Danish Barley Variety Trial

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the localvore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Many farmers are also interested in barley as a feed source for livestock. Barley is a high energy and protein source, similar to corn and wheat. The Northwest Crops and Soils Team have been growing out spring barley varieties that were originally obtained from a colleague in Denmark. Over the last three years, the goal has been to increase the small seed lots to better quantify performance. In 2013, we finally had enough seed to measure yield and quality of these specialty varieties

Maximizing Forage Yields in Corn Silage Systems with Winter Grains

Producing sufficient high quality forage on farms is becoming difficult given current economic and environmental pressures. Farmers are looking for strategies to improve yield and quality of their own forage to reduce the financial burden of purchasing feed off-farm. One strategy for accomplishing this is utilizing winter grains, such as rye, wheat and triticale, as forage crops. These crops could be grazed or harvested in the fall to extend the grazing season, and in the spring could provide early forage prior to planting corn silage. In the fall of 2015 the University of Vermont Northwest Crops and Soils Program initiated a trial investigating the integration of winter grains for forage into corn silage cropping systems

Winter Barley Variety Trial

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the localvore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Many farmers are also interested in barley as a high-energy concentrate source for their livestock. Depending on the variety, barley can be planted in either the spring or fall, and both two- and six-row barley can be used for malting. In 2011-2012, UVM Extension conducted a winter barley trial to evaluate the yield and quality of publicly available malting and feed barley varieties

Short Season Corn Silage Performance Trial Summary

Conducted by Dr. Heather Darby and the University of Vermont Northwest Crops and Soils Program Short season corn (80-97 day relative maturity) silage hybrids in Alburgh, VT Planting Date: 5/18/2017 Harvest Date: 9/20/201

Long Season Corn Silage Performance Trial Summary

Conducted by Dr. Heather Darby and the University of Vermont Northwest Crops and Soils Program Long season corn (96-110 day relative maturity) silage hybrids in Alburgh, VT Planting Date: 5/17/2017 Harvest Date: 9/26/201

Organic Spring Barley Variety Trial

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the locavore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in sourcing local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Depending on the variety, barley can be planted in either the spring or fall, and both two- and six-row barley can be used for malting. In 2015, UVM Extension in collaboration with the Uniform Eastern Spring Malting Barley Nursery (UESMBN), conducted a spring malting barley trial to evaluate yield and quality of 20 varieties

Winter Canola Soil Preparation x Fertility Timing Trial Dr. Heather

Although winter canola is a relatively new crop to the Northeast, it has the potential to be utilized in rotations to break pest and disease cycles or as an oilseed crop for high quality culinary oils or on-farm fuel production. Winter canola is planted in late summer as it overwinters and is harvested for seed the following year in early summer. Due to the very small size of the seed, it is also important to establish good seed-soil contact when planting to ensure proper germination. If planted too deep or with minimal soil contact, germination will be low resulting in poor stand and higher weed pressure potentially reducing yields. In addition, knowing when to apply fertilizer can be difficult as the crop’s lifecycle spans both fall and spring when manure and other fertilizers are typically added to fields. To help address these issues the UVM Extension Northwest Crop and Soil Program conducted a winter canola soil preparation and fertility timing trial in 2013-2014

Non-GMO Corn Silage Performance Trial Summary

Conducted by Dr. Heather Darby and the University of Vermont Northwest Crops and Soils Program Silage corn at Bridgeman View Farm, Franklin, Vermont Planting Date: 5/24/2017 Harvest Date: 10/18/201

Spring Barley Variety Trial

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the localvore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Many farmers are also interested in barley as a concentrate source for their livestock. Depending on the variety, barley can be planted in either the spring or fall. In 2012, UVM Extension conducted two spring barley trials to evaluate the yield and quality of publicly available malting and feed barley varieties