NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
March 23, 2000
The North Dakota State University Extension Service this year is offering projected organic crop budgets for south central North Dakota. While these budgets are area specific, the information contained in this 24-page Extension publication will be of value to organic producers in other parts of the state as well as conventional farmers interested in organic production, says an NDSU agricultural economist.
"This the first time NDSU has done crop budgets for organic producers," says Andrew Swenson, an extension farm management specialist at NDSU and co-author of the publication.
Swenson says the budgets should serve only as guides due to the considerable variation in soil type, productivity, weather conditions and organic management practices within the multi-county area comprising North Dakota's south central crop reporting district. In addition, prices are difficult to predict.
The organic crop budgets included in the publication are for spring wheat, durum, feed barley, corn for grain, oil and confectionery sunflower, soybeans, oats, flax, field peas, millet, buckwheat, rye, and green manure.
A primary assumption for all the crop budgets is that organic yields will average 75 percent of conventional crop yields. Swenson says strong price premiums can be achieved for organic commodities, but the markets are much smaller than for conventionally grown crops, and price discovery can be difficult.
Other important factors reflected in the budgets are costs for cleaning grain and hauling it longer distances to market. Swenson interviewed many organic producers to prepare these budgets, and they reported that cleaning and shipping can represent significant costs. They also urged organic producers to read carefully all the production contracts they enter into to make sure they understand all the terms, especially those related to cleaning and shipping charges.
"It is important to note that the cleanout, or screenings, from organic grain can have considerable value as feed for certified livestock production, but no estimate of this value is provided in the budgets," Swenson says.
Also included in the publication are two examples of four-year organic crop rotations. Rotations are the essence of an organic production system, says Brad Brummond, cropping systems agent with the NDSU Extension Service in Walsh County. Brummond, who specializes in organic production methods, is the publication's other co-author.
Brummond adds, "The principal rule of organic production is to rotate crops to break pest cycles. The same crop should never be grown consecutively, nor should crops that have similarly sized seeds be grown back to back if the previous crop is expected to become a "weed" in the subsequent crop."
Copies of the projected 2000 organic crop budgets are available at county offices of the NDSU Extension Service. For more information on organic crop rotations and organic management practices, contact Brummond at (701) 284-6624 or by e-mail (brummon@ndsuext.nodak.edu).
In addition, conventional farmers interested in organic production can consult another publication developed by the NDSU Extension Service. "Organic Farming: Is It For Me?" (A1181) is available at county offices of the NDSU Extension Service or via the Internet (http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/crops/a1181w.htm).
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Sources: Andrew Swenson (701) 231-7379
Brad Brummond (701) 284-6624
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136