Winter 2008-2009 Just Piced Newsletter, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service

8/8/2019 Winter 2008-2009 Just Piced Newsletter, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service

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Tim Young, President andChef of the Food forThought company(www.foodforthought.net)

is invited as a resource per-son to help with our discus-sions on organic value-added products. How toget established, what cus-tomers are looking for,common problems and un-expected costs in gettingcertain products started wil lall be part of the discus-sions. Mor e input is neededfrom growers on the spe-

cific production challengesthey want to discuss at theRetreat. Please contactDeirdre if you havent al-ready with your sugges-tions.

Register early since the Re-tr eat size is limi ted.

(Continued on page 6)

Due to the popularity of thefirst, the Network is hostingits 2nd Advanced GrowerRetreat just before and in

the same building as theOrganic Conference of theMichigan Organic Food andFarming Al li ance. The Re-treat will start at 1:30 PMon Thursday, March 5 andend Friday at 5 PM. Thesite will be the KelloggCenter on the campus ofMichigan State University.The Organic Conferencestarts at 7 PM Friday and

runs all day on Saturday.For purposes of group dy-namics, the Retreat is lim-ited to 30 growers.

The Retreat will be agrower-to-grower discus-sion time. Growers areencouraged to bring theirproduction, marketing, andexpense data to refer to

during discussions. Thediscussions wi ll be on whatyou want t o talk about, butwi ll focus on three major

areas: common productionissues, value-added prod-ucts, and markets and pr ic-ing. The Advisory Board ofthe Organic Tree Fruit As-sociation that is formingwi ll also provide an updateon their progress and inviteinput. For the markets andpricing discussion TomRosenfeld w il l report onyear one and discuss plans

for year two of the newgrower pr ice sharing systemthat was init iated at the lastRetreat.

He wil l review how it went,how many participated, andthe types of data shared.What growers got out itwill be discussed as well ashow i t can be improved.

A DVA N CED GROWER R ETREATM ARCH 5& 6

EA ST L A N SI N G, M I C H I G A N

Deirdre Birmingham, Network CoordinatorMidwest Or ganic Tree Fruit Growers7258 Kelly Rd.Mineral Point, W I 53565TEL: 608-967-2362/ FAX: [email protected] http:/ / www.mosesorganic.org/ treefruit/ intro.htmNewsletter layout by Anna Maenner, ACM Inc.

M IDWEST O RGANIC TREE FRUIT GROW ERS N ETWORK

WI NTER 2009

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VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1
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--Deirdre Birmingham

This newsletter has been tracking Jim Koan and Michigan State Uni-versit ys project to integrate organic pork and apple production onJims farm. It is an excit ing project that has garnered national andnternational attention. And it was spawned by the creativit y of agrower: Jim Koan of Al-Mar Orchard and maker of JK s Scrumpy.

The following update wi ll be brief as it builds on project updates inhe fol lowing issues: Fall , Spring, and Winter 2008, Fall and Sum-

mer of 2007, all of which are found on our website.

While the plum curculio data had been analyzed in time for our Sep-ember 2008 issue, the codling moth and weed data were still underanalysis as was data on the pigs themselves. Updates on those aspectsollow as well as plans for 2009.

Codling Moth. Matt Grieshop, who works on organic pest manage-ment at MSU, is in charge of this aspect. Matt s research looks at thedifferences in codling moth populations and damage between plotshe pigs grazed and plots in which they did not graze.

Matt reported: We found a three-fold reduction in the number ofruit damaged by codling moth in a pre-harvest sample (about 7.5%damage in ungrazed vs. 2.5% damage in grazed). Data fr om bandinghe trees to capture migrating late larvae did not reveal any differencen the number of larvae captured in grazed or ungrazed plots. Thismay have been due to a late spring frost, which drastically reducedruit set on some trees (overall fruit set was at about 30% of normal).

It is important to note that the orchard was under a normal codlinmoth management program (Mating Disruption plus OMRI approinsecticides), so hogs were likely contributing to codling moth manment; they were not the sole source. Next year we will begin grathe hogs in a high-density planting of larger size, which will hopefallow us to see dif ferences in adult codling moth fl ight.

Weeds. Matt again is leading the wor k on this and reports as fol loHogs did not appear to change the species of weeds present in thegrazed orchards, but had a marked impact on weed cover and bio-mass. In grazed plots there was between 17% and 34% more bareground throughout t he 2008 growing season. Weed biomass at thend of the season was reduced by approximately 70%. An orcharrow that was missing trees was typi cally less disturbed than a rowwi th trees. Hogs seemed to prefer to root in some areas more thaothers leading to patches of standing weeds under some of the treeIn the upcoming field season hog behavior will be observed to detemine why they seem to prefer some areas over others.So even pigs can be picky!

The Pigs. As for how thosepicky pigs fared, Dale Roze-boom reports on their health,reproduction, and parasitelevels monitored from Apri lthrough mid-September of2008. He also studied themicroorganisms in their con-tr ibutions to the orchard floor.

Integrating Organic Pork and Apple ProductionAnother Project Update

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This newsletter brings information on our 2nd Advanced Grower Re-reat as well as registration information. The Retreat wil l be inMichigan on March 5 and 6 and in collaboration with Michigans Or -

ganic Conference on March 6 and 7, where Michael Phillips will bespeaking.

Also in this issue: The formation of the Organic Tree Frui t Associa-ion continues. Harriet Behar wants tree fr uit growers to pay att en-ion to NOSBs desire to remove antibiot ics from the materials al-owed in organic production. Dan Kelly shares his orchard adven-ures and value-added products wi th us. Eric Mader fur ther educates

us on the risks and dangers of organic orchard pesticides to pollina-ors. Those interested in heritage apple varieties should consider aworkshop on them in March in Wisconsin. Another update on Jim

Happy New Year & Wel c o me t o o u r Win t er 2009 i ssu e o f Ju st Pic ked

Koan and MSUs project to integrate organic pork and apple prodtion is inside. Lisa DiPietr o reports on the Or ganic Apple GroweHour. Michigan is providing webinars for all growers this winter

selected topics.All of our newsletters are available free of charge on our website.Please provide ideas or articles for future editions and feedback onthis and any issue.

Watch for details on the Retreat as well as announcements for twofield days on our l ist-serv and website. Our hosts will be Paul Raof central Iowa and Jim Koan of Michigan wi th the largest certi fieorganic orchard in the Midwest. I look forward to hearing from y-- Deirdre

A happy Berkshire hog finishing adessert of apple pomace!


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Swine heal th and r eproduct ion

Three sows, one boar,and their offspring weremonitored daily byJim s crew, bi-weekly

by a student researchassistant, and monthlyby Dale for any symp-oms of health prob-ems. None were noted.The young pigs wereweighed to follow theirrate of gain. Fresh fecalsamples were col lectedo monitor internal parasite infection. Overall, the swine are in goodhealth and have not needed any medical interventions.

Microorganisms tr ackedEscherchia coli and Sal monel l a spp. in the pigs were monitored biweeklyrom manure collected in the orchard. The same were also monitoredn the manure of reindeer and turkeys at Jims farm. The reindeerare housed in a lot next to that of the pigs. The turkeys roam and areree to go in and out of the pens of all animals. Aged manure wascollected fr om the orchard floor on three occasions: 5 to 6 weeks, 9o 10 weeks, and 18 to 19 weeks after flash-grazing the pigs in lateJune-July. The persistence of these microbes in the pig manure wasmeasured. Not surprisingly they found that non-pathogenic E. col i andwo other species survived in the majority of samples. Less than 10%of t he samples tested posit ive for pathogenic E. coli. The researchers

are developing r isk assessment and mit igation plans for 2009 to deter-mine whether these low levels of pathogenic E. coli pose any contami-nation concerns. All hog fecal samples collected from April to Sep-ember of 2008 tested negative for salmonella.

Reproducti on and H ealt h of Swine

While the sows could produce more lit ters, their mating was timedo produce only two litters. Those litters were timed for the planneddates for flash grazing and for the size of pigs needed for most effi-cient grazing. While they wanted all three sows to give bir th at thesame time, one sow was about six weeks behind the others, whichposed some management challenges.

The growth rate of offspring improved in 2008 from the projectsi rst year. Second lit ters of all sows achieved a harvest weight of 230pounds in nine months of age; two months ahead of the first litters.The second litters had better nutrit ion fr om more ground corn andwheat mil li ng by-product (each 33% of the supplemental diet whennot grazing), and liquid whey.

As in 2007 both adults and offspring are infected with a commonparasite in swine that did not affect their health. In 2007 it was theadults who were infected to a minor degree wi th three other para-sites, but this year both adults and young pigs were infected again atminor levels. These parasites were also found in the manure of rein-

deer housed adjacent to the swine. Overall, the swine seem to beslowly gaining more internal parasites, something that wi ll be motor ed if they get mor e funding. The adult s of these parasit es, however, have not been found at slaughter.

2009. Plans for 2009 involve moving the project to a 16-acre higdensity orchard on Jims farm. This wil l allow them to expand plosize enough to properly measure scab and codling moth. David Estein, who leads the project team, continues to compete for fundi

Unfor tunately there are some who let fear overrule the need for sence to investigate the potential risks to human health from the maged grazing of pigs in orchards at selected times. In my view, thifear seems to compete with this teams need for research funding find science-based answers to these questions. With addit ional fuing, the project can proceed to address r isk in a scientif ic way. Ifhuman health could be harmed, we need to know that, not specul

on it or just fear it . We also need to investigate the reproductivehealth, parasites, welfare, growth, and meat quality of the pigs whinvestigating their role in orchard pest management. Growers nemore options for building the health of their land and providing cosumers wi th safe and nutr it ious foods while being prof itable. Andthat is what I find this project to be explor ing. Stay tuned!

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Everyone likes JKs Scrumpy!

OTFA M ILESTONE REACHED

Another milestone was reached in the formation of t he Organic TreeFruit Association.

At the 2008 Advanced Grower Retreat last February, growers particing decided to form a membership-based association. They each plundown $10 or more and the Networks Advisory Council was chargedthe advisory board to guide the formation of t he new organization. Tpast November the Advisors sent a ballot to each of those growers at Retreat supporting the new organization asking them to vote yea or non formally establishing the Organic Tree Fruit Association. The votwas a unanimous yes and all agreed to a membership fee of $50 or lesThe Board is working on its formation and will keep you informed.

Should you have questions or comments, you are encouraged to contthem.

Harry Hoch, Chair , La Crescent, MN; [email protected]

Jim Koan, Flushing, MI; [email protected] 810-659-6568

Tom Rosenfeld, Berrien Center, MI; [email protected]

David Sliwa, Decorah, IA; [email protected] 56382-3922

Maury Wills, Adel IA; [email protected] 515281-5783
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Pesticides remain a significant threat to bees in farm settings, even inorganic operations where the assumption is often made that approvedproducts are somehow softer on beneficial insects, wildli fe, and theenvironment.

n fact, organic operations in some cases may be even harsher onbeneficial insects like bees. For example, conventional apple growersn much of the eastern U.S. achieve control of plum curculio and cod-ing moth using only one or two applications of the rapidly degradableorganophosphate phosmet (Imidan), while in the past organic grow-ers might have used 6 or 7 applications of rotenone and pyrethrin toachieve the same level of control.

This does not discredit the value of organic agriculture, and the im-mense environmental and consumer benefits it can offer. Rather thisssue provides us with an opportunity to more closely examine ourorganic pest control options, and to think crit icall y about how to em-ploy them for the greatest effect while conserving the health of ourpollinators.

From abee protection standpoint, organic pesticides fall into three gen-eral categories: those that are harmless to bees under all condit ions,hose that are relatively safe when applied appropriately or at theright time, and those that are extremely dangerous to bees undermost conditions.

The Pollinator-Safe OptionsPesticides in this category are generally harmless to bees, and are safeo apply even when bees are actively foraging in the landscape. Theynclude:

Bacil lus thur ingensis This bacterial protein punctures the stomachwall of select pest insects, and is a tool of many organic productionsystems. While it is very safe to bees, some Bt products can kill non-arget butterfly caterpillars, an issue to keep in mind if that is a con-cern for your area. (You may wish to avoid over-spraying naturalareas, for example.) It breaks down quickly in sunlight. Bt comes in anumber of variants targeting specific groups of insects. A commonbrand is Dipel.

Neem An oil derived from the seed of neem trees ( Azadirachta in-dica), this pesticide contains the active ingredient azadirachtin, whichdisrupts the hormonal system of immature insects, inhibiting feeding,reproduction, and maturation. Neem is generally believed to be safeon bees (at least mature adults), and is even being examined as a miti-cide for honey bees. It is a slow acting pesticide that breaks downquickly in r ain and sunlight. Well known brands include Agroneem,Trilogy, Aza-Direct, Bioneem, and Neemix.

Surround-WP While not a pesticide, most organic fruit growers areamil iar with this wettable kaolin clay part icle barrier that is sprayeddirectly onto frui t to pr event feeding damage and oviposit ing by in-

sect pests. Insects are ir r itated by the clay part icles and eventuallyleave. While Surround-W P is expensive, and may require re-applications after rain events, it is effective against certain insects,and very safe for bees.

Viruses Viruses as biocontrol such as the Codling Moth GranuloVirus (CMGV) tend to be highly host specific and generally safe fobees. The window of efficacy for these products is often very shorand growers report highly variable results.

Insect repellents These include products containing citronella,wintergreen, clove, thyme, cedar, certain neem formulations, andhot pepper oil. While insect repellents are less commonly used tha

insecticides, they are generally not thought to be dangerous to beeThat said, growers may wish to exercise caution by not applyingthese directly to bees or blooming crops. Some brand names incluCedar Zone and Ecotrol.

Garlic extract With common brands like Envirepel, Phyta-OilGarli c, Cropguard, and Garlix, these extracts contain oil derivedfrom All ium sativum, which is applied as a spray. Garlic is intendedfunction as a systemic repellent with uptake by leaf stomates. It marequire regular re-applications, but it is safe to bees. Some reportsuggest, however, that application prior to bloom can mask flowearomas result ing in disruption of poll ination.

Moderate Risk ChemicalsModerate risk pesticides include products that can be harmful whedirectly applied to bees, or on blooming plants where bees are foraging. Mitigation strategies to prevent killing bees include not spraing crops that are in bloom, spraying at night when bees are not psent, and preventing dri ft onto adjacent natural areas or floweringcover crops.

Insecticidal soap These pesticides, which are common in manyorganic farming systems, contain sodium or potassium salt s com-bined with fatty acids. Insecticidal soaps penetrate the exoskeletonof insects causing the cells to collapse. Under most conditions, the

is little residual toxicity, so insecticidal soaps are safe as long as bedo not come into direct contact wit h them. M-Pede is one commobrand.

Hor ticultural oil These highly refined petroleum, soybean, f ish,jojoba, and cottonseed oils are sprayed onto tree trunks and cropfoliage where they cover pest insects, killing them by suffocation.Di fferent products are available for different t imes of the year, anas with soaps, they are safe on bees as long as there is no direct contact upon or immediately after application. Common brands incluSunspray, Omni Supreme, and Organocide.

Citrus peel extract Products like Orange Guard and Sharpshoot

Protecting Bees From Organic PesticidesBy Eric Mader

National Poll inator Outreach CoordinatorThe Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

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are broad-spectrum contact nerve poisons. They are likely toxic tobees, and their use on blooming plants should be avoided.

Diatomaceous earth A sedimentary powder made up of fossilizeddiatoms, diatomaceous earth absorbs li pids away from the integument(outer skin) of insects causing dehydration and ult imately death. It is

occasionally used as a barrier around crops and can be harmful to beeswhen they come into direct contact with it (i.e., becoming trapped inheir pollen-collecting hairs). Some trade names include DiaFil andDiatect.

High Risk Pesticides

As with moderate risk pesticides, the following high-risk productsshould not be applied in the presence of bees, or near blooming cropsand adjacent natural areas. If possible, their use in general should beminimized, as they often have longer residual toxicity or greater po-ential for non-target effects in the surrounding ecosystem.

Beauveria bassiana This entomopathogenic fungus causes white mus-

cardine disease in a broad range of insects including tarnished plantbugs, beetl es, aphids, thrips, and various caterpi ll ars. As spores ger-minate on the surface of insects, they penetrate the cuticle and grownside, killing the host. Because of the wide range of hosts it attacks,he potential for spores to move in the environment, and variableongevity, this type of pesticide can potentiall y harm resident polli na-or populations. Brand names include Mycotrol-O.

Pyrethrin A fast-acting natural insecticide derived from Chyrsanthe-mum cinerarii foli um, pyrethr in is a broad-spectr um poison that is verydangerous to bees. In particular, powder-based formulations can be-come trapped in a bees pollen-collecting hairs and brought back tohe nest where the chemical could be fed to offspring. It should notbe applied to (or adjacent to) blooming crops. Some trade namesnclude Pyrenon and Pyganic.

Sabadilla This botanical pesticide derived from the seeds of the sa-badilla lily contains the active ingredient veratrine. As with pyrethrin,sabadilla in powder form can become trapped in the pollen collectinghairs of bees and brought back to the nest where it kills developingarvae. Products include Veratr an-D.

Spinosad Products like Entrust contain a nerve and stomach poisonderived from the bacterium Saccharopol yspora spi nosa. Spinosad is in-ended for the control of various caterpi llars, beetles, thr ips, and leaf-miners. It is highly toxic to bees and should not be used on or near

blooming crops.

Rotenone O ne formerly common organic insecticide, rotenone, isderived from the roots of a tropical legume. It is a very broad-spectrum chemical, disrupting cellular processes by inhibiting oxygenuptake. Rotenone is extremely lethal to bees (as well as fish), andshould never be applied to, or near, blooming crops.

Non-Pesticide Options

Any discussion of pesticides, even in organic pr oduction systemsshould include a reminder of the various non-insecticidal alternatives.Some common opportunities to control pests include crop sanitation

to remove and dispose residue that might harbor pest populationsthe use of sticky traps or adhesive barriers (keep in mind, howevethat blue and yellow sticky cards may also attract and kill bees), ming disruption through the use of pheromones and pheromone trato capture specific pests, and physical barriers like fruit bags.

For more information on poll inator conservation including basic bbiology, habitat enhancement tips, and financial opportunities avaable to landowners through the new Farm Bill, please visit the Xeces Society website at www.xerces.org .

The Xerces Society is an international nonprofit organizationthat protects wildlife through the conservation of inverte-brates and their habitat. Our Pollinator Conservation Pro-gram works to support the sustainability and profitability offarms while protecting pollinator insects. To join the Society,make a contribution, or read about our work, please visitwww.xerces.org.

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Gr eat Lakes Heir l o o m Fr u i tCo n ser vat io n a n d Her it ag eOr c h a r d Rest o r at io nWo r k sh o ps

Friday, March 20th from 9 am to 4 pm at the University of WisconsMadison Arboretum

When the snow lies thick and blankets Wisconsin in white, it is timfor farmers and orchardists to begin planning for the next colorful,diverse and delicious autumn harvest. Apples and other fruit tr eesremind us of the tastes of harvest time, and a diverse orchard reflecall the brilliant colors, flavors, and smells of the region. At one timeWisconsin orchard growers were raising hundreds of apple varietieswith names like Wolf River, Black Twig and Prairie Spy. This number has dwindled to fewer than 20 commonly available varieties,greatly diminishing genetic diversity and cultural memories. Fortu-nately, a core of dedicated orchard-keepers in Wisconsin are keepinthe broader diversity of fruit s alive, and many more orchardists arewil ling to add varieties to their own plantings.

The Renewing Americas Food Traditions (RAFT) Alliance invites

you to a workshop on H eirl oom Frui t Conservati on and Heri tagOrchard Restorat ion in t he Great Lakes Region, to be held onFriday, March 20th from 9 am to 4 pm in Madison, W I. This work-shop will include instruction in orchard production and restorationtechniques, taught by nationally recognized frui t advocates and wriers Gary Nabhan, Ben W atson, Dan Bussey and Kanin Routson, alowith renowned apple conservationists from around the country. Inthe afternoon, Edgerton orchardist Dan Bussey wil l lead a tour of hown heritage orchard and a few others in the Madison-area.This workshop is for experienced and beginning orchard growers

(Conti nued on page
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-by Harriet Behar,

MOSES Organi c Special i stTree fruit growers should beaware that during the NOSBdiscussion to extend the al-lowance for fir eblight controlto include tetracycline hydro-chloride in addition tetracy-cline chloride, it was decidedthat all t ypes of tetracyclinewould be allowed(tetracycline hydrochloridesti ll cannot be used unti l the

National List is officiallychanged). But instead ofthese two tetracyclines goingthrough the regular sunsetprocess, which would be 5years after they are placed onthe Nati onal List, all tetra-cyclines now have an ex-piration date of October21, 2012.

The NOSB stated verystrongly that they do not w ish

to have tetracycline or strep-

tomycin remain on the Na-tional List and this changefrom sunset to expiration ontetracycline puts this opinioninto action, since expirationremoves a product automati-cally (unless the NOSB takesspecial action to extend anexpiration date) while in thesunset process it must be re-viewed and voted for re-moval. Str eptomycin is stillin the sunset process for Oc-tober, 2012.

If tree fruit growers wish havecontinued use of streptomy-cin after October 2012, ascurrently allowed, they needto make a good case as soonas possible. The NO SBwould want documentationdetailing a wide variety ofnatural methods and inputshave been tr ied with no effec-

ti veness, backed up by re-

search and data. They wouldneed to know the importanceof this input, and why it isnecessary in organic agricul-ture. The NOSB wi ll l isten,but have shown they are notfriendly to keeping antibiot-ics, for any use, on the Na-tional List of approved sub-stances.

It would be educational fortr ee fruit producers and the

NO SB, to have a dialogueabout streptomycin. Thenext NOSB meeting wil l be inearly May 2009, location notyet announced. Public com-ment can be given in wr itingor i n-person, with the in-person comment usuallystimulating interaction be-tween the commenter and theNOSB, which would be bene-ficial to both par ties.

Advance registration is due by February 20 so thatfood can be ordered. The registration fee of $50 per personcovers Thursday dinner, a continental breakfast and lunch onFriday as well as refreshments throughout the day. Use theregistration form in this issue or on our website.

The Kellogg Center is reserving hotel rooms for us unti lFebruary 3. All r ooms are $85 plus tax regardless of occu-pancy. Each room has one king or two double beds. Call517-432-4000 ext 5121 and say that you are with theMOFFA Or ganic Conference.I encourage you to stay for the MOFFA Organic Conference.Visit www.moffa.org for information and to register. Mi-chael Phil lips wi ll be a keynote speaker and workshop leader

(Conti nued from page 1) at t he Conference. Michael wi ll also participate Friday in ourGrower Retreat and wi ll be coming straight fr om a simi largrower gathering held in Massachusetts. Call 248-262-6826or email [email protected] for more information.

We thank George Bird of the MOFFA board and MichiganState University faculty for making it possible for us to col-laborate with and benefit from the MOFFA Conference andthe Kellogg Center facil it ies. The Kellogg Center i s hostingMSUs Agriculture and Natural Resources week that startsMarch 7.

We again appreciate the support of the USDA Risk Manage-ment Agency for another Grower Retr eat.

Tet r ac y c l in e t o ex pir e in Oc t o ber 20 12 -NOSB meet in g r epo r t No v 2008

ADVANCED GROWER RETREATMARCH 5& 6

IF TREE FRUITGROWERS WI SH

T O H AVE

CONTINUED USE

O F

STREPTOMYCIN

AFTER O CT O BER20 12, THEY NEEDTO MAKE A GO OD

C ASE A S SO O N A S

POSSIBLE.

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While this program is not directed at organic apple producers, thespeakers have all been involved in Michigan State Universitys or-gani c appl e orchard project. Growers outside of Mi chigan are wel -

come to participate.

The Michigan Apple Association is bringing growersup-to-date information in this new t ime saving, no travelmethod of webinars.

What are webinars?Webinars are a live PowerPoint presentations broadcast overthe Internet to registered attendees. Participants have theopportunity to call -in questions for the speaker and to pro-vide input or personal experiences related to the topic.

Three webinars wi ll be broadcast on the followingThursdays from 1:00- 2:00 PM with the following topicsand speakers:

January 15 Dr . Mark Whalon, MSU entomologist, wi llpresent: A Greener Congress and a Green Public =Changes in M ichigan Apple Producti on. This webinar wi ll

feature a how to on measuring ecosystem services in or-chards, the future of reduced risk compounds and informa-tion regarding softer biopesticides being tested for common

apple insects. Sponsored by Bayer Crop Science.

February 12 MSU s premiere pruning expert , Dr. RonPerry, professor of horticulture, will give a refresher courseon winter pruning of apple tr ees. Orchard owners and em-ployees ali ke wil l benefi t from learning what cuts wi ll lead tobest fruit production. Sponsorship available.

March 5 Dr . Larry Gut, MSU entomologist, wi ll presentLooking Ahead: Managing Apple Pests without OPs. Guthas multiple topics planned that will improve the bottom lineof any orchard. Sponsored by DuPont.

Cost of each webinar is $30 ($20 for MAA members). Tolearn more, contact Cindy Reisig, MAA education director,at (800) 456-2753 or [email protected] . We can acceptregistrations by phone or fax with complete credit card in-formation. On-line registration is atwww.MichiganAppleAssociation.com.

inspired them to try newpractices. They did. Some ofthe practices tried included:

Reducing sulfur spraysfor scab

Spraying Surround, mo-lasses, and horsetail tea

Thinning with lime-sulfur

Making and using com-

post Improved sampling and

monitoring of insectpests

Improved timing on cod-ling moth and apple mag-got traps.

Improved timing forpicking up drops to sup-

-by Lisa DiPietroCenter for I ntegrated Agricult uralSystems/ UW- M adison

Thanks to everyone whocompleted evaluations for ourpilot season of the OrganicApple Grower Hour. Aspromised in the Fall issue ofJust Picked, here are the high-lights of your evaluation re-sults.

Growers found the calls veryuseful. To the question, Ona scale from 1 to 5 (with 5being most useful), howwould you rate the usefulnessof the calls? the average rat-ing was 4.5.

We asked growers if the calls

press apple maggot fly. Improved timing on Sur-

round sprays

We also found that the con-ference calls helped tostrengthen links among grow-ers. As one grower put it, theregulars on the call got t oknow each other a bit.

The future of the OrganicApple Grower Hour

In November, we applied tothe Organic Farming Re-search Foundation for twomore years of funding for t heOrganic Apple Grower Hour.We wi ll know by the first ofApri l whether we wil l havefunds to offer fr ee weeklyconference calls with Michael

M ICHIGAN APPLE W EBINARS

O RGANIC APPLE GROWER H O UR U PDATE

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Phillips in 2009 and 2010.

In the meantime, you havesome options for li stening tothe conference call recordingsfrom 2008.

To access the 2008 callarchive over t he phone:

Dial: 641-715-3800, thenenter this access code: 95226.Follow the directions in thegreeting to listen to any calls

from the 2008 season. Beforeyou listen, you can learn whattopics were covered on eachcall by either going to thiswebpage of the Networ k:www.mosesorganic.org/treefruit/ growerhour.html orby going to the Apple Talk

(Conti nued on page 12)
mailto:[email protected]://www.michiganappleassociation.com./http://www.mosesorganic.org/http://www.mosesorganic.org/http://www.michiganappleassociation.com./mailto:[email protected]


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By Dierdre Birmingham

Just like the popularity of field days, growers enjoy reading aboutother growers in our Network and their orchard operations. Ourorganization has a diversity of people and operations. Wel l exploren this issue Blue Heron Orchard in the northeastern corner of Mis-souri, owned and operated by Dan Kelly, an active grower in ourNetwork since its start in 2004.

Dan had both volunteered and had later been employed by his soiland water conservation distr ict. Dur ing his tenure there he discov-ered an abandoned orchard of about 100 apple trees. He negotiatedwi th the owner to prune and mow the orchard, allowing what shewanted for household consumption and he could market the rest.But Dan found that after one year of working someone elses or-chard, I wanted my own! Thus was the beginning of his orchardadventure.

Blue Heron Orchard and Products. Dan purchased 26-acres thenext year on a bluff about a mile from the Mississippi River. He tooka five-acre field out of a CRP contract (and paid for it ), and thenplanted the orchard in 1990. He has five acres in apples in a long rec-angular shaped orchard on a south-facing slope of five to seven percent. His soil type is a wind-blown loess deposited as glaciers re-ceded. The farm is in the middle of zone 5.

He planted on the contour using rootstocks of MM-106, EMLA-106and EMLA 7-cw, M-7A, M7-cw and MM 111 with some spur-typeapples on seedling rootstock averaging about 100 trees per acre. Hehas 11 varieties of apples, selected for conditions in northeastern Mis-souri, that ripen start ing in mid-August and continue through the endhe October. They are, in order of r ipening, Pristine, Gala, Free-dom, Empir e, Cort land, Jonathon, Jonafree, Golden Delicious, RedDelicious, Winesap, and Blushing Golden. Hi s orchard managementhas been certified organic since 2001.

His operation includes a state-inspected and certified organic, foodprocessing kitchen. His product line includes apple-based vinegars

(including a delicious habanero vinegar), apple but ter, applesauce,sweet cider, and Pomonas Ambrosia, which is pure apple syrup.More on those later.

Building Soil Healt h. While it would be easy to launch into Dansnnovations for insect pest control, Dan will appreciate that we firstook at his prior it y: bui lding soil health. I let disease and insect mat-ers take a back seat to buildi ng soil health, he said. Yet his soil

health effor ts do integrate with his disease and insect control meas-ures. He minimizes mowing to two times per year. The first time isafter primary scab season, since the tall grasses can help slow themovement of scab-causing ascospores from the leaf litter into the tree

canopyand toreduce thecompeti-tion be-tweengrasses andtrees whilerecyclingnutrientsfrom thevegetationback to thesoil. Theminimal

mowing of the aisles allows flowering varieties, such as Queen Anlace, to provide nectar for parasitic wasps, syrphid flies, and otherbeneficial insects. Also red clover in the orchard is allow ed to go seed before mowing helping to grow nitrogen, a free input.

He sends in soil samples every two years for analyses, parti cularlylower slope of his orchard that was more eroded when under prevous management. He sends in leaf t issue samples for analysis abouevery three years. He prefers the Midwest Laboratories in Nebrafor both types of analyses. He li ked the complete major and micrnutr ient soil analysis as well as the leaf analysis that they offered. I looked through their catalogue they seemed to have the most co

plete testing service experience. And for a few dollars more, I gettheir recommendati ons. Not that I apply the optimal recommendtions. Budget determines what inputs are used. The soil testshelped him realize that his soil pH was gradually rising, hitting 7.1recently. This rise in pH is from the mistake of applying dolomitilime early in his orchard career. That has also resulted in excess Min the soil , which impedes K uptake. He has added 400 lb/ ac ofCaS04 (gypsum) to allow the sulfur to displace the magnesium alloing the plant to uptake the potassium instead. A publicati on he reon to balance his soil is CASI Soil Analysis Training by CarrollMontgomery. It is a 50-page condensed version of a 350-page texbook from a soils course he took. Working towards a balanced so

for me is where I want to invest, he added.

His On-Farm Research. Dan is an innovator , as evidenced bysome of his contributions to the li st-serv and the newsletter. Mosrecently he received funding from the Sustainable Agriculture Re-search and Education (SARE) program for a project titled Site-Specific Apple Insect Control Through a Web-Based Application.His aim is to give orchard operations of any size a simplified tool tuses existing integrated pest management (IPM) information to acrately control the most economically threatening apple pests. Youcan read more about this project in the Spring 2007 and Summer2008 issues of Just Picked (on our website). His website for this p

Dan Kelly, Blue Heron Orchard, Canton, Missour i

PAG E 8 JUST PIC

Dan minimizes mowing to two times per year.


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ect should be working by March 1, 2009 at http:/ /[email protected]/ .

Our Research webpage also includes a project he undertook to helpcontrol plum curculio. Dan said, When reading about orchard man-agement, I realized that the Achilles heel of organic orchardingwould be the dreaded plum curculio. Through the soil and waterconservation district, he had became familiar with the numerousbenefi ts of warm season (prairie) grasses, such as their drought hardi-ness, food and cover for wildli fe, and erosion control . I was fasci-nated with this plant community, he said. Through studying thei fe-cycle and habitat of the plum curculio in The Orchard Almanacby Steve Page and Joseph Smilli e, I wondered if surrounding the or-chard with prairie grasses might help to manage PC. Possibly thearge volume of biomass from the warm-season prairie grasses mightprovide an alternative site for over-wintering curculios. Prairie burnswould be tied with PC emergence. Dan recruited an entomologistriend to help him find out. A grant proposal, also to SARE, was sub-

mitted in 1995; it was awarded. While the results are available notonly on the Research page of our website and on SAREs searchableproject database at www.sare.org/ ncr, a bit of insight is below.

The first stage of Dans project was to clear honey locust and wildplum thickets from the east and southeast orchard border. Thisbrushy habitat around the orchard was providing prime over-wintering sites for adult plum curculio migrating out of the orchard inate summer. These borders were replanted with warm season grassesof big bluestem, indian grass, side oats grama, and lit tle bluestem, aswell as forbs. He timed PC emergence with a degree-day model todetermine when to burn the grasses.

He now has about 3.4 ac of prairie surrounding his orchard on threesides. He burns it every three years to keep the saplings down, and,of course, to help with PC contr ol. The prair ie continues to creep insize with the periodic burning and natural seed dispersal. The prair ies a nice buffer between the woodlands and the orchard. The wood-ands are a source of not only PC, but also leafrollers.

More on Insect Pest Control. The prair ie is just one tool he usesn controll ing PC. He tr ied the kaolin-clay based product, Surround-WP, the first year it was available as part of a demonstration projectwi th Southwest Missouri State University. Given the pri ce of theproduct, not having a sufficient spray system at the time, and not hav-ng a washer to remove the remaining clay particles, he has not triedt again. He uses diatomaceous earth (DE) and Neemix as a repellentor PC at petal fall . The only t imes he uses DE are tw o times afterpetal fall as DE can be hard on all insects, which includes the benefi-cial ones and poll inators. This is the only time he uses Neemix as it isnot cheap. He uses a rebuilt Ag Tech 2002 air blast sprayer pulled bya Massey-Ferguson 135 tractor.

He controls codli ng moth by using a degree-day model, field moni-ors for recording temperatures and counting degree-days, and

pheromone traps. Last years total lack of insects in t he orchardalleviated the need to control codling moth. However, in 2009 hplans to use Entrust for the fist two generations and wi ll then swi tto a Bacillus thuringensis (Bt) insecticide to control the last generation, if there is evidence of need based on pheromone trap catche

For apple maggot (AM) control he uses baited yellow sticky trapsfrom IPM in Vestaburg, Michigan. The traps are placed in the tr earound the perimeter of the orchard at 900 DD / 50 base. Thetraps are checked daily for pre-oviposition adults. The sticky tr apare scrapped if too much debri s is accumulated and after two weethe tanglefoot paste is scraped off, more is applied, and the stickytanglefoot dusted with ammonium dust to att ract AM. If there arany captures, he dribbles GF 120, a spinosad insecticide with asugar att ractant into the trees. The adult f li es feed on this sugarycocktail and get controlled.

Disease Management . His fir st spray is copper (Top Cop by Stler) at greentip for both fir eblight and ear ly scab control. Firebligis not of much concern as he has had only a few strikes over theyears. For continued scab control he uses li quid sulfur (THAT byStol ler). He watches the weather patterns to anticipate moistur eand thus his sulfur applications. Hi s only major scab problem is wGalas on MM-106 rootstock. These are big trees that produce heily and need more pruning to reduce their canopy.

Dan said that he finds deer browsing to be an advantage. Huh? had to ask him to repeat that to be sure I heard him correctly. Yehe said, the deer browse the lower branches resulting in no lowe

leaves for scab to attack. So deer do O K by him and his larger siztrees. As you guessed he does not have deer exclusion fencing, aleast not yet, he added.

Another indirect scab control is his use of two applications of fish and lime sulfur (FO/ LS) for thinning. This also helps control cedapple rust. FO/ LS can also help control powdery mildew, as thishas been a problem in the past, especially in the Jonathans. To determine his formula and rates for FO/ LS he got on the web andlooked at studies done in the ear ly 2000 s. He posted a li nk to PrJim Schuups work on thinning on our l ist-serv, which is now on owebpages under RESOURCES. Thanks, Dan. In 2008, he used t

applications of FO/ LS: Apri l 29, (about 80% bloom) at 1: 2.5 gallons per 100 gallons; and on May 9, (about 15 days after full blooat 2: 2.5 gallons per 100 gallons. W hile some thinning occurred, feels he still needs more experience with thinning to be more suc-cessful. The upcoming season will tell if the 2008 thinning sessionworked for a return crop. Hand thinning, when done, is in the sumer and is in association with some kind of party.

Something that did not work at all for sooty blotch and fl yspeck(SBFS) control is bordeaux. This is a mixtur e of copper-sulfate anhydrated lime. It severely burned the leaves on his Golden Deli-

(Conti nued on page

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cious and Freedom trees in part icular. Due to the apple s lightercolor , SBFS is more apparent in the Goldens and also on the yellowbackground of the Freedoms. Noting that the apples highest i n thecanopy where there is better light and air movement had less SBFS,confirmed to Dan that he needs to do more thinning cuts.

DIY Bins. Rather t han buy bins Dan recently made his own bins.He designed a 15-bushel bin of native oak, modeled after pear bins,which he took to an Amish Sawmil l i n his area. They cut enough oako size so Dan could make 40 bins using design templates (front,

back, bottom, and side), an air staple gun, and galvanized steel str ap-ping.

Labor. He hires people to harvest, paying them wi th the sixthbushel of apples for every six bushels they pick. They can store them

on farm unti l they wish to use them. He also hir es pickers for cashrom the local community in the fall.

nsurance. Another area of innovation is the use of crop insurance.n fact Dan had a complete crop failure in 2007 due to freeze atbloom. He is now a believer in protecting oneself. For $100 he couldhave had his crop insured under the USDAs Non- Insured Crop Dis-aster Assistance Program known as NAP. In fact, Dan quali fied forhe l imi ted resource producer provision that waives the fee to en-roll . Thus for zero dollars, he could have been insured. Not to beburned again, Dan contacted his Farm Service Agency (FSA) officeand enrolled by the normal November 20, 2007, deadline for his

2008 crop. He enrolled his 2009 crop this past fall , meeting thedeadline announced in our fall issue of Just Picked, which also has anarticle on Dans use of NAP. As hail hit last May when the appleswere an inch in diameter, he was glad he had NAP. He took picturesand reported the incident to the FSA within a week of its occurrence,which is important to do. He found out this winter that the FSAshould have sent an insurance adjustor within two weeks of the hailstorm, but failed to do so. W ith Dan being the only person in thecounty who uses the program, the local FSA office is inexperiencedwi th it. So it pays to know how the program is supposed to operateas your local FSA office may not. Fortunately, the apples healed re-sult ing in no significant loss, yet a higher cull ing rate. NAP does not

pay for a decrease in quali ty of a crop. A let ter to his customers ex-plained the hail marks (as well as SBFS on some varieties) and theyreacted favorably.

Markets. So who are Dans customers? He has diverse markets,primarily in Columbia and St. Louis, Missouri , for both his fresh ap-ples and value-added products. He sells to a large CSA, a buyingclub, St. Louis University, local grocery and health food stores, atarmers markets, and via his website www.blueheronorchard.com .He offers a u-pick option as well .Value-Added. I asked Dan why he makes the value-added productshat he does. For value-added, organic apple cider was the beginning

Conti nued from page 9) point for Blue Heron Orchard. However, the game plan changedafter the orchard was planted as the whole industry changed withEscherichia coli 01 57 :H 7. As the FDA became deeply involved, itbecame harder to sell non-pasteurized sweet cider. No more whosaling and in some states no sale at all. Fortunately in Missouri, aproducer can sell directly to the end user. The government s GooManufactur ing Practices suffices for small operations.

Experiments with hard cider (and home-brewing) as a hobby leadthe purchase of mother of vinegar from a local home brew storeDan had produced enough cider to partl y fi ll a 200-gallon milk tanpurchased from Amish neighbors to produce a first batch of applecider vinegar. After bot tl ing it and sampling it at a farmers market, a French chef went ga-ga and a new market for apple ciderwas launched, he explained.

Apple butter is a natural for an apple orchard and part of his proce

is to steam cut apples over apple cider before milling to removeseeds and skins. When the cider in the pan cooled, the pectins setthe cider creating a jelled syrup. Michael Phil lips book The AppleGrower (1st edit ion), mentions the making of apple syrup from cder. This suggestion lead to creating his Pomonas Ambr osiapure apple syrup with no sugar added, which he says, is an intensdessert topping experience.

Being certified organic as a food processor means he cannot use ancleaning agents but those all owed on the National List. Ecolab produces two products that he uses when pressing apples. First he satizes the pressing equipment with a hydrogen peroxide-based prod

uct called Vortex. Hi s press is a Shin(brand) continuous press with stainlesssteel rollers and drum with an aluminuframe. Peroxide wil l not degrade thealuminum frame as harsh sanitizers, sucas chlori ne, might do. Prior to pressingthe apples are rinsed in another sanitizecalled Tsunami, which is approved foorganic production to help contr ol posble pathogens on apples for non-pasteurized juice.

Agritecture. Blue Heron Orchard'sunique 'agritecture' is a straw-bale andtimber fr ame cold storage building for

apples, constructed in 2001. The building project was assisted by grant from the Missouri s Sustainable Agricult ure DemonstrationProjects. That project included a straw-bale building workshopwhere participants helped mix and apply natural plaster of sand,lime and str aw. Pictures of his str uctur e are on his website.

He invites you to visit his website (although it needs updating.)When at our events Dan wi ll most likely be the tallest, blond guythere. Thank him for sharing his adventures wi th us.

PAG E 10 JUST PICK

Pomonas Ambrosiapure appl e syrup
http://www.blueheronorchard.com/http://www.blueheronorchard.com/


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Advanced Organic Grower Retreat March 5-6, Kellogg Cen-ter, East Lansing, MI. See inside for more information and to regis-ter on this Network event. Please also consider attending:

Michigan Organic Food and Farming Association OrganicConference March 6 and 7. Kellogg Center, East Lansing, [email protected]

Michigan WebinarsFeb. 12, Mar. 5 See inside for more infor -mation.

Upper M idwest Regional Fruit and Vegetable GrowersConference and Trade Show January 22-23 St. Cloud CivicCenter, St. Cloud, MN. 763-434-0400.

11th Annual Midwest Value-Added Agriculture Confer-ence January 22-23 Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN 715-834-9672, www.rivercountryrcd.org

Iowa Frui t and Vegetable Growers and Marketers Confer-ence January 29-31 West Des Moines, IA 515-281-8232 [email protected]

JUST PICKEPAGE 11

Tree Frui t I PM School February 16-18 W.K. Kellogg BiologicStation, Hickory Corners, MI. Erin Lizotte, 231-946-1510, [email protected] Universit y Advanced Tree Fruit Production February 22009. La Crosse, W I. www.mosesorganic.org 715-772-3153

20th Organic Farming Conference February 27-28, 2009 LaCrosse, WI. 715-772-3153 www.mosesorganic.org

AGR-Lite enrollment deadline for new enrollees is March 15.AGR-Li te also gives the grower full compliance with the USDA nepermanent disaster program (SURE) for all crops and agriculturalpractices.

Heir loom Frui t Conservation and Heritage Orchard Restoration in the Great Lakes Region March 20 Madison, [email protected]

OFRF Research and Education Project Grant Proposal dealine: May 15th. The Organic Farming Research Foundation has fundspecifi call y for fruit research. Visit www.ofrf.org or call Jane at 83426-6606.

Spring issue of Just Picked: Submissions due March 27.

Advanced Grower Retreat - Registration Form

March 5-6, 2009 Kellogg Center East Lansing, Michigan

Register early due to the limited group size and by February 20.

Registration is $50.00 per person to cover meals. Please check box to request vegetarian meals:

# of people______ x $50 = ________

Make your check payable to Midwest Organic Tree Fruit Network and mail your registration to: Or ganic Tree Fruit Nework

c/ o Deirdre Birmingham7258 Kelly Rd, Mineral Point, WI 53565

Your r egistration wil l be confirmed by email or phone. Questions? Contact Deirdre at [email protected] or 608-967-2362.

Reminder: The Kellogg Center is reserving hotel r ooms for us at $85/ night plus tax unti l February 3. Call 517-432-4000 ext 5121 and for rooms with the MOFFA Organic Conference.

Your name(s):

Farm Name:

Street Address:

City/ Town: State and Zip Code:

Phone: Email:

W INTER 2 0 0 9 CA L E N D A R
mailto:[email protected]://www.rivercountryrcd.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.mosesorganic.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.ofrf.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ofrf.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.mosesorganic.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.rivercountryrcd.org/mailto:[email protected]


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7258 Kelly Rd.

Mineral Point, W I 53565

M IDWEST O RGANIC T REEFRUIT GROWERS N ETWORK

the conference call you want,then scroll down to

download the audio re-cording.

* To log on to Apple Talk:

You need a user name andpassword. Contact me [email protected] or 608-265-3637 to get access. Theweb address for Apple Talkis: www.thinkipm.org/appletalk.

blog* . From the Apple Talkmain page, click on the"conference calls" link(which you'll see on the lefthand side). You will then seeeach conference call date andtopics listed.

To access the 2008 callarchive on the internet:

If you have high speed inter-

net, you can download thecall recordings on the AppleTalk blog* . From the blogsmain page, click on the"conference calls" link(which you'll see on the lefthand side). You will then seethe topics for each of ourconference calls. Click on

(Conti nued from page 7)

alike, or anyone wishing tojoin the growing group ofpeople knowledgeable anddedicated to the regionsunique fruits. In addit ion toclassroom and hands-on in-struction, this workshop willbe a wonderful opportunityto build stronger connectionswith local and regional or-chard growers.

Cost to attend is $25, andincludes instruction, work-shop materials, hands-ondemonstration, bus transpor-tation to the orchards andlunch. Questions and registra-tion requests can be directed toHeidi Busse atheidi_ busse@ yahoo.com due

(Continued from page 5)

HERITAGE O RCHARD W ORKSHOPS

RETREAT INFO ONPAGE 1.

REGISTRATIONFORM ON PAGE 11.

REGISTER BYFEBRUARY 20TH.

date is March 1, 2009. Reg-istration is limited to 25 par-

ticipants.

Co-Sponsors include Native

Seeds/ SEARCH, the Univer-

sity of Wisconsin-Madison

Arboretum, the Journal of

Ecological Restoration and

the Center for Integrated

Agricultural Systems at the

University of Wisconsin-

Madison.

RAFT Founding Partners: Ameri-can Livestock Breeds Conservancy,Chefs Collaborative, CulturalConservancy, Native Seeds/SEARCH , Seed Savers Exchangeand Slow Food-USA.

RAFT Co-Founder and Facilita-tor: Gary Nabhan

O RGANIC APPLE GROWER H O UR
mailto:[email protected]://www.thinkipm.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.thinkipm.org/mailto:[email protected]

Winter 2008-2009 Just Piced Newsletter, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service

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Transcript of Winter 2008-2009 Just Piced Newsletter, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service