Comparison of Organic and Conventional Crops at the Long-Term Agroecological Research Site

The Long-Term Agroecological Research (LTAR)site at the Neely-Kinyon Farm was established in 1998 to study the long-term effects of organic production in Iowa. Treatments at the LTAR site, replicated four times in a completely randomized design, include the following rotations: conventional Corn-Soybean (C-S), organic Corn-Soybean Oats/Alfalfa (C-S-O/A), organic Corn-Soybean Oats/Alfalfa-Alfalfa (C-S-O/A-A), and Soybean-Wheat (S-W). Arapahoe winter wheat was planted October 25, 2006, at 85 lb/acre and Cardinal red clover wasfrost-seeded into the wheat plots on March 15, 2007, at a rate of 12 lb/acre. On April 16, 2007, Kame oats were underseeded with Bluebird alfalfa at a rate of 110 lb/acre and 18 lb/acre, respectively. Following harvest of the organic corn plots in 2006, winter rye was no-till drilled at a rate of 70 lb/acre on November 8, 2006