• 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.

Update on submitting samples to our UVM Grains Lab -

2020 has truly been a year like no other, and we have been happy to be able to continue to provide quality grain testing services for our farming and culinary community near and far.

There will be no mail service on the UVM campus between December 21st and January 4th. Therefore, if you have samples that you need run before the end of 2020, please get them in the mail soon to make sure they arrive by Friday, December 18th.

Happy holidays and best wishes for 2020 from everyone at the UVM Grain Quality Testing Lab.

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.