Illinois Natural History Survey Reports

              1
I LLINOIS
NATURAL
HI STORY
S U R V E Y R e p o r t s
Spring 2003
No. 375
I N S I D E
Cave Amphipod Res-piration
in Southwest-ern
Illinois
2
Weather Radars
Reveal Bird Migration
Patterns
3
Largemouth Bass Vi-rus:
An Emerging Fish
Pathogen
4
Important Note to
Subscribers
5
Species Spotlight:
Striped Skunk
6
Naturalist's Appren-tice:
Animals
Make Scents—The
Pheromone Game
7
Continued on back page
Organic farming has become one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture.
Here are a few of the many organic products found at local supermarkets. Photo by John
Shaw, INHS Center for Economic Entomology
The Illinois Natural History Sur-vey
prairie and pond in Champ-aign
will soon have a new neigh-bor—
a Survey fi eld site dedicated
to organic research and education.
More Americans are choosing
organically produced foods at
their grocery stores and farmer’s
markets. Organic
farming has become
one of the fastest
growing segments
of U.S. agriculture.
Since 1996, U.S. sales
of organic products
have grown at an
annual rate exceed-ing
20%, topping $9
billion in 2001. This
growth is projected
to continue, reaching
approximately $20 bil-lion
by 2005.
The National
Organic Standards
Board (1995) defi nes
organic as “an eco-logical
production
management system
that promotes and
enhances biodiversity,
biological cycles and
soil biological activity.
It is based on minimal use of off-farm
inputs and on management
practices that restore, maintain
and enhance ecological harmony.”
Organic production systems seek
to support benefi cial organisms,
nutrient cycling, soil tilth, and
nitrogen fi xation through greater
crop diversity and enhanced soil
biological activity. These systems
rely on practices such as cultural
and biological pest management,
exclude the use of synthetic
chemicals and genetically modi-fi
ed organisms in crops, and pro-hibit
the use of antibiotics and
hormones in livestock. Through
the Organic Foods Production
Act (1990), the U.S. Congress
established national standards
for organic commodities. Imple-mentation
of the organic labeling
provisions took effect in October
2002.
Very little research has been
done on organic systems, and
organic producers have criticized
federal and state departments of
agriculture as well as land-grant
universities for failing to provide
programs to meet their needs. In
a comprehensive survey of U.S.
organic producers, respondents
identifi ed 1) weed management,
2) relationships between fertility
management and crop health, pest
and disease resistance, 3) rela-tionships
between organic man-agement
and nutritional value,
4) soil biology, 5) crop rotations,
and 6) cover cropping as their
top research priorities. They also
expressed strong interest in whole
farm planning/design, ecosystem
integration, and permaculture.
To address these priorities,
Survey scientists have joined
colleagues at the University
of Illinois on an Organic Task
Force to provide greater focus
INHS Establishes Site for Organic Re-