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USDA Announces $3.8 Million for Research to Help Farmers
and Ranchers Meet Growing Demand for Organic Products
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 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.
To learn more about NIFA’s impact on agricultural
science, visit www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts, sign up for email updates or
follow us on Twitter @usda_NIFA, #NIFAimpacts.
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USDA is an equal
opportunity provider, employer and lender.
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