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What's New in Michigan Organic AG? 

Nov. 26-Dec 3, 2007

 

1.	Council Launches Select Michigan Wood and Wood Products Branding
Campaign

 

2.	Camelina: A Promising Low-Input Oilseed: Could Substantially
Reduce And Perhaps Eliminate Requirements For Tillage And Annual Weed
Control

 

 

3.	Continuous Learning is for Agri-Business Too!

 

4.	 Low Cost/No Cost Land Opportunity for New Organic Farmers in
Michigan
	
	

5. Farm bill may be close to close

Events

 

6Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo. Join us Dec 6 for an
all day organic session!

 

7"Farming for the Future" Conference Dec. 10 in Lawrence, MI  

 

8Organic Research Symposium Call for Papers 

 

9Michigan Family Farms Conference 

 

10.  9th Annual NORTHERN MICHIGAN SMALL FARM CONFERENCE 

 

 




1. Council Launches Select Michigan Wood and Wood Products Branding
Campaign 


LANSING, Mich., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 

Today, the Michigan Forest Products Council (MFPC) launched a branding
campaign focused on Select Michigan Wood and Wood Products.

"The Michigan Forest Products Council has taken a new and more dynamic
approach to promote the quality and sustainable Michigan-harvested and
manufactured wood and wood products," said George Berghorn, Director of
Forest Policy. "This effort will help us build awareness with the
public, within our industry, and with potential buyers and end-users" he
said.

Branding and marketing opportunities are available for hardwoods (trees)
and hardwood products as well as for certified sustainable wood products
that meet the requirements of commonly encountered green building rating
systems. "There is a significant need to connect Michigan's growing
green building industry with landowners, manufacturers, and distributors
of certified-sustainable wood products," said Kevin Korpi, Executive
Director. Select Michigan Wood and Wood Products will give Michigan
companies an upper-hand in growing their business," said Korpi.

Michigan hardwoods will be branded in cooperation with the Michigan
Department of Agriculture's value added programs. The "Select Michigan
Wood & Wood Products" brand will allow manufacturers to promote their
products on state, regional, and international stages. Participants will
be able to receive discounts on targeted trade show attendance,
marketing materials, and foreign market intelligence, based on meeting
eligibility requirements. The green building products program is focused
on state and regional opportunities, and connects products to the
marketplace.

For more information about the branding initiative please visit
http://www.michiganforest.com/ and select "marketing."

The Michigan Forest Products Council is a statewide trade association
representing the forest products industry, which owns millions of acres
of timberland and employs over 154,000 men and women in Michigan. The
Council works to protect, promote and sustain a globally competitive
forest products industry in Michigan. 

Michigan Forest Products Council





2.	Camelina: A Promising Low-Input Oilseed: Could Substantially
Reduce And Perhaps Eliminate Requirements For Tillage And Annual Weed
Control


D.H. Putnam, J.T. Budin, L.A. Field, and W.M. Breene


For full report, visit:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/v2-314.html 


Section 1: DESCRIPTION & ADAPTATION 


Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz., Brassicaceae (falseflax, linseed dodder,
or gold-of-pleasure) originated in the Mediterranean to Central Asia. It
is an annual or winter annual that attains heights of 30 to 90 cm tall
(Fig. 1) and has branched smooth or hairy stems that become woody at
maturity. Leaves are arrow-shaped, sharp-pointed, 5 to 8 cm long with
smooth edges. It produces prolific small, pale yellow or greenish-yellow
flowers with 4 petals. Seed pods are 6 to 14 mm long and superficially
resemble the bolls of flax. Seeds are small (0.7 mm x 1.5 mm), pale
yellow-brown, oblong, rough, with a ridged surface. Morphology and
distribution of camelina species has been described by Polish and
Russian botanists (Mirek 1981). Camelina has been shown to be
allelopathic (Grummer 1961; Lovett and Duffield 1981). 


Camelina is listed as being adapted to the flax-growing regions of the
northern Midwest (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota) (NC-121 1981).
It is primarily a minor weed in flax and not often a problem in other
crops and does not have seed dormancy (Robinson 1987). However, the
adaptation of camelina as a crop has not been widely explored. Similar
to the other Cruciferous species, it is likely best adapted to cooler
climates where excessive heat during flowering is not important. There
are several winter annual biotypes available in the germplasm, and it is
possible that camelina could be grown as a winter crop in areas with
very mild winters. Camelina is short-seasoned (85 to 100 d) so that it
could be incorporated into double cropping systems during cool periods
of growth, possibly in more tropical environments. 


Section 5: SUITABILITY FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE 


When analyzing the potential role of a new crop, unique attributes of
that species must be established; it must contribute something not
already provided by existing crop species. It is not sufficient, for
example, for a crop simply to become "another oilseed." There must be
unique and compelling properties of that crop to provide incentives for
further development. 

The research reported here has shown that camelina possesses unique
agronomic traits which could substantially reduce and perhaps eliminate
requirements for tillage and annual weed control. The compatibility of
camelina with reduced tillage systems, cover crops, its low seeding
rate, and competitiveness with weeds could enable this crop not only to
have the lowest input cost of any oilseed, but also be compatible with
the goals of reducing energy and pesticide use, and protecting soils
from erosion. Camelina is a potential alternative oilseed for stubble
systems, winter surface seeding, double cropping, or for marginal lands.
At a seeding rate of 6 to 14 kg/ha, camelina could be inexpensively
applied by air or machine-broadcast in early winter or spring on stubble
ground without special equipment. Although these unimproved lines have
been shown to be agronomically acceptable, modern history has indicated
the Cruciferae to be highly manipulatable through plant breeding or
biotechnology, and so the promise of improvement is also high. The meal
does not contain glucosinolates, but the fatty acid composition of the
seed needs to be modified to provide a role for the crop in the oilseeds
market. 

Lack of clear utilization patterns currently limit the crop, and further
work on oil, meal, and seed use is required. The possibilities of using
camelina in human food, as birdseed, as an edible or industrial oil, a
fuel, or other applications remains largely unexplored. Further
utilization and breeding research is required to more fully make use of
the unique agronomic qualities that this crop possesses. 

 

 

 


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