Organic
Research Advocacy Bears Fruit
SANTA CRUZ, Calif.
(October 1, 2004) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
recent announcement of $4.5 million in competitive grant awards
for organic farming research culminates a decade of policy analysis
and advocacy by the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF).
The USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension
Service (CSREES) announced in a Sept. 29 press release that the
new Integrated Organic Program funded 11 organic research projects
around the country. According to the program’s manager,
Dr. Thomas Bewick, “This funding is only possible because
of the hard work done by OFRF to promote grant programs in organic
agriculture.”
The announcement comes almost exactly 10 years after OFRF Policy
Director Mark Lipson began investigating the proportion of federal
agricultural research funding spent on organic farming. His findings
were published in the groundbreaking 1997 report Searching
for the O-Word, which documented that only 0.1 percent of
federal agriculture research dollars directly pertained to organic
systems. The report had a strong impact at USDA and in Congress,
ultimately leading to the new program and this week’s announcement.
“Our vision of farmers and scientists working together on
organic systems research has finally received significant financial
support,” stated Lipson. “These projects establish
a new threshold of commitment to scientific investigation and
improvement of organic farming. We applaud USDA for following
through on this process and we intend to help the program grow
further,” he added.
Over the past 10 years, OFRF has worked hard building the necessary
political support for federal funding of organic research. Formation
of the Organic Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives has
demonstrated strong bipartisan backing for OFRF’s efforts.
In the 2002 Farm Bill a total of $15,000,000 was allocated for
organic systems research and extension grants over five years.
The first portion of that mandatory funding provided the majority
of the recent grants.
"This is an important step towards ensuring a fair share of public
funding for organic farming research," said Rep. James T. Walsh,
R-N.Y., a co-chair of the Caucus. "A goal of our work in the Congressional
Organic Caucus is to expand federal resources that support organic
farming."
"Organic foods are one of the fastest growing sectors of the U.S.
agricultural economy, yet research dollars have been scarce. These
grants are a critical investment in organics and an acknowledgement
of the importance of organic agriculture. I applaud the tireless
efforts of OFRF to educate USDA on the need for integrated research,"
said Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., another Caucus co-chair.
While OFRF’s own grant-making program provides seed money
for organic research throughout the United States, the demand
for organic research funding far exceeds the supply. Of 104 applications
submitted to the USDA program for funding, only 11 were funded.
“There were many innovative projects addressing issues critical
to the growth of the organic sector,” noted James Riddle,
an organic inspector and member of the grants review panel, in
an article on the NewFarm.org web site. “Unfortunately,
there was only enough money available to fund a fraction of the
fundable projects.”
Following recommendations made by OFRF, most of the funded projects
include farmers’ participation in the design and conduct
of the research and education projects. “Organic is
a different kind of agriculture that requires a different kind
of research,” said Mary-Howell Martens, an organic grain
and vegetable grower in New York who is cooperating on a project
with Cornell University researchers. “This project is making
the connection between soil fertility and weed control, something
most weed scientists don’t do.”
For a copy of the USDA’s press release and a complete list
of grants awarded, please refer to: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/releases/organic_agproject.html.
The Integrated Organic competitive grants program will continue
in 2005, though application deadlines have not yet been set. For
more information, refer to http://www.fedgrants.gov/Applicants/USDA/CSREES/OEP/USDA-GRANTS-
041504-001/Grant.html, or http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/fundview.cfm?fonum=1141.
