BROOKINGS — SDSU Extensionwill host a Wheat Walks in theMitchell area May 15.

Morning sessions begin at 9a.m. and go to 11 a.m. Central Day-light Time (CDT) and afternoonsessions run from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.CDT. Three or more SDSU Exten-sion Agronomy Field Specialistsand State Specialists will be onhand at each location, represent-ing the specialty areas of PlantPathology, Weeds, Entomology, SoilFertility and Cropping Systems.

Each specialist will give a briefpresentation, followed by time for

discussion and answering ques-tions. Those attending are encour-aged to bring samples from theirfields for the agronomists to as-sess. CCA credits have been ap-plied for.

Directions to the Mitchell ses-sion are: From the intersection ofS.D. Highway 37 and 252nd Ave.(Cemetery Rd) at the north end ofMitchell, 4 miles west to 405th St.and 3 miles north. Or from I-90 exit325 (Betts Rd), 2.5 miles north, 2miles east, 3 miles north.

Registration for the walks is $25and $15 for each additional person

attending from the same farmingoperation. To pre-register, sendchecks payable to “SDSU Exten-sion” to SDSU Extension Center,Box 270, Winner, SD 57580.

Registrations will also be ac-cepted at each Wheat Walk loca-tion the day of the event. Each $25registrant will receive several Ex-

tension wheat publications, includ-ing the newly printed “iGrowWheat — Best Management Prac-tices for Wheat Production inSouth Dakota,” a $59 value.

For more information, visithttp://igrow.org/and check the cal-endar and upcoming events or call842-1267.

BY AMINA KHAN© 2012, Los Angeles Times

Organic agriculture generallycomes at a cost of smaller harvestscompared with conventional agri-culture, but that gap can be nar-rowed with careful selection of croptype, growing conditions and man-agement techniques, according anew study.

Organic farming has been toutedby supporters as a more environ-mentally sustainable method offarming that’s better for consumersbecause crops contain fewer man-made chemicals. But without thehigh-nitrogen fertilizers and pesti-cides often employed in conven-tional agriculture, it’s also lessefficient.

“The organic-versus-conven-tional debate is very emotional,very heated, and it’s not really in-formed sufficiently by scientific evi-dence,” said Verena Seufert, ageographer at McGill University inMontreal and lead author of thestudy published online Wednesdayby the journal Nature.

To take a hard look at the data,Seufert and her colleagues col-lected 66 published papers compar-ing organic and conventional yieldsfor 34 crop species, includingwheat, tomatoes and soybeans.They focused on studies that testedgrowing systems that were truly or-ganic — meaning they rotatedcrops to allow the soil’s nutrients tobe replenished, used organic fertil-izers and employed insects insteadof chemicals to keep pests in check.Altogether, the analysis included

316 head-to-head comparisons.Overall, the team found that

yields from organic farming in de-veloped countries were 20 percentlower than when farmers used con-ventional methods. When the re-searchers expanded the analysis toinclude developing countries, thegap widened to 25 percent.

At first blush, most farmerswould consider that unacceptable,said Michel Cavigelli, a soil scientistwith the U.S. Department of Agricul-ture in Beltsville, Md., who was notinvolved in the study.

But after considering how muchmore research has gone into con-ventional agriculture comparedwith organic, he added, the resultsare more impressive.

“There’s a lot of potential here

with organic agriculture,” Cavigellisaid. “We need to improve the sys-tems.”

In fact, in cases in which grow-ers used techniques that are con-sidered to be the best practices fororganic farming, the gap betweenorganic and conventional yieldsnarrowed to 13 percent.

“If you do things as well as youcan, then the yield difference isvery small,” Cavigelli said.

Some crop yields didn’t suffermuch by following organic prac-tices, the study found. Organicfruits such as strawberries and ap-ples saw just a 3 percent difference,and oilseed crops followed just 11percent behind their conventionallygrown counterparts. Yields for or-ganic cereals, however, were 26 per-

cent lower, and organic vegetableslagged behind by 33 percent.

Nitrogen typically can’t be takenup by plants until it’s processed bysoil microbes. For fast-growing an-nuals and other crops, this can be aproblem — one often fixed by aug-menting the soil with chemical fer-tilizers.

Legumes, however, can pullmuch of their nitrogen from the air,and perennials grow slower and canstay in step with nitrogen’s gradualrelease. So yields for these types ofcrops — including soybeans andtree fruits — were only 5 percentlower when grown organically in-stead of conventionally, the re-searchers reported.

As for settling the question ofwhich system is better, the findingsdon’t provide a black-and-white an-swer, Cavigelli said.

Organic proponents are sure tobe disappointed with the size of theoverall gap, and many conventionalfarmers still won’t see the practical-ity of foregoing chemical fertilizersand pesticides.

John Reganold, a WashingtonState University agroecologist whowas not involved in the study,agreed.

“People think organic is notgoing to feed the world,” Reganoldsaid, whose own research hasfound that organically grown straw-berries contain more nutrients thantheir conventionally grown counter-parts. “Well guess what? No onefarming system’s going to feed theplanet. It’s going to take a blend toguarantee us global food security.”

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Experts: BSE Case Is No Cause For AlarmBROOKINGS — South Dakotans need not react with fear when eat-

ing beef, says Dr. Russ Daly, South Dakota State Public Health Veteri-narian, in response to the recent Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy(BSE) case discovered in California.

“Because of restrictions put into place in the early 2000s, there isnothing to worry about from a food safety perspective,” said Daly, whoalso serves as the SDSU Extension Veterinarian. “Even in the extremelyrare event an animal is affected with BSE, there are only certain por-tions of a carcass that carry the infection. Those portions, such asbrain and spinal cord, have been eliminated from the human and ani-mal food chain for more than decade now.”

State Veterinarian, Dr. Dustin Oedekoven, echoes Daly’s confidence.In an April 25 release from the South Dakota Animal Industry Board,

Oedekoven explains that the finding of this atypical BSE case is similarto those spontaneous cases identified in 2005 in Texas and 2006 in Ala-bama, and is no reason for concern because atypical BSE is not a con-tagious disease and is not known to be associated with contaminatedlivestock feed, as is the case with classical BSE.

“It is important to know that this animal did not enter the food orfeed supply,” Dr. Oedekoven said. “The U.S. beef supply is safe, andthis finding has no impact on the health of the nation’s cattle herd.The surveillance system in place is working.”

He adds that an announcement from USDA suggests that this find-ing will not affect the United States’ BSE status, as determined by theWorld Organization for Animal Health, also known as OIE.

This is reassuring news for South Dakota consumers and cattle pro-ducers, says Keith Underwood, the SDSU Extension meat specialist.

“It’s important to know that the USDA and the meat industry as awhole, have been vigilant to ensure that portions of the carcass whichmay contain BSE are removed, at risk animals are tested, and animalsthat have this disease do not enter the food chain,” Underwood said.“The system works and this shows that the U.S. beef supply is safe.”

SDSU: Breed Heifers 2-4 Weeks Before CowsBROOKINGS — Even though calving season is not yet done for

most producers, it’s not too soon to begin planning for breeding ofopen heifers, says George Perry, South Dakota State University associ-ate professor and SDSU Extension Beef Reproduction Specialist duringa recent iGrow Radio Network interview.

Perry says it’s a good idea to breed heifers to calve two to fourweeks ahead of the main cow herd, to give the heifers’ time to recoverbefore cycling back for the second breeding season.

“We really need to think about getting heifers bred, before we finishcalving or think about breeding our cows,” Perry said.

He says there are several estrus synchronization programs to helpget the heifers bred in a timely manner. He lists the three main estrussynchronization programs recommended for beef heifers including;simple estrus detection, estrus detection with timed AI and fixed-timedAI protocols.

Perry says producers can locate an Online estrus planner by visit-ing http://igrow.org/livestock/beef/ and clicking on ‘Links’ under theResource Library. Perry encourages livestock growers to choose a pro-tocol that fits their time, facilities and experience.

“By using any of these protocols you can better manage your timein that you know you want to detect estrus for this three to five dayperiod or you’re going to go out and do a fixed-time AI on them,” Perrysaid. “Synchronization really becomes a management tool that benefitsyou in managing your labor also.”

Planting Grain Sorghum Has Many BenefitsBROOKINGS — Dryland farmers in South Dakota may benefit from

planting grain sorghum this season, says John Rickertsen, SDSU Exten-sion Agronomy Field Specialist.

“Grain sorghum is much more adaptable to dry conditions thancorn,” said Rickertsen, of the crop also known as milo.

Not only is grain sorghum more drought tolerant than corn hybrids,but Rickertsen says the grass species is a more economical optionthan corn for most dryland farmers in central and western SouthDakota.

“The further west we move we become more cost-conscious be-cause there isn’t the corn production out here that there is along the I-29 corridor. Seeding costs of grain sorghum are significantly lowerbecause the seed costs less and a bag of sorghum seed will plant 10 to15 acres versus 3 to 4 for corn,” Rickertsen said.

He adds that some years, milo markets are equal to, or greater thancorn.

“Milo, like corn is mainly used as a feed grain, however, in SouthDakota it’s also sold into the bird seed market, which is why prices aresometimes better than corn.”

Introduce grain sorghum into wheat rotationGrain sorghum is an easy crop to introduce into a wheat rotation.

The crop can be planted utilizing a conventional drill or row cropplanter. When it comes time to harvest, Rickertsen says wheat farmerscan use their conventional header.

“For wheat farmers there, they can add milo to the rotation withoutbuying new equipment,” he said.

He adds that weed control is yet another benefit to planting grainsorghum.

“There is a huge advantage that comes with adding a warm seasongrass, like milo, to the rotation. It provides a great opportunity to con-trol those early season weeds like cheatgrass,” Rickertsen said.

Grain sorghum also promotes mychorizae production in the soil.“Mychorizae are small fungi that attach to the plant’s root hairs and

enhance the absorption of nutrients and water,” he said.Although grain sorghum is similar to corn in its nutrient require-

ments, unlike corn, grain sorghum does not do well if it’s planted incool soil. Rickertsen recommends waiting until soil temperaturesreach 60 degrees.

BY SAM HANANEL Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Child labor groups say theyare stunned and disappointed that the Obama ad-ministration is backing off a plan to keep childrenfrom doing the most dangerous farm jobs.

Reid Maki, coordinator of the Child LaborCoalition, said the Labor Department’s sudden de-cision late Thursday to withdraw the proposedrules means more children will die in farm acci-dents that could have been prevented.

“There was tremendous heat and I don’t thinkit helped that it was an election year,” he said. “Alot of conservatives made a lot of political hay outof this issue.”

Under pressure from farm groups and lawmak-ers from rural states, the Labor Department said itis withdrawing proposed rules that would banchildren younger than 16 from using most power-driven farm equipment, including tractors. Therules also would prevent those younger than 18from working in feed lots, grain silos and stock-yards.

The plan specifically excluded children whowork on their parents’ farms. But the proposal stillbecame a popular political target for Republicans

who called it an impractical, heavy-handed regula-tion that ignored the reality of small farms.

“It’s good the Labor Department rethought theridiculous regulations it was going to stick onfarmers and their families,” said Sen. Chuck Grass-ley, R-Iowa. “To even propose such regulations de-fies common sense, and shows a real lack ofunderstanding as to how the family farm works.”

The surprise move comes just two monthsafter the Labor Department modified the rule in abid to satisfy opponents. The agency made clear itwould exempt children who worked on farmsowned or operated by their parents, even if theownership was part of a complex partnership orcorporate agreement.

That didn’t appease farm groups like the Amer-ican Farm Bureau Federation that complained itwould upset traditions in which many childrenwork on farms owned by uncles, grandparents andother relatives to reduce costs and learn how afarm operates. The Labor Department said Thurs-day it was responding to thousands of commentsthat expressed concern about the impact of thechanges on small family-owned farms.

“The Obama administration is firmly commit-ted to promoting family farmers and respectingthe rural way of life, especially the role that par-

ents and other family members play in passingthose traditions down through the generations,”the agency said in a statement.

The agency said it would work with rural stake-holders, including the Farm Bureau, the NationalFarmers Union and 4-H to develop an educationalprogram to reduce accidents to young workers.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., a grain farmer knownto till his fields on weekends away from Washing-ton, had come out strongly against the proposedrule. The Democrat continued to criticize theObama administration rule even after it was tem-pered earlier this year, saying the Labor Depart-ment “clearly didn’t get the whole message” fromMontana’s farmers and ranchers.

Tester, who is in a tough race for re-election,praised the decision to withdraw the rule and saidhe would fight “any measure that threatens thatheritage and our rural way of life.”

The move disappointed child safety groupswho said the rules represent long-overdue pro-tections for children working for hire in farmcommunities. Three-quarters of working chil-dren under 16 who died of work-related injuriesin 2010 were in agriculture, according to theChild Labor Coalition.

Farm Labor Decision

Child Labor Groups Chide Ruling

New Study Finds OrganicFarming Can Sow Efficiency, Too

SDSU Extension Hosting Wheat Walk Event Near Mitchell