People
We are an interdisciplinary team built of university faculty, staff, students, cooperative extension and farmers. We work with extension partners across the project region to connect with farmers and build a growing network of farms that are performing trials, adapting and expanding their reduced tillage practices.
Our team includes:
Anusuya Rangarajan, Senior Extension Associate, Horticulture ar47@cornell.edu |
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Ryan Maher, Research and Extension Specialist, Horticulture ryan.maher@cornell.edu |
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Brian Caldwell, Research Specialist, Soil & Crop Sciences bac11@cornell.edu |
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Brad Rickard, Associate Professor, Applied Economics and Management Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management bjr83@cornell.edu |
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Meg McGrath, Associate Professor, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center - Riverhead, NY mtm3@cornell.edu |
Mark Hutton, Associate Professor, Vegetable Crops UME Cooperative Extension, Highmoor Farm - Monmouth, ME mhutton@umext.maine.edu |
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Mark Hutchinson, Extension Professor University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Know-Lincoln County Office - Waldoboro, ME mhutch@maine.edu |
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Eric Gallandt, Associate Professor, Weed Ecology and Management School of Food and Agriculture - Orono, ME gallandt@maine.edu |
Dan Brainard, Associate Professor, Horticulture brainar9@msu.edu |
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Zsofia Szendrei, Assistant Professor, Entomology szendrei@msu.edu |
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Vicki Morrone, MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, Organic Specialist for Organic Production sorrone@msu.edu |
Organic Grower Advisors
The organic reduced tillage project started with farmers. In winter 2015, we brought together eleven experienced vegetable farmers to outline the skills needed to adopt a reduced tillage farming system in a three-day intensive workshop. Each grower shared the knowledge and experience from their own approach to reduced tillage on their farm. Together, with help of a trained facilitator, they developed a list of the tasks that an organic farmer should consider to be successful in planning, implementing and evaluating reduced in vegetable systems. This workshop 1) built a working farmer team to create information-sharing relationships; 2) broadened researcher notions of the various approaches to RT; 3) provided an extension template for surveys, articles and fact sheets; and 4) provided farmer input for the design and implementation of field experiments.
Organic RT Grower Advisors:
- Jay Armour - Four Winds Farm - Gardiner, NY
- Rick Baruc, Seeds of Solidarity - Orange, MA
- Jean-Paul Courtens, Roxbury Farm - Kinderhook, NY
- Janaki Fisher-Merritt, Food Farm - Wrenshall, MN
- Rob Johanson - Goranson Farm - Dresden, ME
- Lou Johns (former owner) - Blue Heron Farm - Lodi, NY
- Susana Lein, Salamander Springs Farm - Berea, KY
- Jim Meyer, Cascadian Home Farm - Rockport, WA
- Rick Pedersen, Pedersen Farm - Seneca Castle, NY
- Lisa Turner, Laughing Stock Farm - Freeport, ME
- Tom Zilke - Zilke Vegetable Farm - Milan, MI
Funding
Current research and extension materials are based upon work that is supported by the NationalInstitute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number award # 2014-51300-22244.