Efforts to build a regional seed system in the Southeast continue to gain momentum. OSA is partnering with organizations and universities on organic variety trials and educational events, and in developing strategic plans for the region.
OSA’s partnership with the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA) and Georgia Organics is resulting in a number of on-the-ground projects. For example, CFSA is in its second year of an organic broccoli variety trial. Both CFSA and Georgia Organics are also increasing the number of seed workshops at their annual conferences, and OSA will once again be teaching at the CFSA conference from November 10-12, 2014.
In addition, OSA along with project partners Cornell University, North Carolina State University, and Auburn University, are conducting variety trials on melons, squash, and cucumbers in North Carolina, New York, and Alabama. The project is funded through a grant from the USDA Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) and will go through the next two years. The variety trials support future breeding work to develop varieties resistant to Downy Mildew, Striped Cucumber Beetles, and viruses. Variety trials are being conducted at research stations and on organic farms in each state. A field day to share initial results of the trial will be held August 12, 2014, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville, North Carolina.
