{"id":5038,"date":"2024-05-13T23:06:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T23:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?post_type=purduetoday&p=5038"},"modified":"2024-08-03T14:44:08","modified_gmt":"2024-08-03T18:44:08","slug":"new-indiana-organic-network-to-engage-farmers-in-statewide-soil-health-census","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/Q2\/new-indiana-organic-network-to-engage-farmers-in-statewide-soil-health-census","title":{"rendered":"New Indiana Organic Network to engage farmers in statewide soil health census"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.<\/strong> \u2014 A Purdue University interdisciplinary team is establishing a network of organic farmers to improve soil health.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The effort will formalize the Indiana Organic Network<\/a> (ION) as part of a statewide initiative to assess soil health at regional and farm scales. The project is supported by a grant of nearly $1 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a>\u2019s National Institute of Food and Agriculture<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis project is about empowering Indiana organic farmers,\u201d said Yichao Rui<\/a>, an assistant professor in the Department of Agronomy<\/a> who heads the Purdue Agroecology Lab<\/a>. Rui leads the ION effort with Ashley Adair<\/a>, Extension organic agriculture<\/a> specialist in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project partners include the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative<\/a> and the Indiana Natural Resources Conservation Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe formation of the Indiana Organic Network is something Indiana has needed,\u201d Adair said. \u201cWe would like to see farmers \u2014 whether they\u2019re grain farmers, specialty crop farmers or livestock farmers \u2014 take the reins and lead this network forward so that it can be for the farmer, by the farmer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indiana ranks fifth in U.S. agriculture production, Rui noted. \u201cHistorically, we\u2019ve been known for large-scale, conventional corn and soybean farming. That\u2019s a proud history. However, recent challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, human health issues and long-term food safety concerns require us to explore other farming approaches,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organic farmers are sometimes able to reduce environmental issues by avoiding synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicide and relying instead on crop diversity, organic fertilizers and extended crop rotations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indiana currently has 937 certified organic crop and livestock farms, Adair said. These range from a few acres or less for diversified vegetable farms on the small end, up to thousands of acres planted in row crops. ION is intended to assist certified organic farms and farms that are going through the USDA-mandated transition process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Purdue\u2019s Ashley Adair, Extension organic agriculture specialist, demonstrates a roller crimper attachment for this BCS and other walk-behind tractors at the 2022 Small Farm Education Field Day. Adair co-leads Purdue\u2019s launch of the Indiana Organic Network. (Purdue Agricultural Communications photo\/Tim Thompson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf somebody wants to become a certified organic farmer, they have to follow specific guidelines over the course of a 36-month transition period to meet those directives, which is federal law,\u201d Adair said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project will include conducting the first statewide soil health census on organic farms in Indiana. The results will offer insights into soil health status of organic farming systems and the impact of various organic practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuch information is essential for farmers to identify areas for improvement in their practices, such as reducing tillage, to further enhance soil health,\u201d Rui said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSoil health is a foundation of long-term successful farming. Organic farming holds a lot of potential, but it presents significant challenges. It\u2019s difficult because synthetic fertilizers are not an option. You need to build fertility and maintain soil health. How do you accomplish that? There are lots of questions and challenges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Healthy soil is rich in organic matter, which encompasses a variety of components such as decomposing plant material, living plant roots and a diverse population of soil microbes. These elements are crucial as they contribute to the structure, fertility and overall biological health of the soil, supporting sustainable agricultural practices and robust plant growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most organic farmers, along with some conventional farmers, practice cover cropping during the winter. Cover crops usually have deep roots and can add biomass underground. Carbon transfer to deeper layers is crucial for soil carbon sequestration and the function of organic systems. And yet there is still much to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA detailed understanding of what\u2019s happening below the 15-centimeter depth, 6-inch layer, and the benefits of organic farming in that deeper soil is largely unknown. That\u2019s a big knowledge gap,\u201d Rui said. The Purdue team will work with organic farmers across the state to bridge this gap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Purdue team also plans to develop field-based microbial activity testing kits that would provide organic farmers with more immediate and better insight into nutrient cycling at a given location. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organic farmers often fill knowledge gaps by doing their own trials, Adair noted. \u201cIf there\u2019s a way that we at the university can help add to that story, then that\u2019s what we need to do,\u201d she said. \u201cThis project is one good step in the right direction to help build concrete data to help growers in Indiana.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue University<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue\u2019s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap \u2014 including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes \u2014 at https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agriculture News Page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. \u2014 A Purdue University interdisciplinary team is establishing a network of organic farmers to improve soil health.\u00a0 The effort will formalize the Indiana Organic Network (ION) as part of a statewide initiative to assess soil health at regional and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"department":[6],"source":[29],"purdue_today_topic":[],"coauthors":[53],"class_list":["post-5038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-agriculture","source-purdue-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5038"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7739,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5038\/revisions\/7739"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5038"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=5038"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=5038"},{"taxonomy":"purdue_today_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purdue_today_topic?post=5038"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}