The Rodale Institute: Difference between revisions

▲J.I. Rodale died in 1971 at the age of 72. Later that decade, his son [[Robert Rodale|Robert (Bob) Rodale]] expanded his father's agriculture- and health-related pursuits with the purchase of a farm east of Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Bob and Ardath, his wife, moved Rodale Institute to the site to begin an era of regenerative, organic farm-scale research. The Kutztown site is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996418|title=Pennsylvania SP Siegfried's Dale Farm|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>. It is also known as the [[Siegfried's Dale Farm]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

▲Bob Rodale proposed the concept of [[Regenerative agriculture|regenerative organic]] to argue that any natural system, properly managed, could be productive while increasing its capacity into the future. He wrote that regenerative organic farming can use its own internal resources to improve soil fertility and productivity over time, rather than relying on expensive—and potentially environmentally damaging—outside chemical inputs. In 1981, Rodale Institute began the [https://rodaleinstitute.org/science/farming-systems-trial/ Farming Systems Trial], a side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional grain systems like corn, soybeans, and wheat. This project was planned to run for decades and is still in operation today. The Farming Systems Trial is now the longest-running side by side comparison of organic and conventional grain cropping systems in North America.

▲Bob Rodale died in a 1990 automobile accident in [[Moscow]] while launching a Russian edition of Rodale's ''New Farm'' magazine. John Haberern, who had been hired by Robert Rodale as a Rodale Press book editor in 1961, took over as president of the Institute. Ardath Rodale became the Institute's chairman. Anthony Rodale, son of Ardath and Bob, became vice-chairman. Anthony and his wife, Florence, developed outreach efforts for children during the couple's period of active program involvement before Anthony became an international ambassador for the Institute. Board member Paul McGinley, Esq., became co-chair of the board with Ardath in 2005. Testimony by Bob Rodale, John Haberern and farmers and agricultural scientists convinced the U.S. Congress to include funds for [[sustainable agriculture]] (first called "Low-Input Sustainable Agriculture)" in the 1985 [[Farm Bill]].

▲This validation of an [[Agroecological restoration|agroecological approach]] to farming led to the formation of the [[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]]'s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program in 1990. Today, federal, state and local governments, as well as land-grant universities and other organizations nationwide are pursuing sustainable and organic agriculture research and education programs.

▲Today, J.I. Rodale's great-granddaughter, Maya Rodale, serves as co-chairman of the Board of Directors along with [[Whole Foods Market|Whole Foods]] General Counsel Roberta Lang.

▲[[File:Rodale Institute, Test Garden 02.JPG|thumb|A test garden at the Rodale Institute]]

▲The Rodale Institute conducts research that seeks to improve the viability, productivity and documented [[ecological services]] of organic farming using current agricultural technologies and practices.

▲Focusing on agronomic (and some horticultural) cropping systems, research trials examine organic and conventional practices, [[chemical-free]] weed-management techniques, weed- and disease-resistant crop varieties, compost management and application, [[soil health]], no-till organic planting systems using cover crops and optimal cover-crop uses in organic crop rotations.

▲An important part of Rodale Institute's research has been the ongoing Farming Systems Trial (FST). Begun in 1981, the FST is the longest-running side by side comparison of organic and conventional grain cropping systems in North America. Examining two organic farming systems—[[manure]]-based and [[legume]]-based approaches—to conventional farming methods, FST is able to determine the difference organic management can make spanning multiple decades and conditions.

▲[[File:Rodale_Institute_Pasture.JPG|thumb|Cows, a source animal agriculture and manure, at the Rodale Institute]]

▲FST found that after fields undergo a multi-year transition period to restore biological activity, organic yields are statistically comparable to those of conventional systems. Additionally, organic yields exceed those of conventional systems in years of drought and other stress.<ref>Peterson, C., Drinkwater L., and P. Wagoner. 1999. The Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial – The first 15 years. The Rodale Institute, Kutztown, Pa. 48 p.</ref> Furthermore, organic systems have the capacity to sequester significant amounts of carbon.<ref>Hepperly, P., Seidel, R., Pimentel, D., Hanson, J., and D. Douds. 2005.

▲Organic farming enhances soil carbon and its benefits in soil carbon sequestration policy

▲Current experiments also pursue improvements in no-tillage and [[minimum tillage]] systems with the use of Rodale's "no-till roller/crimper" device created by Jeff Moyer. The device simultaneously rolls and crimps a cover crop, forming a mulch layer into which a cash crop can be planted in the same pass with a special no-till planter.

▲No-till systems with cover crops can contribute to carbon sequestration by adding to and preserving organic matter (57% carbon by weight)<ref>Sundermeier, Alan, Randall Reeder, and Rattan Lal. "Soil Carbon Sequestration Fundamentals." Ohio State University Extension. http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex-fact/0510.html</ref> in the soil, an important component of the institute's goal to link organic agriculture with the campaign to mitigate global warming.<ref>LaSalle, T., and Hepperly, P. 2008. Regenerative Organic Farming: A solution to global warming. The Rodale Institute, Kutztown, Pa. 13 p.</ref>

▲Other experiments focus on biological pest controls, the use of mychorrhizal fungi<ref>Douds, D., Nagahashi, G., Pfeffer, P., Kayser, W., and C. Reider. 2005.

▲On-farm production and utilization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus inoculum. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 85,1:15-21.</ref> – hosted by root systems in a symbiotic relationship – to amplify crops' abilities to uptake nutrients, and time-sensitive planting to avoid insect cycles and maximize the use of [[growing degree day]](s).

▲[[Category:501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations]]

▲[[Category:Organic gardening]]