Whole Farm Planning is a process that enables a farm to balance farm
profitability, community stability, and environmental vitality. It is
an intentional decision making and evaluation model which helps farm
families integrate the dynamic relationships of the economic, social
and ecological consequences of management decisions in relation to their
contribution to an individual family's goals. Whole Farm Planning uses
the following steps to help farmer develop their Whole Farm Plan.
- Assessment- Appraise On Farm Resource, including natural and man
- Identifying Key Issues- Ascertain barriers and opportunities of concern.
- Goal Setting- Identify unique goals with regard to profitability,
community, and ecology
- Action Plans- Whole Farm Plans make deliberate use of available resources
to achieve goals.
- Monitoring- Evaluate and revise the plan's ability to quantitatively
and qualitatively fulfill goals.
The Organic Certification Application Procedure provides the step by
step framework for Organic Whole Farm Planning. It involves goal setting,
decision- making and monitoring, and necessarily takes into account all
natural and human-made resources due to its reliance and interdependence
on the biological processes and on-farm resources that make it possible
for organic farming systems to work. Organic Farm Planning can serve
as a valuable tool for those farm families which value:
- Enhancing Profitability
- Preserving the Environment
- Protecting Farm Families
- Producing Wholesome Products
Organic Certification initiates this process with
a questionnaire/inventory seeking detailed cropping histories for each
field for the last five years, including nutrient, tillage, pest and
water management histories, along with post-harvest handling and marketing
information. Inherent within this process is the promotion of a "whole farm" perspective
that suggests that all components of the organic farm are interrelated
and/or interconnected, whereby decisions made regarding one farm component
influences other farm components, either directly or indirectly. Organic
Farm Planning, like Whole Farm Planning, requires the development of
a map that outlines windbreaks, fence rows, buffer zones, wildlife habitat
areas, and the geographical relationship with surrounding neighbors.
Organic Farm Planning also defines the relationship of that farm to livestock,
and requires the maintenance of detailed livestock history records. It
inventories the business relationships between farmers and organic farm
input suppliers. It also defines a socioeconomic relationship with certifying
agencies, the consumer, both directly and indirectly, wholesale buyers,
retailers and processors.
Identifying Key Issues
Organic Farm Planning, assumes and fulfills its
responsibility to a growing number of discerning consumers. Consumers
with a high level of confidence that the food they are receiving has
been grown chemically-free without depleting or degrading natural resources
are willing to pay a premium. Organic farms which market directly to
the consumer rely on defined, structured, and personally dynamic relationships
with the surrounding community. The relationship of surrounding farms
is also defined to anticipate potential problems with chemical contamination
from neighboring farms due to drift and/or run-off. Developing and maintaining
soil fertility integrity is crucial to the grower who relies on soil
quality to withstand drought, control weeds, and feed crops. The vitality
of organic niche markets can also lead to erratic contracting and marketing
issues for field crop and grain producers. Weed management and drains
on yield due to competition are also a primary concern for most organic
As mentioned above, Whole Farm Planning can
serve as a valuable tool for those farm families which place a high priority
on enhancing profitability, preserving the environment, protecting farm
families & workers, or
producing wholesome products. In addition, once the family determines
to use Organic Farm Planning to pursue Organic Certification, a number
of management options are available depending on more specific goals
the family may have. Some families may choose to adopt smaller scale
production models which rely heavily on direct consumer relationships,
and reflect that family's goal to market locally. Depending on resource
availability, other families may choose to take advantage of larger scale
grain production operations to minimize marketing time requirements.
Goals related to profitability, time demands, and ecological concerns,
as well as resource availability influence the options of the grower.
Organic Farm Plans are comprised of a number of management
options as outlined by third party organic standards. Cover cropping,
rotations, mechanical weed control, biological pest remedies, organically
approved soil amendments, tillage and planting timing, reduction or elimination
of synthetic inputs, and diversity are all part of the Organic Farm Planning
toolbox. Various tools are used in relation to their ability to contribute
to the realization of the goals of the plan. New farmers may focus their
action plans on yield and soil development, while plans that have been
though several annual cycles may include the incorporation of livestock
to enhance whole farm diversity and long term soil fertility management.
Soil fertility is the keystone of Organic Farm Planning Action Plans.
Organic producers undergo annual application and evaluation
procedures which require applicants to document soil fertility management
improvement programs. In addition, the certification application procedure
requires producers to reevaluate on farm resources annually. In cooperation
with a third party inspection organization, organic farmers annually
evaluate and reassess their plan's ability to meet their goals by retracing
the steps above.
The beneficial consequences of Organic Farm Planning include:
- Requires a comprehensive resource inventory, creating awareness of
both human and natural resources available to the farm and its operators.
- Potentially eliminates or reduces the need for high-cost inputs,
other than labor, generally enhancing the overall profitability of
the farming operation.
- Increases the biodiversity of the agroecosystem, (due to the elimination
of chemical inputs) including all soil and surface flora and fauna,
and enhances the farming system's ability to: a) Conserve of nutrients
generated by biological processes of decomposition and mineralization;
b) Maintain more balanced predator, prey and parasitoid arthropod communities,
potentially reducing vulnerabilities to insect pest problems; c) Maintain
soil, water and air quality, thereby providing food with no chemical
residues; d) Maintain soil health and structure, which enhances tilth,
reduces surface crusting, improves water drainage, and air infiltration.
- Enhances the regenerative processes related to agriculture and does
not deplete the soil's ability for long-term, sustainable agricultural
production, due to its reliance of organic matter inputs (rotations,
green manures, cover crops, manure and compost applications, mulches),
- Promotes tillage practices that minimizes destruction of soil structure,
leading to reduced compaction and enhancing the soil's physical qualities
for improved drainage and aeration.
- Promotes ecological literacy among organic farmers and an appreciation
for the ecological processes that drive these systems, due to its reliance
on biological/ecological processes.
- Promotes greater community interaction and agricultural literacy
though niche, direct, and value-adding marketing strategies which serve
local market outlets wherever possible.
- Promotes farm enterprise diversification, potentially enhancing year-round
cash flow and reducing the vulnerability of catastrophic financial
loss due to a single crop failure.
- Recognizes the potential for wild crop production in natural and
fence row areas, both for economic reasons and for the maintenance
- Promotes long-term monitoring of soil health and agroecosystem environmental
It is clear that many Whole Farm Planning components
are inherent within the Organic Farm Planning process. Organic certification
does not start with goal-setting/decision making as other whole farm
planning models (e.g. Holistic Management), but starts with the assumption
that the goal of producing organic or chemical-free food has already
been established. The reasons for setting such a goal can be related
to quality of life, health, economics and ethics. Although the terms
of the Certification Standards may not be under the farmer's absolute
control, the first action item of the Whole Farm Planner is a decision
to enter into a contract with the consumer as enforced by the third
party agent. The farmer is the primary source and decision maker of
the documentation of management choices made within the framework of
these standards. A plan must demonstrate the farmer's conception, development
and implementation of management choices which represent the farm as
a "whole" in order to reap
the organic premium.
Whole Farm Planning is a generic term that denotes
a process that utilizes a series of differing models and tools. It
represents a process that is farmer- defined and driven, and, as a
process, necessarily will be different for each farmer and farm. Organic
Farm Planning promotes the overall goal of wider adoption of the whole
farm planning and "holism" within
farming systems, and can serve as a viable and meaningful planning model
and tool for some of Ohio farmers.
of Organic and IPM Growers, Michigan State University
Whole Farm Planner, The Minnesota Project
Exploring Sustainability in Agriculture, SARE
A Whole-Farm Approach to Managing Pests, SARE