PEI Certified Organic Producers Cooperative

 

Join us on July 19^th at the PEI Potato Board Meeting Room (90 Hillstrom Avenue in the West Royalty Business Park) at 7:00 pm for an informative lecture with Pius Floris and Johan Middelkamp from the Netherlands on the dynamics of soil biology.  Pius will speak about soil health and offer practical approaches to improving soil quality (and consequently the quality of the harvested products). They will also talk about soil preparation and weed control.

Pius Floris is a well-known and respected scientist with Plant Health Cure  and has a specialized understanding of the role of healthy soils in sustainable farming systems.  He has participated in global research projects in 23 countries, from Iceland to Ethiopia and from Norway to Australia.  Pius is frequently asked to speak to study clubs of all kinds across Europe.  Pius and Johan promise to have a lively and entertaining presentation including information on the production of mycorrhizae and beneficial, specialized root bacteria; and, their role in the soil when combined with compost and other organic fertilizers (i.e. livestock and green manures).  They promise an engaging and entertaining evening with several practical approaches to improving the soil health and performance on Island farms.

Contact Karen at the PEI COPC at: research@organicpei.com or (902) 894-9999 to reserve your spot.

DID YOU KNOW …… that there are up to 10 billion bacteria cells in a gram of soil around plant roots in a region known as the rhizosphere? Many of them appear to suppress disease by excreting substances that fight of pathogenic microbes or occupy areas that would otherwise be filled by pathogens. Studies have shown that up to 30% of the carbon fixed by plants is actually released by the roots to feed beneficial microbes while repelling and killing harmful organisms.

Soil Biology Lecture_Floris_2016

WIREWORM MANAGEMENT & POPULATION ASSESSMENTS

• Locating Noronha Light Traps (NLTs) on farms where there are known wireworm populations as a management tool.
• Locating Vernon Phermone Traps (VPTs) on farms where there has not been previous damage to help determine if there are populations present in those areas. Cooperating producers will regularly collect specimens and conduct counts.

Cooperators: Dr. Christine Noronha (AAFC), Dr. Bob Vernon (AAFC), PEI Horticultural Association, 12 COPC member producers. Initiated early May, 2016.

CARROT RUST FLY DETECTION & MANAGEMENT

• For farms collecting on-site climate data, instruction will be provided in the growing degree day (GDD) methodology for predicting emergence of carrot rust fly.
• For farms not collecting climate data and for those that are, the PEI Horticultural Association will provide basic pest alerts – identifying that GDD levels have been (or are near to being) achieved and/ or the date and location of first pest observations.
• Participating producers will be provided: sticky traps and materials required for trap installation; a hand lens for pest identification; instruction on how and where to install the traps on-farm; instruction on pest identification; and, established pest thresholds for control.
• The PEI Horticultural Association will be provided real time climate data if collected on-farm as well as dates of first appearance of the pest to help verify their current carrot rust fly IPM model.

Cooperators: PEI Horticultural Association, 4 COPC member producers. To be initiated mid June, 2016.

DELIA spp. POPULATION ASSESSMENTS

• Part 1: Producers have been asked to provide an area in an existing bean field (4 rows x 80 feet) to conduct a replicated observational trial to determine the population of Delia spp. (bean root maggot) in a specified area.
• Part 2: Non-destructive data collection from the production area on the cooperating farms where individual plants will be marked within each seeding date; and germination and plant counts will be performed throughout the season. At harvest, the number of beans per plant will be counted and post harvest, the roots will be examined for maggot damage.

Cooperators: Dr. Suzanne Blatt (AAFC), PEI Horticultural Association, 2 COPC member producers. Initiated May, 2016.

ORGANIC SOIL HEALTH INDICATORS ::: PHASE 1

• A comprehensive suite of soil analyses under the current defined protocols of the Cornell Soil Health Test (CSHT) will be undertaken, using samples collected from a number of organic farms across the province.
• The objective of this work would be to verify and calibrate over a defined period of time the accuracy of the CSHT under local conditions, and further to determine if the current protocol requires amendment to ensure efficacy on Prince Edward Island.
• This work will also serve to establish and quantify baseline soil health levels on organic farms across the province; and will assist in the development of management practices that improve soil health characteristics over time.

Project partners: Kyra Stiles (PEIDAF) Dr. Aaron Mills (AAFC), Carolyn Mann (Dal AC),  15 COPC member producers. To be initiated October 2016.

Also included,  will be a management -based component where specialist consultants will visit participating farms, examine the results of the soil health analyses and help to develop strategies to improve soil health and performance. The proposed consultants would be Mary-Howell & Klaas Martens and David Blanchard, participants in the PEI COPC annual soils winter workshop.

CONFIRMING LATE BLIGHT RESISTANCE TRAITS IN ORGANIC HEIRLOOM TOMATO VARIETIES

• Testing on-farm heirloom tomato selections for late blight resistance.

Cooperators: Dr. Rick Peters (AAFC), Steph Hughes (ACORN, Bauta Family Foundation & University of Manitoba), 2 COPC member producers. To be initiated November 2016.

PASTURE & GRAZING MANAGEMENT FOR ORGANIC LIVESTOCK

Cooperators: Dr. Yousef Papadopoulos (AAFC), John Duynisveld (AAFC), 1 COPC member producer. Initiated May 2016.

ORGANIC OATS VARIETY EVALUATION

• Eight varieties of commercially available hulled oats will be evaluated for disease, competition, days to maturity, stem height, yield, kernel quality and nutrient uptake.

Cooperators: Vernon Rodd (AAFC), Roger Henry (AAFC)

ORGANIC CROPPING SYSTEMS

• Ongoing. Entering final year of three year project.

Cooperators: Vernon Rodd (AAFC), Roger Henry (AAFC)

REDUCING CROP DAMAGE & MAXIMIZING PRODUCTION USING MICRO CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY
Ongoing.
Cooperators: PEI COPC member producers.

ORGANIC INDUSTRY SCAN & MEMBER SURVEY
Undertake to collect farm, member and industry statistics through use of a comprehensive survey tool; the objective of the project would be to clearly define the PEI COPC membership to develop programs and research projects with clear performance objectives; and to advise on the development of specific provincial and federal policy initiatives.

ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY
Third-party project to: undertake a balanced scorecard economic impact assessment for the organic sector on PEI. Preliminary conversations have been undertaken to determine potential financial support from ACOA

Join us, March 04 and 05,  for two days of workshops focused on building healthy, profitable farm systems and productive soils. 

Learn how to read your soil & manage its fertility to ensure true crop health.  Identify strategies and techniques that will build farm soils and profits. 

Join Mary-Howell & Klaas Martens, Mark Bernard, David Blanchard and Kyra Stiles as we cover a range of topics including:
Cover crops, crop diversification, reduced tillage, nutrient management, soil testing, modern techniques & technologies for rapid topsoil formation, and how to combine everything into a profitable farm design.

For more information or to register, visit: THE SOIL SESSIONS