Organic Seed Alliance and Greenbank Farm have released a new variety trial report. The Greenbank Farm Organic Seed Project: 2015 Western Washington Trial Report is the result of on-farm variety trials conducted in 2014 and 2015 by organic farmers in Western Washington with technical advising support from both OSA and Greenbank Farm. The report includes descriptions of trial goals, trial methods, and trial result data of six on-farm variety trials conducted on four participating farms in Western Washington in 2015. Trials included varieties of tomatoes, dry pole beans, popcorn, radicchio, chicory, snap peas, and bush yellow snap beans.
On-farm trials are a valuable tool for farmers to learn first-hand how varieties grown under their specific environment and growing practices perform. A great deal of information can also be gained from sharing results with other farmers. In 2015, Greenbank Farm’s Organic Seed Project, in partnership with OSA, offered organic farmers in Western Washington the opportunity to conduct on-farm variety trials. Participating farmers selected the crop and varieties of their choice. They identified the trial goals, managed the trial, conducted all trial evaluations, and prepared written trial reports. Farmers were asked to share their results so performance data could be made available to other farmers in the region.
Funding for this project was provided by Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and Sustainable Path Foundation.
