Dear Sanet,
In response to Benbrooks post, I have a related question regarding
manure and E. Coli and orchard grazing systems.
Agroforestry is the integration of woody plants and crops and/or
animals. The idea behind intercropping is that you get two
agricultural products from the same area, thus increasing total
yield. In addition, there are usually beneficial biological
interactions between the two systems.
Agroforestry has generated a lot of interest in sustainable
agriculture among forest people, tree growers, graziers, etc.
For good reason. It is a land-use farming system that has multiple
uses and benefits.
So here is the scenario:
What about grazing sheep in apple orchards? Does the
bad strain of E. coli, or any strain of E. coli have a particular
association with sheep? Or does the E. coli have a species
specific link to cows, hogs, chickens, geese, guineas, whatnot?
From an agroforestry perspective grazing sheep in an orchard would be
a progressive model of sustainable food production. The sheep graze
down the cover crops and therefore help manage the orchard floor
vegetation as well as contribute biological fertility to the soil.
But due to recent publicity, talking to apple growers about manure in
the orchard is like yelling "fire" in a crowded theater.
Here I refer to publicity linking E. coli to raw apple cider.
Unfairly, the orchard in Oklahoma linked to E. coli sickness was
blamed for apple drops, yet they don't pick drops nor do they graze
animals. In fact, there has never been a positive test of E. coli
from any apple cider on the farm. Yet this sort of publicity
surrounding raw apple cider sales has the industry running scared.
Now growers are getting notices that pasteurized apple cider will
probably become mandatory in the near future, so get prepared to
spend another $15-25,000 on pasteurization equipment or stop selling
cider.
So, on one hand those in agroforestry see opportunities to
integrate trees and animals to create beneficial interactions
and yield more than one agricultural product from the land.
But on the other hand, concerns about E. coli need to be addressed
with solid information so the apple growers and peach growers and
fruit growers will know what is real and what is phoney.
Likewise, there is interest in using weeder geeze in orchards to
chomp on the dreaded plum curculio larvae.
Likewise, there are opportunties to run the pastured poultry pens
through orchards.
What is the answer to the use of animals in orchards, to the
occurence of animal poop in orchards, to the use of applying
raw manures to orchards?
Is there a best management practice that says you can graze
orchards until 30 days or 60 days before harverst? In other
words, does E. coli breakdown outdoors etc.
What about using raw poultry litter as a fertilizer for orchards?
I know several growers who would really like to know the
answer to these sorts of questions. Can anybody point to
resources or guidelines?
Thanks,
Steve Diver
ATTRA
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