Organic FarmingAgriculture techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm are the things one must consider in organic farming. Farming is by far the number one source of food that feed the world. Advancements in agriculture production has dramatically reduced the carbon footprint of farming. One developing technology reported on NPR would allow ranchers to use their land to absorb carbon out of the air for a profit. This is how increasing an organic footprint can reduce the carbon footprint. When we consume organically produced farm products, we support the use of sustainable agricultural technologies that preserves and protects our ecology. The following content is periodically updated so check back for more information on organic farming.
Articles On Organic Farming:
- Fire can increase your land’s natural resource value
Searching for a cost-effective management tool to increase the natural resource value of your property?
Get back to basics with one of the earliest methods used by nature and man — fire. read more - New technologies available for boosting dairy cow fertility
From Ohio State University
Increasing the reproductive efficiency of dairy cattle by getting the highest possible number of cows pregnant in the same period of time has always been a challenge for the industry.
read more - NCC urges House ag committee to include STAX in farm bill
From the National Cotton Council
The National Cotton Council looks forward to working with the House Agriculture Committee on development of a 2012 farm bill that effectively meets U.S. cotton producers' risk management needs.
read more - One of the fastest deals ever: A new .5 million cotton gin in east Mississippi
Eleven days — that’s all it took for a group of east Mississippi cotton growers to go from talking stage to a signed, sealed, and financed deal to build a spanking new .5 million state of the art cotton gin in Noxubee County.
read more - Florida research looking at honeybee response to chemicals, mites
By Mickie Anderson, University of Florida
University of Florida honeybee researcher Jamie Ellis is interested in what happens to bees that encounter chemicals and Varroa mites — but he’s even more interested in how younger bees fare long-term after facing those challenges.
read more - It’s raining thrips in Tennessee
By Scott Stewart, Tennessee IPM Extension Specialist
Actually, thinking of thrips as raining from the sky is pretty accurate and we are getting a pretty good flood in most areas.
read more - Thrips action heating up in north Alabama cotton
Consultants, growers urged to stay on top of situation By Tim Reed & Barry Freeman, Alabama Extension Entomologists
Many cotton acres in north Alabama are being treated for thrips as large numbers move from grass to cotton plants in the first to second true leaf stage.
read more - New Lipan pecan variety offers good yield, disease resistance
The new pecan variety Lipan — released as a trial variety last July — is a large, high-quality nut which generates excellent yields and improved disease resistance.
read more
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- Organic yields lag behind industrial farming, but that's not the whole story
In general, industrial agriculture beats organic farming in yields, according to a comprehensive new study in Nature. The study adds new data to the sometimes heated debate of organic versus conventional farming. Proponents of organic farming argue that these practices are environmentally friendly, sustainable over the long-term, and provide a number of social goods. However, critics argue that organic farming requires more land, thereby increasing global deforestation, which offsets any other environmental benefits of organic food production. At stake is whether organic or conventional is capable of feeding the world's seven billion people (and rising), including increasing demand for energy-intensive foods like meat in the developing world. - Innovative program seeks to safeguard Peruvian Amazon from impacts of Inter-Oceanic Highway
Arbio was begun by Michel Saini and Tatiana Espinosa Q. in the Peruvian Amazon region of Madre de Dios. The project focuses on a protective response to the increased encroachment and destructive land use driven by development. The recent construction of the Inter-Oceanic Highway in the Madre de Dios area presents an enormous threat to forest biodiversity. Arbio provides opportunities to help establish a buffer zone near the road to limit intrusive agricultural and deforestation activities. - Fertilizer trees boost yields in Africa
Fertilizer trees—which fix nitrogen in the soil—have improved crops yields in five African countries, according to a new study in the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. In some cases yields have doubled with the simple addition of nitrogen-soaking trees. The research found that fertilizer trees could play a role in alleviating hunger on the continent while improving environmental conditions. - Five ways to feed billions without trashing the planet
At the end of this month the UN predicts global population will hit 7 billion people, having doubled from 3.5 billion in less than 50 years. Yet even as the Earth hits this new milestone, one billion people do not have enough food; meanwhile the rapid expansion of agriculture is one of the leading causes of global environmental degradation, including greenhouse gas emissions, destruction of forests, marine pollution, mass extinction, water scarcity, and soil degradation. So, how do we feed the human population—which continues to rise and is expected to hit nine billion by 2050—while preserving the multitude of ecosystem services that support global food production? A new study in Nature proposes a five-point plan to this dilemma. - Organic farming can be more profitable in the long-term than conventional agriculture
Organic farming is more profitable and economically secure than conventional farming even over the long-term, according to a new study in Agronomy Journal. Using experimental farm plots, researchers with the University of Minnesota found that organic beat conventional even if organic price premiums (i.e. customers willing to pay more for organic) were to drop as much as 50 percent. - Controversial study finds intensive farming partnered with strict protected areas is best for biodiversity
Given that we have very likely entered an age of mass extinction—and human population continues to rise (not unrelated)—researchers are scrambling to determine the best methods to save the world's suffering species. In the midst of this debate, a new study in Science, which is bound to have detractors, has found that setting aside land for strict protection coupled with intensive farming is the best way to both preserve species and feed a growing human world. However, other researchers say the study is missing the point, both on global hunger and biodiversity. - Program that cuts illegal logging by providing high quality health care in Borneo wins major conservation award
The co-founder of an initiative that discourages illegal logging by bringing affordable, high quality health care to impoverished communities in Indonesian Borneo has been recognized with a prestigious conservation award. - Growing strawberries organically yields more nutritious fruit and healthier soil
Strawberry plants grown on commercial organic farms yield higher-quality fruit and have healthier soil than those grown conventionally, according to a study published on 1 September in the journal PLoS One. The research suggests that sustainable farming practices can produce nutritious fruit, if farmers manage soil and its beneficial microbes properly. This is among the most comprehensive studies to investigate how conventional and organic farming methods affect both fruit and soil quality.
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