• 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.

ARMYWORM ALERT! August 22, 2023

An armyworm outbreak has been reported in the Fairfax, Cambridge, and Jeffersonville area. The armyworms have been devastating grass and sorghum fields along route 104. Please don’t panic, but do go out and scout your corn and grass fields for armyworms. When full grown, the caterpillars can be almost 1.5 inches long. The caterpillars are usually greenish or brownish, but can be almost black. The sides and back of the caterpillar have light colored stripes running along the body. The caterpillars normally feed at night and much damage can occur before they mature. The preferred foods are grasses including corn, grains, and forage grasses. They will feed on other plants if grasses are unavailable. Feeding will start on the lower leaves and move upwards. A large population can strip an entire field in just a few days. When the field is eaten they “march’ to adjacent fields. Corn fields that are minimum or no-tilled into grass sod or fields infested with grass weeds are most susceptible.  For more information on scouting and control options please contact Dr. Heather Darby at the University of Vermont Extension at (802) 524-6501.

Help for recent flooding in Vermont

Vermont has been hit hard by this recent round of storms, as some know and have experience more closely than others. It has left a devastating mark on the agricultural landscape of our small state. As a Team (UVM Extension NWCS), we have always helped our community through difficult times and this will be no different! If you or a farmer in your community is in need, please contact Heather Darby at 802-782-6054 or 802-656-7610 or heather.darby@uvm.edu so that we can find ways to provide assistance.


Please see the factsheets below on managing flood damaged crops, forage, and corn.
Managing Damaged Crops and Forage (PDF)
Managing Damaged Corn (PDF)
Flood Damaged Forage Considerations: Documenting Damage, Cutting Losses, Avoid Compounding the Damage (PDF)
Mitigating Silt and Microbe Risks in Flooded Forages (PDF)
Managing Flooded Corn Silage at Harvest (PDF)


Additional flood related sites and resources can be found at: https://www.uvm.edu/extension/disaster-resources

 

  Inframatic 9500

NEW - The E.E. Cummings Crop Testing Laboratory has acquired a new grain analyzer! Thanks to a grant provided by the University of Vermont, we have upgraded from the original Perten Inframatic NIR, that we purchased when we opened the lab, to a new and improved Inframatic 9500. This NIR analyzes more grain types and provides more information about your samples. The Inframatic 9500 analyzes samples as whole grains rather than flour, so it is more important now than ever that samples are clean and free of debris to get accurate data. The sample submission and sample report forms will look a little bit different going forward. The submission form includes more grain types. It still asks customers to select wheat and barley sub-types and it is very important to identify these correctly for accurate analysis. The sample reports will now report protein and starch concentrations adjusted to 12% moisture content. There will be no changes in pricing for the NIR analysis. If you have any questions please contact our lab manager Hillary Emick at 802-656-5392 or hillary.emick@uvm.edu or uvmgrain@uvm.edu.

Thank you! 

We wanted to say thank you to You! We have all experienced a very different, challenging, and eye-opening past few years. We have all had to make changes, accommodations, and acceptances during this time as well. UVM Extension Northwest Crops & Soils Program has been able to continue with our projects and research trials, and we have continued to provide the information and research updates to you. We have appreciated the continued participation in the virtual events and webinars we have been able to provide. We have also started offering in-person and on-farm events this year! So once again, Thank You for your patience and continued interest in working with our NWCS Program!

Conferences and Events (current and past) – remember to always check out this webpage we maintain of our conferences and events – http://go.uvm.edu/conferences. In addition to current events listed, you can find past events with the webinars and/or presentations recorded and accessible to you to view. Most, if not all, of these recordings can also be found on our NWCS YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/cropsoilsvteam

2022 Research Reports – we have started posting research results from 2022. Please view the Research Results webpage for our most updated information on our research trials, as well as previous years of reports - https://www.uvm.edu/extension/nwcrops/research

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.

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.

 

Instructional videos

Our Instructional YouTube videos include over 100 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.

Questions?

Email us at cropsoil@uvm.edu or call our office at 802-524-6501.