Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience of this project consistedof graduate students conducting research in organic plant breeding and seed systems with a secondary audience ofseed professionals to serve as mentors to the students and/or connect their research to on-farm impacts.The 2022 Student Organic Seed Symposium SOSS was organized by graduate students (and recent graduates) serving on a planning committee. Stakeholder engagement through student organizing, discussion, and surveys informed the development of this project. Due to the COVID pandemic, engagement with the target audience since the last SOSS event, held in Madison, WI in 2019, has been primarily conducted through virtual events and digital communications. These communicationsincluded social media and emailoutreach to Society of Organic Seed Professionals membership;researchers, students and program participants in the Organic Seed Alliance contact database, university listservs and through networks of partnering organizations. Networking activitiesand outreach were also conducted during the annual meetings or conferences ofthe National Association of Plant Breeders, Northern Organic Farmers Association - New York and Tri-Societies. Engagement with new students was challenging during the pandemic and initial registrations for the first in-person symposium in three years were modest.As the event drew closer, outreach efforts intensified, including an effort to encourage participation of local agriculturalstudentsand those attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well as local food systems leaders to support student education on the theme of"Small-scale agriculture: sowing sustainable local food systems." Total registration for the event numbered 55, with seven local university researchers also attending without registering. Twenty-four of the registered attendees were students; participantsurvey data indicated that nearly half of the participants (45%) identified as Latino, Black, Asian, Indigenous/Pacific Islanderor Middle Eastern.The symposium was described by a seed company owner and Black farming mentor as one of the most diverse she has ever attended. Participants were also invited to present their own research. These included research presentations by six West Virginia University professors and 13 graduate students, post-docs or recent graduates. Changes/Problems:The most significant challenge for this project was the COVID pandemic, which disrupted student activities and engagement as well as capacity ahead of this event. The project leaders were grateful for the no cost extension from NIFA that allowed support of an event in 2022 instead of 2021. While we were able to deliver the event in 2022, we were compelled to honor a commitment to hold the next SOSS event at West Virginia University. The most recent SOSS event prior to 2022 was held at University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2019; repeating the symposium in the same location would not meet our goal of broadening organic stakeholder participation and expanding networking into underserved regions. While the venue changed from the original proposal, all goals were met and many were exceded due to the vigorousinvolvement of regional food systems leaders from the Southeast. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One of the most important goals of SOSS is to provide professional development opportunities for attendees. The majority of classroom presentations included training on breeding and/or seed saving skills, specifically for varieties that have been regionally adapted to the Southeast. To increase connection between attendees, the SOSS leaders organized a "Speed Mentoring" session where graduate students and youngseed practitioners had five minutes to hear opportunities and advice from professionals in the organic seed sector. This was one of attendees' favorite sessions. Attendees noted the following favorite activities on their survey responses: "The speed dating mentorship activity felt like we were actually giving practical advice that people could use immediately." "The mentorship activity was probably my favorite activity overall. I felt like I connected with people more than in other activities." "Speed mentoring activity - it let me talk to some folks I hadn't met yet." Seed saving and plant breeding skills and resources were also expanded during the symposium through knowledge sharing, how-to videos with expert Q&A,and hands-on activities at the WVU Research Farm. Approximately 73% of respondents said that their knowledge of growing seed and plant breeding increased some what or very much as a result of the symposium and 91% received access to new resources. When asked if they had identified next steps in advancing their professional work, 100% responded positively. One attendee commented that the biggest takeaway from the symposium was: "That seed saving and breeding are accessible to everyone, farmers and academics alike, if we have the right knowledge/tools." "It takes all of us (farmers, researchers, chefs, storytellers) to further our aims of creating genetic diversity and adapting to climate change." "Creating a network of seed growers (particularly in the South) is something to really focus on in order to mentor a cohort of seed savers." How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Final production of symposium papers is in process and will be shared through OSA's contact database, published on the SOSS and OSA websites, and posted on the Organic Seed Commons networking platform SOSS event page to encourage ongoing conversations about the topics presented at the symposium. The video recording of "Appalachian Food Stories with Mike Costello" is posted on OSA's YouTube channel and has been viewed 22 times. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The project met the broadest goal of cultivating and engaging a network of stakeholders passionate about research and the advancement of organic seed systems. This is themissionof the student symposium each year and at each venue in which it is hosted, be it Madison, WI or the 2022 location of Morgantown, WV. Participant feedback confirms this success. Survey responses were completed by 20% of registrants,more than half of whom identified as graduate students, plant breeders or university researchers. Overall, attendees rated the conference positively; on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent), the symposium received a 4.1 rating. Specific objectives were also met as described below. Goal 1. Promoting networking among graduate students, and academic and industry professionals within the organic seed sector to facilitate post-graduation job opportunities for graduate students in the organic seed sector. SOSS 2022 provided a high level of meaningful networking between graduate students and practitioners in the organic seed sector. In addition to dedicated networking activities, the small size of the cohort and shared social times around meals and travelling to field trips provided ample oppotunities to network. When asked if the symposium "expanded or enriched your peer relationships and networks," attendees overwhelming responded "Very Much" (versus "Somewhat" or "Not much").Several respondents noted that networking was one of the most valuable components of the symposium. One attendee described what they will take away from the event: "My biggest takeaway was the networking that I was able to do. It feels good to start connecting the dots between what breeders are doing and how that plays out for farmers in the field. Often the breeding work in universities is geared towards large scale producers, so it was nice to have small farmers represented." The greatest opportunities for advancement came from graduate student attendees engaging with the WVU plant breeding faculty and with several seed company representatives. Follow up surveys (six or 12 months out from the event) are needed to determine whether research and job opportunities arose from this engagement. Goal 2: Communicating the latest organic plant breeding research and seed-based initiatives to SOSSparticipants and the broader organic seed community SOSS 2022 accomplished this goal and was particularly successful in communicating organic plant breeding research to non-academic seed practitioners. The effort to register food system leaders from the southeast brought together researchers and small-scale seed growers in numbers and in settings that encouraged meaningful communications and connection. Presentations of plant breeding and variety development research by six WVU Agriculture Department faculty and 13 graduate students, post docs and professional researchers from other universities provided up-to-date results and insights on the latest research. Field presentations included discussion of varieties from other university programs grown out for demonstration at the WVU Research Farm. Crop research focused on wheat, barley, dry beans, sweet corn, dry corn, tomatoes and hemp. The academic research was complemented by practical experiences from regional seed initiatives focusing on southern peas, okra, collards and culturally significant varieties of corn. Goal3. Initiating science-based discussions to identify organic breeding priorities and evaluate techniques The small size of the participant cohort provided attendees with opportunities to ask specific questions about the organic plant breeding research presented as well as the seed saving, variety improvement and conservation practices of regional practitioners. Presentations of trials and on-farm research delivered in the field, by WVU students and professors as well as six visiting graduate students and post docs who provided seed to the WVU research farm last spring for demonstration plots, provided hands-on science-based discussions, identification of pests and genetic expression. Open-ended survey responses to what attendees found most valuable about the symposium address this accomplishment: "Talking with people after talks. Especially people I hadn't met before. And the tomato geneticists at the WVU Farm." "I LOVED seeing community seed workers and academics interact and nerd out about seeds - especially outside of conference sessions. It felt like one community for the most part. Younger plant breeders are aware of a need for biodiversity, which gives me hope for the future." Goal 4. Connecting organic seed and plant breeding research to broader scientific communities This goal of the event was fulfilled by engaging with academic and community leaders who do not work directly in organic crop breeding. Though presentations and field activities, attendees engaged expertson pasture establishment, fir tree breeding, soil biome health, and trellising techniques. Attendees also engaged with graduate students working in remote sensing applications of genomic wheat research as well as the materials engineering qualities of okra. One goal of the original project was to support graduate student attendance at other national conferences featuring broader scientific scopes. The COVID pandemic limited these opportunities to virtual attendance, which included student organizing activities around annual meetings of the National Association of Plant Breeders, Northern Organic Farmers Association - New York and Tri-Societies.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Loriz, C. (editor). 2022. Student Organic Seed Symposium Papers and Presentations. July 27 - 31, 2022, Morgantown, WV. Organic Seed Alliance, Port Townsend, WA. 15 pp.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Mike Costello, Interactive Appalachian Food Stories Workshop, Lost Creek Farm. Video available on the Organic Seed Alliance YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIBRURAK4RGnmpD843FZSDg
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Student Organic Seed Symposium originally proposed for the summer of 2021 is now taking place in the summer of 2022. All related project activities have similarly been moved back one year. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Student Organic Seed Symposium will be held July 27-30 in Morgantown, West Virginia.Several sessions, including researchpresentations, educational workshops, career panels, and science-based discussions designed to promote interaction and foster mentorship between attendees are planned. Additional networking opportunities will include student poster presentations and a field tour showcasing Society members' crop research and released varieties bred for organic production.To gauge the impact of the symposium, as well as assess specific aspects including networking, planned activities, and speaker selection, conference evaluations and data will be collected through web-based survey questions and testimonial responses. Competitive travel awards will be provided to graduate students researching topics in organic seed and plant breeding in order to connect with the broader networks of researchers in agriculture and the biological sciences. These awards will be advertised widely to graduate students through the existing SOSS and Organic Seed Alliance contact databases, through social media and through outreach to agricultural and biological science departments. Students receiving awards will be required to write a brief post at the event that can be shared to SOSS social media and will write a brief report on their experience after the conference. Networking events for organic seed researchers and students will be planned at key plant sciences conferences, and graduate student travel awarded will be provided.These networking events will be co-organized by SOSS alumni in coordination with conference organizers. Likely conferences at which these networking events will take place include the National Association of Plant Breeding (NAPB) annual meeting, the American Society for Horticultural Science conference, and the Tri-Societies (Agronomy, Crop Science, and Soil Science societies) annual meeting.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the timeline for the Student Organic Seed Symposium and associated project activites were moved back one year, to 2022.
Publications
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