Growing Organic Grains and Pulses in the Northeast: What Does the Research Say?

By Brian Geier

Organic grain farmers depend on complex relationships amongst several moving parts of niche organic systems: from our soils, climate, microbes, insects, and diseases to specialty seed sourcing, post-harvest processing, and unique market needs. 

In our quest for good info, we might wonder what research has been done on organic grains, and if any results might be helpful. But getting these answers can be overwhelming. Research findings can be difficult to decode, organic solutions might be few or far between, and specificity for our crop or region might be missing. 

Through work with the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), I’ve seen a few programs and resources that I think could help organic grain and pulse growers in the Northeast, and across the country. Here is a roundup:

Introducing the Organic Research Hub

The new Organic Research Hub (“The Hub”) is a curated, searchable collection of science-backed resources for organic production. It can be searched by keyword, topic, region, or production category. For example, here are a couple noteworthy highlights from a search for grain and field crops in the northeast:

The main challenges of grain production in the northeast are outlined in an eOrganic webinar featuring work led by Dr. David Benscher (Cornell University).