Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Dec. 10 announced the availability of $17.6 million in funding to support research and outreach activities that will help growers, producers and processors seek innovative ways to improve organic agriculture. The grants will be funded through the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), a program administered by USDA’s National Institutes of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and authorized by the 2014 farm bill.
“Over the past six years, USDA has strengthened programs that support organic producers as they grow, thrive and respond to increasing consumer demand for organic products,” said Vilsack. “The projects funded through the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative will help identify innovative solutions to critical challenges facing organic agriculture, ultimately strengthening local markets, improving rural economies, and expanding access to healthy food for Americans.”
The purpose of the OREI program is to fund high-priority research, education and extension projects that enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high-quality organic products. Priority concerns include biological, physical and social sciences, including economics. Past projects include a project at Washington State University to document the ecological role of wild birds on vegetable farmers, providing owners with practical, science-based recommendations for wild bird management. Another joint project between Pennsylvania State University, Delaware State University and the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore was funded to predict benefits and costs of cover crop mixtures in the context of regional climate, soil and management variability; empower organic farmers to use mixtures to meet their farm-specific goals; and to integrate this research into undergraduate organic education to further prepare the next generation of growers and researchers.
Funded projects are meant to aid farmers and ranchers with whole-farm planning by delivering practical, research-based information and to improve the ability of growers to develop the Organic System Plan required for certification.
OREI has eight legislatively-defined goals:
- Facilitating the development and improvement of organic agriculture production, breeding and processing methods
- Evaluating the potential economic benefits of organic agricultural production and methods to producers, processors and rural communities
- Exploring international trade opportunities for organically grown and processed agricultural commodities
- Determining desirable traits for organic commodities
- Identifying marketing and policy constraints on the expansion of organic agriculture.
- Conducting advanced on-farm research and development that emphasizes observation of, experimentation with, and innovation for working organic farms, including research relating to production, marketing, food safety, socioeconomic conditions, and farm business management
- Examining optimal conservation and environmental outcomes relating to organically produced agricultural products
- Developing new and improved seed varieties that are particularly suited for organic agriculture
Applications are due March 10, 2016. Growers are encouraged to review the request for applications for specific program requirements.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture