Explore the benefits of local and organic food using a 29 page presentation created by Jim Riddle.

The 2008 edition of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) Greenbook is off the press. Published annually for 19 years, the Greenbook highlights the results of innovative demonstration projects that test new approaches to marketing agricultural products as well as raising crops and livestock. The demonstration projects are funded by the MDA’s Sustainable Agriculture On-Farm Demonstration Grant program, which targets farming practices that rely more on renewable resources, enhancing the environment, and increasing profitability.

Greenbook 2008: A Multitude of Ideas to Sustain Agriculture highlights 22 projects in five major topic areas: alternative markets and specialty crops; energy; fruits and vegetables; cropping systems and soil fertility; and livestock. Among this year’s projects are strategies for developing a Saskatoon berry market, intercropping with a high tunnel to achieve maximum production, feeding in-line alfalfa/grass bales to eliminate fall and winter “flat spots” in grassfed beef production, and aerial seeding of winter rye. Greenbook 2008 is available on the MDA’s website.

In order to be certified, organic farmers must implement ecologically sound production systems, which recycle nutrients, conserve or improve natural resources, and enhance biodiversity. New articles and resources are now posted, which explain regulatory requirements and cite research studies related to biological conservation and organic agriculture. The resources are:

• Conservation Benefits of Organic Production – a 1-page article by Jim Riddle;
• Organic Bibliography with annotations – a 7-page bibliography compiled by Rex Dufour, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), and Jane Sooby, Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF);
• Correlation Chart for NRCS Conservation Practices and NOP Requirements – an 8-page chart showing organic requirements and NRCS conservation practice standards, prepared by Ann Baier and Rex Dufour, National Center for Appropriate Technology, and Jim Riddle, University of Minnesota; and
• The Conservation Benefits of Organic Production – a 33-slide power point created by Jim Riddle.