Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
-
- Agriculture (87)
- Agricultural Economics (56)
- Physical Sciences and Mathematics (31)
- Environmental Sciences (28)
- Sustainability (22)
-
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (20)
- Sociology (15)
- Medicine and Health Sciences (14)
- Human Ecology (13)
- Place and Environment (12)
- Community Health (11)
- Geography (11)
- Mental and Social Health (11)
- Nature and Society Relations (11)
- Climate (10)
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (10)
- Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (10)
- Cell and Developmental Biology (8)
- Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (7)
- Neuroscience and Neurobiology (7)
- Cell Biology (6)
- Plant Sciences (5)
- Animal Sciences (4)
- Molecular Biology (4)
- Natural Resources Management and Policy (4)
- Biochemistry (3)
- Biology (3)
- Developmental Biology (3)
- Forest Sciences (3)
- Keyword
-
- Vermont (58)
- University of Vermont (53)
- Sustainable Agriculture (19)
- Resilient Communities (11)
- Agriculture (9)
-
- Climate Solutions (9)
- Climate change (7)
- Corn (7)
- Hemp (7)
- Cover crop (5)
- Hop (5)
- Adaptation (4)
- CBD (4)
- Hemp flower (4)
- Soybean (4)
- Food systems (3)
- Genomics (3)
- Zebrafish (3)
- Adolescence (2)
- Bovine (2)
- Cancer (2)
- Dairy (2)
- Decision making (2)
- Ecosystem services (2)
- FSMA (2)
- Fhb (2)
- Food security (2)
- Forages (2)
- Fusarium head blight (2)
- Health and Well-Being (2)
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 30 of 127
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Making Trees Count: Measurement And Reporting Of Agroforestry In Unfccc National Communications Of Non-Annex I Countries, Todd S. Rosenstock, Andreas Wilkes, Courtney Jallo, Nictor Namoi, Medha Bulusu, Marta Suber, Damaris Mboi, Rachmat Mulia, Elisabeth Simelton, Meryl Richards, Noel Gurwick, Eva Wollenberg
Making Trees Count: Measurement And Reporting Of Agroforestry In Unfccc National Communications Of Non-Annex I Countries, Todd S. Rosenstock, Andreas Wilkes, Courtney Jallo, Nictor Namoi, Medha Bulusu, Marta Suber, Damaris Mboi, Rachmat Mulia, Elisabeth Simelton, Meryl Richards, Noel Gurwick, Eva Wollenberg
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications
Agroforestry—the integration of trees with crops and livestock—generates many benefits directly relevant to the UNFCCC's Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture, including: (i) building resilience, (ii) increasing soil carbon and improving soil health, (iii) providing fodder and shade for sustainable livestock production and (iv) diversifying human diets and economic opportunities. Despite its significance to the climate agenda, agroforestry may not be included in measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems under the UNFCCC. Here we report on a first appraisal of how agroforestry is treated in national MRV systems under the UNFCCC. We examined national communications (NCs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) …
Functional Dissection Of The Chickpea (Cicer Arietinum L.) Stay-Green Phenotype Associated With Molecular Variation At An Ortholog Of Mendel’S I Gene For Cotyledon Color: Implications For Crop Production And Carotenoid Biofortification, Kaliamoorthy Sivasakthi, Edward Marques, Ng’Andwe Kalungwana, Noelia Carrasquilla-Garcia, Peter L. Chang, Emily M. Bergmann, Erika Bueno, Matilde Cordeiro, Syed Gul A.S. Sani, Sripada M. Udupa, Irshad A. Rather, Reyazul Rouf Mir, Vincent Vadez, George J. Vandemark, Pooran M. Gaur, Douglas R. Cook, Christine Boesch, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg, Jana Kholova, R. Varma Penmetsa
Functional Dissection Of The Chickpea (Cicer Arietinum L.) Stay-Green Phenotype Associated With Molecular Variation At An Ortholog Of Mendel’S I Gene For Cotyledon Color: Implications For Crop Production And Carotenoid Biofortification, Kaliamoorthy Sivasakthi, Edward Marques, Ng’Andwe Kalungwana, Noelia Carrasquilla-Garcia, Peter L. Chang, Emily M. Bergmann, Erika Bueno, Matilde Cordeiro, Syed Gul A.S. Sani, Sripada M. Udupa, Irshad A. Rather, Reyazul Rouf Mir, Vincent Vadez, George J. Vandemark, Pooran M. Gaur, Douglas R. Cook, Christine Boesch, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg, Jana Kholova, R. Varma Penmetsa
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
“Stay-green” crop phenotypes have been shown to impact drought tolerance and nutritional content of several crops. We aimed to genetically describe and functionally dissect the particular stay-green phenomenon found in chickpeas with a green cotyledon color of mature dry seed and investigate its potential use for improvement of chickpea environmental adaptations and nutritional value. We examined 40 stay-green accessions and a set of 29 BC2F4-5 stay-green introgression lines using a stay-green donor parent ICC 16340 and two Indian elite cultivars (KAK2, JGK1) as recurrent parents. Genetic studies of segregating populations indicated that the green cotyledon trait is controlled by a …
Genotype-Specific Effects Of Ericoid Mycorrhizae On Floral Traits And Reproduction In Vaccinium Corymbosum, Alison K. Brody, Benjamin Waterman, Taylor H. Ricketts, Allyson L. Degrassi, Jonathan B. González, Jeanne M. Harris, Leif L. Richardson
Genotype-Specific Effects Of Ericoid Mycorrhizae On Floral Traits And Reproduction In Vaccinium Corymbosum, Alison K. Brody, Benjamin Waterman, Taylor H. Ricketts, Allyson L. Degrassi, Jonathan B. González, Jeanne M. Harris, Leif L. Richardson
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications
American Journal of Botany is published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the Botanical Society of America. Premise: Most plants interact with mycorrhizal fungi and animal pollinators simultaneously. Yet, whether mycorrhizae affect traits important to pollination remains poorly understood and may depend on the match between host and fungal genotypes. Here, we examined how ericoid mycorrhizal fungi affected flowering phenology, floral traits, and reproductive success, among eight genotypes of highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum (Ericaceae). We asked three overarching questions: (1) Do genotypes differ in response to inoculation? (2) How does inoculation affect floral and flowering traits? (3) Are inoculated …
Bird Dispersal As A Pre-Adaptation For Domestication In Legumes: Insights For Neo-Domestication, Hester Brǿnnvik, Eric J. Von Wettberg
Bird Dispersal As A Pre-Adaptation For Domestication In Legumes: Insights For Neo-Domestication, Hester Brǿnnvik, Eric J. Von Wettberg
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Payment For Ecosystem Services: Incentives To Support Environmental Quality & Farming In Vermont, Stephen Posner, Taylor Ricketts, Eric Roy
Payment For Ecosystem Services: Incentives To Support Environmental Quality & Farming In Vermont, Stephen Posner, Taylor Ricketts, Eric Roy
Reports and Policy Briefs
Environmental quality is an ongoing concern in the Lake Champlain Basin. Vermont farmers are in a unique position to manage land in a way that maintains and improves environmental quality. A payment for ecosystem services (PES) program for Vermont would both support the economic vi- ability of Vermont farms and incentivize farmers to improve water quality and soil health. How- ever, conceptual and practical implementation challenges remain.
Us County-Level Agricultural Crop Production Typology, Courtney R. Hammond Wagner, Meredith T. Niles, Eric D. Roy
Us County-Level Agricultural Crop Production Typology, Courtney R. Hammond Wagner, Meredith T. Niles, Eric D. Roy
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
Objectives: Crop production is an important variable in social, economic and environmental analyses. There is an abundance of crop data available for the United States, but we lack a typology of county-level crop production that accounts for production similarities in counties across the country. We fill this gap with a county-level classification of crop production with ten mutually exclusive categories across the contiguous United States. Data description: To create the typology we ran a cluster analysis on acreage data for 21 key crops from the United States Department of Agriculture's 2012 Agricultural Census. Prior to clustering, we estimated undisclosed county …
Policy Options To Streamline The Carbon Market For Agricultural Nitrous Oxide Emissions, Meredith T. Niles, Hannah Waterhouse, Robert Parkhurst, Eileen L. Mclellan, Sara Kroopf
Policy Options To Streamline The Carbon Market For Agricultural Nitrous Oxide Emissions, Meredith T. Niles, Hannah Waterhouse, Robert Parkhurst, Eileen L. Mclellan, Sara Kroopf
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
The majority of emissions of nitrous oxide – a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) – are from agricultural sources, particularly nitrogen fertilizer applications. A growing focus on these emission sources has led to the development in the United States of GHG offset protocols that could enable payment to farmers for reducing fertilizer use or implementing other nitrogen management strategies. Despite the development of several protocols, the current regional scope is narrow, adoption by farmers is low, and policy implementation of protocols has a significant time lag. Here we utilize existing research and policy structures to propose an ‘umbrella’ approach for nitrogen …
Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs And Behaviors Regarding Fruits And Vegetables Among Cost-Offset Community-Supported Agriculture (Csa) Applicants, Purchasers, And A Comparison Sample, Karla L. Hanson, Leah C. Volpe, Jane Kolodinsky, Grace Hwang, Weiwei Wang, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Marilyn Sitaker, Eretii Timeon, Alice S. Ammerman, Rebecca A. Seguin
Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs And Behaviors Regarding Fruits And Vegetables Among Cost-Offset Community-Supported Agriculture (Csa) Applicants, Purchasers, And A Comparison Sample, Karla L. Hanson, Leah C. Volpe, Jane Kolodinsky, Grace Hwang, Weiwei Wang, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Marilyn Sitaker, Eretii Timeon, Alice S. Ammerman, Rebecca A. Seguin
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
Community-supported agriculture (CSA) participation has been associated with high fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, which may be due to better access to FV for CSA purchasers, or to positive knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (KAB) regarding healthy eating among CSA applicants. The objective of this study was to examine KAB and consumption, in association with application to a cost-offset CSA (CO-CSA) program, and with CO-CSA purchase among applicants. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of CO-CSA applicants and a comparison sample in August 2017. All respondents were English-reading adults with a child 2–12 years old and household income of < 185% of the federal poverty level. Among CO-CSA applicants, some were CO-CSA purchasers (n = 46) and some were not (n = 18). An online comparison sample met equivalent eligibility criteria, but had not participated in CSA for three years (n = 105). We compared CO-CSA applicants to the comparison sample, and compared purchasers and non-purchaser sub-groups, using Mann- Whitney U tests and chi-square analysis. CO-CSA applicants reported better knowledge, selfefficacy, home habits, and diet than the comparison sample. Among applicants, CO-CSA purchasers and non-purchasers had equivalent KAB, but children in purchaser households had higher FV consumption than in non-purchaser households (4.14 vs. 1.83 cups, P = 0.001). Future research should explore associations between CO-CSA participation and diet using experimental methods.
Population Genomic Analysis Of Mango (Mangifera Indica) Suggests A Complex History Of Domestication, Emily J. Warschefsky, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg
Population Genomic Analysis Of Mango (Mangifera Indica) Suggests A Complex History Of Domestication, Emily J. Warschefsky, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
Trust Humans have domesticated diverse species from across the plant kingdom, yet much of our foundational knowledge of domestication has come from studies investigating relatively few of the most important annual food crops. Here, we examine the impacts of domestication on genetic diversity in a tropical perennial fruit species, mango (Mangifera indica). We used restriction site associated DNA sequencing to generate genomic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from 106 mango cultivars from seven geographical regions along with 52 samples of closely related species and unidentified cultivars to identify centers of mango genetic diversity and examine how post-domestication dispersal shaped the …
2017 Maple Business Benchmark, Mark Cannella, Christopher Lindgren
2017 Maple Business Benchmark, Mark Cannella, Christopher Lindgren
UVM Extension Faculty Publications
The 2017 season followed the record-breaking crop of 2016. As the 2017 season approached, business owners remained apprehensive about bulk market prices. Rumors of strong crop inventories paired with softening prices continued to concern producers. The US tap count continues to grow but at a slightly slower rate than previous years. The most current maple statistics are available from the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS).
The 2017 Maple Business Benchmark is the fifth year of financial record analysis for a small group of commercial syrup producers. This report demonstrates key management and financial metrics …
A Review Of Determinants For Dairy Farmer Decision Making On Manure Management Strategies In High-Income Countries, Meredith T. Niles, Catherine Horner, Rajesh Chintala, Juan Tricarico
A Review Of Determinants For Dairy Farmer Decision Making On Manure Management Strategies In High-Income Countries, Meredith T. Niles, Catherine Horner, Rajesh Chintala, Juan Tricarico
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
The global dairy sector is a major source of human nutrition and farmer livelihoods, while also generating manure, an important nutrient for crop production, but one that must be managed to minimize environmental risk. Manure management - manure handling, processing, storage and application - is an important part of managing a dairy system. Rising awareness of environmental stewardship is increasing for dairy production that meets multiple sustainability goals. Importantly, a large body of research has identified a suite of potential manure management strategies (MMS) that can contribute to reduced environmental impact, and in some cases, provide additional benefits for farmers …
Uncharted Territory: Uvm Extension Data Visualization Needs Assessment, Sarah E. Lyman
Uncharted Territory: Uvm Extension Data Visualization Needs Assessment, Sarah E. Lyman
Food Systems Master's Project Reports
Graphical displays are more effective than textual information at summarizing large volumes of data, improving retention of information, and in persuading behavior change. UVM Extension uses data visualizations every day in its mission to transform academic research into practical recommendations for Vermonters, in topics ranging from nutrition to agriculture. But how are these graphics generated across an organization with more than 100 employees? How can data visualization help advance goals which range from analyzing research to demonstrating community impact? This paper presents the results of a Master’s project study into what tools and skills are already being used at UVM …
A Comparative Analysis Of Governance And Leadership In Agricultural Development Policy Networks, Jessica Rudnick, Meredith Niles, Mark Lubell, Laura Cramer
A Comparative Analysis Of Governance And Leadership In Agricultural Development Policy Networks, Jessica Rudnick, Meredith Niles, Mark Lubell, Laura Cramer
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
Agricultural development initiatives feature many public and private organizations working together across sectors and scales to pursue the goals of food security and climate resilience. Policy networks are considered a crucial ingredient for the learning and cooperation needed to effectively implement agricultural development projects and increase community resiliency, yet very little comparative empirical data has been collected to assess where and how these networks operate. We contribute to filling this gap by characterizing the governance and leadership patterns within agricultural development policy networks that connect organizations working on climate resilience and food security activities in 14 smallholder farming communities across …
Spatial Considerations For Implementing Two Direct-To-Consumer Food Models In Two States, Marilyn Sitaker, Jared T. Mcguirt, Weiwei Wang, Jane Kolodinsky, Rebecca A. Seguin
Spatial Considerations For Implementing Two Direct-To-Consumer Food Models In Two States, Marilyn Sitaker, Jared T. Mcguirt, Weiwei Wang, Jane Kolodinsky, Rebecca A. Seguin
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
To open new markets, some farmers have adapted direct-to-consumer (DTC) models, such as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), to reach new settings or audiences. We compared sociodemographic and geospatial contexts to farmers' experience with one of two DTC innovations: a cost-offset CSA for low-income families and food boxes distributed through rural convenience stores. We geocoded addresses of thirteen farms and DTC pickup sites in two U.S. states (Vermont and Washington) and calculated road network distances from pickup to supermarket, farmers' market, and farm. We compiled Census block-level demographic and transportation data, and compared it to postseason interviews to explore the effect …
Seeing Is Not Always Believing: Crop Loss And Climate Change Perceptions Among Farm Advisors, Meredith T. Niles, Sarah Wiener, Rachel E. Schattman, Gabrielle Roesch-Mcnally, Julian Reyes
Seeing Is Not Always Believing: Crop Loss And Climate Change Perceptions Among Farm Advisors, Meredith T. Niles, Sarah Wiener, Rachel E. Schattman, Gabrielle Roesch-Mcnally, Julian Reyes
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
As climate change is expected to significantly affect agricultural systems globally, agricultural farm advisors have been increasingly recognized as an important resource in helping farmers address these challenges. While there have been many studies exploring the climate change belief and risk perceptions as well as behaviors of both farmers and agricultural farm advisors, there are very few studies that have explored how these perceptions relate to actual climate impacts in agriculture. Here we couple survey data from United States Department of Agriculture farm service employees (n = 6, 514) with historical crop loss data across the United States to explore …
Non-Linear Regression Models For Time To Flowering In Wild Chickpea Combine Genetic And Climatic Factors, Konstantin Kozlov, Anupam Singh, Jens Berger, Eric Bishop-Von Wettberg, Abdullah Kahraman, Abdulkadir Aydogan, Douglas Cook, Sergey Nuzhdin, Maria Samsonova
Non-Linear Regression Models For Time To Flowering In Wild Chickpea Combine Genetic And Climatic Factors, Konstantin Kozlov, Anupam Singh, Jens Berger, Eric Bishop-Von Wettberg, Abdullah Kahraman, Abdulkadir Aydogan, Douglas Cook, Sergey Nuzhdin, Maria Samsonova
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
Background: Accurate prediction of crop flowering time is required for reaching maximal farm efficiency. Several models developed to accomplish this goal are based on deep knowledge of plant phenology, requiring large investment for every individual crop or new variety. Mathematical modeling can be used to make better use of more shallow data and to extract information from it with higher efficiency. Cultivars of chickpea, Cicer arietanum, are currently being improved by introgressing wild C. reticulatum biodiversity with very different flowering time requirements. More understanding is required for how flowering time will depend on environmental conditions in these cultivars developed by …
Flowering Resources Distract Pollinators From Crops: Model Predictions From Landscape Simulations, Charlie C. Nicholson, Taylor H. Ricketts, Insu Koh, Henrik G. Smith, Eric V. Lonsdorf, Ola Olsson
Flowering Resources Distract Pollinators From Crops: Model Predictions From Landscape Simulations, Charlie C. Nicholson, Taylor H. Ricketts, Insu Koh, Henrik G. Smith, Eric V. Lonsdorf, Ola Olsson
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications
Enhancing floral resources is a widely accepted strategy for supporting wild bees and promoting crop pollination. Planning effective enhancements can be informed with pollination service models, but these models should capture the behavioural and spatial dynamics of service-providing organisms. Model predictions, and hence management recommendations, are likely to be sensitive to these dynamics. We used two established models of pollinator foraging to investigate whether habitat enhancement improves crop visitation; whether this effect is influenced by pollinator foraging distance and landscape pattern; and whether behavioural detail improves model predictions. The more detailed central place foraging model better predicted variation in bee …
Food And Earth Systems: Priorities For Climate Change Adaptation And Mitigation For Agriculture And Food Systems, Ana Maria Loboguerrero, Bruce M. Campbell, Peter J.M. Cooper, James W. Hansen, Todd Rosenstock, Eva Wollenberg
Food And Earth Systems: Priorities For Climate Change Adaptation And Mitigation For Agriculture And Food Systems, Ana Maria Loboguerrero, Bruce M. Campbell, Peter J.M. Cooper, James W. Hansen, Todd Rosenstock, Eva Wollenberg
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications
Human activities and their relation with land, through agriculture and forestry, are significantly impacting Earth system functioning. Specifically, agriculture has increasingly become a key sector for adaptation and mitigation initiatives that address climate change and help ensure food security for a growing global population. Climate change and agricultural outcomes influence our ability to reach targets for at least seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. By 2015, 103 nations had committed themselves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, while 102 countries had prioritized agriculture in their adaptation agenda. Adaptation and mitigation actions within agriculture still receive insufficient support across …
Now I See: Photovisualization To Support Agricultural Climate Adaptation, Rachel E. Schattman, Stephanie Hurley, Martha Caswell
Now I See: Photovisualization To Support Agricultural Climate Adaptation, Rachel E. Schattman, Stephanie Hurley, Martha Caswell
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. To remain viable, agricultural producers will need to adapt to changing climatic conditions in coming decades. Agricultural advisers play an important role in helping producers decide to adopt appropriate adaptation practices. Photovisualizations have the potential to complement currently utilized outreach and education strategies. This research uses a focus group approach to explore (1) whether photovisualizations can aid in decision-making about climate change adaptation, and (2) what characteristics of photovisualizations are most effective at conveying spatial aspects of adaptation practices. We found that photovisualizations generate rich discussions about ecological and economic effects …
Does Household Capital Mediate The Uptake Of Agricultural Land, Crop, And Livestock Adaptations? Evidence From The Indo-Gangetic Plains (India), Sameer H. Shah, Courtney Hammond Wagner, Udita Sanga, Hogeun Park, Lia Helena Monteiro De Lima Demange, Carolina Gueiros, Meredith T. Niles
Does Household Capital Mediate The Uptake Of Agricultural Land, Crop, And Livestock Adaptations? Evidence From The Indo-Gangetic Plains (India), Sameer H. Shah, Courtney Hammond Wagner, Udita Sanga, Hogeun Park, Lia Helena Monteiro De Lima Demange, Carolina Gueiros, Meredith T. Niles
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
Farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains produce much of the wheat and rice grown in India. However, food production and millions of farm-based livelihoods in this region will continue to be adversely affected by hydro-climatic change and variation, reduced land productivity, and declining groundwater levels. Thus, agricultural adaptations are essential for protecting and improving upon intersecting goals of food security, poverty alleviation, and wellbeing. Household “capital” (e.g., natural, human, financial, physical, and social) is commonly cited as an indicator of livelihood adaptability and innovation. We develop a series of mediated structural equation models to empirically evaluate the validity of capital as …
Master’S Project: Vermont Town Forest Recreation Planning And Community Assistance Program: The Future Of Forest-Based Outdoor Recreation, Taylor M. Luneau
Master’S Project: Vermont Town Forest Recreation Planning And Community Assistance Program: The Future Of Forest-Based Outdoor Recreation, Taylor M. Luneau
Rubenstein School Masters Project Publications
The Vermont Town Forest Recreation Planning Community Assistance Program (VTFRP) was a comprehensive community planning process held in ten diverse towns across Vermont. Led by the Urban and Community Forestry Program and the SE Group, the VTFRP helped towns develop a vision for the future management of their forests through open house workshops, site visits, steering committee meetings, and community surveys. The process provided towns with a forest recreation planning toolkit and an individualized action-based forest stewardship and recreation plan. By analyzing data from the community surveys and open house activities across all ten towns, my project considered the recreation …
Vermont Organic Silage Corn Performance Trial, Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, John Bruce, Ivy Krezinski, Rory Malone
Vermont Organic Silage Corn Performance Trial, Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, John Bruce, Ivy Krezinski, Rory Malone
Northwest Crops & Soils Program
The University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program conducted an organic silage corn variety trial in 2019 to provide unbiased performance comparisons of commercially available varieties. With the expansion of the organic dairy industry in our region there is increased interest in organic corn silage production. To determine varieties that are best suited to this production system and our region’s climate, we evaluated 11 commercially available organic corn silage varieties. It is important to remember that the data presented are from a replicated research trial from only one location in Vermont and represent only one season. Crop performance …
Cool Season Annual Forage Mixtures Trial, Heather Darby, Rory Malone, Lindsey Ruhl, Sara Ziegler
Cool Season Annual Forage Mixtures Trial, Heather Darby, Rory Malone, Lindsey Ruhl, Sara Ziegler
Northwest Crops & Soils Program
In 2019, the University of Vermont Extension’s Northwest Crop and Soils Program evaluated the performance of cool season annuals for forage planted in mixtures and in monoculture. In the Northeast, cool season perennial grasses dominate pastures and hay meadows that farmers rely on. Often times during the fall months, the perennial pasture will decline in yield and quality. The addition of cool season annual forages into the grazing system during this time may help improve the quality and quantity of forage and potentially extend the grazing season. Recently, there has been a growing interest in utilizing multiple cool season forage …
Industrial Hemp Fertility Trial, Heather Darby, Rory Malone, John Bruce, Ivy Krezinski, Sara Ziegler
Industrial Hemp Fertility Trial, Heather Darby, Rory Malone, John Bruce, Ivy Krezinski, Sara Ziegler
Northwest Crops & Soils Program
Hemp is a non-psychoactive variety of cannabis sativa L. The crop is one of historical importance in the U.S. and reemerging in worldwide importance as manufacturers seek hemp as a renewable and sustainable resource for a wide variety of consumer and industrial products. The crop produces a valuable oilseed and oilseed meal. The fiber has high tensile strength and can be used to create cloth, rope, building materials, and even a form of plastic. For twenty years, U.S. manufacturers have been importing hemp from China, Eastern Europe, and Canada. Today, industrial hemp is re-emerging as a locally grown product …
Oilseed Meal Fertility Trial, Heather Darby, Rory Malone
Oilseed Meal Fertility Trial, Heather Darby, Rory Malone
Northwest Crops & Soils Program
Oilseed meal can provide a source of plant-derived nitrogen fertilizers. Agronomic research is needed to help farmers implement these alternative fertility sources. Seed meals are a high-protein byproduct of seed oil extraction from crops such as soybean, canola, sunflower, hemp, and peanut. While a byproduct, seed meals still retain nutrient value after oil extraction, and are high in protein. Hence, seed meals are often utilized as livestock feed. Seeds meals can also be used as organic soil amendments, and can act as organic fertility sources to farmers. In order to examine the efficacy of several seed meals as fertilizers, the …
Spring Wheat Crosses Trial, Heather Darby, Hillary Emick, Haley Jean, Ivy Krezinski, Rory Malone
Spring Wheat Crosses Trial, Heather Darby, Hillary Emick, Haley Jean, Ivy Krezinski, Rory Malone
Northwest Crops & Soils Program
The goal of this project is to develop new spring wheat varieties that are suited for organic management in Northeast soils and climatic conditions. Most commercially available varieties are developed in regions with climates, soils, and management techniques that are very different from northern New England. These modern varieties are also genetically homogenous and inbred for uniformity, sometimes resulting in rapid breakdown of genetic resistance to local diseases.
Eight crosses were developed by Dr. Stephen Jones of Washington State University, including crosses of two varieties bred by famed Vermont botanist and wheat breeder, Cyrus Pringle. Of these varieties, a number …
Rye Variety Trial, Heather Darby, John Bruce, Haley Jean, Ivy Krezinski
Rye Variety Trial, Heather Darby, John Bruce, Haley Jean, Ivy Krezinski
Northwest Crops & Soils Program
The interest in growing cereal rye for grain to be sold as cover crop seed, or to other value-added markets (distillers and bakers), has increased considerably across the Northeast region. As a result, farmers and end-users are requesting yield and quality information on cereal rye varieties. In 2019, University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils (NWCS) Program conducted a variety trial to evaluate yield and quality of cereal rye. The varieties were Wren’s Abruzzi, Helltop, Bono, Merced, Dolero, Hazlet, Danko, Brassetto, ND Dylan, Huron, Musketeer, Aroostook, Guardian, Wheeler, and Spooner.
Milkweed Production Trials, Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, John Bruce, Ivy Krezinski, Lindsey Ruhl
Milkweed Production Trials, Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, John Bruce, Ivy Krezinski, Lindsey Ruhl
Northwest Crops & Soils Program
Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is a plant native to North America and has recently become the focus of conservation programs, as Milkweed is the sole food source for declining populations of Monarch butterfly larvae. Milkweed (Image 1) has long been a foe of agricultural operations and as a result, populations have been on the decline throughout the United States. To increase the abundance and scale of conservation plantings of milkweed, the Natural Resource and Conservation Service (NRCS) has developed an incentive program to compensate landowners for establishing perennial monarch habitat including planting milkweed. Landowners in northern Vermont have a …
Cover Crop Planting Date Trial, Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, Ivy Krezinski, Rory Malone
Cover Crop Planting Date Trial, Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, Ivy Krezinski, Rory Malone
Northwest Crops & Soils Program
Maintaining and improving soil health is critical to crop productivity. Cover cropping is one way to prevent soil erosion, maintain and/or improve soil nutrients, improve soil aggregation, prevent nutrient loss from runoff, and increase water retention. Such soil improvements can promote conditions that add resiliency to a crop, especially in light of extreme weather patterns that may affect yields. It can be challenging to grow a successful cover crop, given other demands from a farm operation and weather limitations. In this trial, our goals were to evaluate the effect of cover crop planting dates and cover crop mixes on biomass …
Modeling Agricultural Outcomes In A Warmer, Wetter Vermont, Rachel Mason
Modeling Agricultural Outcomes In A Warmer, Wetter Vermont, Rachel Mason
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
This thesis aimed to model agricultural outcomes that are important to Vermont dairy farms and their surrounding communities -- runoff, erosion, nitrogen and phosphorus losses, crop yields, and timeliness of farm operations -- under a set of possible future climates. The Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model was used for this work, and the models were calibrated using data from a project that measured most of these outcomes on a set of local farms. The model setup and calibration methodology is thoroughly documented and may be a useful starting point for others who are new to agricultural modeling.
Applied to two …