Organic Seed Alliance is pleased to invite the food and farming community of the Olympic Peninsula and neighboring counties to our local meet up. At this winter’s gathering, Dr. Micaela Colley, OSA’s former Research and Education co-director, will share histories and stories of some of the plant breeding projects that she co-led in the organization over the past 20 years. Colley will recount which crops were prioritized for local adaptation, why, and how they were developed in collaboration with working farms. She will describe the practices employed to improve these crops for production on the Olympic Peninsula, integrating plant breeding into working farms, and how the project goals focused on qualities desired by local farmers and eaters. Please join in this collaborative session bringing your own curiosity and seed experiences to share with our local farming community.
At this winter’s gathering we will also learn about recent, ongoing sweetpotato research and variety selection led by WSU for our region. WSU’s research project is focused on assessing if marketable sweet potatoes can be grown in northwest Washington. WSU is testing wireworm-resistant varieties and advanced breeding lines that are productive and address the issue of wireworms, a major pest on organic farms in the region. WSU Regional Small Farms Program’s Laurel Moulton is project lead for our Peninsula region. Lastly, we’ll hear some timely updates about the Seed Center Project, a local initiative led by OSA to provide equipment access to foster success of regional seed producers.
We hope that by the end of this event, local farmers, gardeners, seed businesses and food supporters will gain an appreciation for the historical knowledge and impacts of regional crop variety improvement by OSA with local farmers for the Olympic Peninsula. Find out how you could fit these gems into your own farm operation, your garden, or on your plate.
Dr. Colley is currently continuing her professional pathway in participatory plant breeding as assistant professor at WSU. Her collaboration with OSA will continue into the future, but this gathering offers an opportunity to hear directly from her a summary of the breeding work she coordinated for OSA for nearly two decades. Please also join us to wish her the best in all her new endeavors.
Attendees are welcome to bring food and beverages to share, potluck style.
This event is supported through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). TOPP is a program of the USDA Organic Transition Initiative and is administered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP).
