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UNL offers working organic farm tours Aug. 20Nebraska University of Nebraska-Lincoln Working Organic Farm Tours Aug. 20 near Mead and Abie will offer the latest updates and research information about the project. The tour starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Forestry Research Area at UNL's Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead. Richard Little, UNL organic wheat breeding specialist, will offer updates and will review the 2009 winter wheat varieties. Santiago Ulloa, UNL graduate student, will demonstrate and a weed flamer and discuss his research results using the flamer to control weeds. John Quinn, UNL graduate student, will discuss the Healthy Farm Index and the data he's collected on various organic farms across the state. Liz Sarno, UNL organic project coordinator, will talk about upcoming organic research projects. The afternoon session will start at Larry Stanislav's farm near Abie for lunch and organic farm tours. Stanislav, a certified organic farmer, will share his 30 years of experimenting with various crop rotations, including: hybrid and open pollinated corn, soybeans, spring wheat and cover crops/green manures. Participants also will view various field equipment for mechanical weed control in organic crops; discuss cultural practices, benefits of strip cropping and record-keeping for organic production and inspection. The next stop will be Randy Fendrich's farm, also near Abie. Fendrich has been farming organically for 13 years. He will talk about his crop rotation of corn, soybeans, alfalfa and the economics and benefits of his fertility program. He also will discuss his partnership with UNL's on-farm soil erosion research project and using an experimental flamer to control weeds. To make a reservation for lunch call Pat at 402-584-3837. Lunch is sponsored by the Nebraska Great Plains Resource Conservation and Development.
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