Albert Lea Seed House Spring 2018 Organic Newsletter
ORGANIC
Cultivator
Spring 2018
Cultivating soil, knowledge, relationships
Why We Invest In Research
With more than $60,000 pledged to university research, $200,000 in our
own research equipment, and ongoing support to research organizations
such as the Practical Farmers of Iowa, we’re committed to research.
Let’s face it, conventional farming research has been
very well-funded by commercial ag enterprises,
land-grant Universities, and commodity groups.
By comparison, organic cropping research has
been underfunded. This is starting to change, and
we want to do our part to develop new varieties,
tools, and cropping systems to help organic farmers
increase yields, reduce weed and insect losses, and
improve soil health.
We purchased a plot planter, plot combine, tractor
with RTK, and a drone in order to start doing small-
plot research on organic farms. In 2018 we will have
4 replicated organic soybean plots, 2 replicated
organic corn plots, and an extensive evaluation of
organic seed coatings.
By Mac Ehrhardt,
Co-owner
cereal rye varieties in field testing so that farmers will
know which varieties and planting strategies work
for best for their on-farm applications. For example,
for no-till roller-crimper systems farmers need early-
heading high-biomass varieties.
Our good friend and Iowa organic farmer, Tom
Frantzen, is working cooperatively with KWS, us,
and six other farmers to find out if pork production
benefits from incorporating hybrid cereal rye into
hog rations.
We’ll continue to back research at all levels to help
farmers find the seed, tools, and information they
need to farm profitably and sustainably.
We’re supporting the University of Wisconsin for
a project called Innovations in Cover Crop-Based
Organic No-Till Systems to Improve Soil Health and
Nutrient Management. As its name implies, it will
track the practices and rotation selections that work
best for improving soil health and nutrient uptake
on organic corn and soybean farms.
All farmers—organic and conventional alike—can
benefit from integrating small grains into the rotation.
Our $50,000 pledge to the University of Minnesota’s
cereal rye project will help characterize specific
Here’s a shot of our new plot combine in action!
MAC EHRHARDT ELIA ROMANO CARL GAUDIAN
Co-owner Organic Sales [email protected][email protected] Organic Accounts
[email protected]
www.alseed.com