Fire blight is a highly destructive bacterial disease in apples. Conventional management entails the use of synthetic bactericide sprays, but organic management options remain limited. One organic spray that has received attention utilizes bacteriophage control, wherein naturally-occurring viruses that infect plant pathogens are cultured and applied to orchards at bloom. This study evaluated the efficacy of bacteriophage sprays as an organic fire blight management strategy.

This manual is an educational resource and introduction to handling, storing and selling organic products in the United States, and is designed to provide insight on how to protect the organic integrity of the products through retail channels.

This keynote video discusses profitability planning, marketing, and value-adding ventures, as well as farm diversification strategies for organic grain producers looking to build resilient, less conventional, higher-margin farm business models.

Farm Pulse is self-guided online course from UW-Madison Extension that helps farmers explore financial statements and strategic management, teaching them how to evaluate their finances and take the pulse of their business and goals.

Recent years have seen an explosion of new soil health tests, measuring a wide variety of indicators that depend on the activity of soil microorganisms. In this episode of Voices from the Field, Mike Morris, NCAT’s Southwest Regional Director, talks with Dr. Barbara Bellows, soil scientist at the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research, about her new ATTRA publication, Soil Health Indicators and Tests.

In 2017, a participatory action research team from the University of Vermont initiated a study to identify the underlying causes of the annual food insecurity faced by families belonging to an organic coffee cooperative. The research reveal…

Small-scale organic vegetable farms maintain highly diverse cropping systems that require labor-efficient, scale-appropriate reduced/no-till strategies that can be applied over consecutive years to balance yield, financial, and soil health goals. This study evaluated the impacts of tillage, organic mulches, and tarping on crop yields, labor, profitability, and soil health in an organic cabbage/winter squash production system.

This factsheet highlights best practices, buyer perspectives, and market resources for producers engaging organic dairy buyers.

Three farmers share their efforts and journey marketing a diverse grain rotation, from direct-to-consumer sales to wholesale buyers and beyond, offering practical perspectives on diversifying organic grain marketing channels and strategies.

This free, 10-minute self-assessment tool helps farmers evaluate their readiness for USDA organic certification under the crops scope. It covers eight key areas: farm parcels, record keeping, soil and water management, seeds and planting stock, pest management, inputs and equipment, harvest and transport, and handling — giving producers a clear picture of where they stand before pursuing certification.

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Agricultural and Natural Resource Economist Jeff Schahczenski talks with Aria McLauchlan and Harley Cross about how to measure the impact that soil health practices can have in mitigating the impacts of weather and climate disruption.

Farmers and agricultural professionals have great interest in exploiting beneficial soil organisms, especially in organic systems with their focus on soil health and reliance on natural cycles to manage plant health and pests. Endophytes ar…