Research Accomplishment Reports 2011

New Crop Opportunities, Phase XI

Houtz, R.
Department of Horticulture

 

Non-Technical Summary

Many of Kentucky's family farms have been highly dependent upon tobacco as a primary source of income. The value of tobacco sold in Kentucky in 2008 was $382 million, down from $784 million in 1999. Interest in alternative crops has risen as tobacco income has fallen.

This project is designed to develop and deliver Kentucky farmers the knowledge they need to assess new crop opportunities. Biofuels, sustainable organic production, and novel new crops projects will be conducted by University of Kentucky researchers as part of this project. Kentucky has enormous potential for sustainable biomass-based energy production.

A shift toward using abandoned agricultural or nutritionally depleted land for production of non-food crops to produce energy, rather than using corn, is the choice for second-generation biomass industries. Kentucky has one of the highest proportions of arable marginal lands in the U.S., about 20%. Supporting an integrated biofuels and bioproducts industry will enhance revenue and value-added processing income for farmers and foresters.

As for organic research, increased acreage in organic production nationwide is aligned with an increase in direct marketing of organic products through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), farmers markets, etc. Kentucky ranks in the top 10 states with the fastest direct market growth. There has been little systemic study of the economic, environmental and social benefits direct markets are touted to produce. This project will use the model CSA system at the university as a case study for diversified organic vegetable production. This study will be used to create a conceptual model for direct-marketed vegetable systems representative of the scale and types of operations used across the state. The results could have a significant positive impact on grower acceptance of organic agriculture.

Meanwhile, potential new crops for Kentucky include edamame, hops, and stevia. Previous research focused on growing edamame as a stand-alone crop; it has greater potential when incorporated into a production system such as minimum tillage. Hops offer potential for marketing to microbreweries, and also for value-added products; however, no research on hops has been done as yet in Kentucky, so there is a need to develop a production system. Although currently a niche market, the potential for expansion is great with stevia, an herbaceous annual with high leaf concentrations of sugars.

Overall, the New Crop Opportunities Center will feature a Web site for 24-hour access to new crop information. Staff will answer questions from Extension agents and farmers, and will distribute new crop information at field days and meetings. The Center will facilitate packaging of information from its research and other sources for dissemination.

Expected outcomes/impacts will be an increase in knowledge among farmers and Extension agents about production and marketing systems for new crops. This should allow farmers to make informed decisions about which crops to try, and how to market them. Anticipated benefits include greater profitability for Kentucky farmers.

2011 Project Description

A Crop Diversification & Biofuel Research & Education Center (formerly New Crop Opportunities Center) has been developed to disseminate information about alternative crops and research. Extension agents and farmers make up the audience for information delivered through the Center's Web site (www.uky.edu/ag/CDBREC), which includes 136 crop profiles and 13 marketing profiles to help farmers decide which crops and marketing systems might work best for them. These include 11 new profiles and 34 profiles that were revised during the first year of this project.

Research has focused on: 1) bioenergy, 2) sustainable/organic production systems, and 3) novel new crops. Information was disseminated at the Fruit and Vegetable Growers Meeting (Lexington); the Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy meeting (Bowling Green); and at producer meetings across the state. Information was in the form of presentations, research reports, and crop profiles. The audience included farmers and extension agents.

In the bioenergy project, a 5-acre planting of Miscanthus hybrids (40,000 transplants) was established at the Horticulture Research Farm in Lexington. Plants are a protected variety (hydride) sourced from Mendel Bioenergy Seeds. Herbicide regimes for weed control were developed during establishment. An endophyte treatment study is being conducted as a means to increase vigor in early seedlings. Another experiment is being conducted to define carbon sequestered by this crop over time into the soil. As a baseline, 100 soil cores were taken and analyzed at the time of planting. Yield will be assessed after a 2-year establishment period. An analysis of harvest logistics was developed to adequately account for energy inputs and outputs in the system.

In the sustainable/organic project, yield and labor data were collected for all aspects of the UK Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Project beginning in March 2011. These data were used to develop structure for an ecological model designed to examine energy inputs and outputs in sustainable and organic specialty crops production systems. Data include energy and labor inputs of the CSA, as well as yields and nutritional information. Two undergraduate students were trained in ecological modeling and data collection through fieldwork and research associated with the project.

In the novel new crops project, five varieties of hops (Chinook, Mt. Hood, Nugget, Newport and Cascade) were planted in Quicksand, KY on June 1, 2011. The first harvest is scheduled for late September.

Construction began on a solar greenhouse, and a strip tillage experiment began in 2011; both are being tested as novel production systems. The latter work consists of 8 treatments arranged in a factorial design with tillage (plasticulture or strip tillage) being one factor, production system (organic vs. conventional) another factor, and irrigation regime (drought vs. well-watered) being the last factor.

2011 Impact

Interest in alternative crops has risen as tobacco income has fallen in KY ($784 million in 1999 to $331 million in 2010). This project is designed to develop and deliver KY farmers the knowledge they need to assess new crop opportunities.

KY has enormous potential for sustainable biomass-based energy production. A shift toward using abandoned agricultural or nutritionally depleted land for production of non-food crops to produce energy, rather than using corn, is the choice for second-generation biomass industries. KY has one of the highest proportions of arable marginal lands in the U.S. at about 20%. Supporting an integrated biofuels and bioproducts industry will enhance revenue and value-added processing income for farmers and foresters. Research to define carbon sequestered by Miscanthus over time into the soil is currently underexplored; it may have equal or greater value to the above ground portion of the plant, which will be used for energy synthesis. An analysis of harvest logistics reveals that intensification of yield will enhance efficiency of the bioenergy farming system as opposed to expansion.

As for organic research, increased acreage in organic production nationwide is aligned with an increase in direct marketing of organic products through CSAs, farmers markets, etc. KY ranks in the top 10 states with the fastest direct market growth. There has been little systemic study of the economic, environmental and social benefits direct markets are touted to produce. This project is using the model CSA system at the university as a case study for diversified organic vegetable production. This study will be used to create a conceptual model for direct-marketed vegetable systems representative of the scale and types of operations used across KY. The results could have a significant positive impact on grower acceptance of organic agriculture.

Meanwhile, potential novel new crops and production systems include hops, strip tillage and solar greenhouses. Hops have potential for marketing to microbreweries, and also for value-added products; however, no research on hops had been done before in KY, so there is a need to develop a production system.

Solar greenhouses and strip tillage offer growers new options that can be more economical and environmentally friendly than other systems. Solar greenhouses can extend the growing season and save on heating costs. Strip tillage can reduce erosion and protect water quality. In other states, strip tillage has been shown to improve seed germination, drainage and aeration, while reducing the effects of compaction. Plots established as part of the novel new crops project showed differences in water use efficiency between conventional and organic systems.

Overall, the Center facilitates packaging of information from its research and other sources for dissemination. Expected outcomes/impacts will be an increase in knowledge among farmers and Extension agents about production and marketing systems for new crops. This should allow farmers to make informed decisions about which crops to try, and how to market them. Anticipated benefits include greater profitability for KY farmers.