May 2011 - eOrganic Updates

eOrganic The National Online Information, Training and Networking System for Organic Agriculture

In this Issue

- Seasonal Articles from eOrganic on Plant Disease Management
- New eOrganic Webinar Archive
- Can't Get Enough Webinars?
- National Organic Program Issues New Guidance
- Revised Small Farm Handbook Released
- Free Interactive Tools for Farmers

Seasonal Articles from eOrganic on Plant Disease Management

Can I Use this Product for Disease Management on My Organic Farm
Organic Management of Late Blight of Potato and Tomato
Early Blight Management for Organic Tomato Production
Organic Plant Disease Mangement: Thinking Like A System

New eOrganic Webinar Archive

All of eOrganic’s webinar recordings on organic farming and research are now available in one convenient location at http://www.extension.org/pages/25242/webinars-by-eorganic The list includes a link to the many presentations which were broadcast by eOrganic live from the USDA Organic Farming Systems Research Conference in Washington, D.C. Future webinars will also be listed on this page with a link to register.

Can't Get Enough Webinars?

In addition to eOrganic, an increasing number of organizations offer webinars on a wide variety organic farming topics. See links below to the webinar pages of the following organizations to learn more:
ATTRA
CCOF - Webinars will be posted here in the near future
Missouri Beginning Farmers Program Blog - Webinar announcements are posted on this blog
Practical Farmers of Iowa
New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets
Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association and the Countryside Conservancy

eOrganic's webinar series will be back this Fall. Stay tuned!

National Organic Program Issues New Guidance

The Agricultural Marketing Service recently announced that the National Organic Program has issued final guidance in response to public comments on compost and vermicompost; wild crop harvesting; commingling and contamination prevention; and use of chlorine materials in organic production and handling. The new edition of the National Organic Program handbook will be released in July, 2011; click here for the changes and response to public comments

Revised Small Farm Handbook Released

A new edition of the Small Farm Handbook has been published by the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. This 188-page book has 11 chapters covering both the business side and the farming side of operating a small-scale farm. The Small Farm Handbook, publication number 3526, costs $25 and can be ordered online from the UC ANR Catalog

Free Interactive Tools for Farmers

Johnny’s Selected Seeds’ website offers interactive tools for farmers for calculating how much seed you need for a given crop, as well as spring, fall, and succession planting dates, crop harvest dates, and the costs of caterpillar tunnels. Find them at http://www.johnnyseeds.com/t-InteractiveTools.aspx

Nick Andrews and Dan Sullivan of Oregon State University developed the OSU Organic Fertilizer and Cover Crop calculator to help farms estimate nitrogen mineralization from organic fertilizers and cover crops. The calculator is available at http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/calculator and an eOrganic webinar about it can be found at http://www.extension.org/pages/26919/estimating-plant-available-nitrogen-contribution-from-cover-crops-webinar

The Shades of Green Dairy Farm Calculator, developed by The Organic Center projects the environmental, animal health, production, and economic consequences of dairy farm management system options. The calculator can be found at http://www.organic-center.org/sog.html, and Chuck Benbrook’s webinar explaining the background of the calculator and how it works can be found at http://www.extension.org/pages/31790/shades-of-green-dairy-farm-calculator-webinar

articlesRead our organic farming articles!
http://www.eXtension.org/
Organic_Production

Connect with us

facebookFacebook - Like us!
 

twitterTwitter - Get organic news!

youtubeYouTube - Watch organic production videos and webinars!

Spread the Word

bullhornIf you would like eOrganic literature to hand out at your next conference/workshop/house party, please get in touch. We have bookmarks, factsheets, brochures, and even displays you can use! Use our online form to request materials

eOrganic Mission

eOrganic is a web community where organic agriculture farmers, researchers, and educators network; exchange objective, research- and experience-based information; learn together; and communicate regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Ask an Expert

Have a question about organic farming? Use the eXtension Ask an Expert tool to connect with eOrganic. Tag your question as "organic production" to make sure it reachs our members.

Ask an Expert button

Visit us at http://eOrganic.info

Published May 19, 2011

This is an eOrganic article and was reviewed for compliance with National Organic Program regulations by members of the eOrganic community. Always check with your organic certification agency before adopting new practices or using new materials. For more information, refer to eOrganic's articles on organic certification.