Measuring the Effect of Chickens on Insect Populations in Organic Specialty Crop Rotations

Karenna Peterson

Mentors: Dr. Kathleen Delate and Dr. Robert Turnbull

The introduction of livestock to organic rotations is an increasingly popular way to maintain crops and livestock simultaneously. For seven weeks of the summer, insect populations were collected from varying stages of crop rotation. Chickens were found to eat the beneficial insects required by organic systems to keep pest populations down.