Rodrigo Cala and MOSES hosted a field day on August 18, 2021 at Cala Farm Origenes in Turtle Lake, WI. MOSES Organic Specialist Rodrigo Cala shared the systems approach he uses on his organic farm, focusing on sheep production with rotational grazing, a perennial system for raising chickens, and much more. Rodrigo realized in the last couple years that his vegetable production system wasn't working as well as he’d like, and he turned to livestock to build soil and strengthen his business.

You can contact Rodrigo through the Organic Answer Line at 888-906-6737 x 717 or by visiting https://mosesorganic.org/ask/

Watch this field day on the MOSES YouTube page!

English: https://youtu.be/gLReqVQP4rk

In Her Boots podcast: https://mosesorganic.org/in-her-boots-podcast/

New Farmer U: http://mosesorganic.org/newfarmeru

Organic Valley FAFO grant program: https://www.organicvalley.coop/why-organic-valley/power-of-we/farmers-advocating-organics/

Jim Goodman (National Family Farm Coalition), Erin Schneider (Hilltop Community Farm, Wisconsin), and Lea Zeise (Intertribal Agriculture Council) share their unique perspectives on farming and climate in a conversation that explores some of the solutions to one of the greatest challenges we face as a species: climate change. In this conversation, we’ll learn about the connections and contributions we can make across farming systems, as communities and individuals in relationship to other species and the limited resources of our Earth. Moderated by Lori Stern, MOSES Executive Director.

This episode is part of an ongoing series of climate conversations from MOSES Conference workshops and the 2021 Growing Stronger Collaborative Conference.

Lori Stern's article in The Hill: To fight the climate crisis, support smart farming

Also available on YouTube: Farming in the Time of Climate Change

MOSES Organic Field Days: http://mosesorganic.org/events/organic-field-days/

MOSES YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/mosesorganic

New Farmer U: https://mosesorganic.org/newfarmeru/

Continuing our climate change series, this episode is a workshop from the 2020 MOSES Conference with Dr. Lauren Snyder and Dr. Jessica Gutknecht.

According to the NOAA, "the Midwest set a record for the wettest year in history (1895-2019) for the second straight year" in 2019. The need to build healthy soils that can withstand weather extremes is clear. In this episode, Dr. Jessica Gutknecht and Dr. Lauren Snyder share research-based guidance on practices that can improve overall soil structure and water-holding capacity—characteristics critical to dealing with extreme precipitation events. And we'll also hear from farmers as they share their reflections after a small group discussion on the topic.

Lauren Snyder is a science advisor at the Organic Farming Research Foundation and a freelance science contractor. She has a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University.

Jessica Gutknecht is a soil ecologist at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate.

Dr. Jessica Gutknecht’s slides: https://mosesorganic.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/R-Fri-2_Gutknecht_2.pdf

Dr. Lauren Snyder’s slides: https://mosesorganic.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/R-Fri-2-Snyder.pdf

Reducing Risk through Best Soil Health Management Practices in Organic Crop Production 

Video: Soils Provide Hope for Severe Weather

MOSES Organic Field Days: http://mosesorganic.org/events/organic-field-days/

MOSES YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/mosesorganic

New Farmer U: https://mosesorganic.org/newfarmeru/

This is episode one of a series on climate change. Whether you have drought or flooding this year, your weather is probably strange. This series of recordings of MOSES conference from the last few years share some strategies in adapting to climate change. The first in the series is a talk from the 2017 MOSES Conference called Build Resilience with Soil Biology with Dr. Kris Nichols. At the time, Dr. Nichols was the chief scientist at the Rodale Institute. She is now an educator, consultant, and researcher with KRIS Systems and MyLand Company. She talks about how soil biology can help buffer your farm from weather extremes.

KRIS Systems: http://kris-systems.com/

MOSES Organic Field Days: http://mosesorganic.org/events/organic-field-days/

MOSES YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/mosesorganic

New Farmer U: https://mosesorganic.org/newfarmeru/

In this episode, host Chuck Anderas talks to Ken Meter about his new book, Building Community Food Webs. Ken shares some of the best examples of how communities have built relationship-based food systems, and shares his thoughts on why the current food system is extractive, how communities can use co-learning to find creative solutions, how democracy works in food systems, and much more. Listen in!

Discount code METER gets you 20% off Ken's book at Island Press via https://islandpress.org/books/building-community-food-webs.

Check out Ken’s work at the Crossroads Resource Center: http://www.crcworks.org

Read a review of the book in the MOSES Organic Broadcaster.

Read the Organic Broadcaster story: Commodity system creates persistent losses by Ken Meter & Megan Phillips Goldenberg

Submit a voice memo telling us about one of your FAVORITE FARM SMELLS. https://anchor.fm/moses-podcast/message

New Farmer U: https://mosesorganic.org/newfarmeru/

From the 2019 MOSES Organic Farming Conference, Ken Meter and Megan Goldenberg dive deep into food systems history and data, and give examples of successful community-based food systems work from around the United States. Ken Meter is one of most experienced food-system analysts in United States, and his work integrates market analysis, systems thinking, quantitative time-series data, and first-hand interviews. His analysis and consulting has fostered 141 farm and food networks in 41 states, 2 provinces, and 4 tribes. Part 2, coming next week, is a conversation between Ken Meter and host Chuck Anderas based on Ken’s new book “Building Community Food Webs.”

Submit a voice memo telling us about one of your FAVORITE FARM SMELLS.

Check out Ken’s work at the Crossroads Resource Center: http://www.crcworks.org 

You can find his new book Building Community Food Webs (Island Press) here: https://islandpress.org/books/building-community-food-webs

HEAL Food Alliance webinar on Community Food Systems Over Corporate Control: Ensure Fair and Competitive Markets

This is the trailer to the new season of the In Her Boots podcast. This season is the first with new host Tiffany LaShae. Tiffany—a Black woman farmer, researcher, educator, and activist—interviews women of color in agriculture from around the Midwest about their experiences. Make sure to search for “In Her Boots” in your podcast app and hit subscribe. Stay tuned! 

In Her Boots

Dr. Melinda Daniels of the Stroud Water Research Center and Dr. Kirsten Pearson of the Rodale Institute discuss their incredible collaborative research evaluating the impact of several management systems on an entire watershed. They have years of data on how the watershed was managed conventionally; this multi-year effort will give a clear idea of how various farming practices affect not only stream water quality but also crop yields, energy consumption, and the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil, including water infiltration.

Watershed Impact Trial

Stroud Water Research Center

Farming Systems Trial

Farmer Kat Becker of Cattail Organics in Athens, WI, and Sam Malriat, the Director of the Organic Consulting Program at the Rodale Institute, talk with Chuck about the strategies they have tried, studied, and seen work on farms throughout the country. As Sam puts it, “In organic systems, models are state by state, county by county… There’s not one [model], there’s 150.” Listen in on a conversation full of nuanced ideas about no-till, tillage, soil health, and a holistic view of farm management.

Organic Consulting Program

Farming Systems Trial

Cattail Organics

If you have strategies to share or are looking for advice from other farmers and researchers, there is a community for you. It’s called Climate Resilient Organic Vegetable Production (CROVP), and you can join their email list by sending an email to [email protected].

Listen in on the conversation with Dr. Andrew Smith, the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Scientist of the Rodale Institute, and Dr. Francesca Cotrufo, Professor and Associate Head of the Department of Soil & Crop Sciences and Senior Scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Lab at Colorado State University. We go in-depth on the practices and the science of soil carbon sequestration based on 40 years of data from Rodale and the expertise of Dr. Cotrufo.

This is the first of a 3-part series celebrating and exploring the 40 years of Rodale's Farming Systems Trials. The next two episodes will cover No-till Organic Vegetable Production and the Watershed Impact Trial.

Rodale:

Carbon White Paper 

Conversation with Soil Ecologist Dr. Francesca Cotrufo

Farming Systems Trial

Dr. Cotrufo:

Homepage

Bio

Some recent publications

Formation of soil organic matter via biochemical and physical pathways of litter mass loss

Global change pressures on soils from land use and management

Below-ground carbon inputs contribute more than above-ground inputs to soil carbon accrual in a bioenergy poplar plantation

The Microbial Efficiency‐Matrix Stabilization (MEMS) framework integrates plant litter decomposition with soil organic matter stabilization: do labile plant inputs form stable soil organic matter?