2016 OMS Symposium

Symposium--Sustainability Challenges in Organic Agriculture 

Organized by the Organic Management Systems Community of the American Society of Agronomy, Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 7, 2016.

Description: Organic practices have evolved over time and will likely continue do so as new products and methods are developed, and as scientific research provides new insights into more sustainable strategies. There are many valid questions and concerns about whether current organic regulations are adequate to ensure that certified systems are consistent with sustainability goals. The 2016 symposium used a novel format - five minute videos followed by equal time for discussion. Below are links to where you can find these videos in the order that they were presented at the symposium. The titles with an * are on Youtube, and those without and an * are only available on the Confex site.

 Presentations

• Organic Agriculture  - A Regulated, Sustainable Standard (McEvoy)
• Practitioners’ Perspectives on How Organic Rules Meet the Challenge of Sustainability (Delate, Wills, Frantzen, Rosmann)
• *The Ideological Challenge Of Organic Farming (McGuire)
• *What Our Organic Gardens Taught Us About The Challenges Of Organic Regulations (Cavigelli, Tomecek, Brennan)
• *Organic Grain Production in the Southern United States:  How a System of Do Nots Creates Sustainability.  (Reberg-Horton)
• The Challenges of Starting New Organic Dairy Farms  (Griffin)   
• *Closing the Loop - Growing Nitrogen, Conserving Carbon, and Keeping the Ground Covered in Organic Grain Systems. (Gurda, Silva)
• *The Path To Sustainable Nitrogen Management:  It’s Time To Get Serious.  (Drinkwater)
• *Sustainability Problems With Repackaged Synthetic Nitrogen In Organic Agriculture (Brennan)
• *Managing Irrigation For Multiple Goals In Organic Systems:  Integrating Productivity With Sustainability. (Schmidt, Scow, Herrera, Wang, Gaudin)  
• Sustainable De-Intensification or Intensification – Can We Assess Progress Using A Soil Organic Matter Based Index of Sustainability? (Lynch)

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