
Organic Learning Hub
The home for all organic resources and publications that the UW Organic Collaborative creates
We’re always growing our resource database of original, UW-generated materials. If you’re looking for more comprehensive, curated resource lists beyond our own, there are some great compilations out there (organic grain, dairy, vegetable production, etc.). If you’re just looking for peer-reviewed journal articles, click the big red button below. Let us know if you’d like to see something that’s not here – peterman2@wisc.edu. Happy perusing!
Resource Roulette!
Check out a sample of some of the videos, publications, tools, etc. that we’ve made for you over the years.
Corn Christmas
Dr. Bill Tracy takes on a tour of his breeding pilots.
Roller Crimper
Dr. Erin Silva drops knowledge bombs.
CIOA
Colored carrots aren’t just for fun.

Plant Breeding
From GMO to straight up.
New Class
Go organic, dude!
Certification and Transition
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Organic Certification Checklist for Transitioning to Organic Grain Producers, (2019, 2 pp PDF) Harriet Behar, NOSB & OGRAIN
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- Farmers Speak: Organic Transition Farmers Daryl Hinderman, Jonathan Olson, Gary McDonald and Sandy Syburg share thoughts, YouTube video. 2020 (8 min)
- Turning problems into solutions: Farmer panel John Wepking, Meadowlark Organics, Thor Oeschner, Oeschner Farms, Jared Siverling, Siverling Centennial Farm, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference,(90 mins)
- Transitioning to organic grain production Jared Siverling, Siverling Century Farm,YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference (30 mins)
- Strategies for Transitioning to Organic Grain Crops, farmers Dan Coffman, Joel Layman and Jon Jovaag, YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference
- Organic Certification Basics, Harriet Behar, YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference
- Diversity Builds Resilience . Klaas Martens, YouTube video 2018 OGRAIN Conference
- Beginning Farmer Q&A, YouTube Video 2017 OGRAIN Winter Conference
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- Organic Certification Basics, Harriet Behar, NOSB Chair (pdf file of 2019 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Organic Transition Strategies, Jon Jovaag, Jovaag Family Farm (pdf file of 2019 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Bloodied, Battered & Still Farming:Organic Transition Stories, Joel Layman, J.D. Layman Farms (pdf file of 2019 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Organic Transition, Dan Coffman, Coffman Farm (pdf file of 2019 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Navigating Organic Regulations Harriet Behar, NOSB member (pdf file of 2018 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Transitioning to Organic Sandy Syburg, Purple Cow Organics (pdf file of 2018 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Transitioning to Organic Jared Siverling, Siverling Farm (pdf file of 2018 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Transition to Organic Grain Story Mark Doudlah (pdf file of 2018 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Getting Started in Small Grains Bruce Roskens, Grain Millers (pdf file of 2018 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
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Consumer Science
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- Silva, E.M., J. Klink, E. McKinney, J. Price, P. Deming, H. Rivedal, and J. Colquhoun. 2019. Attitudes of university campus dining customers towards sustainability-related food values. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. Firstview 1-6.
- Costa, S., Zepeda, L., and Sirieix, L. 2014. “Exploring the social value of organic food: A qualitative study in France” International Journal of Consumer Studies(38) no 3, 228-237. Published on line http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijcs.12100/abstract
- Zepeda, L., Sirieix, L., Pizarro, A., Corderre, F. and Rodine, F. “A conceptual framework for analyzing consumers’ food label preferences: An exploratory study of sustainability labels in France,Quebec, Spain and the US” International Journal of Consumer Studies(37) no 6, 605-616. Published on line July 19, 2013 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijcs.12041/abstract
- Zepeda, L. and Nie, C. “What are the odds of buying organic or local foods? Multivariate analysis of US food shopper lifestyle segments” Agricultural and Human Values. (29), no. 4, 2012: 467-480
- Nie, C. and L. Zepeda.“Lifestyle segmentation of US food shoppers to examine organic and local food consumption”Appetite. (57), 2011: 28-37.
- Zepeda, L. and D. Deal. “Organic and local food consumer behavior: Alphabet Theory” International Journal of Consumer Studies. September (33), no 5, 2009: 697-705. (downloaded over 700 times from IJCSin 2010).
- Li, J., L. Zepeda, and B. Gould. “The demand for organic food in the US: An empirical assessment” Journal of Food Distribution Research. November (38) no 3, 2007:54-69.
- Zepeda, L. and J. Li. “Characteristics of Organic Food Shoppers” Journal of Agriculture and Applied EconomicsApril (39) no 1, 2007:17-28.
- Zepeda, L. H.S. Chang and C. Leviten-Reid “Organic Food Demand: A Focus Group Study Involving Caucasian and African-American Shoppers” Agriculture and Human Values, Fall (23) no. 3, 2006: 385-394. http://www.springerlink.com/content/t736437303u84427/
- Chang, H.S. and L. Zepeda. “Consumer Perceptions and Demand for Organic Food in Australia: Focus Group Discussions” Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems.(20) no 3, 2005:155-167.[A version of the paper “Demand for Organic Food in Australia: Results froma Focus-Group Study” was presented by Chang at the 2004 FDRS Conference, Moro Bay, CA, 10-13 October 2004. The abstract was published as part of the proceedings in the Journal of Food Distribution Research(36) no. 1, 2005.]
- *Zepeda, L. “The US Organic Shopper” Proceedings, 16th IFOAM Organic World Conference, Modena, Italy, June 17-20, 2008
- Silva, E.M., F. Dong, P.D. Mitchell, and J. Hendrickson. 2014. Impact of marketing channels on perceptions of quality of life and profitability of Wisconsin’s organic vegetable farmers. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 30:428-438.
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Cover Crops
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- Silva, E.M. 2014. Management of five fall-sown cover crops for organic no-till production in the Upper Midwest. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 38:748-763.
- Silva, E.M. and L. Vereecke. 2019. Optimizing organic cover crop-based rotational tillage systems for early soybean growth. Organic Agriculture. Firstview 1-11.
- Silva, E.M. and K. Delate. 2017. A decade of progress in organic cover crop-based reduced tillage practices in the Upper Midwestern USA. Agriculture. 7:44.
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- Soybeans and Spring Planted Rye OGRAIN Fact Sheet 20-2 (2020, 5 page PDF)
- Research from Arlington Research Station on interseeding spring planted cereal rye into soybeans. Authored by Léa Vereecke, UW Madison Research Specialist.
- Cover crops on the intensive market farm
- This updated publication is meant to serve as a practical guide to using cover crops on small- to moderate-size fresh market vegetable operations. Cover crops are especially vital on organic vegetable farms. Organic growers rely on cover crops to build organic matter in the soil, provide nutrients to subsequent cash crops, help reduce weed pressure, and manage other pests. The recommendations in this report are appropriate for a certified organic grower.
- Fall-sown cover crops and weed suppression in organic small-scale vegetable production (CIAS research brief #99)
- A technique to control weeds with cover crops called Cover crop-based reduced tillage (CCBRT) is gaining traction on organic row crop farms. Could this technique work on small, organic diversified vegetable farms? A team of UW-Madison researchers undertook a two-year study to evaluate weed suppression, manual labor requirements and crop yield and quality under a CCBRT system in organic vegetable plantings. They found that cover crop mulch was effective in early season weed control but less so later in the season, and manual weeding time required in the cover crop treatment was not less than in the cultivated plots. Vegetable yields and quality varied by treatment, crop and year.
- Cover crops case studies: JenEhr Family Farm
- This case study presents the experience of a Wisconsin vegetable grower who has been growing cover crops for more than ten years. He describes his philosophy of cover crop use and offers his perspectives on what cover crop strategies have and have not worked on his farm, what benefits he receives from growing cover crops and how he manages these crops. Farmers and researchers can use this information as a starting point to explore how they might develop cover crop systems to fit their situations and meet their own goals.
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- Build fertility and provide N with cover crops (40 mins) Matt Ruark, UW-Madison, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Incorporating cover crops before, during and after cash crops (18 mins.) Megan Wallendall, Wallendal Farms.YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Incorporating cover crops before, during and after cash crops (41 mins.) Gary Zimmer, Otter Creek Farm. YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Legume Cover Crops for Organic Grains, Matt Ruark, University of Wisconsin, YouTube video 2018 OGRAIN Conference
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- Organic Farming: Cover Crops, Gary Zimmer, Otter Creek Farm (pdf file of 2019 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Incorporating Cover Crops Before, During, After Cash Crops, Megan Wallendal, Wallendal Farms (pdf file of 2019 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Green Manures Matt Ruark, U of WI, (pdf file of 2018 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
Dairy Science
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- Liang, D., F. Sun, M. Wattiaux, V. Cabrera, J. Hedtcke, and E.M. Silva. 2017. Effect of feeding strategies and cropping systems on greenhouse gases emission from Wisconsin certified organic dairy farms. Journal of Dairy Science. 7:5957-5973.
- Zegler, C.H., M.J. Renz, G.E. Brink, and M.D. Ruark. 2020. Assessing the importance of plant, soil, and management factors affecting potential milk production on organic pastures using regression tree analysis. Agric. Syst.180:102776.
- Kim, D., Stoddart, C.A. Rotz, K. Veltman, L. Chase, J. Cooper, P. Ingraham, R.C. Izaurralde, C.D. Jones, R.G. Gaillard, H.A. Aguirre-Villegas, R.A. Larson, M.D. Ruark, W. Salas, O. Jolliet, G.J. Thoma. 2019. Analysis of beneficial management practices to mitigate environmental impacts in dairy production systems around the Great Lakes. Agricult.Syst. 176:102660.
- Brock, Caroline and Bradford Barham, “Amish Dedication to Farming and Adoption of Organic Dairy Systems,” in Environmental, Agricultural and Food Ethics. ed. Jim Bingen et 3al. Kluwer Series, (2015).
- Caroline Brock and Bradford L. Barham, “’Milk is Milk: Organic Dairy AdoptionDecisions and Bounded Rationality”, Sustainability, 5, 12 (2013): 5416-5441; doi:10.3390/su5125416
- Caroline Brock and Bradford L. Barham, “Farm Structural Change of a Different Kind: Alternative Dairy Farms in Wisconsin – Graziers, Organic, and Amish,” Renewable Agriculture, 24, 1 (2009):25-37.
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- Organic Dairy Farms in Wisconsin: Prosperous, Modern, and Expansive
- Organic dairy farming in Wisconsin is experiencing rapid growth and capturing an increased share of the market. Although the organic dairy sector in Wisconsin is still relatively small, accounting for two percent of the state’s cows, Wisconsin is one of the nation’s top two producers of organic dairy products and home to the largest organic milk cooperative. The expectation of strong demand growth for organic milk products provides plenty of potential for continued expansion in organic dairy farming within the state. Yet, relatively little is known about how organic farms compare with other types of dairy operations in terms of the demographic characteristics of the farmers, size and structure of the farms, management practices and technologies utilized, their overall economic performance, and quality of life experiences.This report fills that knowledge gap by offering the first comprehensive, descriptive picture oforganic dairy farming in Wisconsin. It compares the results of a survey of organic dairy farmers in Wisconsin with a similar statewide sample of conventional and Management Intensive Rotational Grazing (MIRG) dairy farms. Data utilized in this report were collected by the UW-Program on Agricultural Technology studies from Wisconsin dairy farmers (Winter, 2003) and organic dairy farmers (Spring, 2004).
- How does organic management on dairy farms affect pastures and soils?
- Organic dairy farming is an important part of Wisconsin agriculture. Productive pastures play a critical role in supporting organic dairy farms because pasture is a required feed source for organic cattle in the U.S. The USDA Pasture Rule requires that organic cattle receive at least 30 percent of their dry matter intake from pasture during a grazing season that is at least 120 days long. UW-Madison researchers explored whether limitations on the inputs allowed in organic farming may result in differences in plant-soil dynamics compared to conventional dairy operations, necessitating different grazing techniques. They searched peer-reviewed scientific publications for evidence of differences between organic and conventional pastures and found relevant scientific literature to be scarce. Even when reviewing related articles outside of the Upper Midwest, mostly from New Zealand, the results were mixed.
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Education and Training
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- Silva, E.M. and G. Muller. 2013. Creating a Collaborative, Hands-on Program to Teach High School Students Organic Farming, HortTechnology 23:376‐381.
- Falk, C., E. Silva, and P. Pao. 2006. From the Classroom to the Community: An Integrated Method for Research and Teaching of Organic Production. Revista Mexicana de Agronegocios. 19:1-‐16. In English and Spanish.
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Entomology
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- Bruner, L., D.J. Eakes, G.J. Keever, J.W. Baier, C. Stuart Whitman, P.R. Knight, J.E. Altland, and E.M. Silva. 2008. Butterfly Feeding Preferences of Lantana camaraCultivars and Lantana montevidensis ‘Weeping Lavender’ in the Landscape and Nectar Characteristics. Journal of Environmental Horticulture 26(1):9–18.
- Silva, E.M., B. B. Dean, and L. K. Hiller. 2004. Patterns of floral nectar production of onion (Allium cepa L.) and the effects of environmental conditions. J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 129: 299-‐302.
- Keller, Alexander & McFrederick, Quinn & Dharampal, Prarthana & Steffan, Shawn & Danforth, Bryan & Leonhardt, Sara. (2020). (More than) Hitchhikers through the network: The shared microbiome of bees and flowers. Current Opinion in Insect Science. 10.1016/j.cois.2020.09.007 (PDF)
- Dharampal, Prarthana & Hetherington, Matthew & Steffan, Shawn. (2020). Microbes make the meal: oligolectic bees require microbes within their host pollen to thrive. Ecological Entomology. 45. 10.1111/een.12926. (PDF)
- Foye, Shane & Steffan, Shawn. (2020). A Rare, Recently Discovered Nematode, Oscheius onirici (Rhabditida: Rhabditidae), Kills Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) Within Fruit. Journal of economic entomology. 113. 10.1093/jee/toz365. (PDF)
- Foye, Shane & Steffan, Shawn. (2019). Two native Wisconsin nematodes represent virulent biocontrol agents in cranberries. Biological Control. 138. 104042. 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2019.104042. (PDF)
- Dharampal, Prarthana & Carlson, Caitlin & Currie, Cameron & Steffan, Shawn. (2019). Pollen-borne microbes shape bee fitness. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286. 20182894. 10.1098/rspb.2018.2894. (PDF)
- Steffan, Shawn & Singleton, Merritt & Draney, Michael & Chasen, Elissa & Johnson, Kyle. (2017). Arthropod Fauna Associated with Wild and Cultivated Cranberries in Wisconsin. Great Lakes Entomologist. 50. 98-110. (PDF)
- Ye, Weimin & Foye, Shane & MacGuidwin, Ann & Steffan, Shawn. (2017). Incidence of Oscheius onirici (Nematoda: Rhabditidae), a potentially entomopathogenic nematode from the marshlands of Wisconsin, USA. Journal of Nematology. 50. 9-26. 10.21307/jofnem-2018-004.
- Steffan, Shawn & Chasen, Elissa & Deutsch, Annie & Mafra-Neto, Agenor. (2017). Multi-Species Mating Disruption in Cranberries (Ericales: Ericaceae): Early Evidence Using a Flowable Emulsion. Journal of Insect Science. 17. 10.1093/jisesa/iex025.
- Mills, Nicholas & Jones, Vincent & Baker, Callie & Melton, Tawnee & Steffan, Shawn & Unruh, Thomas & Horton, David & Shearer, Peter & Amarasekare, Kaushalya & Milickzy, Eugene. (2016). Using plant volatile traps to estimate the diversity of natural enemy communities in orchard ecosystems. Biological Control. 102. 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2016.05.001.
- Steffan, Shawn & Chikaraishi, Yoshito & Horton, David & Miliczky, Eugene & Zalapa, Juan & Jones, Vincent & Ohkouchi, Naohiko. (2015). Beneficial or not? Decoding carnivore roles in plant protection. Biological Control. 91. 34-41. 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2015.07.002.
- Deutsch, Annie & Rodriguez-Saona, Cesar & Kyryczenko-Roth, Vera & Sojka, Jayne & Zalapa, Juan & Steffan, Shawn. (2014). Degree-Day Benchmarks for Sparganothis sulfureana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Development in Cranberries. Journal of Economic Entomology. 107. 2130-2136. 10.1603/EC14261.
- Jones, Vincent & Steffan, Shawn & Wiman, Nik & Horton, David & Miliczky, Eugene & Zhang, Qing-He & Baker, Callie. (2011). Evaluation of herbivore-induced plant volatiles for monitoring green lacewings in Washington apple orchards. Biological Control. 56. 98-105. 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2010.10.001.
- Silva, E.M., B. B. Dean, and L.K. Hiller. 2003. Honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) foraging in response to pre-conditioning with onion flower scent compounds. J. Econ. Entomol. 96(5): 1510-1513.
- Silva, E.M. and B. B. Dean. 2000. The effect of nectar composition and nectar concentration on honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) visitations to hybrid onion flowers. J. Econ. Entomol. 93(4): 1216-‐1221.
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- Biological control of insects and mites: An introduction to beneficial natural enemies and their use in pest management
- This colorful, richly illustrated booklet offers an introduction to beneficial natural enemies and their use in pest management (116 pages; 2008; reviewed in 2018).
- Managing Insects in the home vegetable garden
- Insect illustrations aid you in identifying garden pests. Descriptions of cultural, mechanical, and chemical control methods help you end present problems and prevent future infestations (20 pages).
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More beneficial insects through habitat enhancement (44 mins) Matt O’Neal, Iowa State University,YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
Other (Tools, presentations, networks, etc.)expand_more
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Farmers Markets
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- Trivette, S., Archambault, S., Morales, A. (2015). “Money Made at the Market: Sales at the Williamsburg Farmers Market – 2002-2014” Department of Urban and Regional Planning – Working Paper Series. (PDF)
- Morales, Alfonso (2011). “Marketplaces: Prospects for Social, Economic, and Political Development” Journal of Planning Literature 26: 3 originally published online 11 February 2011 (PDF)
- Morales, A. and Kettles, G (2009). “Healthy Food Outside: Farmers Markets, taco trucks, and sidewalk fruit vendors”. The Journal of Contemporary Health Law and Policy, Volume XXVI. (PDF)
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Other (Tools, presentations, networks, etc.)expand_more
- Farm 2 Facts
- Farm 2 Facts (F2F) is a farmers-market data collection toolkit backed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. F2F assists farmers markets and market managers in aggregating, interpreting, and reporting data that they’re likely collecting already. F2F helps markets hone their decision-making, communicate with stakeholders, and secure funding. The F2F team has a one-on-one relationship with every customer, and develops software based on client feedback.
Fertility
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- West, J.R., M.D. Ruark, A.J. Bussan, J.B. Colquhoun, and E.M. Silva. 2016. Organic nutrient and weed management on loamy sand soil under sweet corn production. Agronomy Journal. 108:758-769. doi:10.2134/agronj2015.0393
- West, J.R. Nitrogen and weed management for organic sweet corn production on loamy sand. Agron. J. 108:758-769.
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- Growing Nitrogen, Conserving Carbon, and Keeping the Ground Covered in Organic Systems (5:13) Submission to Tri-Societies meeting, 2016, produced by Anders Gurda
- Matt Ruark OGRAIN 2020 – Build fertility and provide N with cover crops (40:40)
- Farmers Speak: Organic Fertility Farmers Sandy Syburg, Gary McDonald and Paul Bickford share tips on managing fertility in organic systems. 2020 OGRAIN YouTube video (5 mins)
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Field Crops
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- Silva, E.M. and L. Vereecke. 2019. Optimizing organic cover crop-based rotational tillage systems for early soybean growth. Organic Agriculture. Firstview 1-11.
- Silva, E. M. and M. Tchamitchian. 2018. Long-term systems experiments and long-term agricultural research sites as tools in agroecological research and design. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 42:1-9.
- Kissing-Kucek, L., Santantonio, N., Gauch, H.G, Dawson, J.C., Mallory, E.B., Darby, H.M., Sorrells, M.E. 2019. Genotype by environment interactions and stability in organic wheat. Crop Science 58:1 (2019) doi: 10.2135/cropsci2018.02.0147.
- Kissing-Kucek, L., E. Dyck, J. Russell, L. Clark, J. Hamelman, S. Burns-Leader, S. Senders, J. Jones, D. Benscher, M. Davis, G. Roth, S. Zwinger, M.E. Sorrells and J.C. Dawson. 2017 Quality and sensory evaluation of northeastern wheats for artisanal bread, pasta and pastry. Journal of Cereal Science. 74: 19-27.
- Dawson, J.C., Serpolay, E., Giuliano, S., Galic, N., Schermann, N., Chable, V., and Goldringer, I. 2012 Multi-trait evolution of farmer varieties of bread wheat after cultivation in contrasting organic farming systems in Europe. Genetica 140: 1-17. doi: 10.1007/s10709-012-9646-9
- Dawson J.C., Huggins D.R., Jones S.S., 2008. Characterizing nitrogen use efficiency in natural and agricultural ecosystems to improve the performance of low input and organic agricultural systems. Field Crops Research 107: 89–101. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2008.01.001.
- Dawson, J.C., Murphy, K.M. and Jones, S.S. 2012. On-farm breeding for small grains. Northern Grain Growers Association News. No 12: Summer 2012. St. Albans, VT
- Hossard L, Archer DW, Bertrand M, Colnenne-David C, Debaeke P, Ernfors M, Jeuffroy MH, Munier-Jolain N, Nilsson C, Richard G, Sanford GR, Snapp SS, Jensen ES, Makowski D. 2016. A meta-analysis of maize and wheat yields in low-input vs. conventional and organic systems. Agronomy Journal. 108:1155–1167.
Printexpand_more
- No-Till Soybean Trial 2018 OGRAIN Fact Sheet 19-1 (2019, 11 page PDF)
- A description of 2018 research at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station, part of a larger organic no-till cropping systems trial. The trial had four different cover crops, a no-cover control, two planting strategies and three different planter closing wheels.
- Soybeans and Spring Planted Rye OGRAIN Fact Sheet 20-2 (2020, 5 page PDF)
- Research from Arlington Research Station on interseeding spring planted cereal rye into soybeans. Authored by Léa Vereecke, UW Madison Research Specialist.
- No-Till Soybean Trial 2017 OGRAIN Fact Sheet 18-1 (2018, 6 page PDF)
- A description of 2017 research at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station, part of a larger organic no-till cropping systems trial. In this work we compare performance of different small grains as cover crops, as well as different soybean planting dates and crimping timing.
- Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial (WICST) publications
- Reports, research summaries, and peer-reviewed articles from this long-term cropping systems trial going back to 1989
- Turning Grain Into Dough: Tutorial booklet on the financial aspects of transitioning to organic
- “The best description on transitioning to organic on the financial side I’ve ever seen” – Doug Alert, Ash Grove Farm, 25 years certified organic
- Presentations from OGRAIN Events
- PDF files of powerpoint presentations from OGRAIN conferences and events over the years
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- “Farmers Speak: Organic Grain”
- A short series of videos detailing organic grain farmer’s experiences and advice relating to transition, crop rotation, organic fertility, and relevant equipment
- 2020 Virtual Field Tours
- A nine-part series of short videos that take viewers out to the Arlington Ag Research Station to virtually tour the research plots with Dr. Erin Silva. Made during the COVID-19 Pandemic to keep the OGRAIN community involved in the work at UW
- 2020 OGRAIN Conference Presentations
- 25 recorded presentations from the 2020 OGRAIN Conference in Madison, WI
- 2019 OGRAIN Conference Presentations
- 32 recorded presentations from the 2020 OGRAIN Conference in Madison, WI
- 2018 OGRAIN Conference Presentations
- 11 recorded presentations from the 2020 OGRAIN Conference in Madison, WI
- The Art and Science of Cultivation
- A nine-part series featuring farmer and organic crop consultant Gary McDonald taking viewers through the principles, practices, strategies, and equipment used in successful weed control
- Cropping system strategies (66 mins) Joel Gruver, Western Illinois University, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Organic crop rotations (36 mins.) Dr. Joel Gruver, Western Illinois University. YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Organic crop rotations (23 mins.) Gary Zimmer, Otter Creek Farm. YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Hemp research: What we have learned (40 mins) Brian Luck, Léa Vereecke, UW-Madison,YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Keynote: Finding success with diverse small grains (44 mins) Thor Oeschner, Oeschner Farms, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Alternative small grains: Buckwheat (14 mins) Thor Oeschner, Oeschner Farms YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Alternative small grains: Winter wheat (14 mins) Lucia Gutierrez, UW-Madison YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Alternative small grains: Rye, winter wheat, spelt, open pollinated corn (9 mins) John Wepking, Meadowlark Organics YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Alternative grains: Kernza (13 mins) Valentin Picasso, UW-Madison, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Choosing the Right Varietal Traits for Organic Grains, Mac Ehrhardt, YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Unique Small Grains for Organic Food or Feed, Elia Romano and Klaas Martens, YouTube video 2018 OGRAIN Conference
- Integrating Livestock into a Cash Grain Operation, Jack Erisman, YouTube video 2018 OGRAIN Conference
- Organic Oat Production, Grain Millers, YouTube video 2017 OGRAIN Winter Conference
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- Food Safety Bites
- Food Safety Bites is a series of short podcasts covering practical food safety practices for farmers and farmworkers. We encourage you to review the entire series for full understanding of these complex issues.
- Into The Weed Podcast: Dr. Erin Silva talks no-till
Other (Tools, presentations, networks, etc.)expand_more
- Organic Grain Resource and Information Network (OGRAIN)
- The Organic Grain Resource and Information Network (OGRAIN) is an educational framework for developing organic grain production in the upper Midwest. OGRAIN resources include virtual events, field days, annual winter and summer intensives, written resources, an organic grain Resource List, and series of educational videos. The OGRAIN website offers access to these resources and more at https://ograin.cals.wisc.edu/.
- OGRAIN Compass
- OGRAIN Compass is a new and unique tool in the Compass library. In contrast to Veggie Compass and Livestock Compass, which are “backward-looking” tools to evaluate financial outcomes from the previous season, OGRAIN Compass is a forward-looking tool to help grain producers examine the financial outcome of converting to certified organic production.
- OGRAIN Community Map
- The OGRAIN Community Map connects you to organic farmers, processors, seed houses, input suppliers, consultants, support businesses, mills, buyers and more involved with the organic grain industry in the Upper Midwest and beyond.
- Organic Grain Resource List
- From grain buyers to seed providers to organic certifiers, a comprehensive list of all of the relevant resources available to midwestern organic grain farmers
Financial
Academic Articlesexpand_more
- Silva, E.M., R. Claypool, J. Munsch, J. Hendrickson, P. Mitchell, and J. Mills. 2014. Veggie Compass: A spreadsheet-based tool to calculate cost‐of‐production for diversified organic vegetable farmers. HortTechnology 24:394-402.
- Silva, E.M., F. Dong, P.D. Mitchell, and J. Hendrickson. 2014. Impact of marketing channels on perceptions of quality of life and profitability of Wisconsin’s organic vegetable farmers. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 30:428-438.
Printexpand_more
- Turning Grain Into Dough: Tutorial booklet on the financial aspects of transitioning to organic
- “The best description on transitioning to organic on the financial side I’ve ever seen” – Doug Alert, Ash Grove Farm, 25 years certified organic
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- Cultivating Profits Schedule F vs. Profitability Accounting (40 mins) John Hendrickson and Jim Munsch meet at a farm table to talk profitability and how to use the compass
- Guide financial decisions with the OGRAIN Compass (28 mins) John Hendrickson, UW-CIAS and Jim Munsch, Munsch Consulting, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- A farmer’s view of the OGRAIN Compass (14 mins) Doug Alert, Ash Grove Farm, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
Other (Tools, presentations, networks, etc.)expand_more
- Veggie Compass
- Veggie Compass is a farm management tool for diversified fresh market vegetable growers. Using cost, sales and labor data, the spreadsheet calculates the cost of production for each crop and the profitability of each market channel (e.g., CSA, farmers market, wholesale, retail). For example, a grower can learn if broccoli sales are more lucrative at farmers markets or through wholesale distributors. The tool can also be used to predict the financial impact of different farm scenarios for the future and to assess a farm’s financial progress over time. Such information can help farmers locate their efficiencies, set prices based on actual costs of production, and increase farm profits.
- Livestock Compass
- We had many requests from Veggie Compass users who also raise livestock for a similar tool to help them measure the profitability of their meat and egg enterprises. Like Veggie Compass, this tool will be most beneficial for farmers who raise multiple species and who sell their products in multiple market channels…and who are trying to parse out which products and which markets are most profitable. Any livestock producer will find the tool useful, however. Dairy farmers will need to wait for our forthcoming Pasture-Based Dairy Compass tool.
- OGRAIN Compass
- OGRAIN Compass is a new and unique tool in the Compass library. In contrast to Veggie Compass and Livestock Compass, which are “backward-looking” tools to evaluate financial outcomes from the previous season, OGRAIN Compass is a forward-looking tool to help grain producers examine the financial outcome of converting to certified organic production.
- Fruit and Nut Compass
- The long awaited and much anticipated Fruit and Nut Compass will be available soon. We do not have an exact release date at the current time but it should be available sometime in March, 2021. This new Compass tool will be the most sophisticated yet. As a result, its development has been a challenge, to say the least.
- Monthly Cash Flow Projection Template (excel) Compeer Financial
Fruit and Nut Crops
Academic Articlesexpand_more
- Foye, Shane & Steffan, Shawn. (2020). A Rare, Recently Discovered Nematode, Oscheius onirici (Rhabditida: Rhabditidae), Kills Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) Within Fruit. Journal of economic entomology. 113. 10.1093/jee/toz365. (PDF)
- Foye, Shane & Steffan, Shawn. (2019). Two native Wisconsin nematodes represent virulent biocontrol agents in cranberries. Biological Control. 138. 104042. 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2019.104042. (PDF)
- Steffan, Shawn & Singleton, Merritt & Draney, Michael & Chasen, Elissa & Johnson, Kyle. (2017). Arthropod Fauna Associated with Wild and Cultivated Cranberries in Wisconsin. Great Lakes Entomologist. 50. 98-110. (PDF)
- Ye, Weimin & Foye, Shane & MacGuidwin, Ann & Steffan, Shawn. (2017). Incidence of Oscheius onirici (Nematoda: Rhabditidae), a potentially entomopathogenic nematode from the marshlands of Wisconsin, USA. Journal of Nematology. 50. 9-26. 10.21307/jofnem-2018-004.
- Steffan, Shawn & Chasen, Elissa & Deutsch, Annie & Mafra-Neto, Agenor. (2017). Multi-Species Mating Disruption in Cranberries (Ericales: Ericaceae): Early Evidence Using a Flowable Emulsion. Journal of Insect Science. 17. 10.1093/jisesa/iex025.
- Mills, Nicholas & Jones, Vincent & Baker, Callie & Melton, Tawnee & Steffan, Shawn & Unruh, Thomas & Horton, David & Shearer, Peter & Amarasekare, Kaushalya & Milickzy, Eugene. (2016). Using plant volatile traps to estimate the diversity of natural enemy communities in orchard ecosystems. Biological Control. 102. 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2016.05.001.
- Deutsch, Annie & Rodriguez-Saona, Cesar & Kyryczenko-Roth, Vera & Sojka, Jayne & Zalapa, Juan & Steffan, Shawn. (2014). Degree-Day Benchmarks for Sparganothis sulfureana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Development in Cranberries. Journal of Economic Entomology. 107. 2130-2136. 10.1603/EC14261.
- Jones, Vincent & Steffan, Shawn & Wiman, Nik & Horton, David & Miliczky, Eugene & Zhang, Qing-He & Baker, Callie. (2011). Evaluation of herbivore-induced plant volatiles for monitoring green lacewings in Washington apple orchards. Biological Control. 56. 98-105. 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2010.10.001.
- Bradford L. Barham, Mercedez Callenes, Seth Gitter, Jessa Lewis, and Jeremy Weber, “Fair Trade/Organic Coffee, Rural Livelihoods, and the ‘Agrarian Question’: Southern Mexican Coffee Farmers in Transition,” World Development, 39, 1 (2011): 134-145.
Printexpand_more
- Growing Midwestern Tree Nut Businesses: Five Case Studies
- In order to address some of the challenges of forming a business for aggregating, processing and marketing tree nuts, the UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) conducted case study research of five midwestern tree nut businesses. The core activity of all of these businesses is to process a raw product—nuts in the shell—into a ready-to-eat food. The businesses in this study are based in Missouri, Michigan, Nebraska and Iowa, and the nuts they process include Chinese and hybrid chestnuts, black walnuts and pecans. Business structures include two cooperatives, a family corporation and two limited liability companies (LLCs).
- Overview of Organic Cranberry Production
- Organic cranberries are produced across the continent, with over 100 acres grown in Wisconsin. The major problems facing organic cranberry growers include weeds, insect pests, fruit rot and other fruit quality issues; but most significant is a 50% or more reduction in yield compared to conventional production. There is room for the organic cranberry market to expand, yet many growers who have tried it have given up because the price could not make up for the yield loss and costs associated with organic production. Research into improved fertilization techniques and varieties better suited to organic production could overcome the yield drop and improve the economic feasibility of organic production.
Videoexpand_more
Persistence: Midwestern Farmers and their Uncommon Crops (15 mins) A mini-documentary about growing uncommon fruit and nut crops in the Midwest. Produced by Anders Gurda at Windborne Media LLC.
Other (Tools, presentations, networks, etc.)expand_more
- Fruit and Nut Compass
- The long awaited and much anticipated Fruit and Nut Compass will be available soon. We do not have an exact release date at the current time but it should be available sometime in March, 2021. This new Compass tool will be the most sophisticated yet. As a result, its development has been a challenge, to say the least. This tool marks a departure of sorts from the Veggie and Livestock Compass tools. Those tools were built as “backward-looking” analytical tools. They provide a structure to enter data from a previous year and help a producer identify those products and markets that are profitable…and which are not. Veggie and Livestock Compass can then be used to identify solutions to make products or markets more profitable by cutting costs, raising prices, increasing yields, etc.
Livestock
Academic Articlesexpand_more
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Printexpand_more
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Videoexpand_more
- Mob Grazing video series
- 4-part series that follows mob graziers talking about the advantages, disadvantages, and implementation of mob grazing.
Other (Tools, presentations, networks, etc.)expand_more
- Livestock Compass
- We had many requests from Veggie Compass users who also raise livestock for a similar tool to help them measure the profitability of their meat and egg enterprises. Like Veggie Compass, this tool will be most beneficial for farmers who raise multiple species and who sell their products in multiple market channels…and who are trying to parse out which products and which markets are most profitable. Any livestock producer will find the tool useful, however. Dairy farmers will need to wait for our forthcoming Pasture-Based Dairy Compass tool.
- Integrating Livestock Into Cash Grain Jack Erisman,Goldmine Farm (pdf file of 2018 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
Marketing
Academic Articlesexpand_more
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Printexpand_more
- Contracting Tips Jody Padgham, OGRAIN, 2018
- Quick tip guide for organic organic grain farmers
Videoexpand_more
- Harvest and post harvest tips for long-term grain quality (58 mins) Thor Oeschner, Oeschner Farms, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Organic market options (42 mins) Anders Gurda, Pipeline Foods, Willie Hughes, Hughes Farms, Russell Coon, Organic Grain Exchange, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Marketing organic grains and row crops (8 mins.) Ryan Koorey, Mercaris. YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Marketing organic grains and row crops (8 mins.) Mike Schulist, NForganics.YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference
- Marketing organic grains and row crops (21 mins.) Ken Dallmier, Clarkson Grain.YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference
- Post Harvest Handling and Storage of Organic Grain, Craig Tomera, Grain Millers. YouTube video, 2018 OGRAIN Conference
- Marketing Organic Grains and Rotation Crops,Tim Boortz, NForganics, YouTube video, 2018 OGRAIN Conference
- Organic Grain Marketing Panel YouTube video 2017 OGRAIN Winter Conference
- Organic Grain Marketing Q&A YouTube video 2017 OGRAIN Winter Conference
Other (Tools, presentations, networks, etc.)expand_more
- Organic Grain Marketing Tim Boortz, NFO (pdf file of 2018 Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
No-till
Academic Articlesexpand_more
- Silva, E.M. and K. Delate. 2017. A decade of progress in organic cover crop-based reduced tillage practices in the Upper Midwestern USA. Agriculture. 7:44.
- Silva, E.M. and L. Vereecke. 2019. Optimizing organic cover crop-based rotational tillage systems for early soybean growth. Organic Agriculture. Firstview 1-11.
- Vincent-Caboud, L., J. Peigné, M. Casagrande, and E.M. Silva. 2017. Overview of organic cover crop – based no tillage technique in Europe: Farmers’ practices and research challenges. Agriculture. Agriculture. 7:42.
- Bietila, E., E.M Silva, A. Pfeiffer, and J. Colquhoun. 2016. Cover Crop-based No-Till Production Impacts Potato, Bell Pepper, and Snap Bean Production in Wisconsin. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 32:349-357.
- Silva, E.M. 2014. Management of five fall-sown cover crops for organic no-till production in the Upper Midwest. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 38:748-763.
Printexpand_more
- Organic Cover Crop-based rotational reduced-till production: making it work for Wisconsin farmers
- An overview of organic no-till soybean production for Midwestern growers
- Soybeans and Spring Planted Rye OGRAIN Fact Sheet 20-2 (2020, 5 page PDF)
- Research from Arlington Research Station on interseeding spring planted cereal rye into soybeans. Authored by Léa Vereecke, UW Madison Research Specialist.
- No-Till Soybean Trial 2018 OGRAIN Fact Sheet 19-1 (2019, 11 page PDF)
- A description of 2018 research at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station, part of a larger organic no-till cropping systems trial. The trial had four different cover crops, a no-cover control, two planting strategies and three different planter closing wheels.
- No-Till Soybean Trial 2017 OGRAIN Fact Sheet 18-1 (2018, 6 page PDF)
- A description of 2017 research at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station, part of a larger organic no-till cropping systems trial. In this work we compare performance of different small grains as cover crops, as well as different soybean planting dates and crimping timing.
Videoexpand_more
- Using a roller-crimper for no-till organic soybeans (2013)
- Advances using the roller-crimper for organic no-till in Wisconsin (2015)
- Using the roller-crimper system with early planted emerged organic soybean (2017)
- Early soybean planting into rye cover for organic no-till (2016)
- Organic no-till corn into cereal rye and hairy vetch cover crop (2020)
- Rye cover crop variety selection for organic no-till soybeans in Wisconsin (2016)
- Dr. Erin Silva and no-till farmer panel
- Organic no-till systems (23 mins) Léa Vereecke, UW-Madison, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Organic no-till systems (27 mins) Erin Silva, UW-Madison,YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Organic no-till, starting out right (37 mins.) Jeff Moyer (Rodale Institute) YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Organic no-till, starting out right (43 mins.) Dr. Erin Silva, UW Madison, YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Organic no-till, planting, mulching and termination (28 mins.) Lea Vereecke, UW-Madison.YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Organic no-till discussion (36 mins.) Jeff Moyer (Rodale Institute), Dr. Erin Silva, and Lea Vereecke (UW Madison).YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Organic no-till: lessons learned from research and on-farm experiences (10 mins.) Will Glazik, IDEA farm network. YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Organic no-till: lessons learned from research and on-farm experiences (9 mins.) Mark Klinski, Caledonia, MN. YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Organic no-till: lessons learned from research and on-farm experiences (10 mins.) Robert Mierau Caledonia, MN. YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Organic No-Till Production, Dr. Erin Silva, University of Wisconsin. YouTube video 2018 OGRAIN Conference
- 2017 UW Organic No-Till Research, Lea Vereecke. YouTube video 2018 OGRAIN Conference
Other (Tools, presentations, networks, etc.)expand_more
- Into the Weeds Podcast: Dr. Erin Silva, UW-Madison
- Organic No-till Soybeans Lea Vereecke, UW Organic Systems Lab (pdf file of 2019 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- No-till On-Farm Experience & Research Megan Wallendal, Wallendal Farms (pdf file of 2019 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- No-till Farmer Experience Bob Mierau, Mierau Farm (pdf file of 2019 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Organic No-till Equipment Joe Bassett, Underground Agriculture (pdf file of 2019 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- No-till in Organic Grains Erin Silva, Léa Vereecke, U of WI (pdf file of 2018 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
Plant Breeding
Academic Articlesexpand_more
- Lyon, A., E.M. Silva, M. Bell, and J. Zystro. 2015. Seed and Plant Breeding for Wisconsin’s Organic Vegetable Sector: Understanding Farmers’ Needs and Practices. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 39:601-624.
- De Oliveira Y, Burlot L, Dawson JC, Goldringer, I, Darkawi Madi, D, Rivire, P, Steinbach, D, van Frank G, and Thomas, M. 2020. SHiNeMaS: a web tool dedicated to seed lots history, phenotyping and cultural practices. Plant Methods. 2020;16(1). doi:10.1186/s13007-020-00640-2
- Corak, K.E., Ellison, S.L., Simon, P.W., Spooner, D.M. and Dawson, J.C. 2019. Comparison of representative and custom methods of generating core subsets of a carrot (Daucus carota) germplasm collection. Crop Science 59:1107-1121. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2018.09.0602.
- Healy, G.K. and J.C. Dawson. 2019. Plant breeding and social change: Perspectives from the Seed to Kitchen collaborative. Agriculture, Food and Human Value. DOI: 10.1007/s10460-019-09973-8
- Zystro, J. Colley, M. and Dawson. J.C. 2019. Alternative Experimental Designs for Plant Breeding. Plant Breeding Reviews 42: 87-117
- Kissing-Kucek, L., Santantonio, N., Gauch, H.G, Dawson, J.C., Mallory, E.B., Darby, H.M., Sorrells, M.E. 2019. Genotype by environment interactions and stability in organic wheat. Crop Science 58:1 (2019) doi: 10.2135/cropsci2018.02.0147.
- Ellison, S.L.*, Luby, C.H.*, Corak, K.E.*, Coe, K., Senalik, D., Iorizzo, M., Goldman, I.L., Simon, P.W., Dawson, J.C. 2018. Carotenoid Presence Is Associated with the Or Gene in Domesticated Carrot. Genetics 210:1497-1508. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.118.301299. Selected for the cover of the December 2018 issue. *These authors contributed equally to the publication
- Dawson, J.C. and Healy, G.K. 2018. Flavor Evaluation for Plant Breeders. Plant Breeding Reviews 41: 215-262.
- Kissing-Kucek, L., Santantonio, N., Gauch, H.G, Dawson, J.C., Mallory, E.B., Darby, H.M., Sorrells, M.E. 2018. Genotype by environment interactions and stability in organic wheat. Crop Science. First look August 28th. DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2018.02.0147.
- Dawson, J.C., Moore V.M. and Tracy, W.F. 2018. Establishing Best Practices for Germplasm Exchange, Intellectual Property Rights, and Revenue Return to Sustain Public Cultivar Development. Crop Science 58: 469-471.
- Kissing-Kucek, L., E. Dyck, J. Russell, L. Clark, J. Hamelman, S. Burns-Leader, S. Senders, J. Jones, D. Benscher, M. Davis, G. Roth, S. Zwinger, M.E. Sorrells and J.C. Dawson. 2017 Quality and sensory evaluation of northeastern wheats for artisanal bread, pasta and pastry. Journal of Cereal Science. 74: 19-27.
- Luby, C.H., Dawson, J.C. and Goldman, I. 2016 Assessment and Accessibility of Phenotypic and Genotypic Diversity of Carrot (Daucus carota L. var. sativus) Cultivars Commercially Available in the United States. PLOS One DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167865
- Jansky, S.H., Dawson, J.C., Spooner, D.M. 2015. How do we address the disconnect between genetic and morphological diversity in germplasm collections? American Journal of Botany. 102(8): 1213–1215.
- Rivière, P., Dawson, J.C., Goldringer, I., David, O. 2015. Hierarchical Bayesian modeling for flexible experiments in decentralized participatory plant breeding. Crop Science 55:1–15
- Chable, V., Dawson, J.C., Bocci R., and Goldringer, I. 2014. Seeds for Organic Agriculture: Development of Participatory Plant Breeding and Farmers’ Networks in France. Chapter 21 in S. Bellon, S. Penvern (eds.), Organic Farming, Prototype for Sustainable Agricultures, 383pp. DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7927-3_21, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
- Dawson, J.C., Jeffrey B. Endelman, Nicolas Heslot, José Crossa, Jesse Poland, Susanne Dreisigacker, Yann Manès, Mark E. Sorrells, Jean-Luc Jannink. 2013. The use of unbalanced historical data for genomic selection in an international wheat breeding program. Field Crops Research. 154 (2013) 12–22. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2013.07.020.
- Rivière, P., Goldringer, I., Berthellot, J.-F., Galic, N., Jouanne-Pin, S., DeKochko, P. and Dawson, J.C., 2013. Response to farmer mass selection in early generation progeny of bread wheat landrace crosses. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 30: 190-201 doi:10.1017/S1742170513000343.
- Dawson, J.C., Rivière, P., Berthellot, J.-F., Mercier, F., De Kochko, P., Galic, N., Pin, S., Serpolay, E., Thomas, M., Giuliano, S. and Goldringer, I. 2011. Collaborative plant breeding for organic agricultural systems in developed countries. Sustainability 3: 1206-1223 doi:10.3390/su3081206
- Serpolay, E., Dawson, J.C., Chable, V., Lammerts Van Bueren, E.T., Osman, A., Pino, S., Silveri, D. and Goldringer, I. 2011. Diversity of different farmer and modern wheat varieties cultivated in contrasting organic farming conditions in western Europe and implications for European seed and variety legislation. Organic Agriculture, 1, 127-145 doi: 10.1007/s13165-011-0011-6.
- Dawson, J.C., Murphy, K.M., Huggins, D.R. and Jones, S.S. 2011. Comparison of winter wheat genotypes selected under different nitrogen regimes for traits related to nitrogen use in an organic system. Organic Agriculture 1(2): 65-80. doi: 10.1007/s13165-011-0006-3.
- Dawson J.C., Goldberger J., 2008. Assessing farmer interest in participatory plant breeding: Who wants to work with scientists? Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 23: 177-187. doi: 10.1017/S1742170507002141.
- Dawson, J.C., Murphy, K.M. and Jones, S.S. 2012. On-farm breeding for small grains. Northern Grain Growers Association News. No 12: Summer 2012. St. Albans, VT
Printexpand_more
- Organic Vegetable Trials and Plant Breeding Needs Assessment and Strategy for National Collaboration
- In 2016 Julie Dawson at University of Wisconsin, Madison, Jim Myers at Oregon State University and Micaela Colley at Organic Seed Alliance wrote a grant to do an organic vegetable grower survey and a series of interviews with plant breeders and seed companies to better understand gaps in organic cultivar development, breeding priorities for im-portant crops and stakeholders’ visions for how a national trialing network could function. Responses to the surveys and interviews were compared to findings from previous meetings on similar topics held in the Pacific Northwest, Northeast, and Upper Midwest, to yield a more nuanced understanding of gaps in organic plant breeding and poten-tial for multi-regional collaboration in the future.The intent of this report is to summarize the survey and interview findings, and collate them with the findings of regional work focused on the Northeast, Midwest and Pacific Northwest. This report also summarizes the discussion from the summit, including suggested next steps for the organic vegetable breeding community.
- The Grower’s Guide to Conducting On-Farm Variety Trials
- On-farm variety trials help farmers manage risk by identifying optimal genetics for a grower’s unique environmental and market conditions. This guide provides farmers fundamental skills to conduct on-farm variety trials that reflect their particular goals and farming operations. Readers will find scientific principles presented in an accessible way, and will be walked though the process of planning, implementing, evaluating, and interpreting a variety trial. This tool is useful for farmers, as well as for research, extension, and non-profit programs looking to train farmers as co-researchers when conducting on-farm trials.
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Plant Pathology
Academic Articlesexpand_more
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Videoexpand_more
Management of diseases and mycotoxins in organic crop rotations (59 mins.) Gary Bergstrom, Cornell University. YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
Other (Tools, presentations, networks, etc.)expand_more
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Regional Food Systems
Academic Articlesexpand_more
- Morales, A. and Farnsworth, L. (2009). Satiating the Demand: Planning for alternative models of regional food distribution. Department of Urban and Regional Planning – Working Paper Series, 09-1, October. (PDF)
- Morales, A. and Loker, A. (2014). “Welcome to the Club! Food buying co-ops have potential to help increase food security for many”. Rural Cooperatives, January/February. (PDF)
- Skipper, Lihlani and Morales, Alfonso (2014). “The Right Blend: Fifth Season’s vegetable mixes help scale-up Wisconsin farm-to-school marketing program”. Rural Cooperatives, May/June (PDF)
- Lamine, C. and J.C. Dawson. 2018. The Agroecology of Food Systems: Reconnecting Agriculture, Food, and the Environment. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 42: 629-636, DOI: 10.1080/21683565.2018.1432517
Printexpand_more
- Values-based food supply chain case study: Full Circle
- Full Circle is an organic farm to table delivery service based in western Washington that grows, sources and distributes fresh produce to West Coast communities on a subscription basis. Full Circle delivers produce from California to Alaska and employs more than 250 people. Their original network of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members and farmers’ market and restaurant customers has grown to over 16,500 regular customers in four states. Products are sourced from 430 acres of certified organic land on the Full Circle Farm in Carnation, Washington, as well as from an expanding network of organic farms and distributors and artisan food producers from different growing regions.
- Values-based food supply chain case study: Home Grown Wisconsin Co-op
- Home Grown Wisconsin was a cooperative, multi-farm wholesale and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) food business founded in 1996 in south central Wisconsin. Home Grown Wisconsin successfully sold fresh produce to upscale restaurants and CSA customers in the Chicago area for more than 10 years. In 2009, after being significantly impacted by floods, a downturn in the economy and mounting overhead costs, the cooperative tried to shift to a 100 percent CSA business model. Unable to subscribe sufficient CSA members in the Chicago area that year, they could not cash flow the enterprise. In the spring of 2009, Home Grown Wisconsin closed its business operations and transferred its assets to a newly formed business that folded after several years of operation. The core farmers of Home Grown Wisconsin continue to farm and market their products, and several of them have been quite successful. While this case does not provide detailed information about the logistics and economics of Home Grown Wisconsin, it does illustrate some of the opportunities and challenges, internal and external, confronted by a small-scale, farmer-owned marketing cooperative.
- Values-based food supply chain case study: Organic Valley
- In 1988, a small group of organic vegetable growers in Wisconsin formed a cooperative to provide stable and fair prices to its members. With the addition of dairy farmer members and an explosion of consumer interest in organic dairy products, the dairy segment of the co-op grew rapidly. It evolved into Organic Valley, the largest organic, farmer-owned cooperative in North America. As of 2011, Organic Valley has over 1,600 total members in 34 states and the Canadian province of Ontario and more than $600 million in gross sales. Beyond providing economic stability to its members, Organic Valley seeks to achieve ambitious goals regarding ecological and economic sustainability, diversity, energy conservation, food quality and advancement of cooperative principles.
- Values-based food supply chain case study: Co-op Partners Warehouse
- Co-op Partners Warehouse was established in 1999 by the Wedge Natural Foods Co-op in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This certified organic wholesale distribution warehouse serves retail stores, food service businesses and buying clubs throughout the Upper Midwest. It is an important link between customers and suppliers of local produce, dairy products and other perishable foods. Because it is wholly owned by the Wedge, Co-op Partners Warehouse carries out the goals and vision of Wedge co-op members. In addition to seeking out efficiencies in sourcing, warehousing and distribution, Co-op Partners Warehouse takes a special interest in fostering markets for smaller scale growers.
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Reports
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- Organic Agriculture in Wisconsin: 2017 Status Report
- Thank you for your interest in the Organic Agriculture in Wisconsin: 2017 Status Report. This report provides details about trends, challenges and opportunities in organic agriculture. We hope that you will share our excitement for the growth potential and innovation in this sector of Wisconsin’s vibrant agricultural industry.
- Organic agriculture in Wisconsin: 2015 status report
- Organic Agriculture in Wisconsin: 2015 Status Report provides data on organic production, markets and farmer demographics. This report also includes a special section on organic grain, including possible strategies to increase organic grain production in our state.
- Organic Agriculture in Wisconsin: 2014 UW-Madison Research Report
- Organic agriculture research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the focus of a new report published by the UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. This report summarizes 23 studies conducted by researchers in the university’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) in partnership with farmers across the state. Those studies look at production practices for the state’s main agricultural products as well as farm management and marketing.
- Organic agriculture in Wisconsin: 2012 Status Report
- Wisconsin boasts the second largest number of organic farms in the U.S., ranks first among the states for the number of organic dairy and beef farms, and is third in the nation for organic vegetable farms. Organic Agriculture in Wisconsin: 2012 Status Report provides a wealth of information on the opportunities and challenges facing Wisconsin’s organic farms and processors.
- Organic Agriculture in Wisconsin: 2007 Status Report
- Wisconsin is well positioned to reap the benefits sown by our organic farmers, processors and other businesses. With continued support for and investment in organics, Wisconsin will remain a leader in organic agriculture. With a focus on organic dairy, this report describes production, processing and economic issues in organic agriculture. It also includes farm profiles, an update on the Wisconsin Organic Advisory Council, organic research projects at UW-Madison, and a list of resources and organizations for the organic industry.
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Soil Health
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Printexpand_more
- Biological Component of Soil Health OGRAIN Fact Sheet 20-1 (2020, 4 page PDF)
- Biological soil health largely focuses on the important roles that microbes (bacteria and fungi) play. There has been a huge push to understand the role of soil organisms in soil health and how to quantify it. Author: Miranda Sikora, Agroecology Program and Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- The biological component of soil health: measuring it and harnessing it
Videoexpand_more
- Farmers Speak: Organic Fertility Farmers Sandy Syburg, Gary McDonald and Paul Bickford share tips on managing fertility in organic systems. 2020 OGRAIN YouTube video (5 mins)
- Building Healthy Soil Microbial Communities Adria Fernandez, Univ of Minn., YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference (60 mins)
- Working with Macro-and Micro-nutrients in your Soil Gary Zimmer, Otter Creek Organic Farm, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference (60 mins)
- Understanding the Biological Component of Healthy Soils, Rick Lankau, assistant professor UW Madison and Teal Potter, UW Madison graduate student, YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference (1 hr 17 mins.)
- Soil Fertility in Organic Grain Cropping Systems, Mark Kopecky, YouTube Video 2017 OGRAIN Winter Conference
Other (Tools, presentations, networks, etc.)expand_more
- Understanding Soils Makes Us Excited About Organic, Gary Zimmer, Otter Creek Farm (pdf file of 2019 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
- Soil Fertility Jamie Patton, UW Extension (pdf file of 2018 OGRAIN Winter Conference powerpoint presentation)
Urban Farming
Academic Articlesexpand_more
- Covert, Matt and Morales, Alfonso (2014). “Formalizing City Farms: Conflict and Conciliation” from “The Informal American City: Beyond Taco Trucks and Day Labor” The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. (PDF)
- Pfeiffer, A.C., E.M. Silva, and J. Colquhoun. 2015. Living Mulch Cover Crops on Small Parcels for Weed Control in Urban and Small-Scale Applications. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 31:309-317.
- Pfeiffer, A., E. Silva, and J. Colquhoun. 2014. Innovation in urban agricultural practices: responding to diverse production environments. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 29:1-14.
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UW Meetings and Events
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Variety Trials
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- Lyon, A.H., W.F. Tracy, J. Zystro, and E.M. Silva. 2019. Using adaptability analysis in a participatory variety trial of organic vegetable crops. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. Firstview 1-17.
- Healy, G.K., B.J. Emerson and Dawson, J.C. 2017 Comparing tomato varieties for productivity and quality under organic hoop-house and open-field management. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. DOI 10.1017/S174217051600048X
- Kissing-Kucek, L., E. Dyck, J. Russell, L. Clark, J. Hamelman, S. Burns-Leader, S. Senders, J. Jones, D. Benscher, M. Davis, G. Roth, S. Zwinger, M.E. Sorrells and J.C. Dawson. 2017 Quality and sensory evaluation of northeastern wheats for artisanal bread, pasta and pastry. Journal of Cereal Science. 74: 19-27.
- Dawson, J.C., Serpolay, E., Giuliano, S., Galic, N., Schermann, N., Chable, V., and Goldringer, I. 2012 Multi-trait evolution of farmer varieties of bread wheat after cultivation in contrasting organic farming systems in Europe. Genetica 140: 1-17. doi: 10.1007/s10709-012-9646-9
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- The Seed-to-Kitchen Management Sheet
- This sheet allows growers to keep track of how they manage each trial, or each block of a trial. This is especially important for trails spanning multiple years.
- The Grower’s Guide to Conducting On-Farm Variety Trials
- On-farm variety trials help farmers manage risk by identifying optimal genetics for a grower’s unique environmental and market conditions. This guide provides farmers fundamental skills to conduct on-farm variety trials that reflect their particular goals and farming operations. Readers will find scientific principles presented in an accessible way, and will be walked though the process of planning, implementing, evaluating, and interpreting a variety trial. This tool is useful for farmers, as well as for research, extension, and non-profit programs looking to train farmers as co-researchers when conducting on-farm trials.
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- On Farm Variety Trials: Toolkit for risk management of organic and specialty crop producers
- The goal of this two-part webinar series is to provide horticultural crop and small grain growers with the skills and information necessary to conduct effective on-farm trials, and how to manage risk in crop variety and seed sourcing decisions. These webinars include updated methods for conducting simple on-farm trials, new perspectives from organic certifiers, and an introduction to a new, user-friendly online tool that helps growers manage and evaluate variety trial data. The webinar series is open to everyone but most appropriate for growers with at least two seasons of production experience. Prior to the webinar, participants are encouraged to review the newly published The Grower’s Guide to Conducting On-farm Variety Trials, which is available for free download at the link below on this page.
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Vegetable Crops
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- Weil, R., E.M. Silva, J. Hendrickson, and P.D. Mitchell. 2017. Time and technique studies for assessing labor productivity on diversified organic vegetable farms. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 7:129-148.
- Silva, E.M. and V.M. Moore. 2017. Cover Crops as an Agroecological Practice on Organic Vegetable Farms in Wisconsin, USA. Sustainability. 9:55-70.
- Silva, E.M., J. Hendrickson, P.D. Mitchell, and E. Bietila. 2016. From the Field: A Participatory Approach to Assess Labor Inputs on Organic Diversified Vegetable Farms in the Upper Midwestern United States. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. Firstview 1-6.
- Moore. V.M., P.D. Mitchell, and E.M. Silva. 2016. Cover Crop Adoption and Intensity on Wisconsin’s Organic Vegetable Farms. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 40:693-713.
- Bietila, E., E.M Silva, A. Pfeiffer, and J. Colquhoun. 2016. Cover Crop-based No-Till Production Impacts Potato, Bell Pepper, and Snap Bean Production in Wisconsin. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 32:349-357.
- West, J.R., M.D. Ruark, A.J. Bussan, J.B. Colquhoun, and E.M. Silva. 2016. Organic nutrient and weed management on loamy sand soil under sweet corn production. Agronomy Journal. 108:758-769. doi:10.2134/agronj2015.0393
- Pfeiffer, A.C., E.M. Silva, and J. Colquhoun. 2015. Living Mulch Cover Crops on Small Parcels for Weed Control in Urban and Small-Scale Applications. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 31:309-317.
- Lyon, A., E.M. Silva, M. Bell, and J. Zystro. 2015. Seed and Plant Breeding for Wisconsin’s Organic Vegetable Sector: Understanding Farmers’ Needs and Practices. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 39:601-624.
- Silva, E.M., F. Dong, P.D. Mitchell, and J. Hendrickson. 2014. Impact of marketing channels on perceptions of quality of life and profitability of Wisconsin’s organic vegetable farmers. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 30:428-438.
- Healy, G.K., B.J. Emerson and Dawson, J.C. 2017 Comparing tomato varieties for productivity and quality under organic hoop-house and open-field management. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. DOI 10.1017/S174217051600048X
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- Food Safety Bites
- Food Safety Bites is a series of short podcasts covering practical food safety practices for farmers and farmworkers. We encourage you to review the entire series for full understanding of these complex issues.
- Veggiecompass.com
- Compass Tools are free downloadable spreadsheets created at the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, University of Wisconsin-Madison. These tools help farmers actively manage for increased farm profits by helping them understand their cost of production, by product and by market channel. This enables farmers to make strategic decisions to adjust prices, reduce costs, shift market channel focus, reduce or drop unprofitable products, and expand production of their most profitable ventures.
- Seed-to-Kitchen Collaborative
- The Seed to Kitchen Collaborative connects plant breeders focused on organic systems to Wisconsin farmers and chefs, to create delicious, well-adapted vegetable varieties for local organic production. This collaboration presents a unique opportunity to focus on vegetable variety characteristics important to local food systems, such as flavor, fresh-market quality and agronomic performance on smaller-scale diversified farms.
Weed Control
Academic Articlesexpand_more
- West, J.R., M.D. Ruark, A.J. Bussan, J.B. Colquhoun, and E.M. Silva. 2016. Organic nutrient and weed management on loamy sand soil under sweet corn production. Agronomy Journal. 108:758-769. doi:10.2134/agronj2015.0393
- Pfeiffer, A.C., E.M. Silva, and J. Colquhoun. 2015. Living Mulch Cover Crops on Small Parcels for Weed Control in Urban and Small-Scale Applications. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 31:309-317.
- West, J.R. Nitrogen and weed management for organic sweet corn production on loamy sand. Agron. J. 108:758-769.
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- The Art and Science of Cultivation
- A nine-part series featuring farmer and organic crop consultant Gary McDonald taking viewers through the principles, practices, strategies, and equipment used in successful weed control
- Farmers Speak: Equipment Tour (14.43 mins) Join farmer Daryl Hinderman in a tour of his machinery row, discussing uses and management. 2020 OGRAIN YouTube video
- Farmers Speak: Crop Rotation (8.44 mins) Farmers Sandy Syburg, Paul Bickford, Daryl Hinderman, Jonathan Olson and Gary McDonald share crop rotation strategies. 2020 OGRAIN YouTube video
- Innovative weed management tools (13 mins) Brian Luck, UW-Madison, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Innovative weed management tools (18 mins) Loran Steinlage, Underground Agriculture,YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- New equipment technologies for row crop and cover crop management (14 mins.) Brian Luck, UW Madison.YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- New equipment technologies for row crop and cover crop management (19 mins.) Joe Bassett, Dawn Equipment. YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference
- New equipment technologies for row crop and cover crop management (18.4 mins.) Sam Hitchcock-Tilton, Lakeshore Technical College. YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Ag equipment technology discussion (14 mins.) Joe Bassett, (Dawn Equipment and Underground Agriculture) Sam Hitchcock-Tilton, (Lakeshore Technical College) and Brian Luck, (UW Madison.) YouTube video 2019 OGRAIN Conference.
- Organic Weed Control, Gary McDonald, YouTube Video 2017 OGRAIN Winter Conference
- Mechanical Weeding OGRAIN field day video, Arlington Research Station, 7/16/18
- Ecological weed management in organic systems (17 mins) Adam Davis, University of Illinois,YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
- Ecological management for tough weeds: Canada Thistle (23 mins) Dave Campbell, Lily Lake Farm, YouTube video 2020 OGRAIN Conference
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