HISTORY

The Organic Agriculture Farm comprises land purchased by West Virginia University over 100 years ago for horticultural production research. Approximately 60 additional acres from the WVU Dairy Research Farm were transitioned from conventional to organic practice. At present, there are 144 acres of certified organic farm land available for research and teaching use. The organic agriculture project began in 1998, when a multidisciplinary team documented the influences of cover crops and compost on the transition from conventional to organic farming practices. The research team addressed the basics of organic crop production and identified common problems facing growers using or considering organic practices.

Currently, a range of organic cropping options are pursued at the farm including fruit, vegetable, poultry and lamb production as well as agronomic crop rotations. Academic disciplines involved in on-going projects include horticulture, agronomy, soil science, animal science, soil biology, plant pathology, entomology, weed science and agricultural economics.