Organic Seed, Soils, and Sustainable Business: Three Intensives and an Online Tutorial

Project Overview

EW10-017
Project Type: Professional Development Program
Funds awarded in 2010: $76,712.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2012
Region: Western
State: Washington
Principal Investigator:
Micaela Colley
Email
Organic Seed Alliance

Annual Reports

Information Products

Commodities

Not commodity specific

Practices

  • Crop Production: food product quality/safety
  • Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, workshop
  • Farm Business Management: whole farm planning, new enterprise development, cooperatives, agricultural finance, risk management
  • Natural Resources/Environment: carbon sequestration
  • Production Systems: agroecosystems, organic agriculture
  • Soil Management: organic matter, soil analysis, nutrient mineralization, soil microbiology, soil quality/health
  • Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities, sustainability measures

    Abstract:

    As part of the 2011 Organicology conference, this project hosted one-day organic seed, soils, and sustainable business intensives, where experts trained 49 agricultural professionals. Online seed production tutorials were created on eOrganic/eXtension from the seed production intensive. To date, over 9,000 individuals have accessed these tutorials. A webinar and live trainings were conducted to teach 62 agricultural professionals how to use the tutorials. Of the agricultural professionals who completed post-event evaluations, 92% felt the trainings increased their knowledge, while 75% felt that they would apply that knowledge in their work.

    Project objectives:

    We anticipate at least 40 participants at each intensive (120 total). We anticipate reaching at least an additional 75 targeted Extension and agricultural professionals in our subsequent trainings on the advanced seed tutorial. Once posted online we anticipate a minimum of 200 hits accessing the online tutorial.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.