Date: Thursday July 31, 2014 1-4 pm
Location: Barnyard Organics Farm, 1494 Cairns road, Freetown, PEI
Participatory plant breeding is an important model for organic agricultural research. Pairing farmers and researchers on farm settings, this research is supporting the development, testing, and data collection on brand new, grown-in-Canada varieties of wheat and oat. This workshop will be a unique opportunity to see this work in action in Atlantic Canada.
The workshop will include a tour – led by Mark Bernard – of the plant breeding site, as well as a joint presentation with Martin Entz about the research design and methods, the varieties being bred, and the selection process. Dr. Entz will also speak to how this work is contributing to a larger body of research being created by dozens of farmer researchers across Canada.
The cost is $15 or $25 for ACORN non-members. Please RSVP to Stephanie Hughes at seed [at] acornorganic [dot] org or 1-866-322-2676.
This workshop is a rain or shine event.
For over 30 years, Dr. Martin Entz has been contributing valuable research to improve organic farming systems. Dr. Entz is a highly regarded researcher at the University of Manitoba who actively studies organic cropping systems, including crop rotational benefits, green manure termination methods and timing, intercropping and long term organic versus conventional production systems. He is the founder of Natural Systems Agriculture at the University of Manitoba.
This workshop is being supported by The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, delivered by USC Canada in partnership with Seeds of Diversity Canada and through the generous support of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation.