Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease Management

In the fall of 2001, a new grid powered up to meet the needs of another traditionally underserved community. It will serve up not electricity, but information about organic agriculture.

The Northeast Organic Network, or NEON, is an innovative consortium of farmers, researchers, extension educators and grassroots nonprofits working together to improve organic farmers' access to research and technical support. Funded with a $1.2 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture's Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems, this multi-state, multidisciplinary team will be conducting research and extension and education programs on organic agriculture throughout the Northeast.

The NEON design team includes farmers, researchers at Cornell University, the University of Maine, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, and Rutgers, and several nonprofit organizations, including the Northeast Organic Farming Associations of New York and New Jersey, the New England Small Farm Institute, the Organic Materials Review Institute and New York Certified Organic. Cornell University's Department of Horticulture at will serve as the NEON hub. NEON is currently seeking additional partners for all activities.

NEON will be meeting critical needs in one of the fastest growing segments of American agriculture. Organic products are now a $7 billion market that has been growing at a rate of 20% a year. Despite explosive growth and consumer support, research in organic agriculture still represents far less than 1% of the research conducted at land-grant universities and agricultural experiment stations, according to surveys conducted in 1998 and 2001 by the Organic Farming Research Foundation.

NEON is starting to fill the most critical gaps for farmers from Maryland to Maine by investigating the complex decisions made on organic farms. Early research efforts will address soil fertility, pest management and crop rotation. Research strategies will include field experiments and economic analysis, case studies of successful organic growers and development of expert systems for organic decision. Throughout NEON's work, farmers will be involved as participants, subjects, and evaluators and advisors.

For More Information, email Anu Rangarajan, Cornell University.

1. Web-site, list-serve and newsletter highlighting NEON activities
2. Expanded numbers of researchers working on organic systems
3. 12 in-depth Focal Farm Reports that integrate all research and economic data collected on model organic farms of the Northeast

1. Farm business management profiles of 12 focal farms, highlighting relative "success" of various enterprises and management strategies for organic systems.
2. Validated enterprise budgets for 8 organic vegetable crops, building upon the initial costs of production worksheets created by Dr. Robin Brumfield from Rutgers University.
3. Evaluation of common organic crop rotations for profitability

• Knowledge Gap 1: What are the current contributions of various organic amendments to nutrient balances on organic farms, and in which cases might we be over-applying amendments?
• Knowledge Gap 2: Which cover crops are best adapted to conditions of the NE and how do these types affect fertility and pests on organic farms?
• Knowledge Gap 3: How can crop rotations, crop diversity and cover crops be used to reduce severity of insects, diseases and weeds in organic crops?
• Knowledge Gap 4: How effective are organically accepted 'rescue treatments' at reducing crop losses from pests?

1. Draft nutrient budgeting worksheets to optimize soil fertility management in various organic cropping systems
2. A grower-researcher designed rotation planner to enhance farm profitability and optimize use of cover crops and crop rotations to manage soil fertility and crop pests
3. Annual Organic Pest Management Product Review of tested 'rescue treatments' to address pest outbreaks in organic systems

1. there are today 300,000 fewer small farms than in 1979
2. despite the trend toward fewer and larger vertically integrated firms controlling the majority of food and fiber products in the US, a new vision for small farms in the 21st century would allow them to flourish in the changing global agriculture
3. studies indicate that despite belief that large farms are more efficient, small farms are at least as efficient as larger ones, and that there is evidence of diseconomies of scale as farm size increases

1. to emphasize sustainable agriculture as a profitable, ecologically and socially sound strategy
2. to dedicate budget resources to strengthen the competitive position of small farms in American agriculture
3. to conduct appropriate outreach through partnerships to serve small farms
4. to create a framework of support and responsibility.