New eOrganic Webinars
We're excited to bring you a new season of webinars on organic farming and research! Registration is open for our spring 2017 webinar series, and we hope you can join us for as many as possible! Click on the links to find out more about them and register.
- February 1, 2017: Management of Spotted Wing Drosophila Using Organic Strategies
- Members of a multi-state research project will provide a comprehensive update on organic management of spotted wing drosophila. It will cover findings of the research conducted during the first year of this project on organically approved strategies including: 1) behavioral strategies to improve monitoring (using more attractive baits and lures) and management (attract and kill approach); 2) cultural strategies to lower SWD populations in the field (canopy and floor management, and using exclusion netting); and 3) chemical strategies (using organically approved insecticides in combination with adjuvants and phagostimulants. Presenters are Ash Sial, UGA; Mary Rogers, UMN; Christelle Guedot, UWisc; Kelly Hamby, UMD;Rufus Isaacs, MSU; Tracy Leskey, USDA; Vaughn Walton, OSU.
- Members of a multi-state research project will provide a comprehensive update on organic management of spotted wing drosophila. It will cover findings of the research conducted during the first year of this project on organically approved strategies including: 1) behavioral strategies to improve monitoring (using more attractive baits and lures) and management (attract and kill approach); 2) cultural strategies to lower SWD populations in the field (canopy and floor management, and using exclusion netting); and 3) chemical strategies (using organically approved insecticides in combination with adjuvants and phagostimulants. Presenters are Ash Sial, UGA; Mary Rogers, UMN; Christelle Guedot, UWisc; Kelly Hamby, UMD;Rufus Isaacs, MSU; Tracy Leskey, USDA; Vaughn Walton, OSU.
- February 7, 2017: Providing Habitat for Wild Bees on Organic Farms
- This webinar will look at habitat augmentation techniques useful for both wild bee conservation and the promotion of pollination services, with special attention to native plant selection and installation, experimental ground nest preparation, and cavity-nest construction. Presenters are Elias Bloom and Rachel Olsson, Washington State University; Bridget McNassar, Oxbow Farm.
- This webinar will look at habitat augmentation techniques useful for both wild bee conservation and the promotion of pollination services, with special attention to native plant selection and installation, experimental ground nest preparation, and cavity-nest construction. Presenters are Elias Bloom and Rachel Olsson, Washington State University; Bridget McNassar, Oxbow Farm.
- February 15, 2017: Integrated Clubroot Management for Brassica Crops
- In this webinar we will explore the life-cycle of clubroot, environmental factors influence disease incidence and severity, prevention measures to minimize between field and in-field spread, and management strategies to reduce crop damage. Particular attention will be focused on soil pH management using lime. Presenters are Aaron Heinrich and Alex Stone, OSU.
- In this webinar we will explore the life-cycle of clubroot, environmental factors influence disease incidence and severity, prevention measures to minimize between field and in-field spread, and management strategies to reduce crop damage. Particular attention will be focused on soil pH management using lime. Presenters are Aaron Heinrich and Alex Stone, OSU.
- March 7, 2017: Tomato Varietal Improvement
- Participants will describe how to develop and select improved vegetable varieties using the breeding component of the Tomato Organic Management and Improvement (TOMI) project as an example. The goal of this project is to develop new tomato varieties that are resistant to the most problematic diseases facing organic tomato growers, and have the good fruit flavor that customers expect from heirloom varieties. Presenters are Julie Dawson, University of Wisconsin; Lori Hoagland and Dan Egel, Purdue; James Myers and Kara Young, Oregon State, Laurie McKenzie, Jared Zystro, Organic Seed Alliance.
- Participants will describe how to develop and select improved vegetable varieties using the breeding component of the Tomato Organic Management and Improvement (TOMI) project as an example. The goal of this project is to develop new tomato varieties that are resistant to the most problematic diseases facing organic tomato growers, and have the good fruit flavor that customers expect from heirloom varieties. Presenters are Julie Dawson, University of Wisconsin; Lori Hoagland and Dan Egel, Purdue; James Myers and Kara Young, Oregon State, Laurie McKenzie, Jared Zystro, Organic Seed Alliance.
- March 30, 2017: Using Biofungicides, Biostimulants and Biofertilizers to Boost Crop Productivity and help Manage Vegetable Diseases
- In this webinar, participants will describe the different types of products available in the marketplace today, provide an overview of recent studies evaluating their efficacy, and discuss strategies for identifying the most effective products and application practices. Presenters are Giuseppe Colla, Tuscia University, MariaTeresa Cardarelli, Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Dan Egel, Laurie Hoagland, Purdue University.
- In this webinar, participants will describe the different types of products available in the marketplace today, provide an overview of recent studies evaluating their efficacy, and discuss strategies for identifying the most effective products and application practices. Presenters are Giuseppe Colla, Tuscia University, MariaTeresa Cardarelli, Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Dan Egel, Laurie Hoagland, Purdue University.
- April 11, 2017: Use of High Glucosinolate Mustard as an Organic Biofumigant in Vegetable Crops
- In this webinar, we’ll address the use of mustard cover crops that have been bred specifically to have high glucosinolate concentrations and act as a biofumigant in crops like potatoes, peppers, black beans, and strawberries. Presenters are Heather Darby and Abha Gupta, University of Vermont Extension; and Katie Campbell-Nelson, University of Massachusetts,
Recent Cucurbit Webinars
We recently ran a series of 3 cucurbit webinars from the Eastern Sustainable Organic Cucurbit Project-on viruses, downy mildew, and striped cucumber beetles. We recorded them all, and the first 2 are already in our archive--the third one will be available within the coming week! Find them all in our archive and on the eOrganic YouTube channel:
- Managing Cucurbit Downy Mildew in the Northeast, by Chris Smart, Cornell University
- Viral Diseases in Cucurbits: Identification and Management Strategies, by John Murphy, Auburn University
For additional information about cucumber beetles, read the eOrganic article on Managing Cucumber Beetles in Organic Farming by William Snyder of Washington State University.
Pollination Webinars from the Bee Health Community on eXtension
Meanwhile, our friends at the eXtension Bee Health Community of Practice have been busy organizing a webinar series on pollination. Applicable to both organic and conventional farmers, these webinars will provide an overview of pollination requirements and strategies to ensure the pollination of specialty crops. Farmers and gardeners rely on crop pollinators, including honey bees, alternative managed bees like the blue orchard bee, and wild bees. Pollination experts will discuss how to support these pollinators in almond, blueberry, tree fruit, pumpkin, and watermelon.
Find out more about the series and register at http://articles.extension.org/pages/74051 and read a flyer here
Spotted Wing Drosophila Research Update
Over the past year we've been including updates in this newsletter on an important multi-state research project on Spotted Wing Drosophila. Some of the many team members are presenting a webinar on February 1st, see above, but they have also been posting updates on their research at different locations around the country. This month, read about their experiments on SWD exclusion with netting and tunnels in Minnesota on fall-bearing raspberries, and in Arkansas on blackberries. Be sure to attend the upcoming webinar on SWD to hear more about this project! Find the project website with additional information at http://eorganic.info/node/12848.
In Good Tilth Winter Issue and Organicology
In Good Tilth Winter 2017issue has been published and the theme is Transition.This issue features a few different research projects on the topic, including the Tools for Transition project out of MN and the Organic Hotspots research from Penn State (and OTA) feature article on our partnership w/ OSU, with a section highlighting eOrganic.
Also, Tilth's biennial conference Organicology is coming up Feb. 2-4 in Portland, OR. The event draws about 1000 attendees over 3 days for keynotes, intensives, workshops, a trade show and celebration. Early registration rates end on January 20, so don’t delay signing up. eOrganic will have a table at the conference, so we hope to see you there!
OGRAIN workshop on Jan 21-22
Registration is now open for the 2017 Organic Grain Production and Marketing Seminar at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Two days of expert presentations, engaging panels, productive discussions, and plenty of time to meet other farmers interested in organic grain production in the Upper Midwest. Come get the tools, techniques, and network necessary to get started and succeed in producing and marketing organic grains.
- Doing the numbers on transition with Paul Dietmann of Badgerland Financial
- Organic weed management with Gary McDonald, cultivation expert
- Organic certification with Jackie DeMinter of MOSA
- Organic grain 101 with Carmen Fernholz, A-Frame Farm and University of MN
- Beginning farmer panel
- Organic grain marketing panel
- Food-grade grain production with Dr. Julie Dawson (UW-Madison) and Gilbert Williams (Lonesome Stone Milling LLC)
- Organic No-Till production with Dr. Erin Silva and a farmer panel
- Finding the right rotation for you (workshop led by successful organic grain farmers)
- And many more....
Register here: http://ograin.bpt.me/
More upcoming organic conferences--this is by no means a complete list!
- EcoFarm, Jan 25-8, Pacific Grove, CA
- Organic Agriculture Research Symposium and Southern SAWG, Jan 25-8 Lexington, KY
- Organicology, Feb 2-4, Portland, OR
- OEFFA, Feb 9-11, Dayton OH
- NOFA VT, Feb 18-20, Burlington, VT
- MOSES, Feb 23-5 La Crosse, WI
