Posts Tagged: Organic
First-of-its-kind organic farming apprenticeship launched
An organic farming apprenticeship program has been established in Novato, Calif., to teach students progressive, responsible farming practices including landscape ecology, composting and fertility management, according to a news release distributed by the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS).
This is the first organic farming apprentice program in the nation, the release said. The Organic Farming and Gardening Apprenticeship Program includes 1,800 hours of hands-on paid training at Fresh Run Farm in Bolinas and 11 courses of related instruction provided by College of Marin.
According to the release, the organic farming industry is the fastest growing sector in agriculture. Marin County has 23 registered organic producers that farm 810 acres of land.
The College of Marin also maintains a 5.8-acre Indian Valley Organic Farm & Garden, which is a partnership involving the Conservation Corps North Bay, the University of California Cooperative Extension and the College of Marin.
Apprenticeship training dates to ancient times when young boys were indentured to skilled tradesmen to learn a craft, according to DAS website. Today, apprentices are women and men who earn while they learn through planned, supervised work on-the-job combined with related classroom instruction.
"Just like college, apprenticeships aren’t for everyone," the website says. "Apprentices get up early, take direction from journeypersons, follow precise safety standards and attend classes at night. But at the end of their apprenticeship they get a ticket to a career anywhere they care to go."
Students work at the Indian Valley Organic Farm & Garden
Ag is a key part of California communities' identities
News stories from around the state demonstrate the role of UC Cooperative Extension in helping define California's agricultural "sense of place."
Salinas research corridor
Officials are working together to create a "research corridor" in Salinas to work in concert with existing agricultural and construction technology centers, said Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue in his state-of-the-city address. "I want to acknowledge the very real and sustained efforts to make a Research Corridor a reality by Dr. Phoebe Helm at Hartnell, Sonya Varyea Hammond of the UC Extension and Congressman Sam Farr," Donahue said, according to a transcript of his speech on the Fox 35 news website. "The City will continue to stand with and actively support their efforts to help move the public sector's role in the future we envision. The marketplace will ultimately move the agenda forward but the public sector plays a crucial role."
Organic agriculture
California is the No. 1 place for organic agriculture in the nation, according to a survey analyzed by UC Cooperative Extension agricultural economist Karen Klonsky. UC Davis news service issued a news tip about the analysis that was picked up widely in the media. The survey found that California leads the United States in the number of organic farms, the amount of land in organic production and in organic sales. California is home to 19 percent of the nation’s organic farms and accounts for 36 percent of the country’s organic sales.
Rural identity
The U.S. census reports that population in Yolo County has grown, but the place maintains its "rural" designation, reported the Woodland Daily Democrat. Government agencies usually identify counties as rural if the population is under 200,000, the story said. Even though Yolo County, the home of UC Davis, topped that number by 849 individuals, it is still considered rural because of the important role of agriculture in the community, county administrator Patrick Blacklock told the paper.
Should added sulfites be allowed in organic wines?
Some leading environmentalists in the wine industry are asking the federal government to allow sulfites to be added to wines labeled organic, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.
Currently, for a wine to be labeled "USDA organic," it may not contain added sulfites. The chemical occurs in small amounts naturally in wines but is considered by many vintners to be an indispensable preservative.
Sulfites arrest fermentation at the desired time, and may also be added to prevent spoilage and oxidation at several stages of winemaking.
"It's extremely difficult to make high-quality wine without adding sulfites," the story quoted Andy Waterhouse, chair of the UC Davis department of viticulture and enology. "The smallest amount of mold on the grapes would cause the flavor to be different."
As a result, other eco-friendly wine labels, which may have weak or even no official standards, have filled the void - including biodynamic, sustainable and "natural" wine.
"Wine drinkers looking for a healthful, green product face confusing choices, and wineries can claim they're eco-friendly without anyone really checking," the story said.
Writer W. Blake Gray noted that several winemakers who are marketing USDA organic wines are campaigning to maintain the current standards.
"Most of the 8,000-year history of winemaking appears to be from naturally farmed, organically grown grapes without sulfites added," the story quoted winemaker Paul Frey.
Brian Fitzpatrick sells organic wines and vinegars. (Photo: B. Dawson)
Organic farming gets more research dollars
The 2008 Farm Bill gave organic agriculture a significant boost by increasing funding for organic research from $2 million a year to $20 million, according to an article in the New York Times.
Reporter Jim Robbins outlined some of the research that is underway across the country, opening with work at the UC Davis student farm, where native sunflowers provide a "bed-and-breakfast" for beneficial insects, according to farm director Mark van Horn.
Robbins also described the work of UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Rachael Long, who has studied bats' role in battling codling moth in walnut and apple orchards. According to her research, bats eat their weight in bugs every night.
“They eat a ton of insects,” Long was quoted. “They also eat cucumber beetles and stink bugs, which affect tomatoes.”
Scientists are continuing their research to identify a blend of systems that will grow food and support the natural ecosystem on the farm and beyond.
“That’s the holy grail,” Van Horn told the reporter. “An agricultural system that mimics a natural system.”
Bats help organic farmers by feeding on crop pests.
Growing organic farmers
Well bef
ore Safeway launched a line of organic products or Craigslist posted openings for school garden coordinators, UC Santa Cruz was training students for careers in organic farming.The UC Santa Cruz Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture started in 1967 when the concept of organic was in its infancy. Forty-three years later, organic has gone mainstream and the apprenticeship program is more popular than ever.
A recently published study looking at the apprenticeship’s last 20 years found that a large percentage of its alumni are still involved in growing and marketing organic food and teaching others how to do so.
“It’s like an incubator,” said lead study author Jan Perez, research specialist with the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. “It’s a place for people to really experiment and live their values and be in a supportive community.”
The six-month residential apprenticeship program, which the center runs in conjunction with UC Santa Cruz Extension, features hands-on training in gardens, greenhouses, orchards and fields. The program combines theoretical and practical instruction, with students not only studying in the classroom but also taking fields trips and marketing organic produce on campus.
Of 299 alumni surveyed, more than 80 percent have done some type of farming or gardening work since graduating, with 65 percent still doing this work. Forty-two percent said they created jobs that did not previously exist and 35 percent are working in an educational area, according to the study in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development.
For example, two apprentice alumni started Pie Ranch, a working Peninsula farm that educates high school students from San Francisco to Santa Cruz about sustainable agriculture. The farm, which grows ingredients for pies on its pie-shaped ranch, even has its own apprenticeship program.
“They’re really spreading what they’ve learned,” Perez said.
Meanwhile, interest continues to spread in the Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture. Last year, applications rose to 187 for more than 30 slots. This year’s application period closed Thursday (Sept. 30).
The apprenticeship program takes place at UC Santa Cruz's farm and Chadwick Garden