Major New Funding Announced for Organic Research and Education Grants
OFRF to Invest $450,000 in Organic Fruit Projects Over Three Years
First Deadline for Proposals is December 17, 2007
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (November 16, 2007) – Thanks to a major new partnership with Stretch Island Fruit Company, the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) will invest $450,000 over the next three years in organic fruit research and education projects. In addition to this special fruit initiative, OFRF plans to award a record quarter million dollars in general organic project grants in 2008.
Stretch Island Fruit Company, makers of FruitaBü organic fruit snacks, has committed $450,000 to help growers increase the supply of organic fruit. The company is also contributing additional funding to OFRF’s general grantmaking program, in an effort to support the continued growth of organic agriculture throughout North America.
"When we started looking for suppliers for our organic fruit snacks, we learned that existing U.S. organic fruit growers couldn’t keep up with the rising demand for their products and others weren’t transitioning fast enough," said John Henry Siedlecki, spokesperson for the Stretch Island Fruit Company. “We want to source all of our fruit as close to our production facilities as we can in order to minimize our carbon footprint. We’re happy to be working with OFRF to encourage more fruit growers to transition to organic and to advance the state of the art of organic fruit growing.”
“OFRF is excited to put this generous investment to use through our competitive grants program,” said OFRF President and organic fruit grower Steve Ela. “Good science-based information and access to it have been critical to my transition to organic and the ongoing success of our family farm. $450,000 will have a real impact on the way people grow fruit in this country, and we look forward to welcoming many new growers and researchers to organic as a result of this partnership with Stretch Island.”
OFRF has issued its Request for Proposals for organic research and education projects for Spring and Fall 2008 grants. Proposals for awards of up to $15,000 per year ($20,000 for fruit projects) are due to OFRF on or before December 17, 2007 and July 15, 2008. Multi-year funding will be considered for fruit projects. Fruit proposals are subject to the same application and review process as OFRF’s general grants program, but will be underwritten by the new partnership funds. The full Request for Proposals and application information are available online at http://ofrf.org/grants/apply.html or by contacting Jane Sooby at the OFRF office (831-426-6606, jane@ofrf.org).
OFRF offers funds for research on any topic that will improve organic production systems, and for education and outreach projects to share organic farming information with current organic producers and to farmers and ranchers considering transitioning their operations to organic.
OFRF particularly encourages farmers, ranchers, researchers, and extension personnel to apply for funding. Farmers and ranchers often find that working with professional researchers can make it easier to design and carry out a research project, and OFRF encourages applications from such partnerships.
OFRF has supported organic farmers through its research and education grants program for 15 years. In that time OFRF has awarded 243 organic research and education grants totaling over $1.6 million. The OFRF Board of Directors, which is comprised primarily of working organic farmers, oversees all of OFRF’s grantmaking.
Some Examples of Organic Fruit Projects Previously Funded by OFRF:
$3,420 Grant Awarded to John Reganold, Washington State University, 1994
OFRF funding initiated this extensive, long-term study of soils, crop performance, and profitability of organic, low-input, and conventional apple production systems. Reganold's ground-breaking work continues to yield high profile scientific papers and useful information on the characteristics of organic systems. A report on the study was published in 2001 in the journal Nature. http://ofrf.org/funded/reports/reganold_94-37.pdf
$9,385 Grant Awarded to Joji Muramoto, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2003
This significant systems study provides farmers with specific, practical suggestions on how to manage fertility in organic strawberries to avoid the loss of water-soluble plant nutrients from the soil due to rain and irrigation. http://ofrf.org/funded/reports/muramoto_03f12.pdf
$6,500 Grant Awarded to Kevin Athearn, University of Florida, 2003
This study on organic citrus production and marketing in Florida resulted in an analysis of the most effective management types for growing operations, and it reports unique information on organic citrus production. http://ofrf.org/funded/reports/athearn_03f09.pdf
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About the Organic Farming Research Foundation
The Organic Farming Research Foundation was founded in 1990 to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming practices. Our mission is to sponsor research related to organic farming practices, disseminate research results to organic farmers and to growers interested in adopting organic production systems, and educate the public and decision-makers about organic farming issues. The majority of OFRF’s board members are working organic farmers.
About Stretch Island Fruit Company
Stretch Island Fruit Company, a leading provider of all-natural and organic fruit snacks, has been making it easy for people to enjoy the nourishing goodness of real fruit since 1976. The company has grown from a humble, two-person operation to become the leading natural fruit snack brand in the U.S., based on the simple values of optimism, social consciousness, simplicity and health. www.stretch-island.com www.fruitabu.com
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