Converting to Ecologically Based Management - Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems - page 296

4. Based on accumulated observations, identify
key indicators of sustainability and continue to
monitor them well into the future.
5. Identify indicators that are “farmer-friendly”
and can be adapted to on-farm, farmer-based
monitoring programs, but that are linked to our
understanding of ecological sustainability.
Each season, research results, site-specific ecological
factors, farmer skill and knowledge, and new techniques
and practices can all be examined to determine if any
modifications in management practices need to be made

to overcome any identified yield-limiting factors. Ecologi-
cal components of the sustainability of the system become
identifiable at this time, and eventually can be combined
with an analysis of economic sustainability as well.
The ultimate success of the conversion process will
depend on changes in the attitudes, values, choices, and
ethics of everyone in the food system. As these changes
become manifest, a new culture of sustainability will
emerge, encouraging the research and innovation that will
move us beyond the mere substitution of inputs and prac-
tices to the redesigning of agroecosystems.

CONVERSION TO ORGANIC APPLE PRODUCTION

Although organically managed agroecosystems may not be completely sustainable, they emphasize more sustainable
practices than do conventional systems. Farmers considering converting from conventional to organic production,
however, are concerned with more than just the ecological merits of certified organic agriculture. They want to
know about the economic consequences of conversion — if they can support their families on the profits from an
organic farming operation.
In recognition of such practical concerns, researchers study the conversion process and compare the economic
viability of conventional and organic management. In one such study, a team of researchers from the Center for
Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) at the University of California, Santa Cruz analyzed the
transition from Level-1 conventional to Level-2 organic management of Granny Smith apples at a farm in Watson-
ville, California (Swezey et al., 1994). The team monitored the ecological parameters of the transition, including
nutrient content of the plants, weed species and abundance, pest damage, and the life cycle of the codling moth,
the apple's primary pest. This careful monitoring allowed the team to adjust their management strategies as needed.
These strategies included applying organic soil amendments and disrupting the mating cycle of the codling moth
through the use of pheromone dispensers that confuse the moths.
The team also tracked economic costs and income over the study period. The organic system used 10% more labor
than the conventional system, due to practices such as hand thinning of the apple fruit while immature, and the cost
of materials was 17% higher than in the conventional system. However, the organic system produced a higher yield
in terms of apple quantity and total apple mass. Overall, the organic system also yielded a higher economic return,
due both to the higher harvest yield and to the higher price obtained on the market for premium organic apples.
This study demonstrates the organic production of apples can be profitable, even though the transition from conven-
tional to certified organic takes careful planning and can be labor intensive. Similar studies have refined Level 2 conversion
methods, leading to the publication of the first Organic Apple Production Manual for California (Swezey et al., 2000).
The only Level 3 components of conversion mentioned in the manual are the use of permanent between-row legume and
grass cover crops. The long-term sustainability of organic apple agroecosystems still needs to be addressed (Figure 20.5).

FIGURE 20.5 Fuji apples on semidwarf rootstock under conversion to organic management, Corralitos, California.