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Northeast Organic Wheat; an extension program for on-farm crop improvement in organic systems and local market partnerships

Northeast Organic Wheat; an extension program for on-farm crop improvement in organic systems and local market partnerships

Summary/Abstract

Summary

Rationale: Organic farmers in the Northeast have minimally benefited from the yield increases of modern wheat cultivars bred for conventional systems with agrochemical protectants, in weather and soil conditions vastly different from ours. Nutrition and flavor are not key traits in modern cultivars but are a primary concern for value-added organic markets. Although farmers are the original breeders, plant breeding is a lost art for today’s farmers. There are no public wheat breeders in New England.

Performance Target - Of 120 growers who participate in the program, 60 will trial new grain varieties on over 1,000 organic acres, resulting in increased yield, quality, sustainability and profit from improved genepools adapted to organic systems. Of the 60, at least 24 will trial and select grains, and use promising wheats as the basis of enhanced direct market partnerships with local bakers.

‘Northeast Organic Wheat’ will conduct a participatory organic wheat trialing and selection program to address Northeast growers' unmet needs for varieties adapted to our local conditions and markets. A working group of organic farmers, wheat breeders, extension, millers and bakers will identify goals, trial promising world-wide varieties, and select the superior wheat populations for traits contributing to yield, disease resistance and quality in organic systems. Criteria will include: height for weed competition, yield as measured by grain weight per plant, health as an indicator of resistance to local diseases and resilience to weather extremes. Flour will be evaluated for nutritional value, loaf volume and flavor.

This project will train farmers in the knowledge and practical skills of on-farm trialing and selection to re-invigorate superior landraces, to adapt diverse wheat populations to NE organic systems, to identify superior modern wheat varieties best adapted to organic systems, and to lay the foundation to develop new uniform varieties with consistent quality for artisan bakers. We will disseminate our methodologies, improved wheat genepools and results to researchers, cooperative extension, organic farmers, and foster regional market linkages with millers and bakers. This project represents a community-based approach to strengthen our NE regional grain supply.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Objectives

a) Core 18 member breeder-extension-farmer-baker team identify key selection goals, establish at least one experimental trial plot per state to increase genetic diversity using existing ‘composite-cross genepools’ that combine elite landraces genotypes crossed with superior modern cultivars,


b) Of 120 participating farmers, at least 60 are trained in on-farm wheat trialing and selection, and strengthen community seed networks by exchange of germplasm and practical breeding and wheat systems knowledge and skills.


c) 24 organic farmers establish strip-trials of promising varieties to screen on their own organic farms,


d.) 24 farmers, 12 artisan bakers and a laboratory cooperate in selecting for wheat quality by conducting flour quality and taste-tests.





Project Content Page

2008 Proposal

Project Number: LNE08-270
Type: Research and Education Project
Region: Northeast
SARE Grant: $162,845

Coordinator:
Eli Rogosa
PI
Northeast Organic Wheat
400 Adamsvile Rd.
Colrain, MA 01340
Phone: 413-624-0214
E-mail: growseed@yahoo.com
Website: http://growseed.org/now.html

Eli Rogosa
PI
Heritage Wheat Conservancy
400 Adamsville Rd
Colrain, MA 01340
Phone: (413) 624-0214
E-mail: growseed@yahoo.com
Website: http://growseed.org/now.html

Participants:
Jim  Amaral
Baker-trialer
Borealis Breads
182 Ocean Avenue
Portland , ME 04109
Phone: (207)541-9600
E-mail: jim@borealisbreads.com
Website: http://borealisbreads.com

Erik  Andrus
Grower/Baker
Good Companion Bakery/Boundbrook Farm
276 Burroughs Farm Road
Vergennes , VT 05491
Phone: (802)877-1396
E-mail: erik@goodcompanionbakery.com
Website: http://goodcompanionbakery.com

Patrick Bensen
Grower
Stony Brook Valley Farm
34 Carver St
Granby , MA 01033
Phone: (413)467-1658
E-mail: patrick@stonybrookvalleyfarm.com
Website: http://stonybrookvalleyfarm.com

Anders Borgen
Researcher-Cooperator
Agrocologia
Houvej 55
DK-9550 Mariagerm Denmark , AL 00000
Phone: (455)581-3518
E-mail: borgen@agrologica.dk
Website: http://agrologica.dk

Peter Collins
Maine Heritage Grain Conservancy
Organic Grain Farmer
Coastside Research , PO BOX 151
Stonington , ME 04908
Phone: (207) 367-2297
E-mail: pcollin48@gmail.com
Website: http://

Andy  Dappollonio
Grower
Still River Farm
271 Love Ln
Coventry , CT 06238
Phone: (860)742-5717
E-mail: adappollonio@charter.net

Heather Darby
researcher - Associate Professor of Agronomy
UVM
278 S. Main Street
St Albans , VT 05478
Phone: (802)524-6501
E-mail: Heather.Darby@uvm.edu
Website: http://www.uvm.edu/extension/faculty/?Page=darby.html

Sylvia Davatz
Seedsaver Multiplier
Solstice Seed
106 Gilson Rd
Hartland , VT 05048
Phone: (802)436-3262
E-mail: sdav@valley.net

Adam Dole
Farmer
NESFI/White Oak Farm
275 Jackson St
Belchertown , MA 01007
Phone: (413)323-4531
E-mail: whiteoakgrains@gmail.com
Website: http://smallfarm.org

Elizabeth Dyck
Director
Organic Growers' Research and Information-Sharing Network (OGRIN)
1124 County Rd 38
Bainbridge , NY 13733
Phone: (607)895-6913
E-mail: edyck@ogrin.org
Website: http://ogrin.org

Alton Ernhart
Grower
Lighten Tree Farm
132 Andrew Haight Rd
Millbrook , NY 12545
Phone: (845)677-9507

Mark Fulford
Grower - grain trialer
Teltane Farm
151 Stovepipe Alley
Monroe , ME 04951
Phone: (207)525-7761
E-mail: mark@teltane.com
Website: http://teltanefarm.com

Steve Hed
Grower
SIT Farm
Kipling Rd
Brattleboro , VT 05301
Phone: (802)451-8310
E-mail: jenhed@sover.net
Website: http://

Abdullah Jaradat
Supervisory Research Agronomist
USDA - ARS Morris MN
803 IOWA AVENUE
MORRIS , MN 56267
Phone: (320)589-3411
E-mail: Abdullah.Jaradat@ars.usda.gov
Website: http://www.ars.usda.gov/pandp/people/people.htm?personid=31097

Géza  Kovács
Former Director
Hungarian Cereal Genebank
Hungarian Academy of Sciences , Martonvásár
Hungary , AL 00000
E-mail: kovacsg@mail.mgki.hu
Website: http://mgki.hu/start.php?lang=en

Amber Lambke
Director
Kneading Conference
PO Box 2060 , 42 Court Street
Skowhegan , ME 04976
Phone: (207)629-7182
E-mail: amber@mainegrains.com
Website: http://mainegrains.com

John Lapp
Grower
Amish - White Deer
White Deer Rd
Watsontown , PA 17777

Cr Lawn
Lead Farmer/Administrator
Fedco Seeds
52 Mayflower Hill
Waterville , ME 04901
Phone: (207) 872-9093
E-mail: crlawn@fedcoseeds.com
Website: http://fedcoseeds.com

Ben Lester
Baker
Wheatberry Bakery
321 Main S
Amherst , MA 01002
Phone: (413)253-4290
E-mail: info@wheatberry.org
Website: http://www.wheatberry.org

Jacob L'Etoile
Grower
Four Star Farm
Pine Meadow Rd
Northfield , MA 01360
Phone: (413)498-4168
E-mail: jacob@fourstarfarms.com
Website: http://fourstarfarms.com

Klaas Martens
Grower - trials
Lakeview Farm
119 Hamilton Place , Box 361
Penn Yan , NY 14527
Phone: (315)531-1038
E-mail: mh@lakevieworganicgrain.com
Website: http://lakevieworganicgrain.com

John Melquist
baker - flour trials
Cedar Circle Farm
225 Pavillion Road
East Thedford , VT 05043
Phone: (802)785-4737
E-mail: trukenbrod@gmail.com
Website: http://growseed.org/trukenbrod.html

Kate Mendenhall
Director
NOFANY
249 Highland Ave
Rochester , NY 14620
Phone: (585)271-1952
E-mail: kate@nofany.org
Website: http://nofany.org

Thor Oechsner
Grower
OGRIN-Trials - Farmer Ground Flour
1045 Trumbulls Corners Rd
Newfield , NY 14867
Phone: (607)564-7701
E-mail: thorfarm@hotmail.com
Website: http://ogrin.org

Tevis Robertson-Goldberg
Farmer - Trialer
Crabapple Farm
PO Box 263 , 100 Bryant Street
Chesterfield , MA 01012
Phone: (413)296-0310
E-mail: crabapplefarm@verizon.net
Website: http://crabapplefarm.org

June  Russell
Special Project
NYC Green Market - GROW NY
51 Chambers Street , Rm 228
NYC , NY 10007
Phone: (212)788-7476
E-mail: jrussell@greenmarket.grownyc.org
Website: http://grownyc.org

Steffen Schneider
Biodynamic Farmer
Hawthorne Valley Farm
327 County Route 21C
Ghent , NY 12075
Phone: (518) 672-7500
E-mail: steffen@hawthornevalleyfarm.org
Website: http://hawthornevalleyfarm.org

Alan Schwartz
Gardener
276 Ames St
Lawrence , MA 01841
Phone: (978) 688-2878
E-mail: Alan.Schwartz@bostonhousing.org

Erick  Smith
OGRIN/Cayuga Pure Organics
18 Banks Rd
Brooktondale , NY 14817
Phone: (607)793-0085
E-mail: erick@cporganics.com
Website: http://cporganics.com

Dean Spaner
Researcher - Cooperator
University of Alberta
4-10 Agriculture Forestry Centre , University of Alberta
Edmonton AB T6G2P5 , MP 00000
Phone: (780)492-2328
E-mail: dean.spaner@ualberta.ca
Website: http://organicagcentre.ca/Researchers/dean_spaner.asp

Joel Steigman
Grower
Small Valley Milling
1188 Mountain House Road
Halifax , PA 17032
Phone: (717)362-9850
E-mail: steigman@epix.net
Website: http://smallvalleymilling.com

Nigel Tudor
Grower
Weatherbury Farms
1061 Sugar Run Road
Avella , PA 15312
Phone: (724)587-3763
E-mail: info@weatherburyfarm.com
Website: http://weatherburyfarm.com

Arnie Volringer
Grower
NESFI/White Oak Farm
275 Jackson St
Belchertown , MA 01007
Phone: (413)323-4531
E-mail: info@smallfarm.org
Website: http://smallfarm.org

Matt Williams
Grower - grain trialer
Aurora Mills
408 Burton Rd.
Linneus , ME 04370
Phone: (207)521-0094
E-mail: auroramills@myfairpoint.net
This project and all associated reports and support materials were supported by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture- National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA). Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed within do not necessarily reflect the view of the SARE program or the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.