Midterm 1. Flashcards
State with most organic farms
CA
Father of biodynamics
Rudolf Steiner
3 legs of sustainability
Environmental
Social
Economic
4 principles of the organic approach
- Proactive
- Practices and inputs evaluated for their effects
- Timing and observations
- Constant improvement
Highly tolerant field crops to acidity
Cereal rye
Oats
Lupins
Triticale
Highly sensitive field crops to acidity
Luceme
Medics
Barley
Canola
Plant material
Seed = organic
Annual transplants
Perennial stock = organic
Farm plan
Building and maintaining soil fertility & plant health
Crop rotations
Org. Amendments
Pest/disease management
Buffer zone
To protect crops from pesticides or GMO pollen
Tillage
Minimize tillage Avoid wet soils Shallow Combine tillage operations and passes Spring preferred
Crop rotation
The successive cultivation of different crops in a specified order on the same fields
Objectives of crop rotations
Improve soil
Increase nutrients and OM
dec. weed pressure
Reduce tillage, weed, erosion
Allelopathy
Chemicals released from plants that affect growth, health, etc.
Released by roots leaves residues
Crops rotation disadvantages
More management planning Time Equipment Skills Profits (strawberries)
Conventional v. Organic meta analysis
Org. Yields ~ -13% of conventional yields
Highest per capita consumption of organic food
Switzerland
Highest market for organic food
US
Majority size of organic farms
< 100 acres
55%
State with most organic farms
CA
True believers
Health nuts
~ 65k/year
~40 yr/old
College dregrees
Enlightened environmentalists
Protect environment
~63 yr/old
~ 57k/year
Maybe grad school
Strapped seekers
Live healthy
Know they should be more so
~ 45k/year
All levels of education
Indifferent traditionalists
Leads simple life Not very healthy ~ 46k/year ~ 65 HS ed
Healthy realists
Fit/healthy
~ 39 years old
~ 65k/year
Maybe college
Struggling switchers
Budget
Know better but don’t
~ 56k/year
~ 39 years old
Resistant non believers
Loyal to what they know
HS diploma
~ 52 y/o
~ 48k/year
Consumers of organic
- True believers
- Enlightened environmentalists
- Strapped seekers
- Indifferent traditionalists
- Healthy realists
- Struggling switchers
- Resistant non believers
Permaculture
David Holmgren
A system of Ag and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems
What plant group is the least tolerant to soil acidity?
Legumes
Soil health principles include:
Minimizing disturbance and soil cover
What statement is wrong with regard to tillage effects?
Tillage can increase soil aggregate stability
One way to reduce weed seed in manure:
Composting
According to the national organic program, all the following have to be certified except:
Farmers
What statement is false with regard to composting manure for certified organic use?
Compost from conventional manure not allowed
Which statement is false with regard to planting stock in certified organic systems?
Hybrids are not allowed
This situation results in the narrowest buffer zone between organic and conventional crops:
A thick tree stand between crop and neighbor
Which statement is false with regard to planting stock in organic certified systems?
Organically grown seeds have always to be used
Which statement is false with regard to tillage recommendations in certified organic systems
Deep tillage is preferred over shallow tillage
The first split between organic and conventional Ag happened with:
Development of super phosphate
The Ag production system that is influenced by mystical and celestial factors is:
Biodynamics Ag
The per capita consumption of organic food is highest in:
Switzerland
Among vegetables, the crop with the highest share of organic sales is:
Lettuce
Among the following, the system that is governed by a regulation is:
Organic production
The book “An Agricultural Testament” was throes by:
Albert Howard
No tillage, no pruning, no fertilizing are all principles of:
Natural farming
The certification used for biodynamic Ag is called:
Demeter
What’s the difference between organic and conventional fertility management?
Prohibition of the use of synthetic fertilizer materials
What are organic materials made of?
Meat Bones Feathers Seed Composts Animal manure Fish
What are soils organic matter levels in CA?
< 1% to > 3%
How much organic matter in Ibs would a soil with 1% organic matter have?
40000
How many Ibs of N would a soil with 40000 Ibs of organic matter have?
28000 Ibs
What does the N concentration of a cover crop tell us?
How rapidly N will become available
How does soil temp. Influence soil activity?
Speed of N mineralization
Biological activity
Sources of phosphorus are:
Compost
Manure
Bones meals
What compound is readily available no matter the source?
Potassium
What is the optimal ratio for things like Bone meal?
4-4-2
What’s the goal of organic soil N fertility?
Build up levels of soil OM to inc. N that the souls can mineralized
How much N was mineralized in 8 weeks in Lettuce?
35Ibs
How much N was mineralized in 8 weeks of Spinach?
26-32Ibs
How much N was mineralized in 8 weeks of Broccoli and Cauliflower?
80-180Ibs
Common dry organic fertilizers:
Feather Meals Blood meal Meat meal Bone meal Fish meal Chicken manure Alfalfa meal Kelp
In the pouch study, were pouches on the surface or buried more effective at mineralizing N?
Buried
% P ~ same
% K was more in ones buried
