Organic farmers embracing ‘growing wealth’ of research
The Center for Agroecology manages this organic farm at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Organic research is expected to be boosted by the school’s designation as an agriculture experiment station.
By Bob Johnson Organic growers say they hope scientific research will help them find more efficient ways of managing weeds and pests and increasing yields. Those were the high- est priorities cited by organic farmers in a recent survey. “Weeds, managing production costs, yields and pests were the greatest challeng- es,” said Brise Tencer, executive director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation. “Costs are high here, and that was a priority above weeds for California farmers.” The Organic Farming Research Foundation awards grants for research. Projects are prioritized based on its annual survey, shared in December at the Organic Growers Conference in Monterey. Tencer touts a “growing wealth” of important research and resources avail- able through universities, including the University of California Cooperative Extension, which has experts who help organic farmers cope with major produc- tion challenges. Recently, the University of California, Santa Cruz, which specializes in organic farming, was designated as an agriculture experiment station. This will increase its
chances of gaining research funds. Increased federal funding is also likely on the way for organic research and conserva- tion, said Ariel De Lara, district conserva- tionist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. “I think there will be more U.S. Department of Agriculture technical as- sistance and money for organic farmers in the next few years,” De Lara said. “We already support things like cover crops and sediment traps that reduce sediment runoff. There is a lot happening and a lot more to come.” Some small organic farmers have been able to piece together a network of re- search help from various agencies. Javier Zamora of JSM Organics grows berries, vegetables and flowers in the Watsonville and Las Lomas area. He said he has been able to tap into resources at institutions including Cabrillo Community College, UC Berkeley, UC Davis and the Agriculture Land-based Training Association in Salinas. Accessing some research resources, in- cluding from government agencies, that help organic farmers can be complicated and may require some patience. “When I approach government agencies, I go into it figuring I’m going to fail 70% to
80% of the time,” said Steven Cardoza, a second-generation organic raisin grower in the Fresno area. “Don’t get discouraged.” In addition to paperwork, help from public researchers also involves dedica- tion of scarce ground to scientific studies. “We need to set aside an acre or two to try things for the scientists,” Zamora said. “The challenge is replacing the ground you set aside for trying things.” Smaller farmers also have greater difficulty finding enough in loans to be financially stable. “The challenge is access to financing,” said Asia Hampton, business skills ad- visor at California FarmLink, which was created to offer small and medium-sized farmers business advice, loans and access to financial institutions. Smaller organic growers also face chal- lenges finding profitable markets for their fruits and vegetables. “We know there are small farmers who are 10 times better than me and 20 times better than the large guys at growing things, and they aren’t getting anywhere,” Zamora said. “Eleven years ago, I started with farmers markets and a small grocery store that was not part of a chain.” Much information is exchanged infor- mally among organic growers. “Organic farmers rely on other farmers
and certification for their information,” Tencer said. “We need more research on integrated weed and pest management.” Cardoza said he finds an incremental approach to improving his system is prac- tical and pays off in the long run. “I started with cheap, easy things like reducing tillage and changing my irriga- tion practices,” he said. “My approach is systemic—we’re at the point we don’t use pesticides at all. You get to the point there are parts of your budget you don’t need.” To an extent, smaller farmers are not in the same network as growers large enough to have their own research departments. “We need to focus more on producing growers who will replace today’s larger growers,” Zamora said. “The large growers and small growers need to be more open to teaching each other what works.” One outlet for smaller organic farmers comes from programs designed to pro- mote healthy food choices for children. “There’s quite a bit of money from the California Department of Food and Agriculture going from getting prod- uct from small farmers to the schools,” Zamora said. “I didn’t see that seven or eight years ago.” (Bob Johnson is a reporter in Monterey County. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.)
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February 15, 2023 Ag Alert 15
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