This year, organic farmers, advisors and researchers in the West of Germany celebrate
the 25th anniversary of the foundation of an organic research and demonstration network.
Established to support and improve organic farming systems, the network is funded
by the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and is organized around 30 participating
pilot farms called Leitbetriebe (‘leading farms’), with support from the university
of Bonn and the Chamber of Agriculture [R01]. For each of the practice-oriented research topics covered in this network, the
typical five-year cycle of research involves a first year of experimental exploration
and literature studies. The farmers participating in the pilot farm project discuss
and select the topics of priority and review the research plans proposed by the scientists.
This is followed by three years of systematic replicated field trials on several farms,
and a final year of demonstration and evaluation, where the presentation of results
is jointly done by farmers and researchers. The topics studied over the last quarter
of a century include pre-sprouting of potatoes [R02], undersowing [R03], fertilization of in oil seed rape [R04], species mixtures in pasture systems [R05], strategies to reduce nitrogen losses [R06], the cut-and-carry system [R07], and several more. The participating farms are selected to represent the wide range
of environmental conditions within North Rhine Westphalia, where according to the
most recent figures nearly 2,000 certified organic farms operated on 78,000 ha of
agricultural land [R08].
The experience gained over the past 25 years in this organic research and demonstration
network confirms and complements the insights obtained in similar operations elsewhere
[R09]. To be successful, integrative partnerships between research and organic practitioners
require perseverance, patience, and reliable funding. In particular, the period of
three years that research projects are usually funded for is far too short to establish
the trust and mutual understanding necessary for successful implementation of research.
Innovations developed in agricultural research just take a long time to be established
in practice.
Further, adoption depends on individual advice adapting recommendations for the complexity
of individual organic farming systems. In fact, the grassland research within the
pilot farm project has highlighted the need to individualize recommendations, partly
because of the tremendous effects of interactions between species and genotypes of
crops, pasture management and environment. Wider adoption of research also requires
a critical mass of farmers acting as innovators, which is more difficult to achieve
in the organic sector. Finally, implementation and adoption of research-powered innovations
requires continuous dialogue between researchers, advisors and farmers, based on a
common language, jointly identified research questions, and active knowledge transfer
delivering clear, brief and targeted outputs.
As experience in the pilot farm project has also shown, knowledge transfer in the
form of publishing in international peer-reviewed journals is not a necessary requirement
for the adoption of research in practice. In fact, international publishing is often
not seen as belonging to the culture of participatory research in agriculture. However,
it acts as an indispensable tool for quality control within science. It also helps
to increase visibility for innovations in organic agriculture on the international
stage, thereby generating wider feedback. Within a regional farmer-led research network,
however, publishing internationally is typically not high on the agenda, despite the
great potential to do so, and despite the gains expected from sharing experiences
with an international audience. Conversely, practice oriented research is not always
appreciated in the academic world.
At its inception, this journal pledged to bridge this gap between practice and research
for organic farming [R10]. As one of the means to achieve this, the open access publishing model of Organic
Farming has so far generated several thousands of free downloads per issue, thereby
promoting the visibility and impact of the published research. Further, this journal
will continue to encourage submissions at the interface of organic practice and research,
with article formats beyond traditional structures. Finally, an updated and more flexible
system is being implemented for publication fees, which includes a post-acceptance
fee in addition to the membership model, thereby opening the journal to a wider range
of authors.
