2026

Emerging Berry Crops Winter Webinar Series

January 8: Honeyberries: Learn about how honeyberries/haskaps can be an economically viable berry crop in the Upper Midwest. Register here: https://go.wisc.edu/53m9lo

Presenter information: Andrew Rosychuk is one of North America’s earliest haskap growers. He farms 37 acres of haskaps on Rosy Farms in Alcomdale, Alberta, Canada. The farm is also a hub for research and apprenticeships. Andrew is the founder of the Haskap Alberta Association and co-founder of Vitalaberry Farms, a collective of nine growers marketing haskaps. Andrew will discuss best management practices for production, post-harvest handling and storage, and value-added processing.

February 5: Day Neutral Strawberries and Table Grapes: Updates on UW-Madison Fruit Team research trials. Register here: https://go.wisc.edu/94t653

Presenter information: Dr. Amaya Atucha is a Professor in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research program addresses a broad set of questions in perennial fruit crop systems, with emphasis on crop ecophysiology, plant nutrition, and fruit quality. Amaya will share the latest results from table grape cultivar trials and day-neutral strawberry research trials in Wisconsin.

March 5: Elderberries and Currants: Collaborations and cooperatives strengthen emerging berry crops. Register here: https://go.wisc.edu/o2l20f

Presenter information: Mike Breckel farms elderberries at Ocooch Mountain Elderberries in the Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin. He also conducts on-farm research and variety selections on his farm. In addition, Mike designs and sells high capacity rotary destemmers for commercial growers. He is a member of the Driftless Berry Growers, a collective of elderberry, currant, and aronia growers based in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. Mike will share his experiences growing and marketing elderberries and his work building destemmers. Dr. Lily Hislop is the elderberry and currant breeder at Savanna Institute, a non-profit based in Spring Green, Wisconsin that supports agroforestry in the Midwest. Her focus is breeding new cultivars to be disease resistant, easily harvested, flavorful, and suitable for growing in Midwest agroforestry systems. Lily also prioritizes collaborative research with farmers. Lily will provide an update on her breeding and research program.

April 2: Farmer Panel: Successes and challenges of production and marketing multi-species production systems. Register here: https://go.wisc.edu/08qw95

Presenter information: A panel of farmers growing a diversity of emerging berry crops in the Upper Midwest will share their insights on production and direct marketing of these crops. This engaging discussion will be moderated by the Emerging Crops team.