Titus Dairy and Organic Seed Alliance will host a variety trial field day to showcase the 2015 local organic silage corn variety trials. The field day will be held on Wednesday, September 30, 2015, at Titus Dairy in Ferndale, CA.
Field day participants can expect to learn about the goals and methods of the trial, how to conduct their own on-farm variety trials, and which trial varieties might perform best in the area.
Although silage corn is just a small part of the diet of local dairy cows, it is nonetheless an important local crop. Local silage producers face a couple challenges. First, the Ferndale area has a drastically different climate from the major corn producing areas. There are few varieties that are able to mature in the area because of the cool summers. Second, for the past decade or more, the major corn breeding companies have focused on releasing varieties with genetically engineered (GE) traits.
In order to provide coastal dairy farmers with better information about silage corn variety choices, Organic Seed Alliance conducted silage corn trials in 2014 and 2015. This is a rigorous, replicated trial of 12 promising non-GE silage corns. At the field day, researchers and farmers will be looking at yield, maturity, and silage quality. This research is being conducted in Ferndale in partnership with Titus Dairy, and supported by UCCE-Humboldt, CCOF, Columbia Foundation, and Gaia Fund.
Titus Dairy is located at 5601 Grizzly Bluff Road, Ferndale, CA, 95536. The event will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and is free and open to the public.
For additional questions, contact Jared Zystro at jared[at]seedalliance.org or (707) 957-4829.
