Researching Sustainable Systems. Proceedings of the First Scientific Conference of the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR), Held in Cooperation with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia (NASAA), 21 – 23 September 2005, Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide, South Australia.

This volume of proceedings contains the papers and posters presented at the Scientific Conference of the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR), held in Adelaide, Australia, September 21 – 23, 2005. The conference was organised as part of the 15th IFOAM Organic World Congress in cooperation with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia (NASAA). The papers cover the following aspects of organic farming research: 1. Arable crop rotations 2. Nutrient managment of arable crops in closed cycles 3. Quality aspects of composts 4. Soil communities 5. Managing weeds 6. Pests and Diseases 7. Vegetable Growing and vegetables under glass 8. Food Quality 9. Long Term Field Experiments 10. Animal husbandry and welfare – ruminants 11. Animal husbandry and welfare – Non-ruminants 12. Economics and farmers’ perspectives 13. Land use, conversion and rural development 14. Political instruments for organic farming 15. Market analysis: Improving knowledge about markets and their actors 16. Supply chain management – Improving cooperation between market actors 17. Knowing how conumers think and act to improve marketing 18. Sociology 19. Sustainability of farms 20. Environment, Biodiversity & Landscape 21. Research Structures and Method

Researching Sustainable Systems. International Scientific Conference on Organic Agriculture, coordinated by the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR) in co-operation with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA). Adeledaide, Australia, 21 - 23 September 2005

The International Scientific Conference on Organic Agriculture Researching Sustainable Systems will be coordinated by the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR) in co-operation with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA). The conference is a main module of the 15th IFOAM Organic World Congress*, hosted by NASAA. The conference will be held in Adeledaide, Australia, 21 - 23 September 2005. ISOFAR will be in charge of reviewing papers for the scientific conference and for the programme coordination

Dutch soil management and soil fertility

The organic sector depends heavily on its soils. In the Netherlands, relatively little acreage is available per farm compared to other countries. This means that the soil has to be kept in optimal shape for production, be it vegetables, cereals, potatoes or animal feed and grassland. To facilitate organic farmers, Wageningen UR and Louis Bolk Institute carry out a variety of research aimed specifically at soil management and soil fertility. The report contains sector facts, sector aspirations, current affairs and research projects

Organic Viticulture World-Wide

In most wine growing countries organic viticulture is now becoming more and more important. In most non-European countries organic viticulture is still in an initial stage and the number of organic vineyards is still small. The expansion of organic viticulture is hindered by the fact that in many countries incentives are provided for growers to adopt integrated pest management. Such incentive schemes are generally supported and promoted by the government, the chemical industry and conventional producer associations. As demand for conventional wines is booming, market forces do not provide much incentive for growers to convert to organic production methods. The limited knowledge about organic viticulture also poses a severe restriction of its expansion. Many conventional wine growers only have very little information about organic production techniques. However, there is also growing concern about decreasing soil fertility among some of the large corporate wine growers in Australia who are looking for more “sustainable” means of production. The organic producer associations in many countries do not have sufficient expertise about organic viticulture yet. Therefore, various specific organisations for commercial organic wine growers were formed recently in countries such as New Zealand (Organic Wine Growers’ Association), Australia (Organic Vignerons Association) and South Africa (Cape Organic Growers Association)

Organic Agriculture in Australia - Research Levies and Expenditure

It is often claimed that the organic industry in Australia receives insufficient funding for research and development. Behind this claim lies the assumption that funding provided is less than the amount paid by organic farmers in obligatory research and development levies. But is this the case? How much do organic farmers contribute? And how much do they receive in return? The aim of this report is to quantify these issues. The first issue - levies paid by organic farmers - was scrutinised and analysed with the help of the organic certification offices. These offices hold data pertaining to organic farms. The majority of farms, including those under organic management, pay levies for research and development (R&D), marketing, the National Residue Survey and animal health. This is either a certain percentage of the farm gate value of the product (for example, grains), or a set amount per unit of production (for example, per animal or per tonne of apples). Calculations of the total R&D levies paid for organic produce, sold both as organic and in the conventional market, amounted to 392,100 in 2000-2001. Matching Commonwealth government funding effectively raised the organic R&D contribution to 656,200. Organic farmers paid an additional $240,000 in marketing levies, and$104,300 for the National Residue Survey and animal health levy. The second issue – how much of the research levies is returned into research beneficial to organic farmers – was examined in less detail. However, some estimates were obtained. Direct expenditure on R&D on organic agriculture was around $450,000, the bulk of which came via contributions from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), with a substantial contribution from the GRDC. Some funding was provided by Horticulture Australia Ltd (HAL). More indirect payments were generously calculated to amount to another$50,000, from funding from HAL and the Dairy Research and Development Corporation (DRDC), with possibly more contributions in the grain,meat and wool industries. The conclusion is therefore that the total amount spent on R&D into organic agriculture in Australia falls well short of the $656,200, the amount collected from organic farmers and matched with Australian Commonwealth contributions

Foul Play and the Case of the Organic Eggs

The demand for organic food is often reported as exceeding supply. When faced with just such a shortfall in supply, Australian egg supplier G. O. Drew Pty Ltd substituted non-organic eggs to fill the supply gap. That deception has cost the company $295,000, the egg business has been sold, and the owners are no longer egg suppliers or packers. The 2007 case of ACCC v G. O. Drew Pty Ltd is a milestone for the Australian organic sector - it is the first Australian case where the Australian Consumer & Competition Commission (ACCC) has publicly challenged organic food labelling claims. This compares to at least 16 cases where the ACCC has successfully challenged false and/or misleading Country of Origin labelling (CoOL). Details of the case and problematic issues with the judgement are discussed

The Lost History of Organic Farming in Australia

It has not been previously reported that the world’s first “organic” farming society was the Australian Organic Farming and Gardening Society (AOFGS) which was founded in Australia in October 1944. The association was based in Sydney, New South Wales, and the first issue of its journal, the Organic Farming Digest (OFD), was dated April 1946. This was Australia’s first, and the world’s second, “organic” farming journal. The eighteen month delay between the founding of the society and the first publication of the journal was because paper was unavailable in Australia for that purpose during WWII. The society published a total of 378 articles in 29 issues from 1946 to 1954. Articles from Australia, UK, USA, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany and Denmark were published. Topics included: farming and gardening; health; environment; politics and economics; and animal welfare. More than 190 authors were published. British authors published included Sir Albert Howard, Lady Louise Howard, Lady Eve Balfour, and Friend Sykes. American authors published included Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, Jerome Rodale, Gaylord Hauser, and Louis Bromfield. Australian authors from the states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland were published. These included Sir Stanton Hicks, then Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at Adelaide University, NSW grazier Colonel Harold White, and Tasmanian MLC Henry Shoobridge. More than 130 original articles were published, and other articles were reproduced from many sources including: Organic Gardening (USA); Bio-Dynamic (USA); Soil and Health (UK); Health and the Soil (UK); Mother Earth, (UK); Trees and the Earth (UK); Farmers Weekly (South Africa) and Compost Magazine (NZ). The Society was wound up in 1955, due to lack of financial support. The digests published by the AOFGS document a decade of the thoughts, aspirations, focus, theory and practice of Australia’s first practitioners and proponents of organic farming, from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s

Increased yield and yield stability in variety mixtures of spring barley

In the DARCOF II BAR-OF project, six variety mixtures are studied in organic as well as conventional growing systems in the period 2002 to 2005. The focus has been on competitive ability of the component varieties in addition to their disease resistance. This study is included in a European Network on sustainable low-input cereal production focusing on varietal characteristics and crop diversity (SUSVAR - COST 860), initiated in 2004. The following is based on papers presented at two SUSVAR workshops