Final Report SFF 02/011 Extension of practical organic techniques to small farmers

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1 Final Report SFF 02/011 Extension of practical organic techniques to small farmers 6/10/2005 Executive Summary The Biological Husbandry Unit (BHU) conducted a three year course of practical workshops for small farms. The workshops focused on organic techniques with the aims of making small farms more economically viable activities. A variety of land uses were covered always with detailed information on practical techniques to enhance success. The workshops aided cohesion between small farm organic and integrated farms in the local Canterbury area. The social network was enhanced by the regular meetings at workshops and an list maintained by the Biological Husbandry Unit including over 800 addresses, mostly Canterbury and West Coast based. Ten workshops were held each year with the last two years of the project seeing two days of each workshop to meet the timetabling requirements of attendees. Information from the workshops was available to the wider public as detailed workshop notes through the website and with appropriate modification and shortening by publication in OrganicNZ magazine and Canterbury Farming newspaper (rural Canterbury and West Coast free distribution). A small farms calendar was produced and made available by website and CD form. In the final year this was supplemented with text on a two-monthly basis and this was made available through the website and, with modification to appeal to a wider audience, published in OrganicNZ magazine. The project was a resounding success with high turnouts to workshops, excellent feedback on the usefulness of the workshops, a double delivery of the majority of workshops (when the BHU was only required to run one) and an extension of information beyond the expected Canterbury audience. The workshops and general calendar based information struck a chord in the Canterbury small farms community and beyond and similar work will continue into the future from the BHU. 1

2 Objectives This project sought to run practical full day workshops in organic growing and farming at the BHU. These courses would be run at times to suit small farmers who typically are in full time employment outside their properties. Written handout information would be provided to workshop participants who will pay a small fee per property. Advice would also be available by phone to small farmers. It is envisaged that the course would run monthly (February through to November). Workshops would be on such topics as composting, fertiliser use, foliar sprays, pest management, disease management, weed management, pasture and herbal leys, animal health, herb, salad and vegetable production, market gardening, arable and broadacre cropping, stock management, meeting certification standards, permaculture and polyculture systems, equipment options and access. An annual management calendar would be produced to assist growers to make timely decisions and inputs in their farming systems. This project would make available to those farmers the knowledge and skills for them to farm for productive, environmental and financial success. Information would also be extended throughout the community in media articles and organic industry newsletters. The project group would build on current research in progress at the BHU in organic and sustainable agriculture systems and technologies by providing transfer of these technologies to small farmers. This project provides a great opportunity to benefit the Canterbury region, financially, environmentally and socially by assisting the increasing number of small farmers to become profitable and diverse enterprises benefiting the regional economy. Approach Workshops were held on Saturdays in the first year and extended to Thursdays as well as Saturdays in subsequent years. Expertise was provided from within BHU staff and by the invitation of experts from industry and Crown Research Institutes. Most workshops had detailed notes provided to attendees and also made widely publicly available. There was usually one key speaker facilitating the workshop and working through predetermined workplan. There was however an encouragement of discussion and every opportunity for questions to be asked and answered. Lunchtime breaks in the workshop saw good chance for informal discussion around the workshop topic and wider issues. It is generally found that agriculturally inclined people have a high degree of learning ability through kinesthetics (actually doing something). The workshops addressed this by having practical sessions wherever possible, visits to see principles in action and information was also related with numerous practical examples in a story telling fashion (by relating information in a first hand experience manner with anecdotes this has been found to address kinaesthetic learning requirements in a similar fashion to actually partaking in an activity. 2

3 It was borne in mind that many small farms people are coming from non-agricultural backgrounds and are more likely to have a wider variety of favoured learning techniques. The workshops addressed this through the written information available, the encouragement of questions and answers, the ability for attendees to get in contact after the workshops (often taken up) and slideshows/graphic representations of information where relevant. The calendar and supplementary texts were produced as practical information in relatively brief form to encourage uptake of information. When produced for publication in OrganicNZ they were modified in ways to have wider appeal to smaller scale and home garden use while still relevant for commercial production. Outcomes of Project Summary of Results Thirty workshops were held with most of them running twice a month. The latest small farm calendar has an extended two-monthly guide relevant to commercial scale intensive growing. The BHU now has greater than 800 addresses for an network on workshop related topics. Extension of Results The workshops were by definition direct extension activities. Attendance at most workshops was excellent. Weekday and weekend workshops were run to extend the service to a greater portion of the sector. Workshop detailed notes were also made available through the BHU website and after modification to make them relevant to a wider audience, many were published in OrganicNZ national magazine and Canterbury Farming newspaper (free rural delivery to Canterbury and West Coast). Thus the information was extended beyond the original aim of Canterbury. This was in line with a recommendation from the SFF auditing of this project that the valuable information could be distributed wider. Publicity on the workshops and information on the workshops was also made available through a Central Canterbury Organic /newsletter Organic Digest. Further Plans for the Project We envisage workshop courses to be a core part of BHU activities in the future. The main intention is to work them in as part of a Lincoln University subject thus giving the ability for participants to work towards a certificate and allowing access to Ministry of Education funding to support the tutoring of the workshops. This is being negotiated with Lincoln University. There is also scope for the BHU to offer workshops on a financially stand alone basis but this would be more workable if support funding were available. 3

4 It was interesting to note that attendance was usually somewhat greater in the week day (Thursday) than on the weekend (Saturday). Anecdotal evidence was that Saturday was a day for children s sports and other activities and attendees found it easier to take time off during a work day. There were also a number of small farms where one partner worked full time off-farm but the other was full time on the home farm and thus weekdays were highly suitable. Sunday may have been a better weekend day but this did not agree with BHU staff schedules at the time. It could be explored as a possible day in the future. Information compiled for this project will continue to be made available to the public through the BHU website and occasional publications. The BHU has an database of more than 800 addresses to facilitate contact with people interested in these and other related projects on organic and sustainable techniques for practical growing/farming. Comparison with Original Milestones The project had straightforward objectives relating to the production of a small farms calendar annually. As stated above the milestones were all met with the production of a small farming calendar and extra supplementary text and the conducting of thirty workshops (ten per year). Written handouts were produced for each workshop and where possible are posted in the BHU website and were modified into popular articles in OrganicNZ magazine and Canterbury Farming newspaper. Most workshops were repeated thus exceeding initial objectives and the milestones. Benefits to Stakeholders The project has made much needed information available to a large number of commercial growers throughout the Canterbury region and beyond. Stakeholder Feedback There was always very positive feedback following each workshop. The workshops were well received. A recommendation of the SFF audit of this project was to seek formal feedback on the workshops and this was conducted at the last workshop. Twenty respondents ranked the usefulness of the BHU Small Farm workshops on a scale of 1 to 5 (1: not useful, 2: of some use, 3: moderately useful, 4: useful, 5: very useful). Questions: How useful have you found the workshops? 18 responded Very Useful 2 responded Useful Four respondents included additional comments were included under the title Comments/Criticisms. The comments were 1. Thanks 2. Many thanks, 3. All [workshops] well run, 4. They were both well organised, the presenters were capable and responsive 4

5 Economic Impact of Completed Project The project had positive economic impact in putting growers in contact with useful information (evidenced by grower feedback all workshops were aimed at providing relevant usable information), in contact with other growers (continued networking is apparent) and with markets through the established network (growers producing for Eat Your Greenz organic wholesaler and Organics2U organic box delivery scheme both private businesses set up with support from the BHU). Direct BHU assistance to several farms included assistance in weed management, soil test interpretation, fertiliser strategies and pest and disease management among other factors. Social Impact of Completed Project The networking mentioned above helped in the cohesion of the emerging small farm organic industry in the area. Attendance at the workshops was an opportunity for many people to meet for the first time and this has resulted in some long-term associations. Several attendees came from Ashburton and the West Coast and had the ability to meet a range of growers to gain value from the small farms community present here. Environmental Impact of Completed Project Several of the workshops had specific environmental benefits including the maintenance of soil fertility and quality, the adoption of non-chemical pest and disease management methods, and the encouragement of functional agricultural biodiversity. All projects were designed to facilitate the success of organic and sustainable operations thus tending towards a minimisation of negative environmental impacts of farming practice. 5

6 Appendix 1 Workshop Topics and Attendance April to June 2005 The last three workshops of the project were held in April, May and June of April 7 & 9 Organic medicinal and culinary herb production From starting out through to difficult plants to grow. Profiles of some high value medicinal herbs for which there is an increasing market: ginseng and goldenseal. General introduction to the free services of Crop and Food New Crops division. Bas Deo from Crop and Food presented. BHU also gave practical demonstration of production of gourmet edible and medicinal mushrooms. 66 Attendees May 19 & 21 Pest Management How to design the garden or farm to resist pest issues through strategic planting of flowering plants and shelter. Detailed protocols for commercial and garden biocontrol enhancement will be provided and discussed. 39 Attendees June 9 & 11 Winter pruning Practical demonstration and winter pruning protocols (including apples, pears, nut trees and general trees). Discussion of how good pruning principles aid organic and sustainable fruit management. 50 Attendees 6

7 Appendix 2 Location of Workshop and Small Farms Calendar Information The Biological Husbandry Unit website is Clicking on the Info and Research Link leads to a page with a link of topics including Workshop Manuals with all the BHU Small Farm workshop manuals available. There is also a Small Farm Calendar link. 7