Farming for the birds
Study shows how organic growers and wild birds can benefit one another
Written by Heather Estrada, OFRF Research & Education Senior Scientist
Organic producers rely on natural biological controls as a key component of their Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies against crop pests. Because wild insectivorous birds play a substantial role in biocontrol of many pests, organic producers often maintain natural areas or install perennial habitat plantings such as hedgerows and field borders to encourage diverse wild bird populations. However, in addition to some birds directly damaging crops, food safety and animal health concerns have been raised because wild birds can carry pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that affect humans and livestock.
Dr. Jeb Owen, holding a Tanager.
In 2015, a group of researchers from Dr. Jeb Owen’s lab at Washington State University received a USDA NIFA Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) research grant to investigate the costs and benefits of encouraging wild bird populations on organic farms. The goals of the Avian Biodiversity: Impacts, Risks and Descriptive Survey (A-BIRDS) project were threefold: 1) to identify the relationship between wild bird biodiversity and farm-level management practices, 2) to determine the role of insectivorous wild birds in controlling insect pests, and 3) to assess the risk presented by wild birds in spreading pathogens that endanger human and livestock health.
Researchers conducted in-depth surveys of species diversity, prey consumption, and the occurrence of fecal pathogens in wild bird populations over a three-year period on 52 organic farms in CA, OR, and WA. Highly diversified and organic vegetable-only and vegetable-livestock integrated farms with a range of field sizes, proportions of natural areas, and overall diversity of the agroecosystem landscape, were included in the survey.
Results suggest that more natural habitat in the farm landscape increased the density of native bird species and reduced the density of non-native species, which have the potential to be invasive. Farms with livestock consistently supported greater bird density and diversity, which was most pronounced in farms with the least amount of natural area. The increased bird density and diversity on crop-livestock farms may be attributed to a combination of common factors: smaller farm size, greater landscape diversity, and more integration of woody crops compared to crop-only farms.
The next phase of this project involved the collection and DNA analysis of 1,200 bird fecal samples from participating farms. Results showed that wild birds consumed 30 orders of insects, including 103 insect species that are known to be crop pests, confirming that birds can perform important agroecosystem services through the biological control of insect pests. Finally, some 3,200 samples of bird feces were tested for Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. Bird feces commonly (10% of samples) carried Campylobacter, and rarely carried Salmonella or Shiga toxin-forming pathogenic E. coli (STEC). Campylobacter increased with livestock density but decreased with the extent of natural areas on the farm, which highlights the potential for natural habitat to reduce crop contamination by birds.
Overall, these findings indicate that maintaining natural areas and a patchwork landscape with small fields bordered by natural areas can enhance wild bird populations and potential predation on insect pests without contributing to food safety risks. This research has been published widely in academic journals and shared to farmer audiences through numerous extension talks.
The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers funding and technical assistance to help farmers enhance their farming operations, including increasing support for transitioning to organic practices. However, farmers, field agents, and Technical Service Providers (TSPs) may not always be familiar with how NRCS programs can support organic practices. To address this, OFRF collaborated with NRCS to develop a document that equips farmers and field agents with the knowledge needed to effectively support the unique requirements of organic producers. That document is Technical Note 12 (TN-12). 
Elmwood Stock Farm is a diversified organic farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, producing mixed vegetables, fruits, beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, pork and value-added products. As a sixth-generation farm, Elmwood has learned to adapt to changing times, shifts in market opportunities, and modifications in state and Federal support programs over the generations. For farmer John Bell, a key to Elmwood’s success has been an ongoing fertility program based on crop-livestock integration and long crop rotations. For the Bell family, the presence of livestock and the practice of crop rotations are part of a family-farm heritage, one that has long been supported by programs like those offered by the 
For government funding, or appropriations, neither chamber has successfully passed all twelve of the necessary spending bills on the floor, which means much of the limited floor time for the rest of the year will be spent on both a continuing resolution and then hopefully passing full funding bills before the end of the year. But, that would mean the other expiring piece of legislation, the Farm Bill, would also need an extension. This is all-but guaranteed with the amount of work needed to bridge the yawning gap between the Senate and House spending bills. Some predict that the Farm Bill will be extended until the spring of 2024, some until after the elections in 2024.
