WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced the availability of up to $3.8 million in funding to support research, education and extension to support organic farmers and ranchers as well as those adopting organic practices for the first time. The grants are funded through the Organic Transitions Program (ORG), administered by NIFA and authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
"The United States retail market for organic products is valued at more than $43 billion–and consumer demand for organic products is booming," said NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy. "Research investments in programs like Organic Transitions helps more farms become certified organic and gain access to this growing market opportunity."
Priority research areas include:
- Documenting and understanding the effects of organic practices such as crop rotation, livestock-crop integration, organic manure, mulch and/or compost additions, cover crops, and reduced or conservation tillage on ecosystem services, greenhouse gas mitigation, and biodiversity.
- Improving technologies, methods, model development and other metrics to document, describe and optimize the environmental services and climate change mitigation ability of organic farming systems.
- Developing cultural practices and other allowable alternatives to substances recommended for removal from NOP's National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.
- Addressing major barriers that limit the transition to organic agriculture in a given region or specific crop or animal production systems.
Applications are due March 9, 2017. For eligibility, program details and to apply for a grant, see NIFA's Organic Transitions web page.
Previous projects funded through the Organic Transitions Program include a multi-state, trans-disciplinary project led by the University of Maryland to improve the management of soils in transitional and organic farming systems. A project from South Dakota State University brought together Native American stakeholders with agricultural and social scientists to develop organic production practices and market the resulting produce.
Over the past eight years, USDA has strengthened programs that support organic producers as they grow and respond to increasing consumer demand for a range of organic products. The USDA organic seal has become a leading global standard and in the U.S. there are now over 21,700 certified USDA organic operations, representing a nearly 300% increase since 2002. Worldwide, there are more than 31,000 certified organic operations in over 120 countries.
USDA supports the organic sector through a wide variety of programs, including conservation grants, organic crop insurance, certification cost-share, organic market news and simplified microloans. To learn more about USDA support for organic agriculture, visit http://www.usda.gov/organic.
Since 2009, USDA has invested $19 billion in research both intramural and extramural. During that time, research conducted by USDA scientists has resulted in 883 patent applications filed, 405 patents issued and 1,151 new inventions disclosures covering a wide range of topics and discoveries. To learn more about how USDA supports cutting edge science and innovation, visit the USDA Medium chapter Food and Ag Science Will Shape Our Future.
NIFA invests in and advances innovative and transformative research, education and extension to solve societal challenges and ensure the long-term viability of agriculture. NIFA support for the best and brightest scientists and extension personnel have resulted in user-inspired, groundbreaking discoveries that are combating childhood obesity, improving and sustaining rural economic growth, addressing water availability issues, increasing food production, finding new sources of energy, mitigating climate variability and ensuring food safety.
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To learn more about NIFA's impact on agricultural science, visit http://www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts, sign up for email updates or follow us on Twitter @usda_NIFA, #NIFAimpacts.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
Media Contact
Kelly Sprute
[email protected]
202-720-3137
http://nifa.usda.gov/
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Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag
