Organic Farming at Washington State

University

David Granatstein, CSANR Carol Miles, HorticultureDiana Roberts, Extension Organic wheat research, Pullman

WSU researchers published a long-term organic comparison study in Nature. Success with leading journals has helped legitimize organic research.

1980 USDA Organic Farming Report

1981 Amer. Soc. Agronomy Organic Farming Symposium

1987 J. Reganold article in Nature

1989 LISA project, Farming for Profit and Stewardship

1992 Ctr. for Sustaining Agr. & Nat. Res. formed

2001 Faculty survey, organic work group formed

2002 National NOP training project

2002 WSU/OSU Organic symposium – 50 posters, 220 people

2003 USDA organic research special grant

2005 WSHA first organic session

2006 BIOAg program funding, student organic farm

2007 Organic farming major launched; PNVA organic session

WSU Organic Ag Chronology

Integration of Extension and Research

• WSU faculty survey, formed WSU organic work group

• Organic special grant, BIOAg

• Development of organic land at R&E centers

• Web site – research reports on line, database

• Organized educational events – special topic symposia, organic grain workshops, field tours

• Integrate organic into existing industry meetings – tree fruit, vegetable

• Formal training courses – Cultivating Success

• NOP national training

http://organicfarming.wsu.edu/

• Seeds and varieties – seed quality, seed diseases, wheat breeding

• Compost tea – characterization, disease control

• Tree fruit – orchard floor management

• Vegetable systems - cover crops, rotations, mulches, weed control, variety selection

• Dryland grain production – weed control, fertility, integration of livestock

• Economics – organic sector trends; apple price responses

Topics for Organic Research Grant

Elements of Success

• Support from College administration• Formation of cross-departmental unit, CSANR• Partnerships with organic farming and consumer

advocacy groups – Tilth, WSFFN, PCC• Linkage with mainstream agriculture groups whose

constituencies increasingly participated in the organic sector

• Academic legitimacy (e.g. Nature article)

• Willingness of faculty to develop new proposals

Challenges

• Stability of funding

• Industry matching funds for grants

• Two distinct audiences – ‘philosophic’ and ‘economic’

• Different needs – small vs large farms, new entrants vs long time organic producers

• Pesticide rules – e.g. work with brassica meals

Lessons Learned

1. Focus on common values (soil health, biocontrol), not differences (pesticides, biotech)

Lessons Learned

1. Focus on common values (soil health, biocontrol), not differences (pesticides, biotech)

2. Recognize cross-over of research

Pheromone mating disruption, developed for ‘conventional’ orchards, was a critical technology in the expansion of organic apple production.

Lessons Learned

1. Focus on common values (soil health, biocontrol), not differences (pesticides, biotech)

2. Recognize important cross-over of research

3. Find funding – SARE program, OFRF, WA CPR biocontrol mandate, USDA organic transitions

Lessons Learned

1. Focus on common values (soil health, biocontrol), not differences (pesticides, biotech)

2. Recognize important cross-over of research

3. Find funding – SARE program, OFRF, WA CPR biocontrol mandate, USDA organic transitions

4. Size of organic sector – potential impact of research and extension

When organic acres were a very small percent of total crop acres, the potential impact from research appeared minimal. With apples and pears exceeding 7% of all apples and pears in the state, there is more motivation for research.

Lessons Learned

1. Focus on common values (soil health, biocontrol), not differences (pesticides, biotech)

2. Recognize important cross-over of research

3. Find funding – SARE program, OFRF, WA CPR biocontrol mandate, USDA organic transitions

4. Size of organic sector – potential impact of research

5. Systems studies and component research – not either / or

Organic Farming Trends

In cooperation with Oregon Tilth Certified Organic and Washington State Department of Agriculture Organic Food Program

David Granatstein & Elizabeth KirbyWSU-Center for Sustaining Agriculture

And Natural Resources

Washington & Oregon

0

5

10

15

20

25

Org

anic

Food S

ale

s (bill

ion $

) Growth of US Organic Food Sales

Consumer Demand

1%

Nutrition Business Journal

4%

40% of sales = fruits & vegetables

projected

New York Times, 31 October, 2008

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 20080

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

Cert Trans

ac

res

Trend of organic crop acreage in Oregon

OTCO data all years; WSDA data beginning 2004; QAI, ICS, GOA, and CCOF added 2005; Global Culture data added 2008. Does not include 5,400 ac lake algae area.

45,429

59,207

83,297

Photo: Fry

Family Farm

115,502

Certified acres by crop type Oregon - 2008

‘Other crops’ include herbs, mixed horticulture, seed, cover crops, etc. OTCO, WSDA, GOA, ICS, CCOF, Global Culture data

Forage 77%

Vegetables 5%

Grain, pulse & oilseed 8%

Fruits & nuts 2% Fallow 4% Other land 2%

Other crops 2%

Organic Farm Acreage in Washington State

Includes all land Certified (C) + Transition (T); WSDA only 1996-2002; WSDA, OTCO, ICS, CCOF, QAI 2003-2008

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

ac

res

C + T

* 2008 combined certifier acres; ** bearing acres

2008 WA Organic Land Percentage

All WA2007 Ag Census

Census Organic

Percent Organic (Census)

*Certified Organic

Percent Organic

(Certified)

No. of farms 39,284 1,207 3.1 689 1.8

Farmland (ac) 14,972,789 - - 92,555 0.6

Cropland (ac) 7,609,210 64,830 0.9 91,570 1.2

Apples (ac) **152,334 - - 12,936 8.5

Sweet corn (ac) 91,977 - - 7,689 8.4

Green peas (ac) 39,620 - - 5,243 13.2

Farmgate sales $6.79BIL $159.8MIL 2.4 $213.2MIL >3.1

Crop distribution of certified organic acres in Washington - 2008

Certified acres 96,139 Transition acres 9,380

Grain, Bean, Oilseed 9%

Small Fruits & Nuts 3%

Fallow 10%

Mixed Hort 2%

Other land 1% Undefined

5%

Forages 31%

Vegetables 21% Tree Fruit 18%

WSDA, OTCO, ICS, CCOF data. Certified land area = 92,555 ac including 4,848 unidentified ac. Double crop =3,584 ac

2004 2005 2006 2007 20080

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Sweet Corn Peas Potatoes Green Beans Onions Mixed, Other, NS

acr

es

Organic Vegetable Acres Washington State

Sweet corn

Peas

Mixed

Organic apple variety trends Washington State – major varieties

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

Acre

s

Gala Fuji Red Delicious Granny Smith Golden Types

Combined certifier data 00-07;2008 preliminary WSDA data only; 2010 based on 2008 C +T

Projected

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

acre

s

Certified Transitional

Estimated organic apple acreage in Washington State

12,936 ac = ~8% of WA apple bearing acreage

AlarMD

$ drop

Wal-Mart

Combined certifiers except 2008 = preliminary WSDA data

2010 – 17,000 ac ?

$0

$10

$20

$30

$40

$/b

ox F

OB

organic conventional

Apple Price TrendsWashington State

Gala

Fuji

Org

Conv

WAGCHA data; FOB avg, all storage, grades, sizes

} price premium

$0

$10

$20

$30

$40

$/b

ox F

OB

organic conventional

**

**

* 7/15/09 season price, C.A.

Sales % of farms % of sales

<25K 51.0 1.5

25-100K 19.1 4.8

100-250K 11.5 9.5

250K-1MIL 13.4 32.8

>1MIL 5.0 51.3

WA Organic Farm Size versus Sales - 2006

WSDA data only

Organic sector will continue to grow - how big ? 10% of food sales? - generally supports health, environmental, climate change policies

Land-grant universities are responding - historic lack of research-based information for extension - research crossover is important

Need to think of organic as onepossible path towards sustainability

Conclusion

ARS photohttp://organicfarming.wsu.edu