In this session at Cultivating Wisdom Dominic Amos (Ex ORC, now Cope Seeds & Grains) & Dr. Charlotte Bickler from the Organic Research Centre reflected on the benefits of working directly with farmers within a real-world organic context. Dominic showed the example of Mayflower wheat which was very weed suppressive in on-farm trials, a trait that conventional recommended list trials would not have identified because they use herbicides.The ongoing legacy of the work includes the development of an engaged participatory network that is driving forward improvements in organic wheat cultivation as well as a methodology and body of experience that can be applied to other crops and contexts. This work would not be possible without the collaboration and support of the many organic farmers who continue to host trials, collect data, and share their invaluable expertise in wheat varietal selection, helping to advance sustainable and resilient farming practices. Charlotte said: “in order to make the data more robust, we need more farmers to take part in trials.” See LiveWheat, LIVESEEDING.
