Organic Research Activities of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service

Abstract

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) chief intramural scientific research agency. Our job is finding solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day, from field to table. Organic research is a vital and ongoing part of the overall ARS research portfolio and occurs at approximately 20 % of ARS research locations across the United States. The vision for ARS organic agriculture research is to help the organic industry overcome the challenges it faces related to productivity, profitability, environmental stewardship, and energy efficiency. ARS’s organic research is an interdisciplinary research approach to understand the biological and physical processes innate to plants, soils, invertebrates, and microbes that naturally regulate pest problems and soil fertility so as to not rely on the use of synthetic pesticide and fertilizer production inputs. The agency’s scientists are mainly seeking strategies to prevent the problems faced by organic growers and then, secondarily, looking for therapeutic controls that they can use. From a practical standpoint, this whole-system approach also describes a large part of ARS’s research to improve conventional agriculture. Many of the results and lessons learned from conventional ARS research can be readily applied to organic farming systems, and vice versa. The objective of ARS organic agriculture research is to help producers compete effectively in the marketplace by producing abundant amounts of high-quality and safe products to meet consumer demands. A few illustrative examples of the types of organic research activities being performed by ARS scientists are presented below. The challenge of integrating conservation tillage practices into organic production systems is a primary focus of the research at the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory (SASL) in Beltsville, MD, and is detailed in an accompanying article in these proceedings. SASL research seeks to address the challenges related to weeds and fertility in organic production. The research is focused primarily on organic grain production but includes practices that are applicable to vegetable production as well. A major SASL asset is a 17-year Farming Systems Project that compares two conventional and three organic grain crop rotations. Recent SASL research has led to the development of improved cover crops for increased fertility, improved soil conservation, and weed control. A scientist at the ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory in Auburn, AL, has been developing new and improved designs for roller-crimpers to manage and terminate cover crops while maintaining high residue cover. Numerous designs and prototypes have been developed and tested in varying cropping systems across the State of Alabama. The most recent version is designed for small vegetable production systems and is powered by a selfpropelled, walk-behind garden tractor (additional information on these efforts is available in the February 2013 issue of Agricultural Research Magazine. A major environmental contaminant in the Mississippi River Basin is nitrate-N, coming primarily from the discharge of agricultural drainage water and shallow ground water in the Midwest. The best field approach for accurate, integrated measurements of subsurface water quantity and quality is the installation of tile drains and a monitoring system capable of providing accurate