Vermont Food Grade Soybean Performance Trial Results

In 2009, the University of Vermont Extension continued their evaluation of organic food grade soybean varieties at two locations. The purpose of the program was to provide yield comparisons, growth characteristic observations, and bean quality evaluations of food grade soybeans in Vermont’s climate. Performance trials were established as replicated research trials in northern Vermont

Demonstration of earlier detection of Salmonella species from stool samples by using chromogenic media

Background: Salmonellosis is a worldwide public health issue and non-typhoid species are one of the most common causative agents of gastroenteritis in the western world.1 Typhoidal and Paratyphoidal salmonellae cause systemic syndromes characterised by sustained bacteraemia.2 Although the number of cases is under reported and therefore the incidence rates are underestimated,3 worldwide up to 1.3 billion non-typhoidal and an estimated 20 million typhoidal cases of Salmonella infection are reported annually.4,

Wheat Trials

In 2009, the University of Vermont Extension conducted winter and spring wheat variety trials at the Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh, Vermont. In addition, an heirloom spring wheat variety trial was planted in North Troy. This was the third year of the heirloom wheat project; its primary purpose is to increase the amount of heirloom wheat seed in the region, while at the same time assessing each cultivar’s growth and quality characteristics. Due to the increasing demand for locally grown cereal grains, many of the cereal trials focused on grains grown for a foodgrade market

Barley and Oat Trials

In 2009, the University of Vermont Extension established malting barley and oat variety trials at the Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh. Several local breweries and distilleries approached us about growing malting barley in the region. One of the interested distillers is located in Hardwick; therefore a second trial site for malting barley was established at High Mowing Seeds in Hardwick

Cover Crop Termination & Reduced Tillage Study

In 2010, the University of Vermont Extension conducted the second year of an experiment to evaluate the impact of cover crop termination and reduced tillage strategies on soil health, soil nitrogen dynamics, and corn silage yield and quality. The goal is to document the positive and negative aspects of each strategy so farmers can decide the best way to terminate cover crops and implement reduced tillage on their farm

Sunflower Variety Trial Report

Variety selection is one of the most important agronomic decisions that sunflower growers make about their crop each season, especially in Vermont where the relatively short growing season limits available choices. Sticking with a tried and true variety is often difficult because new varieties are released every year while familiar ones are discontinued, and seed companies release new traits that may or may not influence yield. To help area farmers make the best decisions, UVM Extension conducted replicated variety trials at Borderview Reseach Farm in Alburgh, VT during the 2010-growing season. The trial evaluated fourteen varieties with varying maturity dates, seed sizes, and trait information, as listed in table 2. All varieties are non-GMO hybrids. The varieties Croplan 306 and Croplan 3080 were not treated with a seed fungicide or insecticide. All others were treated with the CruiserMaxx treatment package, which contains Thiamethoxam (broad-spectrum insecticide), Azoxystrobin (fungicide), Fludioxonil (fungicide), and Mefenoxam (fungicide)

Spring Cereal Grain Forage Trials

In 2010, the University of Vermont Extension continued their research evaluating several organic annual forage models. Spring cereal grains such as oats, barley, triticale, wheat, and spelt could have the potential to provide high yield and quality feed for livestock. Spring grains are planted in mid to late April and can be harvested at various stages of development. The objective of this project was to evaluate yield and quality of spring grains harvested in the boot, milk, or soft dough stage. The overall goal of this project is to help organic dairy producers reduce their reliance on expensive concentrates through the production of a variety of high quality annul forages. In addition, we were interested in investigating the value of combining brassica forage with these cool season annuals

Warm Season Annual Forage Performance Trials

In 2010, the University of Vermont Extension continued their research to evaluate warm season annual forage systems. Warm season annual forages include grasses such as sorghum, sudangrass, sorghumsudangrass, Japanese millet, and pearl millet varieties. These grasses prefer the warmth of the summer months and generally thrive between June and August. Warm season annuals can be grazed or harvested for stored forage. Since warm season annuals thrive in hot weather they could supplement pasture during the summer slump. The summer slump is a period during the summer that cool season perennial grasses slow in growth and quality. The goal of this project was to evaluate the yield and quality of commercially available varieties of warm season annuals. In addition, we were interested in investigating the value of combining brassica forage with warm season annuals. The goal was to maximize forage yield and quality

Spring Wheat Planting Date Report

The localvore movement has revived otherwise historical crops in Vermont, including small-scale grain production. As the demand for local organic wheat has risen over the last few years, University of Vermont Extension has developing best agronomic practices for wheat production in a Northeastern climate. In an organic system, weed management can be one of the biggest challenges. One strategy to manage weeds is to modify planting dates. Early planting dates can establish a crop prior to weed flushes while a late planted crop can help avoid some weed species. Planting date can also have an overall impact on both grain yield and quality. Certain crop varieties may also have characteristics (i.e. height) that can help to compete against weed populations. However, some varieties may respond better to earlier or later planting dates. Another struggle that Northeastern wheat farmers face is disease, most notably, Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), caused predominantly by Fusarium graminearum. This disease can cause yield loss, low test weight, low seed germination, and will produce mycotoxins. The primary mycotoxin produced by FHB is a vomitoxin called deoxynivalenol (DON). Spores are usually transmitted by air currents and can infect plants at flowering through grain fill. One of the goals of this project was to evaluate if planting date will have an effect on the susceptible time period of flowering through grain fill, and in turn if it will influence mycotoxin presence and other quality factors in the harvested grain

Tineweeding Trials

In 2010, the University of Vermont Extension Crops and Soils Team conducted an evaluation of tineweeding as a weed management strategy in corn and sunflowers in Alburgh, VT. Tineweeding is a type of mechanical cultivation that is implemented early on in the field season (Figure 1). A tineweeder is a low cost and simple piece of equipment designed to disturb the root zones of weed seedlings while they are in the very delicate “white thread root” stage (Figure 2). This disturbance often results in weed seedling desiccation and death. Success of this practice is highly dependent on weather conditions at the time of weeding. Wet soils can prohibit the use of tineweeders when weeds are at the critical white thread stage