Growing concern regarding environmental, social, economic and food quality outcomes of the modern global industrial food system as well as the implications of climate change on food security and food system sustainability have fomented interest in, and action to advance localized food systems. Environmental stewardship is an oft-touted benefit of food system localization. However, few studies have comparatively examined actual environmental benefits of local versus global supply systems and most focus on only one aspect (e.g., GHG emissions). The study reported here comparatively analyzes land, water, carbon and ecological footprints of a localized food supply and contemporary global food supply for the South-West British Columbia (Canada), bioregion (SWBC). The footprint family approach utilized allows measuring overall biophysical loads for the studied region. We quantified regional rates of reliance on imported biophysical services; measured the performances of specific food products grown locally in comparison with their imported counterparts; and identified those commodities that have better and worse local biophysical performances. For the SWBC bioregion, only 35% of the food consumed in the region is locally produced. Supplying the region's food demands requires 2 million hectares of land and 3 billion m3 of water, generating approximately 2.8 million tons of CO2e, with an eco-footprint of 2.5 million gha. Examining a large number of commodities grown and consumed in the bioregion revealed that only some commodities grown locally have absolute or significant biophysical advantages, while the rest have very little to no local advantage. Our analysis challenges the notion that local food systems are necessarily more environmentally sustainable from a biophysical resource use perspective and therefore may not represent the most compelling argument(s) for food system localization. We call for better and more comprehensive comparative analysis of existing and desired food systems as a mean to advance sustainability.

This paper uses the framework of the Just–Pope production function to evaluate the impacts of climate change on yields of the rainfed Aman rice crop in Bangladesh. It analyses disaggregated district-level data on climate variables and Aman rice yield over a 48 year time horizon. The results reveal that changes in maximum temperatures have had positive and negative effects on yield in the linear and quadratic functional forms, respectively. However, the elasticity values in the variance function confirm that maximum temperature is risk-increasing for Aman rice while minimum temperature is likely to decrease yield variability. Rainfall has become risk-increasing for Aman rice. Based on three climate change scenarios, this paper also reveals that future climate change is expected to increase the variability of Aman rice yields. Finally, statistically significant dummies for different in-country climate zones require zone-specific adaptation policies to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change.

Intercropping of legumes in cereals and manuring are important measures to sustain soil fertility and enhance crop productivity in general and under organic and limited moisture conditions in particular. This study evaluated different wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) + chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) row ratios as intercrops under organic and limited moisture conditions in Northwest India with an aim to find out the suitable row ratio to get higher system productivity under these conditions. Chickpea, being a legume, produces nitrogen compounds that help the plant to grow itself and also makes them available to the companion wheat plants and thus helps in wheat nutrition, which otherwise becomes limited due to less mineralization of nitrogen under organic and cold weather conditions. The primary aim of the study was to get better productivity of wheat crop as this is an assured crop of this region. The intercropping system was evaluated in a randomized complete block design with four replications at Ludhiana, Punjab in Northwest India during 2013–2014 and 2014–2015. Effective tillers m−1 row length, number of grains spike−1 and 1000-grain weight of wheat were higher in wheat + chickpea (2:1) intercropping system as compared with sole wheat. This intercropping system produced significantly higher wheat grain yield, wheat equivalent yield and land equivalent ratio than sole wheat. Wheat + chickpea (2:1) and wheat + chickpea (3:1) intercropping systems gave higher water-use efficiency than sole wheat. However, chickpea gave higher yield attributes and seed yield as sole crop than that in different intercropping systems. Wheat + chickpea (2:1) and wheat + chickpea (3:1) intercropping systems produced mean wheat grain yields of 5.11 and 4.79 Mg ha−1, respectively, along with additional mean chickpea seed yields of 0.28 and 0.24 Mg ha−1, respectively.

The 2015 Farm to School Census reports that during the 2013–2014 school year there were over 5200 farm to school (FTS) programs in the USA that involved 39,000 schools and 24.1 million children. These FTS programs are intended, in part, to increase market access and therefore the viability of farms and ranches. Accordingly, the majority of FTS programs involve local food procurement directly from farmers, from non-traditional suppliers that market locally branded food products such as ‘food hubs’, or from traditional suppliers such distributors and food service management companies. Yet, there is reason to believe that transaction costs vary based on the supply chain that schools use to procure local food. Moreover, that the supply chain that schools use to procure local food has a relationship with school's expenditures on local food. We use the 2015 Farm to School Census to estimate the relationship between school district's local food expenditures per student and supply chain structure. We analyzed data using ordinary least squares regressions, controlling for the region of the USA, the type of local food products purchased, and other school-specific characteristics. Importantly, we find a negative and significant relationship between school district's non-milk local food expenditure per student, and purchases directly from the farm and from non-traditional suppliers. This implies that schools that purchase local food from traditional distributors are likely to have higher on average expenditures per student compared with schools that purchase local food directly from farmers or non-traditional distributors. Results point to the need for additional research in determining the efficacy of policies to support direct and non-traditional FTS marketing arrangements.

Alfalfa is recommended as a rotational crop in corn production, due to its ability to contribute to soil nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) stocks through atmospheric N2 fixation and above- and belowground biomass production. However, there is little information on how alfalfa management practices affect contributions to soil and subsequent corn crop yields, and research has not been targeted to organic systems. A study was conducted to determine the effects of alfalfa stand age, cutting frequency and biomass removal on soil C and N status and corn yields at three organically managed Minnesota locations. In one experiment, five cutting treatments were applied in nine environments: two, three and four cuts with biomass removal; three cuts with biomass remaining in place; and a no-cut control. In the other experiment, corn was planted following 1-, 2-, 3- or 4-year-old alfalfa stands and a no-alfalfa control. Yield was measured in the subsequent corn crop. In the cutting experiment, the two- and three-cut treatments with biomass removal reduced soil mineral N by 12.6 and 11.5%, respectively, compared with the control. Potentially mineralizable N (PMN) was not generally affected by cutting treatments. The three-cut no-removal increased potentially mineralizable C by 17% compared with the other treatments, but lowered soil total C in two environments, suggesting a priming effect in which addition of alfalfa biomass stimulated microbial mineralization of native soil C. Although both yields and soil mineral N tended to be higher in treatments where biomass remained in place, this advantage was small and inconsistent, indicating that farmers need not forgo hay harvest to obtain the rotational benefits of an alfalfa stand. The lack of overall correlation between corn grain yields and mineral and potentially mineralizable N suggests that alfalfa N contribution was not the driver of the yield increase in the no-removal treatments. Alfalfa stand age had inconsistent effects on fall-incorporated N and soil N and C parameters. Beyond the first year, increased alfalfa stand age did not increase soil mineral N or PMN. However, corn yield increased following older stands. Yields were 29, 77 and 90% higher following first-, second- and third-year alfalfa stands than the no-alfalfa control, respectively. This indicates that alfalfa may benefit succeeding corn through mechanisms other than N contribution, potentially including P solubilization and weed suppression. These effects have been less studied than N credits, but are of high value in organic cropping systems.

Are strong local food systems better for the environment than conventional food systems where relatively close proximity between points of production and consumption is not a defining characteristic? Despite growing support for efforts to strengthen local food systems, surprisingly little is known about the relationship of local food to environmental sustainability. In particular, the relationship of local food systems to the use of agricultural chemicals to manage pests, weeds and disease has not been a subject of systematic research. In this paper, I use longitudinal data from the US Census of Agriculture to explore whether growth in local food systems is associated with decreased on-farm use of agricultural chemicals. Drawing on county-level data from 1997 to 2012, I find that an increase in the strength of local food systems—whether measured as the number of farms that market products directly to consumers, or as the total value of direct market products—has been broadly associated with a decrease in spending on agricultural chemicals in the USA as a whole. But the magnitude of the relationship between direct marketing to consumers and changes in agricultural chemical use has dwindled over time, to the point where it is not clear whether contemporary local food systems are still incentivizing farmers to reduce their use of pesticides. Overall, this study lends new credence to the idea that robust local food systems can benefit the environment. But even where just one dimension of agriculture's impact on the environment is concerned, the characteristics of local food systems appear to have varied over time—a qualification that argues strongly for further research into the relationship of local food to agricultural practice.

Dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) can be grown as a local food source and as an alternative to soybean (Glycine max) to diversify organic crop rotations. To understand the benefits of diversification of organic cropping systems, the effects of preceding alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and corn (Zea mays) crops on yields of five dry bean types and one soybean type, and the effect of bean type on following spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) yields, were tested at four Minnesota locations. Dry bean and soybean yields following alfalfa were 25% greater than yields following corn at two of four locations, though bean yields following corn were greater at one location. A preceding alfalfa crop benefited bean yields at locations where hog manure or no manure was applied to corn, whereas bean yields following corn fertilized with cow manure were similar to or greater than bean yields following alfalfa. Among dry bean types, black bean yielded similarly to soybean at three of four locations, but dark red kidney bean consistently yielded 25–65% lower than soybean. Navy, pinto and heirloom dry bean types yielded similarly to soybean at two of four locations. Across locations, weed biomass was 3–15 times greater in dry bean than in soybean and dry bean yield response to weed competition varied among bean types. However, dry bean, regardless of the preceding crop, demonstrated the potential to produce yields comparable with soybean in organic systems and the substitution of dry bean for soybean did not affect subsequent wheat yields. More studies are needed to identify nitrogen fertility dynamics in organic systems as they relate to dry bean yield.

The implementation of farm to school programs and the use of local foods in US school meals have increased dramatically since the 1990s. However, supply constraints are often cited by school districts as an impediment to purchasing local foods. In this paper, we estimate the responsiveness of local food sourcing by schools in response to changes in local agricultural production. We test several hypotheses by merging data from the nationally administered 2015 Farm to School Census, which solicits information about local food sourcing from school districts, with Census of Agriculture data and other socio-economic data. We test whether local agricultural conditions influence the probability that a school district sources local foods, as well as the level of such purchases among the subset of school districts that are buying locally. We examine two types of local food purchases: local fluid milk purchases, which is the predominate food product that is locally sourced by schools, and local non-milk food purchases. We test the extent to which local purchases are influenced by local dairy production in the former case and local direct-to-consumer (DTC) agricultural production in the latter case. We find that the dairy and DTC agricultural production had a positive, although modest, impact on local milk and local non-milk purchases, respectively.

We find that county-level average income and the percentage of residents in poverty, when statistically significant, had positive and negative, respectively, impacts on local sourcing. Interpreting the coefficients on some of our other control variables involves greater nuance. For instance, while the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals decreases the predicted probability of a school making local non-milk purchases, it has a positive impact on the level of expenditures. We also find that the number of students in a school district has a positive impact on local food expenditures. However, while county-level population has a positive impact on local food expenditures, it has a negative impact on the predicted probability that a school district sources local non-milk products.

Different forms of urban agriculture have gained increased interest and participation in Germany. One form of urban agriculture is self-harvest gardening where participants can lease a plot in a field with various vegetables. However, in Western Europe, little is known about self-harvest garden participants and providers or their motivation and social background. Therefore, in 2015 a survey was conducted with 173 participants and 34 providers from different regions and cities in Germany. The study aimed to compile a self-characterization of people engaged in this form of gardening on a national level. The outcome of the survey captures an emerging phenomenon. While many of the self-harvest gardens can be assigned as grassroot initiatives, participants generally characterized themselves as having a middle or high income, a sustainable lifestyle, high level of education and high nutritional awareness. Disproportionally often, females were engaged in self-harvest gardening. Providers were mainly farmers with a high affinity to organic agriculture. Often the farmers had synergistic effects with other activities like farm shops. Location of the garden area, good support by the providers, promotional marketing and social activities were identified as factors for successful self-harvest gardens. The main incentive for the participants seem to be their engagement in the production of local and healthy food, which can be taken into account by the providers when considering their future focus. On the other hand, problems with bad harvest, theft and vandalism were challenges for some self-harvest gardens. While, legal problems were not a major concern for the providers.

Sustainable intensification of African farming systems has been high on the agenda of research and development programs for decades. System innovations such as integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) and conservation agriculture have been proposed to tackle the complex challenges farmers face. In this study, we assess how different factors at the plot, farm and institutional level can influence the adoption of ISFM. We employed a stratified sampling approach to randomly select 285 and 300 farmers in Tamale, northern Ghana and Kakamega County, western Kenya, respectively. These two locations were selected to understand the underlying reasons for their divergent adoption levels. Ordinal regression models were used to identify determinants of adoption. In Tamale, adoption rates of ISFM are much lower than in Kakamega. Only 3% of the farmers fully adopted the recommended practices compared with 36% in Kakamega. The low availability of improved seeds is a major reason for the lower uptake of the complete ISFM paradigm in Tamale. The econometric analysis revealed that plot level variables such as soil carbon, soil texture, slope and plot area had a significant effect on the number of adopted ISFM components at both locations. Moreover, family labor availability is also an important factor. Other farm and household characteristics, such as off-farm occupation, livestock ownership, and membership in associations, matter for Kakamega only. Key policy recommendations include promotion of locally available organic resources and improved access to improved seeds in Tamale.

The centralized nature of the United States food production, processing and distribution system makes it difficult for small fruit and vegetable farmers to serve as suppliers to institutional foodservice operations (IFOs), such as schools and hospitals. Due to age, economic and/or health status, it is often the clients of these foodservice operations who would benefit from increasing their consumption of locally grown fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, institutions are often limited in their resources and food preparation infrastructure, and lack market-based incentives to incorporate locally grown foods into their menus. This study identifies and suggests solutions to barriers that limit the ability of small fruit and vegetable farmers to serve as suppliers to IFOs. Data were collected through an extensive series of focus group meetings held with small-scale fruit and vegetable farmers in three South-Atlantic states. From these meetings, practical marketing considerations, such as payment terms, and processing, packaging and delivery requirements of supplying institutional foodservice buyers, were identified as obstacles to the efficient function of this market channel. Food safety challenges, including the related issues of obtaining (food) products liability insurance and food safety certifications, were also acknowledged among top concerns. A majority of the identified challenges were similar to those reported in other studies, but several were complicated by characteristics of farm production, limited food system infrastructure and marketing experiences in the study region. Several practical solutions to overcoming some of these marketing constraints are offered.

Brazil has the largest market for organic products in Latin America, but only 1.04% of its agricultural land is utilized for organic production (OP). We compared organic and conventional production (CP) in economic and productivity terms using data from a randomized survey of 86 organic and conventional strawberry growers (response rate 85.2%) in Brazlândia, Federal District, Brazil. Probit model selection estimates showed that the use of technical assistance from rural extension and producer gender had no effect, but growers with greater age, higher indebtedness, smaller strawberry production area, more education and less experience on growing strawberries were more likely to produce organically. For growers with more than 5.6 years of education and less than 13.54 years of experience, more education and experience make them less likely to produce strawberry organically. Thus, we expect growers’ probabilities of conversion for strawberry OP will remain about the same over time in the study area. The average treatment effect for the treated (ATT) was estimated using nearest neighbor/propensity score matching and endogenous switching regression (ESR). These showed that producing strawberry organically had no effect on productivity or total cost per box, but increased revenue and profit per box, probably as a result of the price premium for organic strawberries. As only 4.8% of farmers had converted to organic production, conversion costs and non-economic factors, such as psychological factors and social capital, may be barriers to conversion.

A study on locally available composts in Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland was conducted to investigate the potential of these non-chemical based tools to increase soil health in orchards afflicted by apple replant disease (ARD). A total of 26 different composts (six to seven per country) were chosen for the study. Composts were divided into ten types according to the waste materials used as substrates in the composting process. Growth reduction is the main symptom associated with replant disease; therefore compost performance was evaluated based on the growth responses of apple rootstock plantlets in compost-amended soils in pots. These greenhouse trials were performed in one research station per country, located in an intensive apple-growing area, and soil was taken from an apple orchard affected by replanting disease. Plant growth response was measured as shoot elongation at the end of each greenhouse trial, and results showed increases in growth compared with the respective controls of 2–26% in 20 out of 26 composts evaluated. The heterogeneous nature of the composts most likely attributed to the finding that similar compost types originating from the different countries had varying effects on plant growth. Overall, no significant changes in chemical and biological properties were observed in amended soils as compared with non-amended controls. The high soil resilience was in part expected given the good organic matter content in the original soils (>2%). The bacterial communities of the composts were investigated using the COMPOCHIP microarray, and analyses showed that differences in plant growth response were mainly attributed to the microbial changes introduced into the soil through composts rather than to changes in soil chemical and biological parameters. However, the bacterial communities of composts appeared to be more influenced by geographical origin than by compost type. The results have shown that soil amendment with composts generated from locally produced wastes have the potential to reduce the effects of ARD, although the effects appear to be both compost and soil specific.

Urbanization, changes in the retail sector and economic growth in developing countries may offer new opportunities to build connections between urban consumers and nearby farmers. The design of strategies to build such connections will require deeper insights into the food preferences of urban consumers. This paper presents a choice experiment of the preference of locally grown apples, avocados and pears vis-à-vis nonlocal equivalents with 300 consumers in a traditional market in Cusco, Peru. Willingness-to-pay estimates are derived from a multinomal logit analysis. We found that consumers who are younger and more educated and those with young children tend to be willing to pay more for locally produced apples, avocados and pears. The paper concludes with a discussion on the implications of the research for advancing efforts to localize food systems in developing countries and opportunities for future research.

The relationship between diversification and labor productivity is a pressing issue for diversified farming systems (DFS), which must compete with the high labor productivity of specialized and mechanized industrial farming systems. Synergies between multiple production systems represent an alternative pathway for enhancing labor productivity, contrasting with the economies of scale achieved by industrial farming. Facing a lack of technical and institutional support for managing diversified systems, DFS turn to grassroots agroecological networks for support. Permaculture is a grassroots network with an emphasis on diversified production that—despite its international scope and high public profile—has received little scholarly attention. In this exploratory study we assessed the relationship between diversification, labor productivity and involvement with permaculture, using data from 196 enterprises (i.e., distinct sources of income or aspects of a farm business) on 36 permaculture farms in the USA. We characterized diversification in two ways: by income at the level of the whole farm, and by labor for production enterprises only. By fitting a multilevel model of labor productivity (enterprises nested within farms) we assessed the evidence for synergies in production, i.e., positive relationships between diversification and returns to labor. Results indicated that both production diversity and level of involvement in the permaculture network had significant positive effects on labor productivity. This effect disappeared, however, when both diversity and participation were at their highest levels. Results also indicate that high levels of diversification shift tree crops from the lowest labor productivity of any type of production enterprise to the highest. Through this first ever (to our knowledge) systematic investigation of permaculture farms, our results provide support for the presence of production synergies in DFS, and for the role of permaculture in helping farmers achieve these synergies.

The demand for organic foods is increasing globally, but a key limiting factor to the production of organic greenhouse produce is the lack of certified liquid fertilizers. In this experiment, four organic fertilizers were produced using either acidic extraction, anaerobic digestion or both of ensiled biomass of organic red clover and white mustard. The resulting fertilizers were applied to greenhouse-grown parsley either alone, or in combination with nitrogen (N)-enriched water produced by flushing acidic water with ammonia, to determine their effect on plant growth and the nutrient concentrations of parsley. Six combinations of fertilizer treatments were included in the greenhouse experiment. Three treatments received either fertilizers derived from acidic extraction, anaerobic digestion or both and three treatments received fertilizers derived from acidic extraction combined with N-enriched water. Conventional inorganic liquid fertilizer, chicken manure extract and no liquid fertilizer (only water) were added as control treatments. A higher N-min (ammonium and nitrate) to potassium (K) ratio was found in fertilizers after anaerobic digestion compared to acidic extraction. All organic fertigation treatments resulted in high pH, high K and chloride concentrations and high NH4/NO3 ratios in the root zone. In addition, high electrical conductivity (EC), P, K and Mg concentrations were found when only acidic extracted fertilizers were applied. Application of plant-based organic fertilizers without amending with N-enriched water resulted in biomass yields that were 21–26% lower than the inorganic fertigation control. However, fertigation with chicken manure extract, or a combination of fertilizer derived from acidic extraction and N-enriched water, resulted in similar plant growth as inorganic fertilizer. The lower yield from fertilizer derived from acidic extraction was due to elevated EC levels in the growing medium. Our results suggest that yield of greenhouse-grown parsley using either organic fertilizers combined with N-enriched water or chicken manure extract is similar to conventional fertilizer.

The present study reviews previous published estimates as to the scale of food waste in the USA and its ecological toll (e.g., in terms of methane emissions and water usage to support the production of wasted food). The review further discusses recent public policy and private action designed to curb food waste or to apply wasted food toward hunger alleviation, biofuel production and soil nourishment. We further consider and expand upon previous estimates comparing the scale of food waste to the present scale of the US hunger problem. These estimates suggest that the recovery and redirection of an additional 15% of the present stock of edible food waste would meet 35% of the caloric needs of all Americans living in a food insecure household or very low food security household. Then, a modest to moderate proportional increase in edible food waste recovery could greatly reduce the US hunger problem in its present state. We estimate that the successful redirection of 15% of presently-wasted (edible) food in the USA would be sufficient to fully sustain 18.45 million individuals. Given available data, we cannot precisely assess the nutritional characteristics of this potential stock of food. The present study emphasizes the traditional and future importance of integrated public policy and private action at the municipal level, as food waste is typically disposed of or recovered at this level.

As small- and medium-sized farms struggle to remain viable in a competitive global economy, the expanding specialty food industry provides a potential marketing opportunity. These farms raise many of the farm products that can become the key ingredients in value-added foods. Little research exists about processed specialty foods made from locally/regionally sourced ingredients produced by small- and medium-sized farms. This study investigates the benefits, barriers and challenges for small- and medium-sized farmers who want to sell products to specialty food manufacturers (SFMs). This paper analyzes 240 survey responses from dairy, meat, fruit/vegetable/nuts and grain specialty manufacturers and 60 in-depth interviews of these manufacturers and farmers in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington and Oregon. We found that almost half of the manufacturers surveyed source primary ingredients directly from farms or from their own farm. More than half of the farms that supply these key ingredients are small or medium-sized, indicating that many farms in this category are already successfully supplying SFMs with key ingredients. The key benefits manufacturers receive from working with these farms included quality assurance, trust, and traceability. Key obstacles to such farmer/manufacturer transactions are: cost, inability to meet volume requirements, unreliable supply and lack of year-round supply. The nature of relationships between manufacturers and farmers emerged as a theme that influences the success of small- and medium-sized farms as ingredient suppliers. Whether they were large or small, most manufacturers purchased their key ingredients from multiple suppliers in order to reduce their risk. Overall, we find evidence that the specialty food industry is an emerging market channel for small- and medium-sized farms. We also find that to be successful suppliers of SFMs, farmers need to have processes in place to ensure the quality of their products; provide the specific attributes the manufacturer requires for its ingredients and be willing to communicate frequently with the manufacturer.

Organic vegetable growers rely heavily on mechanical methods such as tillage and other forms of labor-intensive soil cultivation for weed management despite the negative effects to soil health associated with intensive soil disturbance. The use of cover crops and no-till (NT) vegetable production represents an alternative approach to weed control that can enhance rather than degrade soil health; however, there are challenges inherent with this practice and previous results in vegetable production have been mixed. Field experiments were conducted over 2 yr at the Clemson Student Organic Farm to examine the effects of tillage [NT versus conventional tillage (CT)] on weed development and management in organic tomato and summer squash production under different nitrogen (N) fertility regimes, and to assess soil N dynamics in both systems. Squash yields were similar between tillage treatments in both years. NT tomato yields were 43% greater than CT yields in 2014, whereas CT tomato yields were 46% greater than NT yields in 2015. Squash and tomato yields per unit of management labor (time) were significantly greater in NT compared with CT treatments for both years. There were no statistical differences in squash and tomato yields between N fertilization treatments in either year. Pre- and post-season soil N results were mixed. Pre-season soil N levels were significantly higher in NT tomato plots in 2014 but similar between tillage treatments in tomato plots in 2015 and in squash plots both years. Post-season soil N levels in tomato plots were similar between tillage treatments both years. Post-season soil N levels were significantly higher in NT squash plots in 2014 and in CT squash plots in 2015. Roller-crimped NT mulches provided adequate early-season weed suppression in both years and saved considerable weed management and seedbed preparation labor. Overall, the results demonstrated that organic NT is a viable method for reduced tillage summer vegetable production in the southeastern Piedmont region.

Control of cucurbit pests, such as striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum), spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi) and squash bug (Anasa tristis), in organic systems is difficult due to a lack of effective insecticide options. This has led to the development of many integrated pest management techniques, such as use of row covers, crop rotation and cover crops. This study explored the novel use of strip tillage and row covers to reduce pest pressure in summer squash (Cucurbita pepe) and muskmelon (Cucumis melo) production systems. Results showed that although strip tillage reduced striped cucumber beetle and squash bug numbers, there was a yield reduction in both crops compared with the plasticulture system. Row cover increased marketable yield in both systems, with the highest yield being in the plasticulture system. Unmarketable fruit directly attributed to insect damage was higher in the plasticulture systems, but was not significantly different when compared with the strip tillage system. Although there are many documented positive attributes of strip tillage, results from this study indicate that a combination of plasticulture and row cover may be a superior system for organic cucurbit production.