About the Project

After years of enthusiasm from farmers, advocates, chefs, and consumers, our project has cemented its aim to establish radicchio as a staple leafy green in the Pacific Northwest, thanks to three years of funding through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. The grant is managed by Washington State University Food Systems and Culinary Breeding Network.

In the US, most radicchio found on grocery store shelves is California-grown, round, red Chioggia-types, but there is a lot more to the Cicoria story! Farmers in the PNW are growing a much wider variety of radicchio types including Treviso, Castelfranco, Lusia, Verona, Rosa, and chicory types including Puntarelle, Catalogna chicory, and escarole. Consumers have started craving the under-appreciated bitter flavor of this vegetable group.

According to PNW & NE growers, radicchio demand has increased exponentially over the past decade. Project farmer-collaborators Siri Erickson-Brown and Jason Salvo of Local Roots Farm in Duvall, WA, said, “gradually, we have developed a large enough market for radicchio that it now comprises about 15% of our total acreage, and accounts for 10% of our total annual sales. Only carrots and lettuce exceed radicchio in terms of total dollars per year. This project has substantial potential benefits to our farm & other vegetable farms in our region. Year-round sales are important to our business & employees. Winter sales improve our cash flow, profitability & our ability to retain employees.”

Radicchio is a cool season vegetable that originated & is still widely grown in the NE region of Italy, a climate & latitude very similar to the PNW. It is a promising winter crop as it overwinters in the field & holds well in storage, providing a locally grown alternative to lettuce shipped from warmer regions during the colder months. Numerous farmers in Oregon & Washington are interested in growing radicchio but have production questions from seeding to storage with little of this info available in the U.S.

“Building Capacity & Support for PNW Radicchio Production Through Market Expansion & International Exchange” project goals are to create a PNW Radicchio Association; increase awareness & consumption of radicchio thru education & culinary events; and develop opportunities for international information exchange.

Stay tuned for updates and information about this project. Many thanks to WSU Food Systems and Lane Selman of the Culinary Breeding Network for leading the effort to get this crop the fan base it deserves in the PNW and across the United States.