Strengthening Organic Cover Crop Seed Production through Research and Education on Yield, Economics, and Variety Performance

Commodities

• Agronomic: oats, peas (field, cowpeas), vetches

Practices

• Crop Production: cover crops, seed saving
• Education and Training: participatory research

Organic producers across the West consistently report that high costs and limited availability of regionally adapted organic cover crop seed are major barriers to expanding cover cropping. Most seed is produced far from end users, often as "variety not stated," leaving farmers uncertain about performance, yield potential, and whether dedicating acreage to seed production can pencil out. At the same time, many farmers are interested in producing their own cover crop seed but lack practical information on agronomy, seed cleaning, and enterprise economics.

This project will test whether on-farm cover crop seed production can be a viable and scalable strategy to lower costs, strengthen local seed systems, and support wider cover crop adoption. Four certified-organic farms in coastal, interior, and mountain/continental eco-zones (College of the Redwoods Farm, Eel River Produce, Neukom Farm, and Swift River Farm) will conduct two years of producer-led trials. Using NCCVT-aligned methods, they will compare single-species versus mixed-species seed production, evaluate yield and seed quality of key legume and cereal cover crops, and link yield, germination, and cleaning efficiency to weather and eco-zone.

Education activities will translate these findings into practical tools: producer-led field days; three concise Seed Crop Quick Profiles; two enterprise case studies; a "do-it-this-season" seed-enterprise toolkit (budget workbook and cleaning log); and two webinars plus short videos. Together, these outputs will give Western farmers concrete agronomic and economic guidance to decide if and how to add on-farm cover crop seed production to their operations.

Research Objectives

1. Compare the economics of single-species vs. mixed-species on-farm cover crop seed production.

2. Evaluate yield and seed quality of priority cover crop species and varieties across sites.

3. Quantify how weather and eco-zone differences affect cover crop seed yield and quality.

Education Objectives

4. Provide producer-led field days demonstrating cover crop seed production and cleaning.

5. Develop and share practical seed crop profiles and enterprise case studies.

6. Create and disseminate a simple seed-enterprise toolkit for on-farm cover crop seed production.

7. Deliver webinars and short videos to extend project findings to a wider audience.