Organic and conventional field crop soil and land management practices in Canada

Abstract

Nelson, A. G., Froese, J. C. and Entz, M. H. 2010. Organic and conventional field crop soil and land management practices in Canada. Can. J. Plant Sci. 90: 339-343. Land management practices affecting soil erosion risk on organic and conventional farms were described using a mail-out survey. Organic farmers had more forages and green manures in rotation than conventional farmers (66 vs. 46% and 84 vs. 6%, respectively). Organic farmers used more tilled summerfallow (52%) than conventional farmers (6%). Tilled summerfallow represents a risk to soil sustainability on organic farms; however, the net effect of common organic management practices (e.g., green manuring, composting and tillage) on soil erodibility is not known. Determing the combined effect of management practices as well as finding alternatives to tilled summerfallow should be research priorities.