Researcher Eric Brennan Gains OFRF Honors as Organic Pioneer

Organic researcher Eric Brennan tracks
yield in his broccoli test plot during the
fall harvest near Salinas, California

It is near daybreak in California’s fertile Salinas Valley.

On this late September morning, farmers and farm workers bunch up at the edge of farm fields throughout the region, chatting, chuckling, raising collars against the chill, gearing up for another harvest day.

Today, they will cut the artichokes, celery, lettuce, spinach, and broccoli that fuel the region’s farm economy this time of year. Salinas is a valley of green—botanical and financial.

As the sun crests the Santa Lucia Mountains and morning light eases through the foggy haze, laborers hoist machetes and begin chopping their way through acres of high-value produce. Virtually every farmer in every field is calculating crop yield.

Eric Brennan

Farmer Eric Brennan is no different. He knows a good yield on his 2.2 acre plot will bring him 700 boxes of broccoli per acre. However, yield is not Brennan’s only interest. His acres are certified organic and owned by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Brennan, with a doctorate in plant biology, is a research horticulturist with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Salinas. What sets him apart is his pioneer status as the first ARS researcher--in Salinas or anywhere within the ARS system--whose sole responsibility is to study organic production methods.

“Prior to me being hired there were ARS researchers who were doing organic research. They were often comparing organic systems with conventional ones, or just a small part of their job was focused on organic. So, I wasn’t the first one to do organic research, but I was the first one whose whole assignment was focused on that,” says Brennan.

His innovative research into cover crops as a means of building fertile and healthy soil leaves him confident that yields from some of the experimental treatments will equal those of his conventional neighbors. However, he wants to be scientifically certain. So as the harvest workers methodically whack broccoli stems and send them airborne to a sorting and packing machine which creeps behind them, Brennan and an associate stand at opposite ends of the packing platform counting the stems traveling from field to box. With one hand, Brennan clicks a small tabulating device. In the other, he holds a clipboard on which he periodically enters yield data. The work is part of a long-term, collaborative study which Brennan refers to as a “systems” approach to organic research.

Later this month, the Organic Farming Research Foundation will recognize Brennan for his pioneering organic research at the organization’s annual Fall Organic Harvest Benefit Reception and Dinner in San Francisco.

Brennan is an OFRF research grant recipient, and he says the Santa Cruz-based foundation played a key role in moving his initial research forward.

“The first grant that I applied for was from OFRF, and that provided funding for several two-year studies,” Brennan says, adding “One thing that I really like with the OFRF grant is the requirement on farmer collaboration … It makes sure that the farmers are involved with the design of the research, and I think that’s important. It keeps it real,” says Brennan.

Brennan says working closely with the region’s producers is a strong motivator.

“If my job was just doing research with very little interaction with farmers, I don’t think I could’ve survived the past 8 years I’ve been here. The farmers, the interaction, and the positive feedback I get from them, the questions, and the challenges are what I really enjoy. That’s one of the most fulfilling aspects of the job,” Brennan says.

Now 45 years old, Brennan has been fascinated by plant research since the age of five when he conducted informal studies on the impact of manure teas and egg shell water on the growth rate of ferns. 

“Just asking questions and then trying to find an answer through an experiment. I didn’t know anything about replication or statistics or things like that, but I would say those were my first experiences in agriculture and research,” says Brennan.

Brennan’s background may be as diverse as the cover crops and organic systems he studies. He grew up in a community of subsistence farmers in Papua New Guinea off the coast of Australia. He finished high school in Hawaii and studied agronomy and soil science at the University of Hawaii. There were two stints in the Peace Corps (Thailand and Zambia), a master’s in horticulture at Cornell and his doctorate from UC Davis. Then it was on to Salinas and a deeper commitment to organic production research.

In his eight years at the research station, Brennan has increased the amount of certified organic farmland and improved the quality of the soil. He now manages 25 acres where he conducts a variety of research projects, all aimed at improving production methods, sustainability, and profitability for farmers growing high value crops organically.

The foundation of his research, he explains, is cover crops, a course of investigation he charted after extensive discussion with regional farmers.

“One thing I noticed initially was that all the organic farmers that I talked with, regardless of whether they were growing strawberries, spinach, broccoli, or a variety of things; the common component in each of those was cover crops,” says Brennan. 

The bottom line in Brennan’s findings so far: cover cropping is crucial to healthy, fertile soil and strong yields in organic fields.

Organic broccoli stems are counted as they
are moved from farm field to packing tray

It takes a little over two hours to make the first pass through Brennan’s broccoli test plot. A second, more comprehensive sweep is a week away. Then there will be weeks of data analysis to determine the precise impact his cover crop trials had on overall yield.

Today, with the initial results of the 2009 growing season only just tabulated, Brennan is already charting his next line of inquiry. His plan, he says, is to dedicate a number of years to studying the effectiveness of a variety of tillage tools designed to incorporate cover crop residue in the soil.

The results, he says, should help farmers better manage their soil, and just as importantly, save money and reduce fuel use while maintaining or improving yields.

On the outlook for federally supported organic research, Brennan says it is no secret that 25 or 30 years ago the ARS was biased against studies like those he is conducting today. Brennan says his hiring eight years ago signaled change.

“By creating this position, what the ARS has shown is that they are listening to the needs of farmers. There is a slow but gradual shift to recognizing that organic production is an important part of the economy and that the government needs to devote research dollars to support organic farmers. … Over time, what’s happened is people have started to realize that organic is not going away.”

Read Dr. Brennan's report his OFRF funded cover cropping research   http://ofrf.org/funded/reports/brennan_04f06.pdf