The Organic Farming Research Foundation recently led two webinars for the USDA National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) on Technical Note 12 as part of our Cooperative Agreement with the agency. These two webinars were the first of several that will be held over the next four years to help build institutional knowledge of NRCS staff and equip them to better support the unique needs of organic and transitioning-to-organic farmers across the US.
Mark Schonbeck, OFRF Research Associate, led the webinars with support from Rebecca Champagne, OFRF’s Conservation Scientist. The first webinar, held on January 16, covered the first half of Technical Note 12 including topics such as soil health, climate, and nutrients. The second webinar, held on February 5, covered the second half of the Technical Note including topics like organic integrated pest management (IPM), livestock, pastures, and buffers. The webinars concluded with Question & Answer sessions so participants could ask follow up questions and get clarification on the topics discussed. During these webinars we fielded questions relating to OMRI-approved materials, composting, shallow disturbance cultivation tools for weed management, and in-row drip irrigation challenges.
Interested in viewing these webinars? Recordings are available online through Conservation Webinars.
Technical Notes such as this one are meant to give detailed information for the conservation planning and implementation of a specific subject. Technical Note 12 provides this information as it relates to organic production and how conservation practices can meet national organic standards while addressing resource concerns related to soil, water, plants, animals, and air. NRCS staff can use this resource when working with organic and transitioning-to-organic farmers to propose appropriate conservation practices for an operation as they relate to organic requirements. Learn more about Technical Note 12 here!
OFRF will be hosting three webinars each year over the next four years, covering various topics related to organic farming. Webinar participants also have the chance to test what they learn and earn Certified Crop Advisor Continuing Education Units (CEU) credits by answering quiz questions at the end of each webinar. By identifying and summarizing the latest peer-reviewed research and highlighting real-world farm examples, we aim to help NRCS staff and Technical Service Providers better understand organic production requirements, challenges, and what successful conservation practice implementation can look like.
To learn more about our Cooperative Agreement with NRCS, contact Rebecca Champagne at rebecca@ofrf.org.
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