SCOAR is a collaboration of producers and scientists whose mission is to plan and promote research and information exchange for understanding and improving organic agricultural systems.

Research Findings

Economic data available on organic farm performance in Minnesota
The Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture has once more summarized the data gathered during the Organic Farm Business Management Project, an educational program that helps farmers make solid business decisions based on their actual expense and income data. Project goals are to document financial performance of organic farms for the farming and lending communities and provide both groups with accurate data on which to make decisions. The 2007 Organic Farm Performance in Minnesota report documents that

• median net income on organic farms increased from $31,489 in 2006 to $58,886 in 2007
• organic crop farms were more profitable than organic dairy farms
• financial performance of organic farms generally increased with farm size
• farms that owed the least debt were the least profitable.

The report also includes average yields, prices, and production expenses for seven different organic crops, pasture, and dairy. The report may be downloaded for free from the web at http://www.mgt.org/fbm/reports/2007/orgfarmbusmgmt08web.pdf

OFRF provided partial funding for publication of the report.

For further information, contact Meg Moynihan, Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture Organic and Diversification Specialist, phone 651-201-6616, email meg.moynihan@state.mn.us

Scientists found that all three models killed enough rye--90 percent or more--to enable farmers to begin planting cash crops in the field within three weeks. The crimping-bar roller yielded the best results. The one-pass process saves money, reduces soil erosion and runoff, helps control weeds, conserves water in the soil and decreases or eliminates the need for herbicides.

Machinery such as this complements other efforts, notably at the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania, to develop and refine organic no- and low-till strategies.

Full article may be read online at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2008/080903.htm

Meetings

OFRF co-hosts conference on the 2008 Farm Bill
November 12, 2008, Indianapolis, Indiana
Edited from Organic Trade Association press release
Mark Lipson, OFRF policy program director, will be a speaker and moderator at a one-day educational conference, Growing U.S. Organic Agriculture: Accessing the 2008 Farm Bill. The conference is designed to help farmers, farmer organizations and cooperatives, extension service agents, state departments of agriculture, organic certifiers, organic processors, researchers, academics, and others learn how to access and utilize the funding allocated for organic agriculture in the 2008 Farm Bill.

USDA will hold an informal stakeholder meeting during the conference to gather input on developing the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), which received $78 million in the 2008 Farm Bill. The Request for Applications for OREI is expected to be released in early 2009.

You as a SCOAR bulletin subscriber are eligible to receive a special discount on registration. Enter the promotional code "OFRF08" on the registration form.

The conference is organized by the Organic Trade Association and the Organic Agriculture and Products Education Institute in partnership with NCAT-ATTRA, the Organic Farming Research Foundation, and the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES). For more information, please contact Marissa Potter at the Organic Trade Association, email mpotter@ota.com.

Agency News

Organic certification cost share funds released for disbursement to eligible producers and handlers
Adapted from USDA Agricultural Marketing Service press release
$22 million in federal funds are available for organic certification cost assistance. The funds are available for producers and handlers of organic agricultural products in any state of the United States of America, its territories, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
 
The National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program, authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill, will allocate funds in proportion to the number of organic producers and handlers within each state. The states in turn will reimburse each eligible producer or handler up to 75 percent of its organic certification costs, not to exceed $750. Contact your state department of agriculture for information on applying for these funds.

Full text of the press release is online here.

National Organic Standards Board posts agenda
Edited from item in the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s Weekly Update
The National Organic Standards Board posted the agenda for its November 17-19, 2008, meeting in Washington, DC. Issues on the agenda include recommendations for multi-site certification, the sourcing of organic seed, aquaculture, and pet food standards. A discussion on opportunities to strengthen the core organic principle of biodiversity is also planned. The meeting is open to the public and specific public comment periods are scheduled for November 17 and 18.  For more information on the public comment periods and the meeting see the Federal Register notice announcing the meeting.  A full agenda and the draft recommendations to be discussed at the meeting can be accessed on the NOSB website.

EU countries strengthen collaboration on organic research
Edited from item in the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s Weekly Update
Twenty-two European Union countries, led by Denmark, agreed to form a long-term network to strengthen the collaboration for financing and targeting research in organic agriculture and food production.  The new initiative is expected to support many more transnational research projects over the coming four to five years, helping to maximize the benefits of organic agriculture and ensure that supply can meet the increasing demand for organic products. Press release on the collaboration may be read online here.

USDA-CSREES seeks input on the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program
The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), a competitive grants program funding education, extension, outreach, and technical assistance initiatives directed at helping beginning farmers and ranchers, received first time mandatory funding of $75 million in the 2008 Farm Bill.  USDA is hosting a listening session in Washington, DC on October 27 to garner input from stakeholders in developing this program.  If you want to present oral comments at the listening session, you must pre-register with Ms. Paulette Smith at (202) 401–1761, by fax at (202) 401–1782 or by e-mail to psmith@csrees.usda.gov. USDA is also accepting written comments regarding BFRDP until Nov 14th, 20008. Comments can be emailed to Ms. Smith (please put CSREES-2008-0003 in the subject line) or can be submitted online at www.regulations.gov. 

Read the Federal Register Notice Vol. 73, No. 186, pg. 54987 for more information.

CSREES extends comment period for competitive grants rule
We reported on this opportunity to comment in the last SCOAR bulletin and meantime the deadline was extended. CSREES is accepting public comments on the interim final rule it published establishing uniform administrative provisions for most of its competitive grant programs. The interim final rule also provides program-specific rules for the new Specialty Crop Research Initiative. Comments are now due by October 30, 2008.  More detail on submitting a comment is available through the Federal Register notice on the web here: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-20562.htm. Item courtesy of the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition via Zachariah Baker.

Resources

Farm Aid launches Farmer Resource Network
In September Farm Aid announced the launch of its web-based Farmer Resource Network (FRN) to help farmers answer the consumer call for more quality family-farmed foods. The Organic Farming Research Foundation is among three main partners in the network, along with the Rodale Institute and the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. Collectively these groups will provide information on sustainable and organic agriculture techniques, research-based production practices, organic farm conversion tools, organic price reporting services and access to the policy-making process. In addition, the FRN will provide farmers with access to hundreds of organic and sustainable agriculture service providers and organizations throughout the country through a new online database. Farmers will be able to search the database for farmer resources by location, subject and type of farm.

The network is an outgrowth of twenty-three years of Farm Aid’s hotline work, finding resources in each state to meet the needs of farmers. Visit the Farmer Resource Network at www.FarmAid.org/ideas

MOSES unveils new and improved website
From MOSES press release
It's been a long time in coming, but it's finally here! A new and improved, easy to navigate site, chock-full of helpful FREE farming resources, is now on the web at www.mosesorganic.org

If you're familiar with the old site, it may take a few moments to get acclimated to the new one. But the extra few moments you’ll need the first time around will definitely be worth it in the long run! MOSES is proud and pleased to have repackaged all their fine free farmer info in this new site. If you have any questions, or can't find a particular organic fact sheet, please get in touch. MOSES staff will point you in the right direction. Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, phone 715-772-3153, email info@mosesorganic.org.

Organic variety trial data sought for organic website
Organizers of the organic information website eOrganic would like to post information on organic variety trials on their plant breeding and organic seed pages. Anyone who has variety trial results in organic systems, publications, or anything else relevant, please contact Micaela to coordinate posting your information in this section. Micaela Colley, Organic Seed Alliance, phone 360-385-7192, email micaela@seedalliance.org

Funding Opportunity

OFRF grant deadline is Nov. 17
To fulfill Organic Farming Research Foundation’s mission of fostering the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems, the foundation sponsors a competitive grantmaking program that funds both educational and research projects in organic agriculture. Thanks to a partnership with Stretch Island Fruit Company, OFRF has funding available to support organic fruit research and education/outreach projects as well as general funding. OFRF’s Requests for Proposals describe how to apply for the grants and present the criteria used in evaluating proposals. Read them online at http://ofrf.org/grants/apply.html. For further information, contact OFRF’s organic research specialist Jane Sooby at jane@ofrf.org, phone 831-426-6606.

Job Opportunity

Organic Farming Research Foundation seeks Deputy Director
Following is an abbreviated version of the job announcement. The full announcement is on the web at http://ofrf.org/aboutus/job_announcement_deputydirector.pdf. Please forward to anyone you think might be interested.

The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), based in Santa Cruz, CA, seeks an experienced leader to serve as Deputy Director. The Deputy Director (DD) will bring outstanding leadership, planning and organizational management skills to OFRF.

The Deputy Director will perform the following primary duties:

1. Directing OFRF Programs. The Deputy Director plans, leads, manages and integrates OFRF’s Research & Education, Policy, and Communications program activities.
2. Staff Supervision. S/he oversees program staff in producing and executing trimester work plans based on the annual work plan. 
3. Participation in Program Activities. As leader of the OFRF program teams, the DD actively participates in program activities. 
4. Travel. The DD is expected to be available periodically for travel, including over weekends, as necessary within the planned program activities.
5. Coordination with Development Activities.
6. Assisting OFRF Support Systems. In collaboration with the Executive Director s/he assists in the management of OFRF support systems to see that they function well on a day-to-day basis, and that support system staff have all necessary tools, oversight and direction. 
7. Board of Directors. As a member of senior management staff the DD works closely with the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

1. Significant executive-level experience providing dynamic and visionary leadership for non-profit, public sector, or commercial organizations in the field of organic agriculture or related fields.
2. Demonstrated superior management and supervisory skills.
3. Demonstrated knowledge of program development strategies specific to comparable non-profit organizations.
4. Proven experience and skills in budgeting, planning, delivery of project outcomes and overall program effectiveness.
5. Demonstrated ability to generate and deliver persuasive and clear verbal and written communications in a variety of media forms and channels, and for diverse audiences.
6. Ability to work effectively in a demanding, high-energy environment and manage multiple tasks and priorities, while maintaining a sense of humor.
7. University degree or recognized professional training in a field related to organic farming and ranching or a directly relevant field of scientific expertise and study.
8. U.S. citizen or legal right to work in the U.S.

Compensation and Benefits

Health and retirement benefits and compensation commensurate with experience. The posted salary for this position is $75,000. This is a full-time, exempt position located in Santa Cruz, CA.

Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should submit a cover letter, resumé, and writing samples relevant to the requirements outlined above.  Please send applications via email by November 21, 2008 to: Brenda Carey-Winser ( brenda@ofrf.org). For confidential related inquiries, phone Bob Scowcroft,
831-426-6606, x-102.

OFRF is committed to providing equal opportunity employment opportunities to candidates and employees without regard to race, religion, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, or national origin citizenship. OFRF encourages women and minorities to apply for employment opportunities with our organization.

This is the 22nd in a series of occasional bulletins providing selected information on organic research programs, positions, funding, and reports, as well as news about SCOAR itself. Original items may be reproduced with attribution to OFRF. These reports are sent via email to registered SCOAR participants. For previous bulletins, registration and other information about SCOAR, see http://www.ofrf.org/scoar/index.html

Your feedback is welcomed. Send comments to jane@ofrf.org

Organic Farming Research Foundation, 303 Potrero St. #29-203, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
tel. 831-426-6606, scoar@ofrf.org, ofrf.org