West Madison Ag Research Station

Learn the fundamental skills to maintain, develop and adapt seed varieties for your organic farm at this workshop hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Organic Seed Alliance. The workshop is presented as part of the Northern Organic Vegetable Improvement Collaborative (NOVIC), a farmer-researcher participatory network working to breed and test varieties in the northern tier for organic farms. Organic plant breeding specialist Dr. John Navazio and Professor Bill Tracy will discuss such topics as: the biology of seed, on-farm seed production basics, choosing appropriate seed crops for your system and climate, maintaining the genetic integrity of varieties with appropriate population sizes and isolation distances, conducting variety trials, and basic on-farm breeding techniques such as mass selection and progeny testing. NOVIC participants from UW will share regional NOVIC efforts and trial results. The event will take place at the University of Wisconsin West Madison Agricultural Research Station.

This workshop will be of interest to farmers who want to improve their success with saving seed for on-farm use as well as those seeking to breed their own varieties or grow seed on a larger scale.

This event is free but registration is required. Attendance will be limited to 30 participants. To register, please call, email, or write Alexandra Lyon. Please include the following information: your name and the names of any other people attending with you, the name of your farm, email address, mailing address and phone number. Lunch is included.

Alexandra Lyon
University of Wisconsin-Madison
308FAgricultural Hall
1450 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
ahlyon@wisc.edu
608-628-9637