About
OFRF
Our purpose...
To foster the improvement and widespread
adoption of organic farming systems
Our mission...
- To sponsor research related to organic farming;
- To disseminate research results to organic
farmers and to growers interested in adopting organic production
systems; and
- To educate the public and decision-makers about
organic farming issues.
OFRF’s integrated strategy
of grantmaking, policy, education and networking initiatives supports
organic farmers’ immediate information needs while moving
the public and policymakers toward greater investment in organic
farming systems.
Following is an overview of our program
areas, and related links.
Grantmaking
Since 1992, OFRF’s grantmaking program has awarded more than
$1.5 million for over 200 projects.Our grantmaking objective is
to generate practical, science-based knowledge to support modern
organic farming systems. OFRF-funded projects emphasize grower-researcher
collaboration, studies conducted on-farm and/or in certified organic
settings, and outreach of project results.
For deadline and application information visit:
Applying for Grants.
For a list of OFRF-funded projects
and available project reports, visit: OFRF-funded
project reports.
Policy
OFRF’s policy program objectives are to ensure that the public
and policymakers are well-informed about organic farming issues
and to increase public institutional support for organic farming
research and education funding.
Our policy initiatives consist of four areas
of priority:
-
Secure a substantial increase
in government support for organic agriculture;
-
Ensure that land grant universities
have an organic research and extension program and workplans
developed with the participation of organic farmers;
-
Cultivate state and federal
policies that help to assure the economic viability of organic
family farmers; and
-
Support organic farmers’
rights to grow and sell their products without the threat of
pesticide and GMO contamination.
To learn more visit our Policy
Program pages.
OFRF encourages organic farmers to
participate in the policy process by joining our Organic
Farmers Action Network (OFAN). Members of OFAN will
receive free policy updates and tools for communicating with representatives
in Congress, to advocate for increased funding for organic research,
technical assistance and marketing support, funding for organic
conservation programs and maintenance and improvement of national
organic standards.
Research
OFRF conducts original research about organic farming in the U.S.
OFRF research projects include:
-
Since 1992, OFRF has conducted
four National
Organic Farmers' Surveys, collecting information
about organic farmers’ research and information needs,
their experiences in the organic marketplace, effects of GMOs
on organic production and markets, organic farmer demographics
and much more.
-
OFRF conducts regular inventories
programs related to organic farming and land grant universities.
Visit State of
the States: Organic Farming Systems Research at Land Grant Institutions
2001-2003, for our latest report.
-
In 1995 and 1996, OFRF conducted
conducted a study to identify and catalogue federally supported
agricultural research pertaining specifically to the understanding
and improvement of organic farming. This led to publication,
in 1997, of Searching
for the ‘O-Word’: Analyzing the USDA Current Research
Information System for Pertinence to Organic Farming,
OFRF's seminal work identifying the need for federal support
for organic programs.
Education
OFRF seeks to share new insights into organic farming systems with
all farmers who use or want to adopt organic practices. The results
of research projects funded by OFRF generate information useful
to farmers who are working to develop and improve integrated, systems-level
organic management practices. Every OFRF-funded project is required
to have an outreach component that disseminates the results to the
grower and research communities. These often include field days,
farm tours, grower conference presentations and publication in grower
newsletters.
The results of OFRF-funded projects
are published in our newsletter, the Information
Bulletin, available free-of charge both online
and by regular mail.
OFRF also manages OrganicAgInfo.org,
an on-line information source for research and information on organic
production and marketing.
If you'd like to receive OFRF's free
newsletters by email or by regular mail, please sign in through
our subscriptions page.
Media
OFRF regularly serves as a media resource for topics related to
organic farming research, farm policy, and the organic industry.
We also track important organic media stories. Visit our
pressroom for more on OFRF- and organic-related media.
Networking
OFRF is coordinating efforts to develop a national research agenda
and a farmer-scientist network for pursuit of multi-disciplinary
research & extension on working organic farms. The Scientific
Congress on Organic Agricultural Research (SCOAR) has
conducted a series of national and regional meetings with farmers
and scientists to discuss and design a plan for basic, applied and
developmental organic research.
OFRF also takes part in other networking
in support of organic and sustainable farming. Examples include
the Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and the Organic Agriculture
Consortium.
Support
OFRF is supported by your donations from individuals and by grants
from family foundations. We hope that you will choose to support
OFRF’s work to meet the information and policy needs of organic
family farmers -- the foundation of a healthier agriculture for
the future. Please make
a gift to the Organic Farming Research Foundation today.
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