ Whole Farm Revenue Protection for Organic Producers (Schahczenski) Education, Environment and Emerging Issues ___ Benefits of Organic Food and Farming: On and Beyond Our Plates (Hemmelgarn)___ Farmer Land Rights & Energy Infrastructure Conflicts (Diffley)___ GMO - What Do We Know? (Benbrook|Porter) ___ Origins and Evolution of the Organic Farming Movement (Blobaum) ___ Postcards from the Edge: Iran and Dominica (Riddle) ___ Say What? A Guide to Evangelize Organics (Zweber) ___ Solar Options for Farmers (McGuire|Udelhofen)___ The Food Safety Modernization Act - Past, Present, and the Road Ahead (Kruszewski) ___ USDA Organic Update (Rakola) Field Crops ___ New Cultivation Tools & Technology (Martens|Morter|Wagner) ___ Organic Row Crops for Beginners (Fernholz) ___ Pest Management in Organic Grain Crops (Delate) ___ Protecting Organic Corn (Kutka) ___ Quality Hay Production (Dallefeld) ___ Small Grains in Organic Crop System (Martens) Healthy Soils and Farming Systems ___ Basic Soil Microbiology and Soil Structure (Philo) ___ Building Resilient Organic Seed Systems (Podoll)___ Climate and Agriculture: Our Evolving Understanding (Bland) ___ Conservation Cropping System to Regenerate Soils (Fisher) ___ Dealing with Pesticide Drift and Misapplication (Dietmann|Horan) ___ Farm Conservation to Stand the Test of Time (Lee-Mäder)

___ Foliar Feeding Plant Nutrients (Destree) ___ Increase Your Compost’s Power (Jeavons) ___ Keyline Design for Your Farm (Krawczyk|Schultz) ___ Restoration Agriculture: Can I Make Any Money at This? (Shepard) ___ Rethinking Your Farm with Cover Crops (Mason)___ Use Less Water Per Pound of Food (Jeavons)___ Vermicomposting for the Cold Climate Farm (Biernbaum)___ When Weeds Talk (McCaman)

Livestock___ Animal Welfare in Context (Burton) ___ Are Goats a Good Choice for Your Farm? (Ends) ___ Beginning Beekeeping (Brin) ___ CowSignals® (Karreman) ___ Does it Pay to Irrigate Pasture Here? (Kriegl|Onan) ___ Ergonomic, Affordable Milking Parlors (Haugen)___ Fencing: Getting it Right (Cutler) ___ New Developments in Dairy Genetics (Burton|Dettloff) ___ Organic Grass-fed Beef Success (Ofte|Williams) ___ Organic Pasture Management for Dairy Production (Renz|Silva) ___ Organic Pastured Poultry: Lessons Learned (Maro)___ Practical Approaches and Research Studies with Swine (Frantzen)___ Where’s the Beef in Animal Product Quality? (Benbrook) Market Farming and Specialty Crops___ Are You Making Any Money in Your High Tunnel? (Montri) ___ Art and Science of Vegetable Fermentation (Hollstadt) ___ E.U. Organic Vegetable Production Innovations (Delate) ___ Homemade for Sale: Increase Farm Income with Value-added Products (Ivanko|Kivirist) ___ Identifying and Controlling Vegetable Diseases Organically (Gevens|Kazmar|Silva) ___ Introduction to Vegetable Seed Saving (Plunkett-Black)___ Managing Fire Blight without Antibiotics (Granatstein|Johnson|Shade)___ Medicinal Herbs: Use them, Grow them (Hawley Stevens) ___ Opportunities for Organic Flower Farming (Trott) ___ Organic Potatoes: From Starts to Storage (Genger|Rouse) ___ Paradise Gardening with Under-used Fruits (aND)___ Productive Packing House (Blanchard) ___ Tools for CSA Planning and Recordkeeping (Becker|Schultz)___ Vegetable Crop Planning: Keep Planting! (Strader)___ Walking Tractors for Small Market Growers (Abazs)___ Would Stone Fruits Be a Good Addition to My Farm? (Hoch)

2015 MOSES Conference Audio RecordingsFor descriptions, see MOSES Store at mosesorganic.net.

CDs & MP3s are available through the online store.Please complete form and mail to MOSES, PO Box 339, Spring Valley, WI 54767 or fax to 715-778-5773.

I’m enclosing a check made out to MOSES.

Please charge (Visa/MC/Am. Exp./Disc.) card # _________________________________________

Expiration: _________ CVV: _______ Signature: ________________________________________

PAYMENT INFORMATION:

Name _____________________________________________________________________________

Farm or Business Name ______________________________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________________________________________

Phone ____________________________ Email ___________________________________________

CDs $8 x ____ $ _________

Complete Set $90 $ _________(MP3s)

Subtotal $ __________

Tax (5.5%) $ __________(Wis. residents only)

Total Due $_________

Thank You!

Keynotes ___ Farming for the Future Now: Optimizing Organic Farming (John Jeavons) ___ Saving Seed to Thrive in a Variable Climate (Greg Reynolds)

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MOSES Conference has big impact on Nigerian farmerBy Kelli Boylen

The 3,500 people who participated in the 2015 MOSES Organic Farming Conference had their own unique experiences based on the workshops they attended, the activities they joined in, and the people they met. For one participant from Nigeria, the conference had an “enormous” impact.

“Seeing thousands of organic farmers renewed my hope and strength in what I do,” said Lawrence Afere, a Nigerian “agripreneur” who attended the conference for the first time this year. Afere is a farmer and the founder of Springboard, an organi-zation that combines organic farming and entrepre-neurship training to create practical and integrated learning for unemployed youth in Nigeria.

“I was motivated to attend because I read that over 3,000 organic farmers would attend the confer-ence and there would be 67 workshops on organic farming,” Afere said. “Before the MOSES Con-ference, I had never attended any conference on organic farming. Also, I wanted to see organic farm inputs, products and services exhibited at the con-ference. It was a huge exhibition. I had seen how organic farming has been practiced in the U.S. on the internet, but attending the MOSES Conference made me witness it live!”

While he was at the conference, Afere led a meeting on the “Challenges and Opportunities for Agricultural Development in Sub Sahara Africa,” which about 30 people attended. He explained that the world faces a major agricultural challenge.

“We must, over the next few years, find ways to deliver nutritious, safe, and affordable food to a growing global population,” he said. Sub-Saharan Africa has not been coming anywhere close to pro-viding their own food needs, but Afere says that more than 50 percent of the world’s unused fertile land is located there, and less than 2 percent of its water resources are in use.

“Sub-Saharan African agriculture can be revo-lutionized, thus feeding itself and contributing to global food and nutritional security. For this to be realized, the global stakeholders in agriculture must collaborate with African farmers in terms of training, provision of new skills, direct investment and mentoring.”

Afere is personally doing all he can to ensure this happens. Since 2008, his organization, Springboard, has built a model of engaging young Nigerians in sustainable agribusiness. Each year, Springboard trains young people to start their own organic farms and also form a cooperative of farm-ers in their communities.

On the Springboard farms, he said, they grow plantain, banana, vegetables and maize and also produce plantain chips. By 2025, Springboard plans to have over 1,000 members in its network of organic farmers who work to ensure food and nutri-tional security in Nigeria.

“Organic farming is very important in my country to safeguard the health of the people and protect our environment,” he explained. “More so, as more and more young Nigeri-ans begin to take interest

in farming, it is ideal to introduce them to organic farming before they get used to the traditional farming practices. Springboard is committed to making this happen.”

Nigeria has 84 million hectares of arable land, but less than 3,200 hectares are in organic agricul-ture. Afere explained the biggest hurdles are lack of awareness, lack of training on best practices in organic agriculture, output marketing issues, and non-availability/ high cost of inputs.

“My knowledge of organic farming was practi-cally enhanced and boosted at the MOSES Con-ference,” he said. “Now, I will be more effective

in training students and staff of Springboard on organic farming. Since I returned to Nigeria from this conference, I have shared my learning experi-ence with my network of organic farmers and it is certain that practices will improve on our farms this year. And I am happy to share it everywhere I go in Africa. Attending MOSES conference has boosted the credibility of what Springboard does and stands for,” he added.

Afere said he enjoyed many things at the confer-ence, including the meals, the people he met, and the workshops.

“All the workshops I attended had a strong impact; I gained so much information from being there. The workshop presenters are down to earth with their teachings and they are highly knowl-edgeable in this field.

“I went away with new ideas for farming, new friends to support my project and a renewed sense of purpose to keep on with the springboardnig.com project,” he added. Afere received a scholarship to attend the conference. In his thank-you letter he said, “Please note, your support has not only helped organic farmers and farming in the U.S., it has impacted organic farming all over the world.”

Kelli Boylen is a freelance writer with a farming background. She lives with her family on a homestead in Iowa.

Lawrence Afere is helping Nigerian farmers learn to farm organically.

Photo submitted

12 | Organic BrOadcaster — May | June 2015

To Ancient Wheats on page 14

However, a couple of cautions are in order: 1. Varieties or landraces [farmer-developed] of

these grains can vary widely in nutritional con-tent—we need more research to identify those with optimal nutrition;

2. Despite claims on the Internet, none of these grains are safe for those with celiac disease. Nevertheless, these wheats are likely to have

staying power in the American diet, not only because of their nutritional benefits, but—as chefs, bakers, and consumers are finding—they also taste really good.

Growing Ancient WheatsThe ancient wheats turn out to be adapted

to a wide geographic area and range of growing conditions. Already in 1901, the wheat innova-tor M.A. Carleton praised emmer’s “ability to make a good crop with almost any condition of soil or climate.” Einkorn, emmer, and spelt also are especially suited to organic management, requiring fewer inputs than common wheat and showing greater tolerance to stress, such as drought, disease, and saline soils. Given rising costs for fertilizer and extremes in weather due to climate change, the ancient wheats look promising as lower risk crops for current and future rotations.

Research on the ancient wheats, ongoing at the Carrington Research Extension Center in North Dakota for over 10 years, has been expanded through collaboration with the North-ern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society (NPSAS) and Northeastern universities and farmer organizations as part of the “Value-added grains for local and regional food systems” project (funded by NIFA/OREI). Although more work is needed, results to date can provide guidance to farmers interested in experiment-ing with these grains.

The ancient wheats can be grown with field equipment used for wheat or oats. They should be managed as for common wheat in terms of rotation—avoid planting after wheat, barley, rye, or corn (especially when tillage practices leave corn residue at the field surface) to mini-mize the risk of scab infection. As with all small grains, spring types should be planted as early as soil conditions permit in the spring. Winter

Ancient Wheats — from page 1

types of emmer and einkorn should be planted at the optimum dates for winter wheat planting in your area. Northeastern growers report win-ter spelt to be considerably more tolerant of late

large-seeded types, e.g., black winter emmer, may be necessary to achieve adequate stands. Broadcasting and incorporating hulled seed is also an option.

To avoid lodging in ancient wheats, planting rate and N fertility rate need to be lower than those for common wheat. A rule of thumb for fertilizing these crops is to apply 50-75% of that needed for common wheat. Current data for spring types in North Dakota suggest a seeding rate of 100 lb/ac for hulled emmer, einkorn, and spelt. If planting under conditions of high fer-tility and moisture, the rate should be lowered to 65-75 lb/ac for emmer and 75 lb/ac einkorn. Spelt, which is less susceptible to lodging, should remain at 100 lb/ac. Experimentation with winter types of emmer and einkorn, which has largely taken place on Northeast farms, suggests that planting rates of 60-75 lb/ac may be sufficient, but more research is needed.

Dehulling Ancient WheatsUnlike modern wheat, the seed of the ancient

wheats usually retains its hull through the com-bining process, requiring special equipment to remove the hull to produce food-grade products. The ancient wheats vary in their ease of dehull-ing: a rule of thumb is that spelt is most easily dehulled, emmer is more strongly retained in the hull and more susceptible to breakage, and einkorn can be difficult to dehull without damag-ing the seed. However, more research is needed on dehulling efficiency in ancient wheats—initial studies in North Dakota show that varieties and landraces can differ by 10% or more in terms of dehulling efficiency. Disease incidence, harvest conditions, and humidity conditions when dehull-ing can also affect dehulling efficiency.

Lack of dehulling infrastructure in the U.S. has proved a bottleneck for growers. However, in the last several years, options are increasing.

Larger-scale impact dehullers, which dehull by flinging the grain at high velocity against a hard surface, are manufactured by several U.S. companies, e.g., Codema and Forsberg. These dehullers were designed for other crops, such as oats and sunflowers, but can dehull spelt and emmer. (Further experimentation with einkorn is needed). A range of dehullers are available for import from Europe, including abrasion types that rub the hull from the seed. These options are suitable for growers willing and able to make large capital investments—the cost for a dehuller and the equipment needed to remove empty hulls and undehulled kernels from the dehulled seed (which usually includes an aspirator and a grav-ity table or other separation device) is likely to range upwards of $20,000. Larger-scale growers

The kernels from ancient wheats are larger than today’s wheat.

Photo by Linda Schuster

planting than winter wheat, although timely planting is still recommended to optimize plant stand.

It is best to plant seed in the hull, which pro-tects the seed both in storage and the ground. This is essential for einkorn seed, which can easily be stripped of the germ during the dehull-ing process. Comparison of dehulled and hulled emmer from the same seed lot has also shown a reduction of more than 25% in germination from the dehulling process. However, care has to be taken to avoid bridging in the plant-ing cups of the drill due to hairs and awns on the hulled seed. Running the seed through a debearder, which knocks off hairs and awns and breaks up doubles, can reduce plug problems at planting. Growers may also have trouble meter-ing out enough seed of lightweight (35-38 lb/bu) hulled grain. Double planting of especially

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Research shows organic fermented grape extract works as natural dewormer in lambsBy Kimberly Cash

Gastrointestinal nematode parasitism is one of the greatest threats to economic sheep production in the United States. With increased incidences of anthelmintic resistance and constraints of organic production, there is increased interest in alterna-tive natural dewormers, such as plants containing condensed tannins (CT). Condensed tannins have been shown at certain levels to produce benefits in reduction of nematodes and increased protein absorption.3 The drive to find organic, natural, and sustainable practices to maintain healthy livestock is crucial in providing global food secu-rity. Early research suggests that phyto-therapy, the use of plants high in polyphenols, as a natural anthelmintic should be evaluated.3

Sources of Condensed TanninsMany types of forages are high in CT such as

chicory, birdsfoot trefoil, sainfoin, and sericea lespedeza, and although they can be used in pro-duction agriculture the amount of CT consumed by grazing animals is difficult to measure. Results of various research suggests these plants reduce fecal egg counts and worm burdens com-pared to animals fed a diet containing low levels of CT, but the amount needed to have significant results is still being examined.3 Research also suggests that fruits with dark skins such as red grapes and blueberries have a high level of CT.1

Vineyard by-products available for the producer to purchase in liquid form, such as juice or fer-mented product, or in the dry form, such as grape pomace consisting of skin, seeds, stems, and pulp, all contain high levels of CT. The use of these CT-rich products could make small ruminant production in the U.S. more sustainable by using fewer synthetic anthelmintics and by reducing instances of parasite resistance.

Why Grapes?Previous research has shown that grape pom-

ace from the wine industry has efficacy against larval helminth life stages. Grape pomace also has efficacy against egg hatchability and larval development.2 The overall effect of different treat-ments on eggs per gram of feces of individual lambs revealed time as well as dose as a depen-dent response. Additional data revealed a gradual reduction in fecal egg counts, which differed sig-nificantly from 60 to 120 days as compared to the day 0 values in sheep fed diets supplemented with CT both at 3 percent and 2 percent levels. No difference was shown in fecal egg counts of sheep

fed a diet without CT.3 Other data revealed sig-nificantly lower nutrient intake by sheep fed diets containing CT than those without CT, but weight gain was higher in sheep fed either a CT diet over the no CT diet.3 Grape products have therefore been suggested as an alternate parasite manage-ment in sheep.

Effect on Animal PerformanceThe widely accepted explanation for positive

effects of CT protein digestion and metabolism is that CT-protein complexes escape ruminal degra-dation and the protein is available in the lower tract. The CT, in moderate levels of 20 to 40 g CT/kg of DM, bind to protein by hydrogen bonding at near neutral pH (pH 6.0 – 7.0) in the rumen to form CT-complexes, but dissociate and release bound protein at pH less than 3.5 in the aboma-sum.3 Research found that when sheep consumed high CT it facilitated protection of protein from degradation by rumen microbes, which minimized the effects of internal parasites.4 It was also found that it affected overall gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) numbers and increased animal perfor-mance in ways that involved a direct effect on the parasite and an indirect effect through improved protein supply.3 Protecting dietary protein against degradation in the rumen and subsequently increasing amino acid supply to the abomasum and small intestine resulted in improved nutri-tional status of the animal and possible improved production.

MethodsThis study used 45

Katahdin ewe and ram lambs (23.13 kg ± 0.60) naturally infected with GIN. For the duration of the 63 day project, lambs were grazed on fescue pasture with ad libitum access to fresh water and organic-approved mineral supplements. Lambs were stratified by fecal egg count, weight, and sex, and were allocated ran-domly to one of three treatments: 1) an oral dose (10 mL per 4.54 kg of BW) of fermented Pinot Noir grape extract at

To Proof Positive on page 16

PROOF POSITIVE

seven-day (D7) intervals, 2) the same dose at 14-day (D14) intervals, or 3) control (oral dose of 30 mL water at 14-day intervals).

Condensed tannins were extracted, purified, and standardized from the organic Pinot Noir by the Protein-Precipitable Phenolics method and found to have a concentration of 0.20 mg/mL. Sampling procedures and analysis included fecal egg counts, BCS, FAMACHA© and weight every seven days. Fecal material was collected rectally, with eggs counted using a modified McMaster procedure. Data was expressed as eggs per gram (EPG) of feces.

The goal was to maintain animals above health thresholds for the duration of the study. Egg counts and PCV data were analyzed as a randomized design using repeated measure anal-ysis with treatment and time. Pre-trial and trial periods were analyzed separately using SAS (SAS Institute, Inc). The study was conducted from October 2014 to December 2014.

ResultsFecal egg counts were lower (P = 0.05) at the

end of 63 days and packed cell volumes or red blood cell counts were increased (P = 0.05) for D7 and D14 lambs compared to control lambs. Body condition scores and FAMACHA© scores did not differ (P ≥ 0.05) across treatments.

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Effects of organic fermented grape extract on parasite level in Katahdin lambs.

Treatment1

Item C D7 D14 SEM2 Contrast3

Start FEC4, eggs/g 43.0 39.6 48.7 8.11 nsEnd FEC4, eggs/g 50.6 28.1 24.7 9.57 WFEC4 change, eggs/g 10.5 -13.1 -18.5 10.82 WStart FAMACHA©5 1.6 1.4 1.8 0.60 nsEnd FAMACHA©5 1.5 1.5 1.5 0.12 nsFAMACHA©5 change -0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.20 nsStart PCV6,% 34.2 31.4 33.4 1.31 nsEnd PCV6,% 36.3 37.0 36.8 1.05 nsPCV6 change,% 2.2 5.6 2.2 1.19 X

1Treatments C = Control.D7 = Oral dose of organic Pinot Noir every 7 days.D14 = oral dose of organic Pinot Noir every 14 days.

2SEM Pooled standard error of the mean.3Contrasts W = mean of control lambs compared with the mean of Day 7 and Day 14

lambs (P ≤ 0.05); X = mean of Day 7 compared with the mean of Day 14 lambs (P ≤ 0.05); lowercase letters represent statistical tendencies (P ≤ 0.10); ns = no significant difference (P > 0.10).

4FEC Fecal egg count, number of eggs per gram of feces.5FAMACHA© Mucus membrane of the eye, color system based on a scale of 1 to 5; 1 –best

color to 5 –devoid of all color, near death.6PCV Packed cell volume.

Effects of organic fermented grape extract on parasite level in Katahdin lambs

14 | Organic BrOadcaster — May | June 2015

Ancient Wheats — from page 12

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also have the option of sending their grain to a dehulling facility. However, because currently there are few dehulling facilities in the Mid-west, growers need to factor in transport costs when assessing this option.

A third dehulling option, which is better suited for smaller-scale growers and those who want to experiment with production and test markets before investing in expensive equip-ment, is to modify or use existing equipment or to build a dehuller. Several growers report success in dehulling ancient wheats using burr mills in which one or both of the burr plates is replaced with rubber—essentially turning the mill into an abrasion dehuller. Debearding and roller machines can also be used to dehull. Finally, a couple of small-scale dehuller proto-types have been built for which design and con-struction details are available. (See “Additional information.”)

Yield Potential & MarketsResearch in North Dakota on spring types

shows that einkorn, emmer, and spelt in the hull yield comparably to wheat (see graph).

In the Northeast, research also shows winter spelt in the hull to yield similarly to winter wheat. More research is needed to determine the yield potential of winter emmer and einkorn varieties and landraces. When assessing yield potential for food-grade seed, it is important to remember that that no ancient wheat can ever be 100% dehulled—a percentage of seed (perhaps 10-40%) will remain in the hull depending on the crop type and the dehulling system used. More-over, in experimentation with emmer, even when

100% of the kernels were extracted by hand, the hulls accounted for ~20% of the yield weight.

Fortunately, the ancient wheats in the hull make excellent animal feed, and the empty hulls excellent bedding. Currently, the market demand for dehulled seed, and the many prod-ucts that can be made from that seed—includ-ing whole berries, flour, bread, other baked goods, crackers, matzo, pasta, breakfast cere-als, malts, distilled liquors—is unmet. Organic retail prices for whole berries of these wheats range from $1.30-$7 per pound (with emmer and einkorn fetching the highest prices). Given the nutritional value, tastiness, and sustainability of these crops and with further consumer educa-tion and product development, there is excellent potential for the current market to grow.

Steve Zwinger conducts organic research at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center. Elizabeth Dyck coordinates the Organic Growers’ Research and Information-Sharing Network (OGRIN).

Additional Information

Results of cultivar testing by the Value-Added Grains project:

https://plbrgen.cals.cornell.edu/research-extension/small-grains/cultivar-testing

Agronomic trials in North Dakota: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/CarringtonREC/agronomy/crop-index

Farm Breeding Club: http://npsas.org

eOrganic webinars on ancient wheat: http://bit.ly/AncientWheat

Plans for a farmer-made abrasion dehuller: http://bit.ly/Dehuller

Report on development of a low-cost emmer dehuller by Cornell students:

Contact Elizabeth Dyck at edyck@ogrin.org

Seed availability: www.ogrin.org

2013-2014 Organic Spring Grain Yields Central North Dakota Trial Means (6-Site Average)

| 15mosesorganic.org | 715-778-5775

On-farm composting works best on small-scale farmsBy Anne Lupton

To Compost on page 16

At its simplest, composting is gathering plant materials in a large pile or container, letting them decompose, and using the final product to condition soil. In actuality, managing compost to improve soil fertility in something larger than a backyard garden or urban farm plot is much more complex and challenging.

At the recent MOSES Conference, John Jea-vons, author of How to Grow More Vegetables, talked about the nitty gritty of compost produc-tion in the workshop “Increase Your Compost’s Power.” Talking about carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, pile construction, microbes, soil health, and cold composting, Jeavons explained how composting is done at his Biointensive research farm in Cali-fornia. He went over the methods they’ve worked out over the years to promote soil fertility for maximum vegetable production. Because their research gardens are relatively modest in size, the amount of compost they produce occurs in small batches—1 to 2 cubic yards at a time. The process is nicely laid out in his book.

Composting in small batches speeds up the process, but many organic farmers have found that the challenges outweigh the benefits when it comes to making their own compost.

Claire Strader of Fair Share CSA Coalition found this to be true. She experimented by set-ting up a half dozen compost bins on the north side of the greenhouse on her farm. After adding all the materials from on-site sources, adequately watering it, covering it with hardware cloth (for rodent protection) and waterproof fabric, the bins took “forever” to make suitable compost. Finding time to turn the piles was the stumbling block. With only hand tools, the job of forking over materials often got put off, effectively making the compost operation a passive one. To make the process easier, Strader said she’d welcome a tech-nology that’s something between a shovel and a front end loader.

“Having a method and tools that work at hand scale, but is less than a windrow would definitely help,” she explained.

Active compost management requires a signif-icant amount of time and attention, requiring fre-quent temperature monitoring and pile turning.

The organic regulations are very specific about the process for creating compost to use in organic production, which is why most organic farmers choose to bring in suitable compost. If composting is done at all it usually comes in the form of “slow roasting” piles of vegetative matter and manures for long, unattended periods of time, often for a year or more.

But, in smaller farming situations (think urban agriculture) active composting is not only feasible but necessary to maintain soil fertility.

Riverview Gardens in Appleton, Wis., once a mid-city golf course, is beginning its fifth year of operation as an urban CSA farm and community space. The farmers there have been in transition to organic for the past three years and have just applied for organic certification. Emily Hoffman, farm operations manager, said compost produc-tion is an essential part of their operation.

“We work with a combination of wood chips from the city, field waste from our own opera-tion, and food waste from a local food shelter,” Hoffman explained. With six acres and 16 hoop houses in vegetable production, the flow of compost materials keeps coming all summer. The farm has one employee that is more or less dedicated to managing the mixing of materials, monitoring and recording the temperatures, and turning the piles when appropriate. Along with a small amount of purchased vermicompost, their site-made compost is their sole source of soil fer-tility inputs.

Cold CompostingIn his conference workshop, Jeavons touted

the benefits of “cold composting”—building and maintaining a pile that’s slightly higher in car-bon with a minimal amount of water to discour-age the internal temperature from getting too high. His belief is that this less-warm composting process will leave more undecomposed bits of organic material in the compost that will transfer to the soil and continue the process slowly within the soil itself, which is better for the growing plants. He has found that a carbon-nitrogen ratio of about 45:1 in the initial mix produces the best final product.

He also made a distinction between structural carbon and metabolic carbon, and the balance of each of these in an ideal cold composting pile. Structural carbon includes such things as cellu-lose and lignin, significant components in mature straw and other fibrous plant material. Metabolic carbon includes sugars and starches, found in immature leaves and stalks. He recommends tending toward more structural carbon than metabolic carbon in cold composting.

Slightly more soil is also used in this approach. A bit of soil in any composting pile is a good way to inoculate the pile with a good mix of native bacteria and fungi that are prone to start decom-posing your dead plant material faster. But, in the cold pile it’s beneficial to add a bit more soil—approximately twice as much as in a typical com-post pile. In his experience, he said this gets the pile decomposing a little faster.

The whole process should take about three to four weeks (in the warm California climate), with minimal water added over that time. The pile should not be turned, and simply left to do its work in the structure it was initially built in.

It should be noted that there are several things in the cold composting approach that are not allowed under organic standards (205.203). First, the initial carbon-nitrogen ratio should be between 25:1 and 40:1, which means a more nitrogen-rich initial input. Also the temperature of the pile needs to be maintained (and docu-mented) to be between 131°F and 170°F for 3 days “using an in-vessel or static aerated pile system,” or for 15 days if using a windrow system.

Carbon, Nitrogen, Water, Microbes, AirWith managed compost, the process of decom-

position can be tightly controlled. Knowing which materials are carbon heavy or nitrogen heavy is the first step in building a pile that really heats up with fast microbial activity or takes its time to break down materials at lower temperatures. The University of Illinois Extension’s “The Science of Composting” provides the following tips.

Generally materials that are higher in carbon are mature and dried (or drying). Straw and wood chips/shavings are the classic examples of carbon-rich plant material. These are sometimes referred to as “browns” as, generally, plant material that is brown has built up more carbon in its structure.

Plant materials high in nitrogen are some-times referred to as “greens.” And, yes, plants that are green and vigorously growing tend to be much higher in nitrogen. Grass clippings, weeds (before they’ve gone to seed), and most food waste

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16 | Organic BrOadcaster — May | June 2015

Compost — from page 15

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fit this category. The more of these kinds of mate-rials you have in the pile, the more it will heat up.

With the right amount of moisture and air, mesophilic (medium-temperature-loving) microbes start colonizing first. As the temperature creeps up, thermophilic microbes start to take over. Any of the microbes (bacteria, fungi, or actinomycetes) that work on these materials use the carbon in the pile as their energy source and the nitrogen as building blocks for their own proteins. Take away too much air (down to less than 5 percent oxygen) and the conditions start to become anaerobic, producing useless organic acids and unavailable forms of nitrogen, as well as stinky compounds like hydrogen sulfide and putrescine. Turning the pile ensures that an adequate amount of oxygen gets to the good bacteria.

When finished, the final product should have an earthy smell to it with just enough moisture content that you can barely squeeze a drop from

a good handful. If there are still larger pieces in the mix, the pile can be sent through a sifter, and the larger pieces sent back through the process in the next pile. This wonderful finished material can either be worked into the soil, spread around as a top dressing, or soaked in water to make a com-post tea to spray onto vegetable leaves. The mix of nutrients and active microbial life imparts a con-siderable health advantage to growing plants.

Sources of CompostWhen active compost management isn’t fea-

sible, farmers can find plenty of sources of com-mercially produced compost. Managing your own active compost is definitely a challenge, especially in the context of a certified organic operation. As other growers have found, it just may be worth it to outsource it.

Anne Lupton owns Blue Egg Farm in Green Lake, Wis.

Effects of organic fermented grape extract on performance in Katahdin lambs.

Treatment1

Item C D7 D14 SEM2 Contrast3

Start BW, kg 23.8 22.7 23.4 1.06 nsEnd BW, kg 28.0 28.2 28.9 1.05 nsStart BCS4 2.9 2.9 2.7 0.14 nsEnd BCS4 2.5 2.6 2.5 0.11 nsBCS4 change -0.3 -0.3 -0.3 0.13 nsADG, kg 0.07 0.09 0.08 0.006 WGain, kg 4.2 5.4 5.2 0.39 W

1TreatmentC = Control.D7 = Oral dose of organic Pinot Noir every 7 days.D14 = Oral dose of organic Pinot Noir every 14 days.

2SEM Pooled standard error of the mean.

3Contrasts

W = mean of control lambs compared with the mean of Day 7 and Day 14 lambs (P ≤ 0.05); X = means of Day 7 compared with the mean of Day 14 lambs (P ≤0.05); lowercase letters represent statistical tendencies (P ≤ 0.10); ns = no significant difference (P > 0.10).

4BCS Body condition score based on a scale of 1 to 5; 1 -thin to 5 -obese.

Average daily gain and total weight gain were greater (P = 0.02) for D7 and D14 lambs compared to control lambs.Conclusions

Fermented grape extract can be an effective organic and sustainable strategy for controlling nematodes and increasing lamb performance in an organic pasture setting. Additional research is

needed to determine the most accurate dose of con-densed tannins needed to see the most benefit, the dosage timing and how it works with the nematode life cycle, and the bioactivity of the CT that are required to produce the best results. An increase in total weight gain and average daily gain suggests an added benefit of CT’s ability to bind to pro-tein causing a by-pass pro-tein effect. The results answered the initial ques-tion of “Does it work?” Yes, it does. But, as with many

research projects, with that answer comes many more questions that need further exploration.

Kimberly Cash is a graduate student in the Department of Natural Sciences at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo. This research poster was presented as part of the Organic Research Forum at the 2015 MOSES Organic Farming Conference. It received second place.

Effects of organic fermented grape extract on performance in Katahdin lambs This project was supported by the Ceres Trust Graduate Grant program and conducted at the Lincoln University Allen T. Busby Farm, one of the largest university owned organic farms in the central U.S. The fermented organic Pinot Noir grape extract was provided by Badger Mountain Winery in Kennewick, Wash.

References:1 King, A. and G. Young. 1999. Characteristics an occurrence of phe-nolic phytochemicals. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 99: 213-218.2 LeShure, S. 2014. Efficacy of Naturally Occurring Anthelmintics in Fruit By-Products to Control Intestinal Parasites in Small Rumi-nants. North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Field Notes. Graduate Grant GNC12-161, pg. 1-11.3 Min, B. R. and S. P. Hart. 2013. Tannins for suppression of internal parasites. Journal of Animal Science, 81: 102-109.4 Reed, J.D. 1995. Nutritional toxicology of tannins and related poly-phenols in forage legumes. Journal of Animal Science, 73: 1516-28.

Proof Positive — from page 13

| 17mosesorganic.org | 715-778-5775

NEWS BRIEFSNOSB Nominations

The USDA is seeking nominations to fill five vacancies on the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), the advisory group that assists in developing standards for substances to be used in organic production. Openings on the 15-member board include: two farmers, two consumer/public interest representatives, and one USDA-accred-ited certifying agent. Appointees will serve a 5-year term of office beginning Jan. 24, 2016. Written nominations with cover letter, resume, and a required form (available online at bit.ly/NOSBNominations), must be postmarked on or before May 15, 2015.

Organic CheckoffThe organic check-off continues to be a topic for

discussion in the organic community. (See the Organic Broadcaster Sept|Oct 2014 for the com-plete story.) The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has introduced a draft proposal (version 6) of the Generic Research and Promotion Order for Organic (GRO). It describes the representation of the proposed check-off board, who will be pay into the check-off, and who will vote on the proposal once it has been submitted to the USDA for con-sideration. Four areas will share funding from the pool of money equally at 25% per category: research, information, promotion and discretion-ary. See www.unitedformoreorganic.org for details and to comment on this proposal. For information about opposition to a check-off, see www.nodpa.com/checkoff_opposition.shtml.

Cover Crop SurveyFarmers with all levels of experience with

cover crops are being asked to complete a national survey (bit.ly/CropSurvey) on cover crops. Data from this year’s survey will be com-pared to previous survey results to identify trends in cover crop practices or attitudes toward cover crops. Farmers who complete the question-naire are eligible for a drawing for one of two $100 Visa gift cards. The survey is conducted by the Conservation Technology Information Center, and is sponsored by USDA’s Sustainable Agricul-ture Research and Education (SARE) program, the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) and Corn+Soybean Digest.

Food Safety RuleThe FDA has published a proposed rule to

amend the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that includes a definition of “retail food establishment” to clarify that manufacturing and processing operations co-located on farms are exempt from registration when the majority of sales by that operation is direct to consumer, and

that exemption still applies where those sales occur off-farm through a roadside stand, CSA drop-off site, farmers’ market, or “other such direct-to-consumer sales platforms.”

Agricultural CoexistenceThe USDA has added another extension to its

comment period on agricultural coexistence with genetically engineered (GE) crops, giving more farmers the chance to weigh in on issues they’re having with contamination. The economic and management burden to prevent contamination currently falls on the non-GE farmer. See the MOSES Take Action page (mosesorganic.org/ policywork/take-action) for details and the link to the USDA’s comment page. Comments can be made through May 11, 2015.

Restaurant AlmaDuring the month of May, Restaurant Alma in

Minneapolis will donate $1 from every three-course tasting menu purchased to MOSES to support programs that help farmers succeed in organic production. Restaurant Alma is a casual fine dining restaurant in a historically preserved building on University Avenue. The restaurant specializes in tasting menus that allow patrons to select any three dishes for $52. The menu includes handcrafted dishes with fresh, seasonal, organic and local ingredients. MOSES Organic Farmers of the Year Greg and Mary Reynolds are among the farmers supplying those ingredients. For the menu and driving directions, see www.restaurantalma.com or call 612-379-4909.

Certified Organic OperationsData from the USDA National Organic Pro-

gram shows that the number of domestic certified organic operations increased by more than 5 percent over the last year to 19,474 operations in the United States.

The USDA is developing an Organic Integrity Database, a modernized certified organic opera-tions database that will provide accurate informa-tion about all certified operations that is updated on a regular basis. The modernized system will allow anyone to confirm organic certification status using the online tool, support market research and supply chain connections, allow international verification of operator status to streamline import and export certificates, and establish technology connections with certifiers to provide more accurate and timely data. The initial launch is planned for September 2015.

Cover Crop Comparison ChartEasily compare 58 crop species with a new

cover crop chart from the Northern Great Plains

Research Laboratory. The 67-page document includes the chart showing growth cycles, plant architecture, and relative water use, plus addi-tional details such as seeding depth, pollination characteristics, and forage quality. Download the chart at bit.ly/CoverCropsChart. For recommen-dations on choosing cover crops based on the desired outcomes, see “How to Choose Cover Crops,” a free Organic Fact Sheet available at mosesorganic.org under the Publications tab.

Farm Breeding ProjectsThe Northern Plains Sustainable Ag Society

(NPSAS) Farm Breeding Club is looking for grow-ers in northern states to collaborate on these breeding projects: early paste tomato, early orange tomato, and early, disease-tolerant zucchini. NPSAS has a few hundred seeds of F2 generations ready to be planted out for evaluation and selec-tion. Participants typically grow about a dozen plants and save some seeds for NPSAS. To partici-pate, email Frank Kutka at fkutka@npsas.org.

Terminating Cover Crops with SheepA study at Montana State University is finding

that using domestic sheep to terminate cover crops in an organic farming system can enable farmers to save money, reduce tillage by more than half, manage weeds and pests, and reduce the risk of soil erosion. The research farms also made money on lambs sold for processing. The results are from the first two years of a long-term USDA research, education and extension project involving researchers from agronomy, weed ecol-ogy, animal and range sciences, entomology, com-munity development, soil science and more.

No-Spray Signs

MOSES sells 18x24” UV-resistant, corrugated plastic signs farmers can post on fence lines to discourage pes-ticide/herbicide spraying of organic fields. The bright orange signs are $7 each, $6 for five or more. See mosesorganic.net. Farmers without internet access may call the MOSES office at 715-778-5775 to order.

Gardens of EaganThe Wedge Co-op, which acquired Gardens of

Eagan in 2008 from the Diffley family, recently announced it is placing the 126-acre property on the market, but plans to continue operations through this growing season. The Northfield, Minn. farm employs a staff of 20 during peak season, and just completed the organic certifica-tion process. Availability of organic produce from the growing number of local organic farms is one reason behind the sale.

18 | Organic BrOadcaster — May | June 2015

NEWS BRIEFSLawsuit about ‘Sunset’ Process

A coalition of 15 organizations in the organic community filed a lawsuit in federal court last month, maintaining that the USDA violated the federal rulemaking process when it changed established procedures for reviewing the allowed synthetic and prohibited natural substances used in producing organic food. The group asked the court to require the USDA to reconsider its deci-sion on the rule change and reinstitute the agen-cy’s customary public hearing and comment process. At issue in the lawsuit is a rule that implements the organic law’s “sunset provision,” which since its origins has been interpreted to require all listed materials to cycle off the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Sub-stances every five years unless the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) votes by a two-thirds majority to relist them. In September 2013, the USDA changed the rule so that a mate-rial can remain on the National List unless the NOSB takes initiative to vote it off the List.

Survey on New Crop Insurance The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI) are conducting a survey to assess farmers’ experiences with Whole-Farm Revenue Protection, a pilot crop insurance policy available for 2015 that offers coverage based on a farm’s five-year revenue history, and covers multiple crops with one policy. By completing the survey (bit.ly/FarmRevenue), pilot participants will help RAFI, NCAT, and other organizations advocate for changes that improve Whole Farm Revenue Protection.

PodcastsChris Blanchard, market farming veteran,

educator and popular MOSES Conference pre-senter, has started the Farmer to Farmer Podcast interviewing other farmers. Recent episodes of the hour-long show featured some of the present-ers—Lisa Kivirist, Steve Pincus, and Allen Philo—who familiar to MOSES-goers. Shows cover topics such as soil fertility, business plan-ning and managing for profit, managing employ-ees. See www.farmertofarmerpodcast.com.

Hops GuideThe growers at Mighty Axe Hops, one of the

farms in the Sandbox Cooperative in Ham Lake,

Minn., have produced the Minnesota Hops Grow-er’s Guide. The guide is written for commercial-scale, homebrewers and backyard hops gardeners to learn new techniques that will make for better yields and tastier hops. The guide covers every-thing about local, sustainable hops production: design, install, planting, management, harvest, and postharvest handling. It is available free at www.MightyAxeHops.com/category/grow-hops.

Foreign Teaching OpportunitiesTwin Cities-based Land O’Lakes is sponsoring

the US Agency for International Development’s Farmer to Farmer (F2F) Program in the Middle East and North Africa, which provides short-term technical support to farmers, farm organizations and agribusinesses in the developing world in order to build capacity in the agriculture sectors in those countries. Volunteers travel to the host countries for 2+ weeks; travel expenses and arrangements are taken care of by Land O’Lakes. For more information, see bit.ly/F2Farmer.

Soil Samples The National Soil Project is looking for soil

samples from farms to evaluate humic acid, fulvic acid and humin content. Farmers can receive free results of the analysis. Learn more and download the sample submission form at bit.ly/SoilProject.

Organic in Wisconsin Wisconsin leads the nation in organic dairy and

beef production, according to Organic Agriculture in Wisconsin: 2015 Status Report, prepared by the University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and the Wisconsin Depart-ment of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protec-tion. The report says the state has 1,257 certified organic farms, making it second in the country in terms of organic farming; California is first. The report includes additional statistics about organic agriculture in the state, plus opportunities and challenges facing the state’s organic farmers. See the full report at bit.ly/2015StatusReport.

Organic Research Report Ceres Trust’s 2015 report on organic research

and outreach in the North Central Region shows that 1,970.17 acres of university land are being used for organic research in the region. The report lists key contacts and describes academic courses, degree programs, and hands-on learning opportunities in the region. Find the report under Current Research at mosesorganic.org/projects/organic-research-forum.

OCIA Scholarship WinnerThe Organic Crop Improvement Association

has awarded its 2015 Research and Education Graduate Scholarship to Utsala Shrestha from the University of Tennessee. Utsala’s research

focuses on the carbon-nitrogen ratio of organic soil amendments as a non-chemical approach to control soil-borne patho-gens and weeds. She is originally from Nepal, a country that is feeling the impacts of climate change and water scar-city, and is interested in sustainable agricultural

practices. For more information about her research or the OCIA scholarship program, see www.ociaresearchandeducation.org.

| 19mosesorganic.org | 715-778-5775

Livestock Guardian Dogs: Protect your pastured poultry, goats and/or sheep from aerial and ground predators. Started and trained dogs available, free training advice. $250-$550. wonderacres@yahoo.com, 608-477-1981.

10 Bred Certified Organic Angus Beef Heifers: Vet Preg checked, vaccinated and ready to fall calf. $3200 each. Coon Valley, WI, Call Rod @ 608-452-2861.

Organic grass-fed feeder beef cattle. Red Angus, Hereford, shorthorn crosses. GAP certified. Available May to August. Weigh about 500# now, 750-800 in August. Pot load western SD. 605-685-3376. Mark-holl@gwtc.net.

Bovine Basics - composted cow manure available in bulk, totes and bags. Contact Ed Rudberg at 952-212-6576 or ed@bovinebasics.com and visit us at www.bovinebasics.com. We are a bio-based certified product.

For Sale: ORGANIC FISH FERTILIZER 15-1-1, 100% dry water soluble, 5-7 times more nutritious than liquid fish. Will not clog drip irrigation. 1 lb or 55 lb packaging, can be shipped UPS. Frommelt Ag Service, Greeley, IA, 563-920-3674.

Agricultural Grade Local Compost. 50 lb. N, 120 lb. P, 60 lb. K per ton plus micronutrients and organic matter. Minimum purchase: 20 tons. Suståne Natural Fertilizer (Kenyon, MN), 507-263-3003, Email: kylel@sustane.com. ***OMRI certified granular, dry, organic fertilizers also available.

BMR84 Seed Corn For grazing under $40 per 50 pounds. Go to www.pageseedcorn.com for seeds-man nearest you and prices. No computer? - call 507-645-6218.

Smart Organics offers 4 products to the Organic Farmer that are approved by the FDA and produce a superior Non-Chemical alternative to Antimicrobi-als, Sanitizers, Disinfectants and Folier Sprays. Takes the place of Toxic Pesticides, Herbicides, Fungicides, Algicides and Preservatives. For Dairy a Non-Toxic Teat Dip that dramatically lowers Somatic Cell Count and replaces iodine. hradix@tds.net or 414-732-7017.

Help Wanted: Central Illinois small turn-key acreage seeks person(s) to produce for local markets Planting/care of vegetable beds, flock of laying hens and miscellaneous property maintenance. Honest, self-reliant person tolerant of outdoors. Food/gas stipend, lodging in primitive cabin or renovated silo. Owner assisted input costs. No firearms, illegal substances, no pets. Transportation and health insurance preferred. References. website at http://www.renewalacres.com.

Driftless Organics is a 50 acre vegetable farm lo-cated outside of Viroqua, WI. We are seeking hard working individuals to join our crew. Must be able to work full time (M-F). Potential for year round work and opportunities for advancement. Visit our website to learn more: www.driftlessorganics.com.

Business for sale in Lanesboro. A rare opportunity exists for the right person/family in the heart of bluff country, 45 minutes from Rochester, MN. This lovely community has a small “local foods” grocery on main street available for purchase. If you are interested in learning more, please contact jan@rtcinfo.org.

20’ Long tined weeder, $2,500 or best offer. East Central Wisconsin, 920-904-4962.

Row crop Flamer for sale, 8 row, used one year, electronic ignition. Reason for selling, I quit row crops. I can deliver. 701-336-7509 or 701-321-1580, southern North Dakota.

For Sale: 20’ long tine weeder, 3 point, excellent condition. Phone 920-904-4962.

Walk-in cooler. Exterior 14’ 3” by 7’ 8”, with 5 glass doors on one side. Service door on one end. Includes refrigeration equipment. Bought new, used 5 years, stored since. Delivery possible. $900 OBO. 320-632-4691 or cbarnier821@q.com.

Red dragon row crop flamer unit model 6-RU 6 row, 3 point attachment. Excellent condition. Used one season. $12,000 OBO. Greg Dongvillo – LM 269-267-8527.

Money Maker!!!! Located 50 miles from Chicago, 74 tillable Certified Organic acres of farmland, updated 100 year old Sears home plus out buildings on 4.5 acres. Refurbished commercial wean to finish swine complex w/rental lease and manure income on 6.5 acres. Opportunity for quick payback, just add labor. Asking $2.1 million. Will separate. Contact: Ted Weydert 815-739-3062 or tgweydert@hotmail.com.

I have 133 tillable Acres for Rent In 2016 in Arcadia, Wis, would like to do long term contract. Can be certified organic, was in CRP, call Jim 608-863-3895.

Organic Alfalfa and Alfalfa/grass 3x3x8 square bales. Test results available. Good quality and fairly priced. Delivery available. Located in Linton, ND. Dave Silbernagel Organic Farms 208-867-9939.

For sale: organic hay, round bales, dry and silage bales, 1st, 2nd and 3rd crops. Also oats straw. Deliv-ery available. Sno Pac Farms, Pete, 507-725-5281.

Organic dry heifer hay for sale. There was no rain on these medium square bales. One lot of 1100 bales at 115 RFV, another lot of 57 bales at 136 RFV. Moorhead, MN, Lee Thomas 218-790-0236.

Certified Organic alfalfa hay/baleage for sale. 165 to185 RFV 18 to 24 pro. Located in NW MN. Delivery available. 580 tons available. For questions call Kyle 218-779-6894.

Organic Baleage - Single wrapped 3x3x6 big squares. RFQ of 110 to 150. Priced from $104 to $162 a ton depending on quality and moisture. Nelson, WI 715-495-1058.

1st Cutting hay for sale. Certified Organic, No rain, Net wrapped 4x6 round bales. $200 ton. Doreen, bfeorganics@hotmail.com, 810-531-6823. You may text, call or e-mail.

For Sale: organic wrapped and dry hay big bales, shelled corn, roasted soybeans. Can deliver, 608-574-2160.

Non-GMO oats, wheat, barley, rye feed mix (untreated/cleaned) suitable for all livestock, $125/ton semi loads available. 507-373-3161 or 800-352-5247.

We buy organic: corn, wheat, soybeans. Delivered to: Cromwell, IN. Contact: John 414-704-1344, jbrunnquell@egginnovations.com.

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20 | Organic BrOadcaster — May | June 2015

COMMUNITY CALENDARSee more on the Community Calendar under Events at mosesorganic.org.

adding goats or sheep to their sustainable food produc-tion system or those who want to manage their small ruminants more holistically. bit.ly/1NJYuxp

Webinar: Energy and Climate ChangeMay 21 | 12 p.m. Central | FreePresented by NRCS and Oregon Tilth, learn about using leguminous cover crops, compost, and other organic-approved materials for fertility management to decrease greenhouse gas emissions on your farm. bit.ly/1GAcBBl

Basic Chicken Processing WorkshopMay 30 | 9 a.m.-12 p.m. | $50 | Gerald, Mo.June 6 | 9 a.m.-12 p.m. | $50 | Gerald, Mo.Join Stuart Farm for this hands-on 3-hour class. Students will learn the basics of slaughtering and butchering a chicken. stuartfarm.com/our-classes/

Raising and Processing Meat ChickensMay 31 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m. | $140 | Gerald, Mo.June 7 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m. | $140 | Gerald, Mo.Join Stuart Farm to learn how to successfully raise and process your own meat chickens. The class will consist of a short lecture and hands-on processing. Handouts will cover all of this information for future reference. stuartfarm.com/our-classes/

North American Agroforestry Conference: Agroforestry as a Catalyst for On-Farm Conservation and DiversificationMay 31-June 3 | Ames, IowaA pre-conference agroforestry field tour will visit a va-riety of agroforestry systems. The main conference fea-tures keynote speakers, concurrent sessions, tours and field demonstrations, and poster sessions. bit.ly/1Oo0wyg

Webinar: Mitigating Soil Disturbance in Organic SystemsJune 2 | 2 p.m. CentralOregon Tilth and NRCS present production practices that can offset the negative impacts of tillage in organic systems, including the use of cover crops, compost and other additions of organic matter. tilth.org/event/mitigating-soil-disturbance-in-organic-systems/

Women Caring for the Land WorkshopJune 3 | 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. | Verona, Wis.Learn how to protect and improve their property and make local connections. The workshop includes an informational morning session followed by lunch and a bus tour to see farms in the area that use conservation practices. womencaringfortheland.org/wisconsin/

Webinar: Food Safety and Mitigating RiskJune 3 | 3 p.m. | FreeJoin the Farmer Veteran Coalition as they discuss major components of a food safety plan, as is required for the Homegrown By Heroes label. They will review the ways

Women Caring for the Land Workshops May 5 | 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. | Altoona, Wis. May 6 | 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. | Medford, Wis. May 7 | 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. | Marshfield, Wis.Organized by the MOSES Rural Women’s Project and WFAN, these workshops teach women landowners how to assess and improve the health of their soils through cover crops, no-till and strip-till, and other conservation practices. mosesorganic.org/projects/rural-womens-project/events

Webinar: Decoding Organic Feed and Supplement Requirements for LivestockMay 5 | 2 p.m. CentralJoin Oregon Tilth and NRCS to learn the breakdown of the livestock feed standards and how they apply to spe-cific systems; an overview of feed supplements, includ-ing how they are classified and regulations for use; and guidelines for ensuring that your animals’ nutritional needs are being met while remaining compliant with the standards. tilth.org/event/event-thats-upcoming-3

Aquaponics Master ClassMay 7-9 | 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. | Montello, Wis.3-day comprehensive course intended for anyone seri-ously considering getting into aquaponic food produc-tion, or those already doing aquaponics who want to learn more about the technology. aquaponics.com/calendar

Agritourism WorkshopMay 13 | 5:30-8:30 p.m. | Free | Chanhassen, Minn.May 19 | 5:30-8:30 p.m. | Free | Coon Rapids, Minn.Hosted by the Minn. Dept. of Health, explore the human and environmental health issues at agritourism events and operations, including farm tours, apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and farms that host the public. Topics will include petting zoo safety, food licensing and han-dling requirements, and more. For questions, contact joni.scheftel@state.mn.us.

Webinar: Using Case Studies to Facilitate Farmer Conservation DecisionsMay 14 | 1 p.m. CentralJoin NRCS to learn how to use case studies of producer experiences to facilitate conservation decision-making. Emphasis will be placed on using case studies that re-flect representative types of farms/producers who have had a range of experiences. The training will highlight how to describe the complex ways that conservation activities intersect with farm business, household and personal resources and goals. bit.ly/1DIeF7K

Companion Planting WorkshopMay 14 | 6-8 p.m. | $15 | Stevens Point, Wis.Hosted by Farm Shed, Jen Zach and Sue Anderson will teach the fundamentals of companion planting; providing a hands-on, thorough overview of maximizing your garden. farmshed.org/events

Introduction to Small Ruminant HusbandryMay 16 | 1-5 p.m. | $80 | Ashby, Minn.Hosted by SFA, this workshop is for anyone considering

that proper food safety practices can mitigate risk and promote farm health, and the need moving forward to plan for food safety. bit.ly/1cE00Ag

Spring Elderberry Workshop, Farm Tour & Plant SaleJune 6 | 8 a.m.-5 p.m. | Scandia, Minn.Minnesota Elderberry Cooperative presents a free work-shop on growing elderberries. Topics include planting, management, soil health, weed control, pest control, irrigation, varieties, harvesting and market potential. Includes a walking field tour and hands-on experience. minnesota-elderberry.coop/upcoming-events.html

Beginning Farmers Explore Production, Business and MarketingJune 9 | 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. | Free | Freeman, S.D.FarmStarts is designed to help beginning farmers learn more about organic dairy and organic grain produc-tion. Open to conventional and organic producers, workshops cover grain marketing, farm structure and budgeting, fertility and weed control, certification rules, and more. nfo.org/FarmStarts

Midwest Farm Energy ConferenceJune 17-19 | Morris, Minn.Hosted by WCROC, learn about optimized and cost-effective energy systems for dairy, swine, and crop pro-duction. Conference includes several speakers, practical information for Ag producers, and a Renewable Energy bus tour. Learn more and register.

Comprehensive Elderberry Workshop & Field TourJune 18-19 | Jefferson City, Mo.Hosted by River Hills Harvest, learn about traditional culture, marketing workshops and harvest and post-har-vest handling of the fragile elderberry fruit. Pre-register before June 7.

MOSES Row Crops Field Day June 26 | 10 a.m.-1 p.m. | Danforth, Ill.Farm host Harold Wilken will explain how he tran-sitioned his farm to organic, growing small grains, livestock feed, edible beans, corn and forages. He’ll also show his value-added organic flour mill. Extension agents from the University of Illinois will be on hand to discuss on-farm research opportunities. mosesorganic.org/events/organic-field-days

Livestock & Orchards Field DayJune 28 | 1-4 p.m. | La Crescent, Minn.Hosted by the Land Stewardship Project, learn about in-tegrating livestock with organic perennial fruit produc-tion from the owners of Hoch Orchard. Learn more by contacting Dori Eder.

Soil Sisters: Celebration of Wis. Farms and Rural LifeJuly 31-Aug. 2 | Southern Wis.For 3 days and with 5 unique components and involv-ing more than twenty farms, the jam-packed Soil Sisters culinary event celebrates Wisconsin’s family farms and rural life in and around the farming communities of Monroe and Brodhead. soilsisters.wix.com/soilsisters

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