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2013 MOSES ORGANIC FARMING CONFERENCE
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7. Increase Crop Yields by 10%
Gary Zimmer, Midwest Bio Ag and Jeff Moyer, Rodale Institute

A 10% yield increase is achievable by most farms, no matter their weather or soils. It will require more effort (that’s a 10% increase alone!) with evaluation, testing, removing limiting factors and education—yours! Let’s start with a soil test. What are you doing now? What are your major limiting factors? If it’s weed control, what weeds? What’s the rotation? What are the tools and how are they being used? It doesn’t help much to increase soil fertility if a major limiting factor is weeds.

With this class, we will cover many aspects of success: Jeff’s specialty is the area of green manure crops: the tillage aspects and compost. Gary’s life’s work focuses on soil nutrients: soil correction and crop fertilizers. Soil tillage and rotations along with manure and compost are always part of his discussion, too.

This is a system and many aspects need to be evaluated and addressed. Both Jeff and Gary not only talk about farming, but they do it: Gary with crops and dairy in the Midwest and Jeff with crops out east. We have you covered with a tag team approach plus a lot of input from you, the participants. Show us your system and what your approaches are, your limiting factors, and possible constraints.

Presenters

Gary Zimmer
Gary Zimmer is a farmer, agri-businessman, author and educator. Dedicated to improving farming through restoring and balancing soils, he has spoken to and worked with farmers across the U.S. and around the world. He evaluates farming practices as a consultant, on his family's farm, and as president of Midwestern BioAg. The Zimmer family's Otter Creek Organic Farms (1,000 acres including an organic dairy) utilize the ideas Gary has gleaned over a lifetime spent studying agriculture.

Jeff Moyer
Jeff Moyer is an expert in organic crop production systems including weed management, cover crops, crop rotations, equipment modification and use, and facilities design. He has helped countless farmers make the transition from conventional, chemical-based farming to organic or sustainable methods. Throughout his more than 30 years at Rodale Institute, Moyer has brought a farmer’s perspective and approach to issues in organic agriculture. He is a past chair of the National Organic Standards Board, a member of the Leonardo Academy’s committee on sustainability, and a founding board member of Pennsylvania Certified Organic. Jeff is also the author of Organic No-Till Farming: Advancing No-Till Agriculture-Crops, Soils, Equipment, which was published by Acres USA in 2011.