• On-farm research and demonstration projects on a wide range of agronomic crops

    From small grains and corn to hops and oilseeds, 3,500+ experimental plots are established and evaluated annually, and results are shared through our  40 research reports per year.  

  • Industrial Hemp Project Crowdfunding Opportunity

    We began our industrial hemp research program in 2016 with the help of program donations – thank you! Interest in the crop and research-based guidance has continued to grow, and we need your help to keep this research project going. Our goal is to raise $25,000 specific for our Industrial Hemp Research Project to keep the research going and help our farmers succeed! Please help support our Hemp Research and visit our crowdfunding page today.

  • Through our on-farm field days, conferences, and other outreach efforts, our team spreads the word about our latest research results and practical on-farm guidance for implementing agronomic practices. Most importantly, we bring farmers together to foster farmer-to-farmer learning. View our Conferences and Events page to see current events as well as past webinars and event proceedings that were taped.

  • We provide hop, grain, and other growers with access to quick and easy lab assessments to monitor the quality and safety of their products before it is distributed to the marketplace through our Quality Testing Laboratory.

  • Interested in Trying Cover Crop Interseeding?

    NWCS recently received a grant to work with farmers to adopt cover crop seeding. We are seeking out interested farmers in the Champlain Valley and Northeast Kingdom. See our fact sheet and enrollment form (PDF).

  • In addition to conducting research on cover cropping, reduced tillage, and soil fertility practices, our NWCS team works directly with farmers on soil health and nutrient management strategies to improve farm profits while protecting our natural resources.

  • New - Thanks to new grant funding by USDA’s Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), current research on grass fed dairy production will be expanded to a larger geographic region and scope, addressing more of the key issues in grass-fed dairy production. Click here to read more about this Expanded grass-fed dairy production research project (PDF).

The University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program (NWCS) aims to provide the best and most relevant cropping information, both research-based and experiential, delivered in the most practical and understandable ways to Vermont farmers. The bulk of trials are conducted at Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh, Vermont.

In Honor of Erica E. Cummings

It is with great sadness that we write to let you know a beloved member of our team, Erica Cummings, passed away on Saturday, March 27, 2021. Erica was not only a colleague but a dear friend to our team and to those she worked with during her time at UVM. Erica joined the Northwest Crops and Soils (NWCS) Team in 2008 and immediately took on a leadership role in grain research and outreach. Under Heather’s leadership, she worked to develop and implement hundreds of research trials. She was proud of her work and was excited to share it with the farming community. Erica’s commitment went beyond just conducting the research, she was also a generous teacher and mentor, sharing the results of our work with farmers, scientists, students and other audiences interested in our projects.  Erica was a pillar on our Team, and it was hard to see her leave for a new opportunity at the end of the grain season of 2018.

Of her greatest gifts to our Team was her commitment to grains quality. If it wasn’t for Erica, there would be no UVM Cereal Grain Testing Laboratory. In honor of Erica, the lab that she established will be dedicated in her name as the E. E. Cummings Crop Testing Laboratory at the University of Vermont. We intend to honor Erica’s passion for agriculture and commitment to farmers by continuing to offer our research and services, knowing that she will still be there watching over us all, and remembering her beautiful smile, kindness and willingness to pitch in. Thank you, Erica!!

In honor of Erica, we have created a web page called In Honor of Erica E. Cummings.

Remembering Jack Lazor

Among the many gifts Jack gave to us and the world was cultivation. Cultivation of plants and animals to provide nutritious foods. Cultivation of knowledge through his teaching at UVM and beyond. And, perhaps most importantly, cultivation of relationships – bringing together people throughout the food system to find a common path to sustainability. Jack’s work to help found the Northern Grain Growers Association is an example of this cultivation. Bringing together not only farmers but bakers, millers, and buyers that he met through his business and travels – all with the common goal of feeding people healthy foods while healing the earth.

Through the Northern Grain Growers Association, there is a donation opportunity to the Northern Flint Corn Consortium in honor of Jack.

Click here to learn about donating to the Northern Flint Corn Consortium in honor of Jack. The primary goal of the Northern Flint Corn Consortium is to help increase food production among Indigenous people and to help them find ways to sustain it.  Education of students, participatory learning with the public, new connections, and new seeds for those who desire them.

 

Outcropping blog

Our Outcropping blog focuses on timely field crop updates - from first sightings of armyworm to grain quality testing, RAPs, and more.  View the blog and/or sign up to receive email alerts.

Hops blog

What's Hoppening is our blog focused on hop production in the Northeast.  Posts include timely production tips and alerts.  View the blog and/or sign up to receive email alerts.

 

Instructional videos

Our Instructional YouTube videos include over 90 videos from building a hop yard to planting dry beans to small-scale oilseed presses, as well as recordings of past webinars that have been offered such.