by Charles L. Mohler
The primary purpose of this manual is to help organic farmers plan crop rotations on land that is already being farmed organically. Nevertheless, a brief discussion of how to sequence crops during the transition from conventional to organic management may be useful for beginning organic farmers and those who are adding new land to their farms. Organic farms in the northeastern US usually begin either with land that has been actively farmed using conventional practices or with land that has been semi-fallow for several years (for example, an old hay field). In both cases, soil improvement and weed management are usually large challenges.