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.