Progress report for SNE20-012-RI
Project Information
Problem and Justification: Rhode Island farmers are always looking for new crops to diversify their farming operations. A University of Rhode Island researcher in the Plant Sciences Department has been researching saffron production at URI's Agronomy Farm since 2017. After twelve years of growing saffron in Iran and four years of saffron production in Rhode Island, he is ready to teach local farmers and Agricultural Service Providers (ASP) about growing, harvesting, processing, and marketing saffron. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world and could fit into the cropping cycle of many existing vegetable farms in RI. Small acreage is needed to grow saffron, so saffron could easily be grown on urban farms. Much interest has been generated by farmers and the general public about growing saffron in Rhode Island. Since Rhode Island farmers will be growing saffron starting in 2020, these farmers will need ASP to assist in their efforts.
Growing saffron is very different than growing most crops. Corms are planted in the summer, flower stigmas are harvested October to November, leaves continue growing until June, then plants are dormant through the summer until October. Plants are perennial and flowers can be harvested for up to six seasons. Growing saffron is much different than introducing a new type of vegetable or fruit to a farming operation.
Solution and Approach: A University researcher has science-based knowledge that needs extending into the farming community and to ASP. That's what Extension is all about. Ag Service Providers and farmers will learn how to grow, harvest, process, and market saffron in Rhode Island by attending 2 workshops, one conference, and visiting saffron fields at URI and commercial farms in RI. There are not many ASP in RI since it is so small (50 miles by 35 miles) so it's easy to communicate with all of Rhode Island's ASP. To get ASP to the saffron education opportunities, they will receive email notifications about workshops and the conference, and also get personal invitations by phone and separate, personal emails. Saffron production in Rhode Island has received a lot of media attention and ASP needs to learn about this new crop.
Six Agricultural Service providers will educate 25 growers in production practices, harvesting, processing, and selling saffron locally.
Agricultural Need:
Many RI farmers are interested in crop diversification to manage risk. Rhode Island's climate is well suited for producing saffron, the world's most expensive spice. Saffron sells wholesale for $5000 per pound and retail for $11,000 per pound. The US imports 37 tons of saffron per year, mostly from the Middle East, and the Northeast US is a major market for saffron. More than 100 Vermont growers have been growing saffron over the last several years, and more growers are experimenting with saffron each year. Vermont growers easily sell their saffron at farmers markets and farm stands. Rhode Islanders are expected to embrace locally produced saffron too.
A researcher at the University of Rhode Island, with 16 years of experience growing saffron in Iran and RI, wants to share his knowledge with farmers in RI. He has been successfully growing saffron in RI since 2017 and now is ready to introduce saffron production to RI farmers. The farming and general public has been notified about the possibility of producing saffron in RI at a 2018 URI vegetable twilight meeting with 35 growers in attendance, a 2019 article in the Providence Journal, and a 2019 Plant Pro segment on local television news that reaches 10,000 viewers. There is also an article in the Spring 2020 edition of the URI Alumni Magazine about saffron research at URI.
Saffron outreach has already generated interest in growing saffron locally. After the Providence Journal article, 18 people contacted URI wanting information on growing saffron. One Rhode Island farm has planted saffron corms and another farmer plans to plant corms in 2020. Once more publicity about saffron production reaches farmers and the general public we expect even more interest in producing saffron. New saffron growers will need technical assistance from ASP and currently no Rhode Island ASP know how to grow, harvest, process, or market saffron.
Proposed Solution:
To educate ASP about saffron production, they will attend half-day workshops and a full-day conference in RI on saffron over the three years of this project. Year one of the project will focus on growing saffron; year two will focus on harvesting and processing; and year three will focus on marketing saffron. Ag Service Providers will also visit URI's saffron fields at least once each year of the project. Ag Service Providers will also accompany URI Extension in visiting commercial fields of saffron recently planted in Rhode Island in year 2 and 3 of the project. A potential barrier to saffron production in Rhode Island is the intense need for labor during four crucial weeks in late October into November. Saffron flowers need to be harvested daily for 3-4 weeks and stigmas must be separated from flowers within 48 hours of harvesting. We will make farmers aware of this intense labor need and demonstrate that growing saffron can fit into their field production cycle. Many growers do not use season-extending high tunnels so their field production is finished by mid-October. Growing saffron can also help keep their staff employed for more weeks of the year.
Agricultural Service Provider Interest:
At a preliminary saffron meeting at URI in February, 2020, three Ag Service Providers expressed interest in attending workshops and conference about saffron production. Additional ASP will be recruited from URI, RI Farm Service Agency, NRCS, and Southside Community Land Trust, a non-profit organization in Providence, RI that owns or directly manages 21 urban community farms and gardens. Since a relatively small amount of acreage is needed to grow saffron, saffron production on urban farms is very appealing.
Advisors/Cooperators
- - Technical Advisor (Educator and Researcher)
- (Educator)
- - Producer
Educational Approach
Recruitment
Saffron is a very different crop than other vegetables and herbs currently grown in Rhode Island. Perennial saffron corms are planted in August, bloom October to November when stigmas are harvested, and continue growing leaves through the winter and into June when corms enter dormancy. Saffron fields can remain in production for up to six years. Since saffron is a new crop for Rhode Island ASP do not know how to grow saffron.
Agricultural Service Providers will be recruited from URI Cooperative Extension, RI USDA Farm Service Agency, and the non-profit organization Southside Community Landtrust. Farmers and ASP will hear about saffron production at the yearly Vegetable Twilight Meeting at URI's Agronomy Farm in September 2020, usually attended by 35 farmers and ASP. Agricultural Service Providers will also be recruited to participate in the project through workshop/conference promotional emails. Promotional emails will be followed up by personal phone calls or in person conversations, inviting ASP to the workshops and conference. Participating ASP will also be invited to visit the saffron plots at the URI Agronomy Farm. One Rhode Island farmer plans to plant saffron corms in 2020. Agricultural Service Providers will be invited to visit this commercial saffron field at various times during the three year project and also to any other farm that starts growing saffron in RI. A cohort of ASP are expected to participate for the entire project.
Education
Through this three year saffron project, ASP will participate in yearly farmer trainings provided by URI, accompany URI Extension workers to URI's saffron fields, and visit at least one commercial saffron grower's farm. Agricultural Service Providers will increase their knowledge on growing, harvesting, processing, and marketing saffron locally. With this new knowledge, ASP will be able offer technical assistance to RI saffron growers, or know where to turn to obtain proper technical assistance. Saffron is a new crop for Rhode Island, and ASP will need to be able to answer questions posed to them by established farmers, urban farmers, and beginning farmers.
During year one, a half-day classroom workshop will include an overview of saffron harvesting, processing, and marketing saffron, and focus primarily on growing saffron. Dr. Gheshm, from URI, has been conducting field research on saffron, exploring the use of low tunnels and corm planting densities. Dr. Gheshm will share his experience and research with farmers and ASP about various growing techniques at the Year 1 workshop. Attendees will be given a new fact sheet on growing saffron written for this SARE project. Workshop attendees will be encouraged to visit the URI saffron plot informally and as part of the yearly September URI twilight meeting.
The second year of the project will also be a half-day classroom workshop focusing on harvesting and processing of saffron. Dr. Gheshm has been harvesting and processing saffron from his URI saffron field and will be the main speaker at the Year 2 workshop. At this workshop, harvesting and processing will be thoroughly covered along with an update on growing techniques. A second fact sheet on harvesting and processing saffron will be given to workshop attendees, and the fact sheets from year 1 and year 2 will be available on the URI Cooperative Extension website. Workshop attendees will be encouraged to visit the URI saffron plot informally and as part of the yearly September URI twilight meeting. By year 2, there should be at least one RI farmer growing saffron. Agricultural Service Providers will be invited to accompany Heather Faubert and Dr. Gheshm to the commercial saffron field.
The third year of the project will culminate in an all-day conference held at URI or a nearby facility. A major focus of this conference will be marketing locally grown saffron. Local chefs and retailers will be invited to the conference along with farmers and ASP. Growing, harvesting, and processing will also be covered during the conference. Experts from the University of Vermont's North American Center for Saffron Research and Development have agreed to speak at URI's saffron conference. A third fact sheet on marketing saffron will be available at the conference and on the URI Cooperative Extension website.
An educational video will also be produced and housed on the URI website. This will be filmed by Heather Faubert and edited by experienced URI students.
Verification
Following each workshop and conference, attendees will be surveyed immediately after and 6 months later to learn whether or not they have planted saffron, if they intend to plant saffron, how many corms have been planted, amount of saffron harvested and processed, and number of farmers assisted by ASP about saffron production. If insufficient information is collected via survey, ASP will be contacted by phone or email. Survey questions will also inquire about the need for additional saffron information not covered so far in trainings.
Depending on survey responses, topics covered during future workshops and the conference will be reconsidered and appropriate changes made.
The number of times URI saffron fact sheets are downloaded and the number of times the URI saffron video is viewed will be reported.
Milestones
Ag Service Providers, farmers, and gardeners were invited to participate in the March 2nd webinar. Personal emails were sent to 9 RI Ag Service Providers and 20 people who had contacted URI in the past 2 years about growing saffron. Information about the webinar was advertised on Extension Educator, Andy Radin's newsletter (circulation of 620) and also the RI DEM Produce Safety newsletter (circulation 269). It was also mentioned to members of the Saffronnet listserve, which reached 700 people interested in growing saffron in New England and throughout the US. Five days before the event it was advertised to URI Master Gardeners and other people on the Cooperative Extension email list. After the event was over, a video of the webinar was available on You Tube.
Due to the pandemic, we held a virtual workshop on growing saffron on March 2, 2021. Registration page: https://events.uri.edu/event/webinar_-_growing_saffron_in_rhode_island#.YCrXAuhKhPY
A recording of the webinar can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXLF2-A6FGA&list=PLXL0ba4UPZKJFiKo0E6QoHkXnik-rfT0L&index=1&t=9s
As of November 22, 2021, the recorded saffron webinar was viewed 757 times since being posted in early March, 2021.
A fact sheet on growing saffron was written in January, 2021 and available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mCVjIXpsoujplr_pRvIHzEdt2InkYs7X/view
An 8 month followup survey was sent to 163 recipients which included those that registered for the March 2, 2021 webinar plus others that had contacted me and watched the recorded webinar video at a different time. Results from the survey indicate 8 agricultural service providers communicated with 37 farmers about growing saffron in Rhode Island.
Saffron corms were planted at 16 locations in Rhode Island in 2021 compared to 6 locations in 2020. In 2021, most people planted planted 1-50 corms (12 responders), while 4 people planted 51-1000 corms, and 2 farmers planted over 1000 corms.
We held a saffron corm give-away and informal training session on September 23, 2021 at the URI Skogley Turf Research Center.
We also started an email group for Rhode Island saffron growers wishing to communicate regularly about saffron production at URI and their own plantings. Twenty-three people signed up for the saffron email group including 5 Agriculture Service Providers. Heather Faubert initiated or responded to 12 posts, Fari Greshm responded to or initiated 15 posts, and there was a total of 114 emails exchanged from September 30 to November 23.
A webinar on saffron production, harvesting and processing was advertised to Master Gardener Volunteers and URI Ag Service Providers. On February 22nd, 140 attendees learned about saffron and what a wonderful crop it is for backyard growers. The webinar was recorded and posted on the URI Cooperative Extension YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgZBb5dkaiA
We held two in person saffron planting workshops in September. Participants learned about proper soil and planting techniques for saffron production. One grower in Rhode Island plans to plant 11,000 saffron corms on 1/4 acre in September, 2022.
Several videos on saffron production are being developed and be posted on the URI Cooperative Extension YouTube channel. Short videos are being made about planting saffron, weeding saffron plots, fertilizing saffron plots, harvesting saffron and processing saffron.
Previous workshop attendees were surveyed via Google Forms in November, 2022. Surveys were sent to 95 participants and responses were received from 12 participants.
Of the people that responded, 66.7% planted saffron corms in 2022, and most of these growers planted 26-100 corms, though two growers planted over 1000 corms. Planting fewer than 1000 corms indicates the planting is for personal production, while planting more than 1000 corms indicates growing saffron commercially.
Of the 12 survey responses, five were from Agricultural Service Providers. Of these five Ag Service Providers, four advised one or two saffron growers, while one of the surveyed Ag Service Providers advised 3 - 6 saffron growers.
Seven URI Agricultural Service Providers and one USDA Farm Service Agency employees visited URI's saffron plots to see saffron being planted, cared for, harvested, processed or dried. Two farmers that are serious about getting into commercial saffron production visited URI's saffron plots to learn about our rodent fencing, planting techniques and harvesting techniques.
Milestone Activities and Participation Summary
Educational activities conducted by the project team:
| Activity | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consultations | 16 | 300 | 316 | |
| Curricula, factsheets or educational tools | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Published press articles, newsletters | 1 | 14 | 15 | |
| Study circle / focus groups | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Webinars, talks and presentations | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Workshop / field days | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Other educational activities: We recorded, produced, and posted 5 short "How to" videos about growing saffron in southern New England. Videos include instructions on planting, fertilizing, weeding, harvesting, and processing saffron. We also posted the two webinars previously recorded on URI's YouTube channel titled "How to Grow and Process Saffron". The videos can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXL0ba4UPZKJFiKo0E6QoHkXnik-rfT0L | 0 | 6 | 6 |
Beneficiaries who particpated in the project’s educational activities and events:
| Audience | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total Individuals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extension | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Researchers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nonprofit | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Agency | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Service providers (other or unspecified) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Farmers / ranchers | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Others | 90 | 188 | 0 | 0 |
Participation Summary:
Performance Target Outcomes
Performance Target Outcomes - Service Providers
Target #1
Six Agricultural Service providers will educate 25 growers in production practices, harvesting, processing, and selling saffron locally.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 5 |
Discussed growing saffron with farmers in Rhode Island.
URI's main saffron plot did poorly over the winter of 2022. A new member of URI Cooperative Extension working in the URI Plant Protection Clinic analyzed saffron plants and corms and concluded that the problem was excessive water and compaction, rather than a disease organism. This knowledge helped with URI's saffron production and with advising local growers about saffron production.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | 12 |
| Activity | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curricula, factsheets and other educational tools | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| Consultations | 37 | 14 | 51 |
In November 2021, a survey was sent to all workshop participants and those who contacted us before or after viewing the webinar online on their own. The survey was sent to 163 people and 42 responded. Of these 42 responders, 8 indicated that they advise farmers. According to the survey responses, these 8 agriculture service providers discussed growing saffron with 37 growers or potential growers.
In November 2022, a Google Forms survey was emailed to everyone on URI's Saffron list of 95 people, 7 of which are Agriculture Service Providers. Of these 95, 12 people responded to the survey, including all 7 Ag Service Providers. The 7 Agriculture Service Providers talked to 12 people about growing saffron.
Additional Project Outcomes
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2 | 2 |
Our friend, colleague, and inspiration for growing saffron, Fari Gheshm, died on April 19, 2022 after a short battle with cancer. We owe our love and knowledge of saffron to him. I hear his guiding voice every day as I work on this SARE Saffron Project. We miss his gentle soul.
SARE Outreach
The RI Professional Development Program (PDP) State Coordinator will promote SARE grant programs (Farmer Grants, Graduate Student Grants, Partnership Grants,Research and Education Grants, Research and Novel Approaches Grants, and Professional Development Grants) and SARE educational materials at every opportunity.
SARE programs will be promoted at all events sponsored by SARE RI or tri-state PDP grants by including the SARE logo on all printed materials and explicitly crediting SARE with funding the experience.
SARE granting opportunities will be advertised to RI farmers and researchers through the RI Ag Notes email list of 519 members.
SARE granting opportunities and information clearinghouse on the SARE website will be promoted at all in person twilight meetings and workshops at URI and local farms.
Recieved information about SARE grant programs and information resouces:
| Audience | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service providers | 25 | 28 | 0 | 53 |
| Farmers | 500 | 519 | 0 | 1019 |
Information Products
- How to Grow Saffron in Rhode Island (Fact Sheet)
- Saffron: A New Crop for Rhode Island (Webinar)
- Growing Saffron in S New England (Webinar)
- Planting Saffron (Multimedia)
- Weeding Saffron (Multimedia)
- Fertilizing Saffron (Multimedia)
- Processing Saffron (Multimedia)
- Harvesting Saffron (Multimedia)