Section C: Organic Agriculture in the Agroecoystem

• Projected Outcomes
• Background / Lessons
  • Introduction
  • The Ground Beneath Our Feet
  • Ecological question 1: What are the nutrient and water flows in the system?
  • Ecological question 2: What are the sources and sinks of pollutants in the system?
  • Ecological question 3: What are the interactions of living organisms in the system?
  • Ecological question 4: What are the energy flows in the system?
• Activities

Projected outcomes:

1. Students will begin to apply ecological analysis to organic production systems.
2. Students will learn about some key organic practices for both crop and livestock production.
3. Students will learn how to get technical information about organic agriculture.

Background /Lessons:

Introduction

Organic agriculture. The application of a set of cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that support the cycling of on-farm resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. These include maintaining or enhancing soil and water quality; conserving wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife; and avoiding use of synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering.

From the USDA AMS Organic Practices Factsheet

Like natural ecosystems, agro-ecosystems are characterized by nutrient flows and cycles, energy flows, and the interactions of living organisms with each other and the physical environment. However, agro-ecosystems differ from natural ecosystems in two key ways:

• First, we expect them to export particular biological goods for our use.
• Second, we deliberately manipulate them to get them to produce those goods in abundance.

These two special qualities of agro-ecosystems in turn affect their key ecological processes. As the definitions above show, organic agriculture seeks to work with ecosystem processes to achieve its production goals. Because crops and sites and farming systems are so variable it is a major challenge to create organic standards that meet the ecological goals and are still workable for farmers.

This section begins with a quick look at the role of the soil in the organic agro-ecosystem and then encourages students to think about the ecology of organic production by posing four ecological questions.

1. What are the water and nutrient flows in the system?
2. What are the sources and sinks of pollutants in the system?
3. What are the interactions of living organisms in the system?
4. What are the energy flows in the system?

The Ground Beneath Our Feet

“The soil is, as a matter of fact, full of live organisms. It is essential to conceive of it as something pulsating with life, not as a dead or inert mass. There could be no greater misconception than to regard the earth as dead: a handful of soil is teeming with life.” -Sir Albert Howard, English Botanist 1873-1947

Look at almost any text about organic farming, and soil management will be a dominant theme. All farmers value their soil (though they may feel forced to abuse it), but organic farmers are particularly passionate.

One way to look at soils is as a physical medium. It needs to serve a variety of mechanical functions: provide a substrate for plant roots to grow in, allow water to drain so plant roots have access to oxygen, but hold on to enough water that roots have access to water. The soil is also where plant nutrients are stored, transferred to roots, and sometimes lost.

However, there is more to soil than just the physical crumbles one can see with the naked eye, plus nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Soils are full of life, from insects to nematodes to microbes- all playing a role in the soil microbiome. Conventional farming used to overlook soil health; however, more farmers today have become aware of its importance. Working with the land and keeping soils healthy allows for more sustainable farming and farming for years to come.

Organic farmers also think about soils as a living system. They value the mechanical functions of soil, but they look beyond those properties to biological and ecological services. Organic standards seek to build and maintain good soil health, rather than simply avoiding damaging the physical structure of the soil.
See Module II, Section C and the Soil Ecology Powerpoint Presentation (Microsoft PPT) or (Adobe PDF) for a brief introduction to soil biology.

The producer must select and implement tillage and cultivation practices that maintain or improve the physical, chemical, and biological condition of soil and minimize soil erosion. Section 205.203(a) of the USDA organic regulations.

Since the 1980s one of the main advances in protecting agricultural soils has been the development of minimum-till and no-till systems for growing crops. No-till systems can significantly reduce both erosion and fuel consumption associated with tillage, but they almost always rely on herbicides for weed control. Because the use of synthetic herbicides is prohibited in organic agriculture, organic farmers face special challenges in trying to control weeds and minimize erosion at the same time.

However, there are a number of practices organic farmers use to minimize erosion and improve soil quality while managing pests, including:

• conservation tillage (including ridge-till and zone-till)
• cover crops
• conservation of crop residues
• mulching
• extended crop rotations including perennial crops and small grains
• strip cropping
• application of compost and manure

These multiple strategies may be at least as effective as no-till in preventing soil erosion and improving soil quality. The Organic Center published a Soil Health Review in 2020 about the impacts of organic farming practices.

Organic farmers have also begun to experiment more with no-till and reduced-till cover crop rotations in recent years, as soil health has become a hot topic in the agriculture sector. Organic no-till and rotational reduced-till production rely on using a cover crop in rotation with the cash crop (crop grown for profit) to make the soil healthier, reduce erosion and weed pressure, and/or improve soil water holding capacity. In organic systems the cover crops have to be terminated by mechanical methods such as mowing or crimping, or by freezing temperatures to make way for the next cash crop, whereas non-organic farms often use herbicides to kill the cover crop in no-till systems. Challenges to the reduced-till approach in organic systems include weed pressure if a cover crop does not establish well or is not successfully killed by mechanical methods. To learn more about cover crop no-till systems in Wisconsin read Organic Cover Crop-Based Rotational Reduced-Till Production: Making it Work for Wisconsin Farmers. For factsheets, videos, and PowerPoints about no-till and reduced-till organic practices visit Ograin.

Activity 1: Soil building practices

For more information on soil conservation in organic production see

• Strategies for Soil Conservation
• Developing Successful Horticultural Farms Training
• Soil Conservation Methods &  Benefits of Implementation

Ecological question 1: What are the nutrient and water flows in the system?

In a sustainable system, nutrients will be recycled to the extent possible and obtained from renewable sources.

Organic standards encourage nutrient cycling and use of nutrients from renewable sources by:

• requiring producers to manage soil fertility through use of rotations, cover crops, and the application of plant and animal materials. Section 205.203(b) of the USDA organic regulations.
• prohibiting use of many fertilizers derived from non-renewable sources, including synthetic nitrogen (anhydrous ammonia, urea) and superphosphate

Most organic farmers in Iowa and Wisconsin rely primarily on green manure crops, local animal manure, and compost to replace nutrients lost by the removal of harvested crops. And good certifiers will seek to ensure that an organic farm’s nutrient management plan will emphasize on-site cycling of nutrients. However, the standards do allow use of some non-renewable fertilizers, such as rock phosphates. In addition, plant and animal-based fertilizers are not necessarily sustainable. For example, manure can be applied in such a way that it pollutes. Or materials such as seaweed could be harvested in an unsustainable manner for use as fertilizer. Thus, how the certifier and farmer interpret the requirement to “promote ecological balance” can influence the sustainability of nutrient management on organic farms.

Until recently, conventional farmers and researchers thought about providing nutrients directly to the plants, while organic farmers and researchers focused on building up healthy and fertile soils, which then take care of the plants. In recent years, however, conventional agriculture has increasingly come to recognize the importance of soil health, just like organic agriculture. Established organic fields can have higher yields than conventional fields, though on average they tend to have somewhat lower yields than conventional crops.

The USDA-NRCS (US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service) created a glossary of terms and overview of outcomes associated with soil conservation. It is vital to understand more about the soil as agriculture progresses so we can work harmoniously with it. Healthy soils are not only beneficial to the farmer, but also to the surrounding ecosystem since the soil is an ecosystem within itself. Visit The ABC’s of Soil Health to learn more.

Activity 2: How will you feed your crop?

Organic standards strongly encourage the use of compost, and they also have strict criteria for the production of compost. For more information on compost see the discussion and associated activities in Module IV, Section C and Cornell’s Composting in Schools website. These materials cover composting in general. Refer to the organic standards in the How will you feed your crop? worksheet for specific requirements for organic composting.

For an overview of manure and compost use in organic agriculture see ATTRA publication Manures for Organic Crop Production.

Organic standards do not directly address use and cycling of water. However, organic farmers often observe that as their soil quality increases under organic management, the ability of their fields to absorb rainfall and retain moisture during droughty conditions increases significantly.

Ecological question 2: What are the sources and sinks of pollutants in the system?

(c) The producer must manage plant and animal materials to maintain or improve soil organic matter content in a manner that does not contribute to contamination of crops, soil, or water by plant nutrients, pathogenic organisms, heavy metals, or residues of prohibited substances.
Section 205.203(c) of the USDA organic regulations.

A sustainable system will minimize the amount of pollutants introduced into the environment.

What is a pollutant? It is a chemical that is damaging to human health or the environment. Just as a weed is a “plant out of place,” so whether something is a pollutant depends in part on context. For example, soil particles are a valuable resource in the crop field. However, if those same soil particles are carried from the field to a stream or river by erosion, they become sediment—a pollutant that can severely damage aquatic communities.

Activity 3: Resource or Pollutant

Although the sources of many agricultural pollutants, such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, are prohibited in organic agriculture, allowed inputs can also be pollution sources. For example, soil or manure turn into pollutants when mismanaged and displaced. A sink is where the pollutant winds up. Surface waters, including rivers, lakes, and the ocean, are a common sink for agricultural pollutants.

Organic standards are designed to minimize the risk of pollution, but regulations alone cannot prevent pollution. Good management is required to implement the practices appropriately, and sometimes unpredictable weather can cause even well-managed agroecosystems to result in some pollution.

The best-known aspect of organic agriculture is that it prohibits the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. What is a synthetic pesticide or fertilizer? A synthetic product is one that has been created by some kind of human manipulation and is not otherwise found in nature.

Are all natural pesticides and fertilizers allowed? In fact, many natural products are also prohibited. For example, arsenic occurs naturally and was historically used as a fungicide, but its use is prohibited in organic agriculture. The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances sets forth in general terms the prohibited materials that cannot be used; those that are allowed; and restricted materials that may be used in limited circumstances. However, agricultural inputs are often sold under brand names that do not make it easy for farmers to know what the exact ingredients are. In addition, many products contain so-called inert ingredients that they do not have to specify on the label. In order to help farmers and certifiers identify which products meet organic standards, the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), a non-profit organization, reviews products on the markets and certifies them as Acceptable or Restricted, if they can be used in organic production. Unfortunately, there are more products on the market than have been reviewed by OMRI, so there are probably products in the market that would qualify as organic but are not included in the OMRI list.

Activity 4: Check it out!

Soil Management: National Organic Program Regulations published by ATTRA provides an overview of practices organic farmers can use to meet the requirements of Section 205.203 (a) through (d) of the USDA organic regulations.

Ecological question 3: What are the interactions of living organisms in the system?

Sustainable agro-ecosystems will try to work with species interactions and will favor species diversity.

Everything in an ecosystem affects other parts of the ecosystem. Typically, production agriculture has focused on the negative impacts of organisms other than the crop. In this worldview, all non-crop plants are seen as weeds that compete for water, nutrients, and sunlight, and all non-crop animals from insects to birds and mammals are seen as useless at best and crop-destroying pests or disease carriers at worst.

There is some truth to this outlook. Weeds do compete with crop plants, and many types of animals eat parts of the crop and can cause substantial yield losses. Agro-ecosystems differ from natural ecosystems in that we require them to export a good portion of their production for off-site human consumption. So we cannot afford to give weeds, crop predators, and diseases a free hand.

On the other hand, it turns out that many non-crop organisms benefit crop production in a variety of ways, such as by improving nutrient cycling and availability to the crop, eating crop pests, providing habitat for beneficial species, and reducing disease. Organic practices such as crop rotation, cover cropping, planting trap crops, and encouraging beneficial insects use biological diversity to support the farm.

Organic agriculture now goes further and requires farmers to protect and increase biodiversity on their farms, even in ways that do not contribute to crop production. However, implementation of this requirement is still evolving. The Wild Farm Alliance has developed guides to help farmers and certifiers improve biodiversity. Recommended practices include:

• identifying critical habitats such as riparian areas and wetlands, wildlife corridors, native grasslands, hedgerows, etc. on the farm map
• identifying areas of concern such as invasive species and erosion
• managing water use to benefit wildlife as well as crop production
• preserving and restoring native habitat
• scheduling farming practices to benefit wildlife (for example, timing haying to allow ground-nesting birds to fledge)
• managing predation by non-lethal means such as use of guard animals

Activity 5: take stock

Ecological question 4: What are the energy flows in the system?

In the past two hundred years, our agriculture has made tremendous gains in the amount of food produced per hour of human labor. In large part, these gains have been made by substituting energy from fossil fuel for energy from human work. One study from Emory University estimates that in the US it takes about 7-10 kcal of energy inputs to bring 1 kcal of food energy to the table (in general crops like vegetables, fruits, and some grains are less energy-intensive, while highly processed foods and meat products take a lot of energy inputs). How the goods are produced also affects how much fossil fuel energy is used. For example, carrots in a field require about 2.7 MJ/kg (Megajoules per kilogram) of energy compared to greenhouse-grown tomatoes using 66 MJ/kg. See The Use of Fossil Fuels in the US Food System and American Diet, p. 4-5, published by the USDA in 2017).

As we begin to recognize the problems caused by releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, and as the cost of fossil fuels begins to rise, agriculture is faced with the challenge of improving fossil fuel energy efficiency without unacceptable increases in labor and cost. To what extent can organic farming contribute to this challenge?

At present, the standards for organic agriculture do not address energy use directly. Like conventional farmers, organic farmers use fossil fuels to power their tractors and other farm machinery. However, there is one big difference in energy use between organic and conventional agriculture: organic agriculture prohibits the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, which accounts for roughly 40 percent of the fossil fuel energy input for many crops (Washington Post article, 2012). Between 70 and 80 percent of this nitrogen fertilizer ends up unused by the crop, allowing it to pollute surrounding surface waters and groundwaters. By 2050, the amount of nitrogen fertilizer additions are set to increase by 800% (New research shows 50 year binge on chemical fertilizers must end to address the climate crisis, 2021).

There are other differences between organic and conventional agriculture that have energy use implications, but it is not clear whether overall they add up to energy savings for the organic or conventional system. For example, organic agriculture does not use synthetic pesticides, which account for a little over 10 percent of the fossil fuel energy used to produce conventional corn. On the other hand, organic farmers often manage weeds with added cultivation and other practices that consume fossil fuels, such as flame weeding.

Like conventional farmers, organic farmers can reduce their consumption of fossil energy by

• Recycling nutrients and resources on the farm
• Minimizing transportation costs by using feed on-farm or selling to and buying from local sources
• Choosing energy-efficient equipment and buildings
• Allowing animals to graze (including strip-grazing of standing crops) to avoid energy use involved in harvesting, drying, and storing feed crops. In fact, if the crop will be used to feed livestock, consider switching from row crops to pasture. (See energy data from the Wisconsin Cropping Systems Trials, especially Table 3.)
• Using renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, or biomass-fueled power

More than half of the energy in our food system is used not on the farm, but in transportation, processing, storage and packaging, refrigeration, and home cooking. Organic agriculture does not offer any energy efficiencies in this important area.

Sustainable practices for the organic consumer

• Buy local foods, when possible
• Avoid excess packaging
• Use energy-efficient appliances and techniques when possible and minimize car travel
• Use renewable energy sources, if possible (solar and wind power)
• Consider eating lower on the food chain or sticking to grass-fed meat and dairy products. (Most of the food energy contained in grain is used by livestock to sustain their own life and only a small amount is stored as meat. Thus it takes 4 lbs of corn to produce 1 lb of pork and 10 lbs of corn to produce 1 lb of beef)

For more information on energy see The Energy Efficiency of Organic Agriculture: A review.

Conclusion

Organic standards are designed to promote the ecological sustainability of agriculture, with particular emphasis on soil and water quality, and increasing attention to natural habitat preservation. The requirements of organic agriculture go far beyond a prohibition on pesticide use.

There are two agro-ecological issues, however, that the current organic standards do not address explicitly: quantity of water use and energy use. Many organic farms are highly efficient in both energy and water use, but that is a result of the farmer’s personal values rather than a requirement of the standards.

As the organic standards continue to evolve, perhaps these important ecological concerns will be addressed more directly.