OGRAIN Farmer Network

Tim Hammerich

News Reporter

While it’s common for farmers in the same area to grow the same crops, farming practices and philosophies can vary widely. Organic farmers, for example, often have very few neighbors who also farm organically. University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor Erin Silva says that’s why they created the organic grain resource and information network, or OGRAIN.

Silva… “Organic farming, especially in certain areas of the country, can be a fairly lonely endeavor. You may not have an organic farming neighbor. Not only a direct neighbor, but there might not be an organic farmer for a hundred miles.”

Silva says this is a way for organic farmers to collaborate and learn from each other.

Silva… “Where the organic market was growing, we weren't seeing domestic organic acres growing. And a lot of the organic products were being imported from overseas. So there was an opportunity for farmers within the U S to transition to organic, to take advantage of the growing organic market and the organic premiums. And we wanted to set those farmers at for success throughout transition. So we developed the OGRAIN program to be able to facilitate some of the great innovation research that was being done on farm by farmers themselves.”

Just search for OGRAIN online to find out more.