Released: January 04, 2005

Conference Will Outline Opportunities for Organic Farming in Kansas

MANHATTAN, Kan. – While eager American consumers on two coasts and the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains wait, farmers in Kansas and other Midwestern states are quickly learning more about filling those markets’ hunger for organically-grown products.

Nationally, the demand is growing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates organic farming currently as an $11 billion industry, and organic acreage over 2.3 million.

To provide information for farmers, Kansas State University will host the conference, ‘Organic Agriculture: Opportunities for Family Farms in Kansas,’ on Feb. 18-19 in Manhattan.

The conference will explore the opportunities of organic production, marketing methods, funding resources for research and outreach projects. Organizers also have scheduled panel discussions during which organic producers will talk about resources and challenges.

“Ninety-nine percent of the product we manufacture here goes outside the state,” said Mark Nightengale, general manager of Heartland Mills, Inc. of Marienthal, Kan. “And, we have more demand than what is currently being produced.”

Heartland Mills is a certified organic processing mill in western Kansas.

The high demand is driving prices for organic products. This year in Kansas, organic wheat sold for $5-$6 per bushel; organic corn for $4-$4.50; and organic soybeans for $12-$16, according to Ed Reznicek, general manager for the Kansas Organic Producers Association.

According to the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service, those prices were well ahead of 2004’s high for conventional wheat ($3.80), corn ($3.04) soybeans ($9.82).

“What most farmers are concerned about is weed control, particularly in such row crops as corn and soybeans,” said Reznicek, who will give a presentation on weed control during the Feb. 18-19 conference. “I also hear them ask questions about fertility, or how to raise a crop without nitrogen.”

The U.S. government’s organic guidelines prohibit the use of chemicals to eliminate weeds, or adding nitrogen during the production cycle.

Reznicek has become something of an authority on those topics, noting that research has eased organic farmers’ concerns. He said that the industry has developed recommended crop rotations that effectively disrupt summer annual weed cycles, and local animal waste sources have been used effectively to fit crops’ nitrogen needs.

The USDA’s Agricultural Research Service also recently released results documenting that organic farmers can reduce weed seeds by using longer rotations with a higher diversity of crops.

The February conference is sponsored by the Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops (KCSAAC), the Kansas Rural Center and the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment. The KCSAAC is part of K-State Research and Extension.

The registration cost per person is $20 for one day, or $40 for two days, if paid before Feb. 8. Family rates are available for $35 and $70.

More information is available online at www.kansassustainableag.org/organic . Interested persons may also call Tracy Ivy at 785-532-1414, or send email to organic@oznet.ksu.edu .

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Pat Melgares
melgares@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News