Two decades ago, organic agriculture was a fringe movement, generally ignored by land-grant researchers, when Washington State University professor John Reganold began comparing the soil quality, food nutrition and flavor, and environmental impacts of conventional and organic methods. Now, Reganold has become an internationally-recognized authority and the go-to source for reporters trying to explain the burgeoning influence of organic food.
“Organic is mainstream now,” he said. “Since 1992 or '93, the organic market in the U.S. been growing by 20 percent annually. It's amazing.”
At WSU, organic agriculture has become equally mainstream: offering the first, and still the only, undergraduate major in organic agricultural systems available in the U.S.
“At a faculty meeting in 2002, I said that the students and the industry both want an organic major, and that we should offer it as a way to get more people interested in agriculture,” he said. “The department agreed. We finally got it all approved in 2006.”
Twelve students are now enrolled in the major, with others in the pipeline ready to enter. Jobs await those graduates.
“I get calls all the time,” Reganold said. “Industry people call me needing organic ag students. There are job opportunities to work at farms, restaurants, food production facilities and certifying agencies.”
One strength of the program is the combination of academic theory with practical field experience at the 3-acre Organic Farm at the Tukey Horticultural Orchard on the Pullman campus.
Brad Jaeckel is the farm manager and instructor of the practicum program. He established a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) program at the farm when he became manager in 2005. Through the CSA, local families pay a set fee at the beginning of the season and receive a box of fresh produce weekly (their share) from May through October. Pullman families pick up their CSA boxes Fridays at the farm and Moscow families get their CSA boxes at the Co-op's Tuesday market. Last year for the first time, Jaeckel was forced to turn away families wanting to buy one of the approximately 100 available shares. About 75 families are now on a waiting list.
With that increasing demand, Jaeckel was pleased to learn recently that the farm will be able to grow to about 10 acres at the Tukey site and that WSU is planning to build two permanent structures on the farm to house student workers and use as classroom, storage and office space—if the Pullman-Moscow Airport expansion does not interfere with the project.
“We will not know for several months about the impact of the airport expansion. We are excited and hopeful about growing our farm,” Jaeckel said. “Interest in organic agriculture continues to expand, among students and in the community, and we hope to expand to fill that need.”
Bill London edits this newsletter. This article originally appeared in WSU Today, and is reprinted with permission.
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