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.

Rodale Institute researchers conducted a two-year field study in Pennsylvania on organic nitrogen fertilization in regenerative CBD hemp production. This one-pager summarizes the findings from the study, noting that higher nitrogen fertilization rates tended to boost hemp biomass and CBD/THC levels.

In this free online course prepared by the Organic Agronomy Training Service (OATS), learn about profitability and marketing practices for organic field crops. The course will cover: dynamics of the organic marketplace; marketing strategies for organic field crops; profitability considerations for organic producers; and the economics of transitioning to organic.

Learn about the foundations of seed cleaning in this practical, 90-minute webinar. Whether you’re processing small batches for on-farm use or scaling up for commercial production, understanding seed cleaning is essential for seed quality and efficiency. This session will introduce the key principles of cleaning both wet- and dry-processed seeds, including threshing, winnowing, screening and fermenting, drying, and storage.

This episode of Voices from the Field is the second part of a conversation between NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Mike Lewis and Michael O’ Gorman, an organic farming pioneer and founder of the Farmer Veteran Coalition. Mike and Michael talk about mitigating risk in tomato crop and general ag operations.

Organic vegetable growers need practical and cost-effective technology to reduce weed pressure and yield losses. In 2013-2014, OFRF funded Dr. Gladis Zinati at the Rodale Institute to perform laboratory and greenhouse trials on the weed sup…

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are a type of fungi that form mutualistic relationships with many plant species and can boost crop productivity, resiliency, and quality. However, frequent soil disruption (i.e., tillage) can reduce natural AMF populations. This Rodale Institute study evaluated the effects of tillage practices and AMF inoculation on organic sweet corn yield, horticultural traits, nutrient composition, and root colonization.

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.

In this free online course prepared by the Organic Agronomy Training Service (OATS), learn about pest and disease management strategies in organic field crops. The course will cover: the importance of healthy agroecosystems for pest/disease control; crop rotation strategies; rules and regulations for pest management in organic production; and more.

Despite organic commodity sales having increased in recent years, organic pig production has experienced a decline in the United States. Why? Join Dr. Yuzhi Li from the University of Minnesota for a webinar about organic pig production. She will discuss challenges in organic pig production (including parasites, pre-weaning mortality, and costs of feed and bedding), as well as economic opportunities.

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Nina Prater is joined by Dr. Johannes Lehmann, a Cornell University professor with the School of Integrative Plant Science. They talk about misconceptions around soil humus, explore new ways to look at the organic components of soil, and discuss the challenges of creating a circular economy.

Plant diseases, especially those caused by soil-borne seed infecting pathogens, pose a serious threat to the production of both greenhouse and field crops. Conventional farming operations often use fumigants and chemical seed treatments, wh…