Our goal is to develop and test corn varieties suited to organic farming and organic markets. We bring together plant breeders and researchers from the University of Illinois, independent plant breeders and researchers from Wisconsin and Illinois, farmers across the Midwest region, processors and contractors, as well as end users to help us improve market options and cultivars for organic corn farmers.
This project was funded in 2017 by the Organic Research and Extension Initiative grant, part of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Grant number 2017-51300-27115.
Recent Publications
Participatory Plant Breeding in Organic Systems
This article reviews participatory breeding and crop selection methods using a case study approach to determine if and how they can best satisfy the needs of underserved groups of farmers (e.g., organic producers, farmers producing specialty grain for niche markets).
Plant Breeding and Intellectual Property Rights in Organic Seed Systems
Check out our article on eOrganic to learn how the plant breeding landscape has shifted over the past century and how intellectual property rights impact organic seed supply.
Corn Breeding for Organic Markets Webinar
Our eOrganic webinar explores how different breeding styles and methods can be used to develop corn varieties that meet the diverse needs of organically produced grain and perform well under a variety of growing conditions and farming practices.
