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Organic Friends' E‑zine: September 2014

Photo of the Month, by Â鶹´«Ã½
The announcement of Organic Science Cluster II took place at Â鶹´«Ã½'s Agricultural Campus on August 12, 2014. From left to right: Dr. David Gray, Dean of Â鶹´«Ã½ Faculty of Agriculture; Dr. Richard Florizone, President of Â鶹´«Ã½; Tim Livingstone, Organic Federation of Canada; Scott Armstrong, local Member of Parliament; Nicole Boudreau, Organic Federation of Canada; Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food; Dr. Andy Hammermeister, Director of Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, Â鶹´«Ã½; Margaret Savard, Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada; and Joanna MacKenzie, Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada.

In this Issue:

OACC Director's Message

After months of hard work by OACC staff and Canada’s organic and research communities, it was a delight to take part in the formal announcement of Organic Science Cluster II (OSCII) on the Â鶹´«Ã½ Agricultural Campus last month. OSCII will continue and expand upon the work of the first Organic Science Cluster to strengthen the science of organic agriculture. The 37 research activities span both Canada and the organic sector, with activities focused on the organic production of field crops, horticultural crops, and livestock, as well as pest management and value adding for Canadian organic producers. With strong support from 65 industry partners, these activities address research priorities identified by the sector and will be of direct relevance to you, the Canadian organic community. OSCII is also supported by 's , and was initiated by OACC in collaboration with the . For more information, I invite you to visit our website at and click on the Organic Science Cluster tab and stay tuned to our E-zine for updates.

Coinciding with the launch of OSCII, we are also excited to launch a new version of the OACC website, , now hosted by Â鶹´«Ã½. The information that you are used to finding on our website has been maintained and streamlined, with a new, fresh look and structure. We are continuing to develop our new home on the internet, and welcome any comments or feedback, which can be sent to joanna.mackenzie@dal.ca.

As we look forward to next week, I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the organic community, and wish each of you continued success and a bountiful harvest.

Sincerely,
Andy Hammermeister, Ph.D., P.Ag.
Director, OACC

Assistant Professor, Â鶹´«Ã½ Faculty of Agriculture

Organic Science Cluster II

Highlights of OSCII in the News

Practical Resources

Soils and Fertility

    • eOrganic. 2014. Please note that this document was prepared in the USA and refers to the NOP standards, but does contain information of use to Canadian producers.

Horticulture

  • [PDF - 1.9 MB]
    • Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. 2014
    • ATTRA. 2014
    • ATTRA. 2014
    • ATTRA. 2014
    • ATTRA. 2014
    • Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 2014

Livestock

    • Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 2014
    • eOrganic. 2014

Pest Management

    • eOrganic. 2014
    • USDA Agricultural Research Service. 2014

Season Extension


    • Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education. 2014

Seed Production and Plant Breeding


    • FiBL. 2014
  • Ìý
    • eOrganic. 2014

Ecology and Environment

    • eOrganic. 2014
    • eOrganic. 2014
  • [PDF - 2.2 MB]
    • FiBL. 2014

Marketing and Economics

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    • eOrganic. 2014
  • [PDF - 198 kB]
    • Organic Value Chain Round Table. 2014
    • Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 2014

Scientific Results

Soils and Fertility

Horticulture

    • Crop Science (2014) 54: 1539-1554
    • Canadian Journal of Soil Science (2014) 64: 463-476
    • Euphytica (2014) 199: 137-154
    • PLoS ONE 9(7): e95683

Field Crops

    • Field Crops Research (2014) 166: 18-25
    • Euphytica (2014) 199: 69-80
    • Weed Science (2014) 62: 501-511
    • Euphytica (2014) 199: 31-40
    • Crop Science (2014) 54: 2285-2293
    • Euphytica (2014) 199: 41-56
    • Euphytica (2014) 199: 81-95

Livestock

    • Animal (2014) 8: 1516-1525
    • Organic Eprints. 2014
    • Animal (2014) 8: 1218-1228
    • Organic Eprints. 2014

Pest Management

    • HortTechnology (2014) 24: 428-432
    • Agriculture and Human Values (2014) 31: 355-370
    • Weed Science (2014) 62: 520-531

Food, Nutrition and Health

    • Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2014) 62: 8530-8540
    • Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2014) 62: 8740-8744
    • Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2014) 94: 2600-2604
    • Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2014) 94: 2605-2612
    • Organic Eprints. 2014
    • Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2014) 94: 2595-2599

Post-harvest Handling, Storage and Processing

    • Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2014) 94: 2582-2594
    • Crop Protection (2014) 64: 27-37

Marketing and Economics

    • British Food Journal (2014) 116: 1314-1329
    • American Journal of Agricultural Economics (2014) 96: 1102-1116
    • International Journal of Consumer Studies (2014) 38: 337-345

Organic Standards

The Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) has released draft editions of the revised Organic Agriculture Standards, which can now be downloaded for public review. The first period of public review will be for a minimum of 60 days in accordance with the development of a National Standard of Canada and will be opened for comments until September 22, 2014.

Two versions of each draft are available, a copy showing the proposed changes since the last edition, and a copy not showing these proposed changes, to facilitate reading. No changes have been balloted for approval by the committee to date. In addition, copies of the minutes of the two meetings for the development of these standards are available and detail the rationale for the changes and items rejected.

  • [PDF - 659 kB]
  • [PDF - 533 kB]
  • Ìý [PDF - 837 kB]
  • [PDF - 595 kB]

  • [PDF - 2.8 MB]
  • [PDF - 3.8 MB]

Members of the committee, organisations, institutions and the public are encouraged to submit comments, with supporting rationale, for any recommended changes. Technical changes, translation issues and major editorial improvements are welcome, but minor editorial changes are not recommended. Only submissions sent via the Change Form with the appropriate supporting information will be accepted.
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Student, Job and Apprentice Opportunities

  • Post-doctoral fellow opportunity at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre
    Working within a multidisciplinary team, the post-doctoral fellow (PDF) will undertake research activities in the area of sustainable organic production systems for the Brown Soil zone. Under the supervision of, and in collaboration with, a team of research scientists and assisted by technical staff and/or students, the PDF will conduct field trials under organic methods.Ìý The objective of the main field trial is to determine if diversified crop rotations and reduced tillage under organic management can keep weed populations at low levels, soil fertility at adequate levels, and plants healthy for sustainable and profitable production of annual crops under the water-limited and variable environmental conditions of the Brown Soil Zone of western Canada. For more information, please contact Myriam Fernandez at myriam.fernandez@agr.gc.ca.
  • Please let us know about current opportunities you wish to announce by emailing oacc@dal.ca.

Organic Events

Event Location Date

Across Canada September 20-28, 2014
Online September 23 & 25, 2014
Guelph, ON
October 4 & 16, 2014

Istanbul, Turkey October 13-15, 2014
Long Beach, CA
November 1-2, 2014
Regina, SK
November 6, 2014
Regina, SK November 7-8, 2014
Mississauga-Toronto, ON November 10-14, 2014

Halifax, NS
November 12-14, 2014

Guelph, ON
January 29 - February 1, 2015
Lacrosse, WI
February 25-26, 2015

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Organic Friends' E-Zine September 2014, Vol 10, Iss 11
Copyright © 2014 Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC)
PO Box 550, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, oacc@dal.ca
Please send comments or questions to joanna.mackenzie@dal.ca, Editor of Organic Friends' E-Zine
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