How has organic science research changed over time, and how might it evolve in the future to meet our growing needs?
Organic Science Canada Magazine interviewed organic agriculture researchers Drs. Myriam Fernandez, Derek Lynch, Martin Entz, and Steve Shirtliffe to hear their predictions for the future of organic.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED IN ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH?
ENTZ: I was interested in organic agriculture as soon as I started at the University of Manitoba back in the early 1990s, and I dedicated some of my time to organic agricultural crop production research for the first 10 or so years of my career. I later went into organic agriculture research full-time because I found it quite fascinating and really challenging.
FERNANDEZ: I have been a scientist at AAFC for over 30 years with most of my research being initially on plant pathology and breeding. I started getting involved with organic research in the late ‘90s.
LYNCH: I was part of the foundation of the Nova Scotia Organic Growers Association when it launched close to 30 years ago. I’m very proud that over the past 20 years, half or more of my research was done on farms. In fact, the farms were the whole focus of [these studies]. That meant sitting down at the kitchen table with lots of different organic farmers and talking.
SHIRTLIFFE: It’s been probably 20 years. I haven’t ever fully devoted my career to it. But for a while, I was doing predominantly organic research.
DR. MYRIAM FERNANDEZ
Swift Current Research and Development Centre, AAFC OSC III, Activity 9 and 22
DR. STEVE SHIRTLIFFE
University of Saskatchewan
OSCIII, Activity 7 and 17
DR. MARTIN ENTZ
University of Manitoba
OSC III, Activity 3
DR. DEREK LYNCH
Dalhousie University
OSC III, Activity 27
HOW HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH ORGANIC RESEARCH DEVELOPED OVER TIME?
FERNANDEZ: It has grown over time. In 2007, I started transitioning to organic research, originally with about seven acres. Since then, it has increased substantially. Over time, we ended up getting more land from management for organic research and currently have 23 acres. This has allowed us to have a variety of different projects on cover cropping, intercropping, diversified rotations, and biocontrol of important crop diseases, among others. When we started converting conventional land to organic, we also began interacting with experienced organic producers in the region, as we did not know what their priorities would be. That is still important today: meeting with producers, having field days, and communicating.
LYNCH: I work in a blend of soil and agronomy, so my research focus has been a sort of agroecology. In most of my research, I try to look at practical questions and answers while also tracking some of the ecosystem services. Over the years, this has included questions of fertility, rotations, and cover crops to nutrient management for very diverse farms including whole organic dairy farms.
ENTZ: Some of the main research considerations in the past were how to get nutrients into an organic system and how to control weeds. Those were major challenges to begin with, and I say we’ve made some progress due to advancements in knowledge, research, and the machines we have today.
SHIRTLIFFE: Most of my work in organic crop production has been around con- trolling annual weeds. Over the years, I’ve maintained part of my program being organic. Primarily in the past, I’ve mostly been what I call a ‘weedy agronomist’.
One of my hopes for the future... is developing a strong understanding of what works in distinct regions around the country to mitigate any climate challenges moving forward.
WHAT TOPICS IN ORGANIC RESEARCH DO YOU THINK ARE IMPORTANT NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE?
LYNCH: Soil carbon, biodiversity, and soil health. I’m keen on the topic of intensity of management, because that in turn influences whether a farm can actually be regenerative. That’s important to think about when you think about soil. Let’s not forget [about] maintaining a minimum level of phosphorus and other soil nutrients.
You can’t have regenerative agriculture if you’re running deficiencies.
FERNANDEZ: Considering the suitability of each organic crop to the specific soil and environmental conditions. Particularly in the case of cover crops or intercrops, it is important to select the species most adapted to regional conditions in order to understand and identify the most adaptive systems (for making regional recommendations). This is not only for organic production in general, but specifically [to see] how those practices may help with carbon sequestration and mitigation of climate change.
[Secondly] biocontrol work: It’s very important to continue to study the microbial interactions underground and take advantage of them, not only in biocontrol of diseases, but also in making the crops more resilient.
SHIRTLIFFE: To me, it seems the number one issues are always weed control and soil nutrients. These will continue to be issues: weed control in terms of crop production, and soil nutrients, like phosphorus.
ENTZ: There’s always been an interest in crop-livestock integration in organic because it just makes sense. Early on, we knew from research that farms with crop-livestock integration had greater diversity overall and better nutrient flows.
Thinking ahead, especially for large- acre production, the phosphorus issue is critical. We’ll need attention in every aspect of crop soil management, whether it’s seed vigour, seedborne diseases, or soil management.
Recent research demonstrated that crops produced organically can result in some significant human health benefits. I think as we look for lower-cost ways of improving the health of our population, organic may be something people will look toward because eliminating pesticides and allowing the plants to get their nutrients through biological processes does seem to have some beneficial effect on the nutrition of these crops. I think that’s an exciting new area of research.
Where to deploy organic in the land- scape might be a future question.
There is an opportunity for organics to be in the lead in championing some fundamental sustainability issues.
WHAT HOPES DO YOU HAVE FOR ORGANIC RESEARCH IN THE FUTURE?
LYNCH: There is an opportunity for organics to be in the lead of championing some fundamental sustainability issues. There is a crisis. Putting carbon back in the soil and reducing the amount of nitrogen as a greenhouse gas are two major climate issues where organics could position itself as a leader. Are we going to lead [by] demonstrating closing the urban-rural nutrient loop, or are we nervous about the perception if we do that? It is a very interesting issue… Organic farmers should be the lead in exploring these issues because we need to be. Again, you can’t have regenerative agriculture if you’re running deficiencies.
SHIRTLIFFE: One of the challenges I’ve seen is this continual political polarization of these issues which has gotten much worse over the last couple of years. I like that idea that things are changing for the better, and I hope the research can move forward.
ENTZ: One thing we need in the future is a community of innovation, which involves not only researchers working together, but also farmers, and perhaps other people in healthcare and the food industry. We definitely need researchers working together! We have enjoyed the researcher community in the Science Cluster because we’ve been able to leverage all kinds of people to work together. I am really looking forward to how this community of innovation will develop, and the next time we can get together at a conference and share results.
FERNANDEZ: One of my hopes for the future of research and for producers is developing a strong understanding of what works in distinct regions around the country to mitigate any climate challenges moving forward, to tailoring our research and understanding based on each region. Most importantly, sharing that information with each other, so we can use what has already been learned and have it available as regions experience climate shifts. From a microbial standpoint, really studying the microbial relationships as those can be used to strengthen the crops and to help balance out things.
ANY ADVICE FOR NEW ORGANIC RESEARCHERS?
SHIRTLIFFE: The number of researchers that are out there and wanting to work in organic systems today is truly astounding. This grew from a very researcher-poor area, where there was essentially almost no research happening in Western Canada, and very little across Canada. I’ve always had the most positive farmer feedback from the organic part of my research. They are very thankful for the research.
FERNANDEZ: Interact with producers in the region, learn as much as possible from them, and learn what their needs and concerns are. This is most valuable.
ENTZ: I would advise new researchers to go and visit a variety of organic farming operations to learn what it actually means, to get to know the processes better, and the strengths and weaknesses, so [the researchers] can conceptualize their own contribution, their own research proposals, and ideas that they would like to pursue.
LYNCH: Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate. It’s a very exciting time: very challenging, but a very exciting time for agriculture and for organic farming.
(OSC3) Originally published in Organic Science Canada magazine, Issue #5, Spring 2023
