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 |
 | Ryan Maher, Research and Extension Specialist, Horticulture ryan.maher@cornell.edu |
 | Brian Caldwell, Research Specialist, Soil & Crop Sciences bac11@cornell.edu |
 | Brad Rickard, Associate Professor, Applied Economics and Management Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management bjr83@cornell.edu |
 | 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 |
 | Mark Hutchinson, Extension Professor University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Know-Lincoln County Office – Waldoboro, ME mhutch@maine.edu |
 | 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 |
 | Zsofia Szendrei, Assistant Professor, Entomology szendrei@msu.edu |
 | 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.
