ISSN: 2297-6485 doi: 10.12924/librello.OF

Organic Farming (OF; ISSN 2297-6485) is a new open access academic journal that publishes articles on advances and innovations in organic agriculture and food production to provide scholars and other groups with relevant and highly topical research in the field.

Organic Farming welcomes contributions in diverse areas related to organic farming and food production, such as soil and plant management, crop breeding, regulation of pests and diseases, protection of soil, water, biodiversity and other resources, livestock health and management, marketing and acceptance of organic products, food quality and processing, policies and regulations.

The articles of Organic Farming will be immediately accessible upon publication and we aim at making this journal a valuable venue for the communication among scientists, but also between researchers, producers, policy makers, traders and consumers of organic products.

Topics covered by this journal include, but are not limited to: agroforestry systems; biodiversity; biological pest and disease control; certification and regulation; compost and manure management; consumer research; crop rotations; ecosystem services; food processing; food quality and safety; green manures; nutrient cycling and run-off; organic energy production; organic farming for food security; plant breeding and genetics; poverty eradication and human development; regulation and policies; resilience and transformations; social acceptance and marketing; soil and water protection; sustainability and ethics of livestock production; sustainable agriculture; tillage and no-till organic farming systems; veterinary aspects of organic livestock production; weed ecology and management; and related topics.

Organic Farming will specially welcome original interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary contributions.


Latest publications

doi: 10.12924/of2022.08010003 | Volume 8 (2022) | Issue 1
Dilip Nandwani 1, * and Kripa Dhakal 1
1 Department of Agriculture and Environmental Science, College of Agriculture, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, USA
* Corresponding author
Publication Date: 16 December 2022
Abstract: Several scientific reports indicate lower as well as higher relative yield stability in organic and conventional (chemical) agriculture systems.   This study present results of on-farm trials conducted on leafy vegetables grown in in organic and conventional management systems. Four leafy vegetables collard green (Brassica oleracea cv. acephala), kale (Brassica oleracea cv. sabellica), lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L. cv. cicla) were grown in organic and conventionally managed plots in the spring 2018 and 2020. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Organic Program (NOP) standards were followed for cultural and management practices in organically managed experimental field plots. Synthetic chemical inputs (seeds and fertilizer) were applied in the experimental field plots managed in conventional production system. Data on plant height, leaf number and total fresh weight of leafy vegetables were measured at the end of the experiment. Results showed that maximum fresh weight per plant was obtained from conventionally grown kale and the lowest was recorded in conventionally grown lettuce. The fresh weight of collard (344.1 g/plant) and kale (475.6 g/plant) was significantly higher in conventional system relative to the organic management system in collar (184.9 g/plant) and kale (242.3 g/plant). In contrast, for lettuce, significantly greater fresh weight was obtained in the organic (266.5 g/plant) compared to conventional (189.3 g/plant). No difference recorded in fresh weight of swiss chard grown in organic (222.0 g/plant) and conventional (263.7 g/plant) production systems. No difference observed in plant height and number of leaf count between the two production systems. Findings suggest that growth and yield responses in organic and conventional production systems can vary with the individual crop species. Results presented could be helpful to growers in planning for the organic production of leafy greens vegetables.

doi: 10.12924/of2022.08010001 | Volume 8 (2022) | Issue 1
Moritz Reckling 1, 2, * and Meike Grosse 3
1 Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Müncheberg, Germany
2 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
3 Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, Switzerland
* Corresponding author
Publication Date: 14 June 2022
Abstract:

Diversification of organic farming systems is a key practice to address current challenges in crop and livestock production. It has the potential to increase the resilience to climate fluctuations and counteracts climate change to some extent by reducing emissions and increasing carbon storage. Diversified crop-livestock systems can also contribute to stop the dramatic loss of biodiversity. Organic farms are already more often mixed crop-livestock farms with more diverse crop rotations, including perennial leys, compared to conventional farms [1]. However, there is a need as well as potential for further increasing diversity on organic farms [2].


doi: 10.12924/of2021.07010001 | Volume 7 (2021) | Issue 1
Albrecht Benzing 1, * and Hans-Peter Piepho 2
1 CERES GmbH, Bavaria, Germany
2 Biostatistics Unit, Institute of Crop Science, University of Hohenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
* Corresponding author
Publication Date: 5 October 2021
Abstract: Organic certification, especially for smallholders, often uses group certification procedures. An internal control system (ICS) visits all farmers, and then the external certification body (CB) inspects a sample to assess the ICS' performance. Harmonised methods for measuring the ICS' reliability are missing so far. Here, we define criteria of "ICS performance", propose a new procedure for quantifying this performance and, based on this procedure, suggest that the sample size can be determined using classical statistical methods for survey sampling, instead of using the square root or a percentage of group size as in current practice.

doi: 10.12924/of2020.06010014 | Volume 6 (2020) | Issue 1
Paul Francis Lovatt Smith 1, * and Gavin Nobes 2
1 Farmer, East Sussex, UK
2 School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
* Corresponding author
Publication Date: 16 July 2020
Abstract:

Traditional farming in South East (SE) England is presented as a highly-evolved form of sustain- able farming. The carrying capacity of traditional farming on a 2.75 ha family smallholding in SE England is assessed from production data recorded over a period of 8 years. The key elements of the farming system were mixed farming (livestock, dairy, arable and horticultural), self-sufficiency in terms of inputs and organic principles. Ten types of food were produced with the aim to comprise all the elements of a balanced diet. The holding and farming system are described and an analysis of the food produced is presented, in terms of weight and energy content, for the years 2010 to 2017. An average carrying capacity of 0.64 people ha−1 was demonstrated on the basis of food energy content alone. Carrying capacity increased to 1.09 people ha−1 when production was re-proportioned to align with the UK Government’s currently recommended balanced diet. The latter figure is similar to carrying capacity estimates, derived from national statistics, for the UK’s total farmland in the middle part of the 20th Century but significantly lower than theoretical predictions of national carrying capacity.


doi: 10.12924/of2020.06010013 | Volume 6 (2020) | Issue 1
Verena K. Hansmann 1 , Otto Volling 2 and Volker Krömker 3, *
1 Department of Bioprocess Engineering, Microbiology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover, Hannover, Germany
2 Ökoring e. V., Visselhövede, Germany
3 Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Section Production, Nutrition and Health, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
* Corresponding author
Publication Date: 12 May 2020
Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the opinions of farmers on a consulting project, which was established for organic dairy farms in Northern Germany involving different animal health experts who participated in the meetings. Furthermore, the properties of measures that are of decisive importance for implementation on the farms were identified to improve consultancy services for dairy farming. Once a year, the farmers met on a host-farm in one of three groups consisting of five to nine farms, a facilitator and an expert. At each meeting, a host-farm was visited and the analysed data of all participating farms of the previous year were presented to the group members. Each farmer had the possibility to report on success stories and issues concerning his herd. During discussions, the farmers first proposed mutual farm-specific measures for improving herd health and animal welfare. Afterwards, the expert named possible interventions and commented on the given measures of the farmers. All measures were noted by the facilitator. At the end of each meeting, each farmer could choose which of the given measures he wanted to implement. Open group-interviews as well as anonymous questionnaires for the farmers were used at the meetings in winter 2016/2017 to evaluate their perception of this consulting project and to determine which properties of measures were important for implementation on the farms. Based on the results of this study, the participating farmers were very positive towards this kind of consulting project. They favoured the participation of an expert during the meetings and the analysis of farm specific data. Farmers mostly chose measures for implementation proposed by farmers and approved by the expert, followed by those proposed by the expert only. Measures were chosen when they were practical in the implementation, effective, efficient and took a low additional workload for implementation.

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ISSN: 2297-6485
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