OFRF Grants Awarded Spring 2008

The OFRF Board of Directors awarded 15 new grants in March totaling $211,805. $90,133 was disbursed to support 4 fruit projects. Here are OFRF’s latest investments in new organic knowledge:

Education/outreach projects
Michaela Colley            
Organic Seed Alliance. Port Townsend, Washington
Production guides for organic carrot, lettuce, and beet/chard seed.                $13,614

Meg Moynihan                  
Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture. St. Paul, Minnesota
2007 Organic Farm Performance in Minnesota Report.                                   $6,725

Brent McCown           
Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, University of Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin
Organic apple conference calls: providing expert organic production advice for Upper Midwest growers.                                                                      $9,978 In partnership with Stretch Island Fruit Company.

Bridget Cooke            
Adelante Mujeres. Forest Grove, Oregon
Sustainable Organic Farming and Marketing Project.                                   $8,000

Nancy Allen                           
Tilth Producers of Washington. Seattle, Washington
Tilth Producers of Washington Farm Walk Program.                                 $6,100

Research projects
Eric Nelson                            
Cornell University. Ithaca, New York.
Suppression of Pythium damping off with compost and vermicompost, year 2. $10,180

Miguel Altieri            
University of California. Berkeley, California
Effectiveness of agroecological management in improving soil quality in California vineyards.
$14,980

Sean Swezey                          
University of California. Santa Cruz, California
Integrating biological control with trap crop management in California organic strawberries, year 2.
$14,471 In partnership with Stretch Island Fruit Company.

Margaret Skinner                      
University of Vermont. Burlington, Vermont
Fungi, predatory mites and guardian plants for thrips IPM in organic greenhouse ornamentals.  
$14,968

Amy Charkowski               
University of Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin
Organic certified seed potato production in the Midwest, year 2.
$14,884

Deborah Henderson                 
E.S. Cropconsult. Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Insect management tools for organic cranberry production in the Pacific Northwest.
$27,475 (2-year award) In partnership with Stretch Island Fruit Company.

Susan Fleugel                        
Grey Duck Garlic. Moscow, Idaho
Effectiveness and economic impact of weed control systems in organic garlic production.   
$10,362

Curt Rom                               
University of Arkansas. Fayetteville, Arkansas
Off-season organic blackberry and raspberry production to expand markets and sustain farm profitability. 
$38,209 (2-year award) In partnership with Stretch Island Fruit Company.

Lindsay Fernandez-Salvador
University of Florida. Gainesville, Florida
Persistence of Florida's small-scale organic farms in the face of growing demand for organic products.
$7,304

Dave Christensen               
Seed We Need. Big Timber, Montana
Development of corn borer-resistant corn for organic farming systems, year 3.
$14,555