Demonstrating a Quick-Start Process to Help Small Blueberry Farmers Begin Transition To Organic Practices

View the project final report

• 2014 annual report

Commodities

• Fruits: berries (blueberries)
• Animals: bees

Practices

• Crop Production: biological inoculants, cover crops, organic fertilizers
• Education and Training: demonstration, farmer to farmer
• Farm Business Management: value added
• Natural Resources/Environment: hedges - grass, habitat enhancement
• Pest Management: field monitoring/scouting, physical control
• Production Systems: organic agriculture, transitioning to organic
• Soil Management: organic matter, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities, sustainability measures

With the involvement of MSU researchers and our Extension Agent, we will attack some major organic transition problems:

• How to build organic matter via amendments and cover crops
• How organic practices can best be applied to deal with pests and diseases such as Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) and maggot
• How to maintain yields with these new practices in the course of two seasons

Some of the practices we will focus on:

• Use of cover crops and liquid amendments such as teas, fish emulsion, and trace elements to increase Nitrogen
• Use of mechanical weeding devices (Friday Hoe)

Evaluation:

Methods:

• Varience in Yield – between 2013, 2014 and 2015

• Differences in Inputs – charting movement to organics, cost variances

• Soil Sampling year to year – with special emphasis on growth of organic matter and measurements for N

• Sales using 2012 as a base year – Noting variances in product sales for “naturally grown” versus traditional methods

• Change in farmer perceptions regarding use of organic methods (pre and post evaluation of participants