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PRESS RELEASE
June 4, 2007 |
Contacts:
Jane Sooby: (831) 426-6606
Bob Scowcroft: (831) 426-6606 |
OFRF TO FUND RESEARCH
AND EDUCATION GRANTS
Santa Cruz, CA – The Organic Farming
Research Foundation (OFRF) has released two requests
for proposals for submission to their competitive grants
program.
OFRF for the first time is specifically
soliciting proposals for education and outreach projects
that are targeted primarily at organic farmers and ranchers.
OFRF will also continue to fund research to improve
organic production systems.
The next deadline for proposals is July
16, 2007.
"We're hoping to see some innovative
educational proposals," said Cynthia Connolly,
an organic farmer in Florida who heads the OFRF committee
that evaluates grant proposals. "In many rural
areas, new farmers transitioning to organic have no
support, no information from Extension--nobody is there.
This outreach program might reach those farmers who
are pursuing organic agriculture."
The request for proposals (RFP) for research
grants has been revised. It now explicitly requires
that research be conducted on certified organic research
ground. There are two exceptions to this policy: when
the land is not certified for scientific reasons, or
if the land is exempt from certification in accordance
with the NOP standards.
Other changes include the inclusion of
the criteria that the OFRF board uses to evaluate proposals
in the RFPs.
"These changes make our selection
process more transparent," said Jane Sooby, OFRF's
organic research specialist who manages the grant program.
"Applicants can see exactly what we're looking
for in a proposal. We anticipate ever larger numbers
of high quality proposals coming in the door."
OFRF's competitive grants program is in
its 15th year. OFRF has awarded 243 organic research
and education grants totaling over $1.6 million disbursed
to date.
A 2006 report released by OFRF showed
the significant impact that OFRF
grantmaking has had on the science of organic agriculture,
helping to establish organic research programs at land
grant colleges around the country and leveraging at
least $3.5 million in other funds to support organic
research and education.
The report on OFRF grantmaking, Investing
in Organic Knowledge: Impacts of the First 13 Years
of the Organic Farming Research Foundation's Grantmaking
Program, is available free online at http://ofrf.org/publications/investing.html
.
Upcoming deadlines for proposals are July
16 and Dec. 17, 2007. Read the new RFPs online at http://ofrf.org/grants/apply.html.
For additional information, contact OFRF by calling
831-426-6606 or emailing research@ofrf.org.
Results of previously funded projects
are also posted on the site at http://ofrf.org/funded/funded.html
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