Cover Crops as an Agroecological Practice on Organic Vegetable Farms in Wisconsin, USA

Erin Silva,Virginia Moore

doi:10.3390/su9010055

Abstract

Global agricultural and food systems face the challenge of feeding a growing world population in the face of finite and diminishing resources. To guide the redesign of agricultural systems, farmers and policymakers are increasingly turning to agroecology. Organic agriculture has historically integrated agroecological practices within its regulatory framework; however, questions remain as to the extent to which organic farmers are maintaining and expanding agroecological practices. In this paper, we will address convergences and divergences of agroecological and organic practices. Using cover cropping as a model agroecological practice, we conduct a preliminary assessment on the degree to which organic vegetable farms in Wisconsin, USA are integrating agroecological concepts into their farm management, drawing upon the results of a 2013 cover cropping practice survey. The survey data demonstrates varying degrees of complexity and diversity in cover cropping practices, potentially illustrating the desire of organic farmers to promote a high degree of agroecosystem services. Farmers’ integration of cover crop diversity and complexity was not correlated to farm size or revenue. These results offer preliminary evidence that Wisconsin’s organic vegetable farmers are integrating agroecological practices on their farms, even as growth in the organic market continues to occur.

Highlights

Our global agricultural and food systems face the challenge of feeding a growing world population in the face of finite and diminishing resources
Incorporation of perceptions and values into an agroecological practice adoption framework resonates with the holon theory of agroecology, which proposes the consideration of a farmer or other actor on the agricultural and food systems landscape as a holon, or an “intentional entity embedded in an ecology of contexts” [73]
Farmers make decisions based on a range of factors beyond simple agronomic or economic considerations, but rather their decisions to implement agroecological practices will be influenced by factors ranging from internal values to societal and landscape-scale interactions

Summary

Introduction

Our global agricultural and food systems face the challenge of feeding a growing world population in the face of finite and diminishing resources. To guide the redesign of agricultural systems on which the global food supply depends, farmers and policymakers are increasingly turning to agroecology. Agroecology, the integration of ecological concepts to agricultural systems, arose in the early part of the 20th century as a response to the increasing industrialization of our agricultural system [1,2]. As a set of farming practices, agroecology promotes more ecological strategies of management, including less dependence on monoculture systems; avoidance of input substitution, external input markets, and costly biotechnology packages; cycling of resources on-farm or from local agroecosystem territories; protection of environment; and emphasis on local or regional market structures and territorial development strategies [4]

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Discussion

Conclusion