Compost partnerships in organic agriculture

LATEST figures on the global market for organically-grown foods indicate that sales reached $23 billion in 2002. According to a study by an organization called Organic Monitor, increasing demand in North America helped to achieve a 10.1 percent increase over the previous year, as consumption of organic foods and beverages on this continent now surpass Europe as the leading market. The study also found that there are almost 57 million acres of organic farmland, "with even more farmers in developing countries being drawn to organic food production for its export potential." Over the many years that have steadily seen this growth since the early 1960s when the amount of organic farmland and number of organic farmers were ever so small, BioCycle has regularly reported on the importance of compost in an organic soil management program.

The tremendous advances in organic agriculture are reflected in Minnesota which leads the nation in production of organic corn and soybeans. In April of this year, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Minnesota, the University's Extension Service, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the USDA Farm Service Agency to provide important services to organic farmers in the state. "This organic partnership is the first of its kind to occur anywhere in the country," notes Meg Moynihan of the MDA staff.

Adds MDA Commissioner Gene Hugoson: "Organic agriculture is an important and growing part of Minnesota's farm economy. We each do our part to help Minnesota maintain and build on its leadership status in organic production. By more closely coordinating our efforts, each of us will have a greater impact than we would have working individually." The goal is to assist organic producers to improve profitability, identify new market opportunities and conserve natural resources.

The five-year program includes technical assistance for soil and water conservation, reducing agriculture-related pollution, enhancing agricultural systems, revitalizing communities and opening up new markets. As part of our arranging the November, 2003 BioCycle Conference in Minneapolis on "Renewable Energy from Organics Recycling" (see pages 16 and 17), we spoke to Deborah Allan of the University of Minnesota Department of Soil, Water and Climate who will be speaking on the topic, "Fertilizer Value of Digested Manure Compared to Raw Manure." She is an active member of the "Organic Partnership" team - and will conduct a number of studies on organic farms that utilize biogas from dairy manure as a power source along with applying digested manure to their crops.

Interestingly, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a Conference cosponsor, is a participant in the organic farm project. Bill Hunt of NRCS will be speaking in several sessions at the Conference - on standards for digesters and on using NRCS program incentives to accelerate the pace of change to better soil practices.

For us here at BioCycle, it's great to see how key facets of our editorial foundation show up as essential elements of both renewable energy from organics and compost use in agriculture.