Evaluation of Alternate Crops for the Midwest

Cover crops like sunn hemp, buck wheat, and cowpeas were trialed, and the beneficial effects as a soil cover and on soil health was explained to the participants who came to our August 9, 2023 field day, as well as one in 2022. SHARE dollars also helped us conduct field days along with the other research programs at our institute to bring current research topics on cover crops, alternate crops, and perennial crops to producers.

Among alternative crops, buckwheat was a crop of focus in 2024. We performed two focus groups with stakeholders regarding experiences and perceptions of buckwheat’s suitability for crop rotations and local/regional marketability in Wisconsin. Participants in our grower focus group stated buckwheat’s potential for double cropping after rye when buckwheat is established in midsummer, allowing for the potential harvest, marketing, and revenue from two grain crops in one year. Participants also shared their observations of buckwheat as a potentially beneficial crop in rotation for weed control and nutrient cycling, but highlighted these areas as needing more scientific investigation. We plan to pursue and establish these types of field trials in future years.

Our focus group with plant breeders highlighted a complete lack of resources and history of buckwheat development in the United States, and created a collective interest in pursuing breeding program collaboration to develop buckwheat in the future. Currently, most growers in WI grow “variety not stated” buckwheat, which can display variable traits and is not necessarily maintained for food grade quality. To identify potential varieties for food applications, we performed a buckwheat variety trial on MFAI ground in 2024 with the varieties listed in Table X below, as a replicated complete block trial with 4 replications and plot sizes of 20 x 30 ft.