USDA’s Organic Transition Initiative in Action

Feb 09, 2024

USDA recognizes how critical organic agriculture is to our nation’s economy. We also recognize the challenges producers can face transitioning to organic.

Organic production allows producers and processors to hold a unique position in the marketplace and take home a greater share of the food dollar. But before crops can be certified organic, farmers must carefully manage their land without using prohibited inputs like synthetic pesticides for 3 years. During this transition period and the first years after certification, farmers often face many technical and market challenges.

That is why, in 2022, to help build more, new, and better markets and streams of income for farmers and producers, USDA launched the Organic Transition Initiative (OTI). OTI is a $300 million investment that delivers wrap-around technical assistance to producers interested in transitioning to organic. The initiative includes mentoring and advice, direct farmer assistance through conservation financial assistance and targeted organic market development grants.

I recently had the honor of participating in two events in support of OTI. First, I visited Longmont, Colo., to announce the first round of awards through the Organic Market Development Grant program (OMDG). In this first round, $9.75 million was awarded to ten projects which will make great strides in developing and expanding markets for organically grown products nationwide. I look forward to announcing more grant awards through OMDG very soon.

Next, I traveled to Pacific Grove, Calif., for the 44th Annual “EcoFarm” Conference. EcoFarm is the oldest and largest organic farming conference in the West. At EcoFarm, in an interview with Marc Lipson and Berkely Food Institute’s Sakeenah Shabazz, I spoke further about how OTI funding is supporting the organic sector and providing support for all interested farmers, including small and traditionally underserved producers, to transition to organic. We specifically discussed the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). TOPP is a farmer-to-farmer mentorship program providing direct farmer training, education, and outreach activities. At the conference I had the chance to meet with TOPP regional leads for the Southwest region and it's amazing to hear how many connections have already been made between producers through this program. We just reached year one of TOPP and there is so much more to come in this five-year program. You can read TOPP success stories from all regions across the country on our website.

Together, these programs help reduce the risk for farmers who want to grow and market organic crops and they expand opportunities for American producers to participate in new markets. With programs like OTI, OMDG and TOPP, it’s an exciting time to be in organic agriculture!

Source : usda.gov

Video: Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Understanding how a plant responds to stress is one thing.

Using that knowledge to make better management decisions is another.

Systemic acquired resistance, or SAR, is the plant's more direct defense response. When stress or infection occurs, the plant begins signaling throughout its system and preparing defensive compounds.

But if we know that response exists, can we help prepare the plant before the stress arrives?

The answer starts with understanding what triggers the response and what the plant needs to carry it out.

The Trigger and the Fuel

Salicylic acid plays an important role in triggering the SAR pathway.

Think of it as turning the truck on.

The engine may be running, but it still needs fuel to do the work.

In this case, manganese plays an important role in supporting the enzyme systems involved in the plant's defensive response.

This makes manganese status an important part of the conversation. Whether a producer is using tissue testing, sap analysis, or simply scouting for visible deficiency symptoms, the goal is to make sure the plant has adequate manganese available.

Manganese is required in relatively small amounts, but that does not make its role small.

If the plant receives a signal to defend itself but lacks the nutrition needed to support that response, it may struggle to carry out the process efficiently.

The trigger matters.

The fuel matters too.

Prepare Before the Stress Arrives

The best time to think about stress management is before the plant is overwhelmed.

Once a crop is already struggling, management can quickly turn into a game of catch-up.

This is similar to nitrogen management. Once a plant becomes severely deficient, correcting the problem does not necessarily erase the time and yield potential already lost.

Plant defense can work the same way.

Low-rate, targeted approaches designed to support the SAR pathway may fit best ahead of an expected stress event rather than after significant damage has already occurred.

That requires producers to think about predictable stress.

We may not know exactly what the weather will do tomorrow, but we generally know summer heat is coming. We know certain field conditions increase disease pressure. We know a herbicide application can temporarily stress a crop as the plant processes the chemistry.

Even a properly timed and labeled herbicide application can create a temporary response in the plant.

That does not mean the herbicide is bad.

Weeds can create significantly more yield loss than the temporary stress caused by controlling them.

The question is not whether we should eliminate every stressor.

The question is whether we can better prepare the plant to manage necessary and predictable stress.

Not All Stress Is Bad

Stress is a normal part of plant growth.

A perfectly stress-free environment does not exist in the field.

In fact, some stress is necessary for normal plant development. A plant responds to wind, temperature, moisture, sunlight, and countless other environmental signals throughout the season.

The environment is stress.

The plant's job is to manage it.

Problems begin when the stress load becomes greater than the plant's ability to respond.

Extreme heat, drought, high salt concentrations, disease pressure, and even certain management practices can add to that load.

This is where understanding SAR becomes useful.

Instead of waiting until the plant is visibly struggling, producers can begin identifying periods when stress is likely and make management decisions around those windows.

ISR Starts With the Soil

While SAR is a more direct defense response, induced systemic resistance, or ISR, brings the conversation back to soil health.

The longevity of a farm is closely connected to the health of its soil.

Carbon plays a major role because it supports biological life within the soil. Bacteria, fungi, and other organisms interact with plant roots and influence how the plant grows, accesses nutrients, and prepares for stress.

This is why soil health cannot be reduced to one product or one application.

It is a system.

Keeping living plants in the field longer can support biological activity. Cover crops may fit some operations. Better water management can improve soil conditions.