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 Among the speakers were a team from the University of Illinois.
The U of I has a test plot on the farm in rural Atlanta and are
studying the impact of various cover crops on soil retention,
nutrient retention, and other benefits to the environment.
University of Illinois: Dr. Tony Yannarell, Elizabeth Miernicki,
and Cassandra Wilcoxen
University of Illinois, Associate Professor of Microbial Ecology,
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Dr. Tony Yannarell;
and graduate students Elizabeth Miernicki and Cassandra Wilcoxen,
each gave brief talks on the work that is being done at the test
plot.
This is the third year of the test plot at the farm and has been led
by three different people. Therefore, Dr. Yannarell said he had
inherited the program well under way and was continuing the work of
those who came before him.
The test plot is divided into 50-square-foot sections and included a
section with no cover crop at all that is used as the control. Six
crops are being grown, one species per small plot, and also combined
in varieties of two and three species per plot. Elizabeth
Miernicki said that her work was with wildlife and pollinators. She
said her studies were to examine what cover crops are best
attractors for birds and pollinator insects, particularly birds. She
said that speaking generally, there are more species of birds, and
higher populations of birds in soils with cover crops as opposed to
those soils without.
In the pollinator studies, she is examining the populations of
butterflies. She said at this point, the populations are not
present, which is representative of other work and reports
indicating that through pesticides, a large number of butterfly
species, particularly the monarchs are becoming extinct in our
country.
Cassandra Wilcoxen is studying urban food production. She said her
work was to determine the long-term effects of urban soil systems.
She’s been working with raised beds, and mixing soil types for high
production. Her study has included a test of six soil treatments
that include compost only, compost-top soil combinations, and direct
soil alone, as well as mixed with compost and topsoil. She said the
bed with the higher content of compost is performing at the highest
level, and the bed that is direct soil only is performing poorly.
Dr. Yannarell said what his program is looking at is the impact of
the cover crop on soil quality. The goal is to work with cover crops
that will draw in the nutrients from the soil, and can be returned
to the soil with tillage.
Other goals studying the use of cover crops include erosion control
of the top soils, as well as prevention of nutrient leaching into
waterways. Another study that is ongoing is weed suppression using
cover crops. Dr. Yannarell explained that the cover crops could
suffocate out the weed population, which can be beneficial to the
organic farmer in particular.
Richard Ritter, Gridley Branch of Flanagan State Bank
With the plot tour over, guests returned to tent area to hear from
Richard Ritter of Flanagan State Bank. Ritter’s Bank is one of a few
banks that are aggressively working with organic producers.
Ritter said that three years ago he was asked to speak at a Land
Connection meeting. Though he had a farming background, he felt he
needed to research more about sustainable farming. He was disturbed
to find that there are not many resources out there that will give
good detailed information. He then decided it was his “calling” to
take up this subject and provide better information. Ritter said
2016 had been an interesting year, with half of the producers hoping
for drought, and half looking for record yields. The reason being,
many farms are taking financial hit. A crop loss and higher prices
or a record crop in spite of lower prices, could pull them out of
the fire.
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Looking at conventional farm yields last year, he said some might have thought
that it was a good year because yields were higher than they have had for the
past five, ten, and even 20 years. But..., prices were down, and input costs
were up. Consequently, Ritter said 2015 was at very best an average year and in
the opinion of many, a less than average year.
Ritter offered a handout that offered some income comparisons between
conventional crops versus organic crops. In his first comparison, he produced
numbers for production costs versus income, and showed the group where that high
soybean yields of 60 to 80 bushels of conventional soybeans showed a clear or
net income of only about half of the net income from an organic field with
yields at 36 to 80 bushels per acre. The reason for the difference is based on
the increased selling price, not decreased costs.
Ritter said that it is a common misconception that organic farming means no
costs involved in weed control or fertilizer. He said that was not true,
especially with fertilizer, where that an organic farmer will pay a premium
price for organic fertilizers.
Ritter said another good thing to point out, is that for so long, it appeared
that organic crop yields were much lower than the yields of conventional crops.
He said this is no longer the case. Yields off of organic fields are coming in
within 75 percent of the comparable conventional crop.
Ritter said that the future of organic farming is strong. He said there are a
number of reasons for this, but perhaps the best reason is the consumer. He said
that consumers are looking for organic and are willing to pay the premium for
it.
He noted that eggs, for example, are selling for about $4.00 in the organic
market, compared to less than a dollar or $1.50 in the conventional market, yet
there continues to be a high demand for organic eggs.
This trend is continuing throughout the food market, with people looking for
healthy and safe choices where they have no worries about the use of chemicals
or genetically modified (GMO) products. He added that there are statistics that
show that 73 percent of all Americans are consuming some organically grown
products.
Ritter said the other good news for organic farming is that landowners are
looking for producers who will go organic on their land. So, the demand for the
organic producer is growing among the landlord community. He said the reason for
this was not just organic farming practices, but also profitability. He said
landlords see that there are greater returns in organic production than in
conventional farming.
Ritter said another benefit to transitioning away from conventional farming, was
the income potential that will allow multiple generations to live off the family
farm. It is a problem that the lack of stable income in conventional farming is
causing young people to leave the farm for their careers. But, with the
potential in food farming to yield as much as $15,000 per acre, even a small
farm can support a family.
So what is the downside to organic farming? Ritter asked the questioned and
answered it saying, it is hard work. He noted some young folks just aren’t going
to work as hard as they need to make organic farming profitable.
Ritter said that in general, to survive, the farming community is going to have
to keep an open mind, and be adaptable to the changes that need to be made. He
predicted that at the end of this season, there would be 10 percent fewer
farmers. He said land cost is also going to be dropping. To stay afloat, farmers
need to look at alternatives such as organic farming, which is more work, but
also a greater net return.
The next speaker on the list was Barbara Barcal of All Star Trading, who spoke
about the income potential for organic and non-GMO crops, as well as the
competition from overseas.
The last four speakers of the day included Barcal, John Bianucci of Iroquois
Valley Farms, and Bill Davison, University of Illinois' Grand Prairie Grain
Guild; and Joe Bybee of the University of Illinois – The Illinois Nutrient Loss
Reduction Strategy.
LDN will offer coverage from all of these speakers in the final segment of this
series.
[Nila Smith] |
