SOIL MANAGEMENT FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTION

Catalog description

This is a skills-based soil management course that is part lecture and part student-centered learning. Significant class time will be devoted to making field-scale management decisions. The course includes individual and group work, presentation, and discussion. The intent is to prepare students for real-world application of soil management decisions in certified organic systems. Using the National Organic Program as a starting point as well as farm system descriptions with extensive long-term data sets, we will interpret soil nutrient analyses, cover cropping systems, and organic amendments, to design soil management plans for two model cropping systems (annual and perennial).