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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) Organic crop production and sustainable agriculture are the focus of a tour being held during the North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center’s annual field tours July 16.
The organic/sustainable agriculture program will begin at 9 a.m. with
registration, coffee and a welcome. Agronomy, horticulture and livestock tours
also will be held in the morning and afternoon. The morning tours will depart at
9:30 and run until noon. Other tours will start at 1 p.m.
Steve Zwinger, organic/forage researcher at the center, will lead the
organic/sustainability tour. Zwinger also will discuss the ancient grains
(emmer, einkorn, spelt and heritage wheat) variety trials.
The ancient grains project is part of a multistate specialty wheat research
project involving Pennsylvania State University and Cornell University.
Elizabeth Dyck, founder of OGRIN (Organic Growers’ Research and Information-
Sharing Network), will highlight the multistate efforts in response to consumer
demand for ancient grains.
Mike McMullen, NDSU oat breeder, will discuss how well oats fit into an organic
crop rotation and oat variety development for organic systems.
Byron Lannoye, Pulse USA, and Blaine Schmaltz, a Rugby area organic seed
producer, will present information on the progress in selecting field pea
varieties that perform well in organic systems.
Cow peas are a warm-season legume that work extremely well as a late-season
cover crop. Frank Kutka, Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society
(NPSAS), will speak on a North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research
and Extension (NCR-SARE) grant-funded project to develop cow pea varieties that
produce seed in northern climates. This project involves collaboration among the
NPSAS, NDSU, South Dakota State University and the University of Wisconsin.
Chiwan Lee, NDSU vegetable researcher, and Teresa Podoll, Prairie Road Organic
Seeds, will discuss NDSU vegetable research and the progress of the North Dakota
specialty block grant to do on-farm vegetable variety trials.
Anne Ongstad of Robinson and Rick Mittleider of Tappen will discuss organic
buckwheat production, on-farm variety trials, selection, development and seed
increase. This project is supported by a NCR-SARE farmer and rancher grant
(http://www.northcentralsare.org/Grants/Our-Grant-Programs).
The Carrington Research Extension Center is 3.5 miles north of Carrington on
U.S. Highway 281. For more information about the organic/sustainable ag program,
contact Zwinger or Karl Hoppe at (701) 652-2951 or email Zwinger at
steve.zwinger@ndsu.edu or Hoppe at karl.hoppe@ndsu.edu.