Soil Health and Organic Farming Reports

Farmers Guide to Conducting On-Farm Research

Organic farmers and ranchers like you are always testing and experimenting with new ideas to improve their farming operations. You probably have some ideas every day that you would like to try. Incorporating a few scientific steps in your experiments will generate more reliable results that you can trust.

This guide was specifically created for you, the organic farmer or rancher who is curious about conducting some type of trial or experiment on your farm in a more structured way. Whether you are looking at reducing the use of off-farm inputs, minimizing disease pressure, trying out new crop varieties or animal feed, or testing new cover crop techniques or irrigation sensors, this practical guide was created to assist you along the way.

By |2025-12-17T17:25:43-05:00November 7th, 2023|On-Farm Research, Reports, Soil Health and Organic Farming Reports|
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Plant Genetics: Plant Breeding and Variety Selection

Plant breeding and cultivar development conducted for and within the context of organic farming systems can lead to improved organic crop yields, and thereby facilitate adoption of organic practices that protect and build soil health.

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OFRF’s Mark Schonbeck covers plant breeding and variety selection for performance in sustainable organic systems, including nutrient and moisture use efficiency, weed competitiveness, and enhanced interactions with beneficial soil biota, in the webinar linked below. Heritable traits that could directly benefit soil biology and soil health are also discussed.

By |2025-12-08T11:20:20-05:00January 1st, 2017|News, Plant Breeding & Variety Selection, Soil Health and Organic Farming Reports|
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Water Management and Water Quality

Efficient utilization of irrigation water is essential for production, economic, and environmental reasons, especially in regions with limited annual rainfall. Managing water resources effectively during both water scarcity and periods of water excess is critical for successful farming.

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By |2025-12-08T11:22:30-05:00January 1st, 2017|News, Reports, Soil Health and Organic Farming Reports, Water Management & Irrigation, Weeds|
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Practical Conservation Tillage

Organic farmers recognize healthy, living soil as the foundation of successful farming, and many seek practical means to reduce tillage in order to protect the soil organic matter, soil life, and improved tilth build up through green manures, compost applications, and other organic practices.

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Presenter Mark Schonbeck discusses the impacts of tillage on soil health, including practical, soil-friendly tillage practices for organic systems. The webinar also covers several newer tillage tools and approaches that reduce adverse impacts on soil life and soil structure.

By |2025-12-08T11:09:12-05:00January 1st, 2017|News, Soil Health, Soil Health and Organic Farming Reports, Weeds|
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Cover Crops: Selection and Management

Over the past 30 years, cover cropping has emerged as a key soil health and resource conservation practice for annual crop production. Truly sustainable agriculture must maintain effective vegetative cover of the soil, even when the field is not in production.

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By |2025-12-08T11:14:34-05:00January 1st, 2017|Cover Crops & Crop Rotation, News, Reports, Soil Health, Soil Health and Organic Farming Reports|
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Weed Management: An Ecological Approach

Organic farmers recognize healthy, living soils as essential for successful production. Perhaps the greatest soil health challenge relates to weed management, especially in annual crops. Without conventional herbicides, organic producers often use the practices of tillage and cultivation.

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By |2025-12-08T11:03:52-05:00January 1st, 2017|Soil Health, Soil Health and Organic Farming Reports, Weeds|
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Organic Practices for Climate Mitigation, Adaptation, and Carbon Sequestration

Climate change threatens agriculture and food security across the U.S. and around the world. Rising global mean temperatures have already intensified droughts, heat waves, and storms, and altered life cycles and geographical ranges of pests, weeds, and pathogens, making crop and livestock production more difficult. Intense rainstorms aggravate soil erosion and complicate water management, and higher temperatures accelerate oxidation of soil organic matter. Warming climates modify crop development regulated by growing degree-days or “chill hours,” and threaten production of perennial fruit and nut crops that have strict chilling requirements to initiate growth and fruit set. Thus, agricultural producers have a major stake in efforts to curb further climate change, as well as improving the resilience of their farming and ranching systems to the impacts of climate disruption.

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By |2025-12-08T11:26:11-05:00January 1st, 2017|Climate Change, Resource, Soil Health and Organic Farming Reports|
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Understanding and Optimizing the Community of Soil Life

The goal of this guidebook is to help organic farmers navigate the wilderness of soil life and soil health management by providing up-to-date, science-based information on:

  • The soil food web, its key components, and functions.
  • Assessing and monitoring soil life and soil biological condition.
  • Managing soil life for long term soil health and productivity in organic systems.
  • Biological management of plant diseases.
  • Microbial inoculants and biostimulants: whether, when, and how to use them.

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By |2025-12-08T11:34:05-05:00January 1st, 2017|Soil Health, Soil Health and Organic Farming Reports|
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Building Organic Matter for Healthy Soils: An Overview

This report summarizes research findings on SOM and soil health in organic farming systems, and outlines some practical applications for organic producers. Companion reports explore soil health-enhancing approaches to fertility and nutrient management, tillage, and weed control; cover crops and crop rotation, and the role of plant genetics in soil health and organic production

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Presenter Mark Schonbeck and Diana Jerkins discuss the attributes of healthy soil, the central role of organic matter, and how to monitor and enhance soil health in organic production in the recorded webinar below. The presentation will outline key organic practices for building soil organic matter and optimizing soil functions in relation to fertility, crop yield, and resource conservation.

By |2025-12-08T10:59:16-05:00January 1st, 2017|Soil Health, Soil Health and Organic Farming Reports|
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