A new survey is aiming to gauge farmers’ interest in organic crop production in the Mid-South region.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and Winrock International have partnered to conduct the survey, targeting Mid-South farmers who produce row, vegetable and field crops, as well as hay and forage, and livestock owners in Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas.
This survey will form the foundation of a three-year research project that centers on organic production in the Mid-South area. The researchers aim to collect the data through the end of 2020 to use for a grant proposal that will be submitted in 2021 to fund the research project.
“We want to hear from a range of size of operations and types of producers,” Michael Popp, economist and professor with the Division of Agriculture, said in a statement.
“The information collected may lead to a publication on producer sentiment toward, and the extent of adoption of organic crop production. We think the information would be useful to researchers, agricultural policy makers and agribusiness sector professionals throughout the region.”
The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), which advises the U.S. Department of Agriculture on organic farming matters, first defined organic agriculture as “an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity.” The National Organic Program in 2002 defined organic agriculture as “a production system that…respond[s] to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biological diversity.
This survey will be open through Thursday, Dec. 31 and can be accessed here.
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