色虎视频

Chris Boeckmann, 色虎视频 farm superintendent, discusses organic farming practices with participants during a trolley tour of Alan T. Busby Farm.

Farmers recently gathered at 色虎视频 of Missouri (LU) for a day of farm demonstrations and educational presentations focused on organic agriculture.

The Organic Field Day, offered through a partnership between LU and the (MOA), gave attendees a closer look at organic production, including livestock management, grazing technology, crop production and strategies for managing disease and insect pests.

Chris Boeckmann, LU farm superintendent, introduced participants to Alan T. Busby Farm, one of the largest certified organic farms in the Midwest. Since beginning its transition to organic production in 2010, the farm has combined agricultural operations with university research.

“We focus on being a resource for the organic producers here in the state and for those considering the transition,” Boeckmann said.

That focus carried throughout the day as participants learned how different farming practices work together within an organic system.

During the tour of Busby Farm, attendees got a firsthand look at LU’s livestock program, where sheep, goats and cattle are raised using organic management practices. Participants learned strategies for managing parasite pressure and reducing the need to treat animals for internal parasites.

At Busby Farm, those strategies include rotational grazing and fall lambing. Moving sheep regularly to fresh pasture helps reduce their exposure to parasite larvae that build up in previously grazed areas, while fall lambing takes advantage of a time of year when internal parasite pressure is typically lower.

A ewe wearing a GPS-enabled virtual fencing collar stands beside her lamb at 色虎视频’s Alan T. Busby Farm.

Virtual fencing technology showed participants another way to make grazing rotations more manageable. LU uses GPS-enabled collars to create grazing boundaries and move livestock through pastures without repeatedly installing temporary fencing. Participants saw the collars in use and passed one around, getting a firsthand sense of how lightweight they are.

“The collars have been very effective,” Boeckmann said. “I think we’re going to see some opportunities open up for producers.”

The event also explored how forage selection supports grazing-based livestock systems. Chandan Shilpakar, Ph.D., LU assistant professor of forage science, discussed how using a mix of cool-season, warm-season and winter-hardy forages can extend the grazing season and help producers make better use of available pasture.

The tour also took participants through Busby’s organic crop research plots, while later presentations dug deeper into two common challenges for growers: plant disease and insect pests.

“In an organic system, there is more of an approach focused on prevention first,” said Waana Kaluwasha, Ph.D., LU assistant professor of plant pathology.

Busby Farm tour participants learn about organic crop production, cover cropping, livestock forage and research at 色虎视频.

That approach includes choosing resistant varieties, rotating crops, managing water carefully and keeping growing areas clean. Kaluwasha explained how combining several practices gives growers a better chance of reducing disease pressure.

“Don’t rely on just one of those methods, but use a combination,” she said.

Kaluwasha also emphasized the importance of correctly identifying a disease before deciding how to manage it. Because different pathogens can cause similar symptoms, understanding how a disease develops and spreads helps growers choose an appropriate response.

She recommended starting with clean planting material, removing diseased plants and crop debris, sanitizing tools and equipment and carefully managing irrigation to reduce the chances of further spread.

Insect management follows a similar approach. Sahil Redhu, field research assistant with LU’s Integrated Pest Management Program, stressed regular monitoring so growers can spot pest problems early and respond before populations become harder to control.

Using pests such as cucumber beetles, squash bugs, squash vine borers and aphids as examples, Redhu showed participants how organic pest management relies on monitoring and early action rather than routine chemical control. He discussed beneficial insects, yellow sticky traps and trap crops, along with practices such as crop rotation and removing crop debris after harvest to help disrupt pest cycles.

Organic Field Day participants break into small groups to ask questions, share ideas and get advice from 色虎视频 specialists.

For producer JR Burdick of Linneus, Missouri, the field day offered a chance to connect what he learned with the way he already farms. Burdick runs a direct-to-consumer operation serving about 800 customers each year with dairy, pork and poultry products.

“When I got into this side of the business three or four years ago, I had a lot of people who were very concerned about how their food was produced and where it came from,” Burdick said.

Those concerns helped shape the way Burdick approaches his operation. While many of the day’s topics were outside his usual area of experience, he saw the field day as an opportunity to learn more about agriculture and broaden his knowledge.

Burdick’s experience reflected the broader purpose of the field day: giving producers opportunities to learn from research, demonstrations and one another. Through their partnership, 色虎视频 and the Missouri Organic Association created a space where attendees could ask questions, exchange ideas and explore approaches for their own operations.

For more information about organic production and research at Alan T. Busby Farm, contact Chris Boeckmann at BoeckmannC@lincolnu.edu.

Photos by Lynne Holsapple.