The Cutting Edge Podcast

An interview with Dr. Jed Colquhoun about his research on the Bambara groundnut. The Bambara groundnut is a new crop to the United States but commonly grown in its native Africa as a subsistence crop. Jed shares his successes and challenges during his early work breeding this legume for Wisconsin.

Dr. Jed Colquhoun is Professor in the Department of Horticulture and IPM Program Director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Four experts from Indiana join us for a conversation on growing peppermint and spearmint for oil.

Doug Matthys is a mint farmer in South Bend, Indiana at Shady Lane Farms, a fourth-generation family farm growing mint on about 1000 acres.

Dr. Elizabeth Long, Assistant Professor in the Department of Entymology at Purdue University, studies plant-insect interactions to inform IPM strategies in specialty crops, with a focus on the Asiatic garden beetle grub in mint fields.

Petrus Langenhoven is a Horticulture and Hydroponic Crop Specialist at Purdue University working on the management of verticillium wilt in mint.

Dr. Stephen Meyers, Assistant Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University, conducts research on weed management strategies in mint.

Links:

https://ag.purdue.edu/department/arge/industry/mint/mint-growers.html

A conversation with two experts on haskaps (aka honeyberries).

First up is Bernis Ingvaldson, who owns and operates The Honeyberry Farm with her husband Jim in Bagley, MN, about two hours south of the Canadian border. They grow about two acres of honeyberries along with many other alternative fruit crops.

Next is a conversation with Dr. Bob Bors, Assistant Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan and North America's premier haskap breeder. Bob has been breeding haskaps for over 20 years, with a focus on mechanical harvesting, and has released 10 varieties in that time.

The Honeyberry Farm website and online nursery:

http://honeyberryusa.com/index.html

University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program

https://research-groups.usask.ca/fruit/?utm_source=fruit&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=2019-02-28

An interview with Dan Bussey and Deirdre Birmingham about cider apples and hard cidermaking.

Dan Bussey is an apple historian, orchardist, cider maker, and author of the seven volume series "The Illustrated History of Apples in the United States and Canada." He has a special interest in heirloom apples and loves to get creative with his cidermaking.

Deirdre Birmingham and her husband own and operate The Cider Farm, an organic cidery in Mineral Point, WI. Together, they craft fine ciders and apple brandy from true cider apples grown on their farm.

Links:

www.theciderfarm.com/

www.jakkawpress.com/book/the-illust…ates-and-canada

An interview with Hailey Shanovich about her work understanding insect pests of hazelnuts in the Upper Midwest.

Hailey is a Natural Resource Science PhD Student and Research Assistant in the Department of Entomology at the University of Minnesota.

Link to Hailey's presentation at the 2022 Upper Midwest Hazelnut Growers Conference: https://www.midwesthazelnuts.org/uploads/3/8/3/5/38359971/umhdi_2022_bugs_driving_you_nuts.pdf

In this episode we get updates from hazelnut researchers Mark Hamann and Dr. Lois Braun at the University of Minnesota and Jason Fischbach at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Mark Hamann is a Research Technician at the University of Minnesota and works as an assistant to Dr. Lois Braun. Prior to working at UMN, he worked at Badgersett Research Farm in Canton, MN.

Dr. Lois Braun is a Research Scientist in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota and works on hazelnut breeding, agronomics and propagation. She is also co-leader of the Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative.

Jason Fischbach is an Outreach Specialist with UW-Madison Extension who focuses primarily on hazelnut research and commercialization efforts and co-leads the Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative.

Links:

https://www.midwesthazelnuts.org/

An interview with Dr. Julie Dawson, Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture at UW-Madison, and Dr. Scott Brainard, Research Associate at UW-Madison and Tree Crop Breeder at Savanna Institute, about recent progress in breeding American and hybrid hazelnuts.

Join hazelnut researcher Jason Fischbach as he traverses the state of Wisconsin to visit hazelnut research trials, farms, and processing facilities.

Heading south from Ashland, his first stop is the Kickapoo Culinary Center in Gays Mills where Pete Lammers describes hazelnut feeding trials in cooperation with Iowa State University. Then Paul Ronsheim, grower and board member of the American Hazelnut Company, talks about roasting the nuts and processing for oil.

Continuing south, Jason visits the Savanna Institute’s North Farm, the new Demonstration and Research Facility in Spring Green dedicated to agroforestry practices.

Then on to UW-Madison’s West Madison Agricultural Research Station, where Jason describes the joint performance trials happening there.

And finally to Stoughton, the site of one of three Wisconsin production trials begun in 2011 to evaluate hazelnut germplasm and conduct performance trials.

A conversation with Jerry Clark about the University of Wisconsin industrial hemp trials being conducted in Chippewa County, WI.

A conversation about elderberry production.