ASK Jeff: The Rodale Institute’s farm manager, Jeff Moyer, answers your hardcore farming questions

Where can I buy hairy vetch seed?

Posted August 3, 2004

What Jeff brings to the table

Jeff Moyer, who’s been the farm manager here at the 333-acre Rodale Institute research farm for more than a quarter of a century, receives lots of mail from farmers just like you asking for advice. Jeff’s hands-in-the-dirt experience over the past 26 years has run the gamut from refining the farm's cover cropping and crop rotation systems (including managing 270 acres in a rotation of corn, small grains, hay, and edible soy beans for a Japanese market) to overseeing The Rodale Institue Farming Systems Trial®, the world’s longest running side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional agriculture. We thought it would be fun and informative to share some of these farmer-to-farmer exchanges, and Jeff’s practical wisdom, with our NewFarm.org readers … and we’ll be doing it on a regular basis.

Got a question of your own? Send it to Jeff at:
jeff.moyer@rodaleinst.org

Dear Jeff,

I read your post on New Farm about hairy vetch, and I was wondering if you could recommend a place to buy hairy vetch seeds.

Thanks,
Doug

Dear Doug,

Thanks for reading New Farm and my articles. As far as vetch seed goes, here is what I did. We have a feed/seed supply house in our local area (F.M. Brown). I contacted them years ago requesting hairy vetch seed. They looked for it, got it for me, and have been handling it for us and other growers since then.

The seed is originally grown in Oregon. Most seed suppliers have access to the seed through wholesale suppliers across the country, such as Kaufman seeds in Arkansas.

Let me know if you can not locate a local supplier and I’ll dig deeper.

Jeff

 

Have some questions to Ask Jeff? E-mail him directly at jeff.moyer@rodaleinst.org.