The Upper Midwest Organic Grain & Feedstuffs Report is compiled by the USDA Market News Service, Des Moines, IA in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Endowed Chair in Agricultural Systems Program. The Monthly Average Price Summary shows average prices for organic feed grade wheat, feed grade corn, food grade soybeans, feed grade soybeans, feed grade peas, feed grade oats, and feed grade barley for February – June, 2007.

The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Educational Service (MOSES) and Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) are organizing a Midwest Organic Research Symposium to be held in conjunction with the Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference Feb. 21-23, 2008, in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

You are invited to submit papers for presentation at the symposium and posters to be displayed at the poster session. Submissions of summaries are due July 20, 2007. For more details on submitting papers, go to http://ofrf.org/networks/midwest_organic_rsch_symposium.html. Read the entire release on the call for symposium papers.

Lamberton, Minn. The outlook for organic farming is good. It is one of the fastest growing segments of United States agriculture. As consumer interest continues to grow, producers are turning to certified organic farming systems as a way to lower input costs, decrease reliance on nonrenewable resources, capture premium prices, and boost farm income.

The University of Minnesota Research and Outreach Center in Lamberton, Minn., leads an extensive program dedicated to exploring organic agriculture production and the science of organic agriculture. On Wednesday, July 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Center will host their annual Organic Field Day to present the latest research-based information about organic weed management, cover and companion crops, soil quality, variety selection, vegetable crop trials, and no-till organic production. One of the speakers at Organic Field Day is Jeff Moyer. Moyer has been the farm manager at the 333-acre Rodale Institute research farm for over 26 years, refining the farm’s cover cropping and crop rotation systems. He will speak about no-till organic production using a front-mounted roller/crimper ahead of the planter.

Read the entire press release on Organic Field Day.