Welcome to the Urban and Regional Food System Program at UW-Madison

Research and Extension

Urban and peri-urban farm enterprises are diverse in their marketing and management strategies, and we provide research support for small-scale farm and food enterprises serving regional markets. We welcome input on research priorities and ideas for projects.  If you are interested in participating in research or education projects, please contact me!

• Vegetable varieties selected for flavor and quality. Collaboration with other plant breeders, seed producers, farmers, chefs and local food consumers to test varieties for local food systems.
• Season extension using hoop houses/high tunnels, comparison of tomato varieties for hoop house and field production.
• Use of genetic diversity and genetic resources in plant breeding for organic agriculture: better methods of screening germplasm collections and identifying promising accessions.
• Participatory research methods and statistics for analyzing decentralized and unbalanced experiments or breeding projects
• Support for beginning farmers in urban and peri-urban areas, and facilitating opportunities for farmer-to-farmer education

Teaching

Hort/Agron 501: Principles of Plant Breeding. Co-taught with Natalia de Leon. Offered alternate fall semesters (even years)

Hort 375: Organic Vegetable Production. Offered alternate spring semesters (odd years).  Not offered Spring 2021.