Adaptive management that relies on keen observations and adjustments of agricultural practices to spatial and temporal variability is fundamental to farming without synthetic inputs. Bringing science to management under organic constraints where ecologically complex interactions occur has historically been difficult because it required a long history of farmer observations reliant on a trial and error paradigm of discovery. The only effective organic farmer would be one with a long history of trying different practices on the same landscape and observing the response. Perhaps the situation has changed with the massive amount of data (observations) that can be brought to understanding agroecosystems, the ability to efficiently conduct experiments and to rapidly gain insights specific to each field seems to give us an enormous boost to apply a science based adaptive management paradigm. However, from the current vantage point, precision agriculture which applies technology to achieve adaptive management, looks like the logical endpoint of industrial agriculture where knowledgeable humans are taken off the food production assembly line. How do we take advantage of the new ability to gain rapid insights, but not lose the farmer, rural communities and life in the process?
Integrated Pest Management CEUs: 0.5
Crop Management CEUs: 1
CCA Credits Available - Contact Gary Iverson for more information. giverson@montanaglutenfree.com
