SCOAR Session on Organic Livestock Research Needs, Feb. 7th

A workshop on organic livestock research will be held at the Western Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (WSAWG) annual meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Feb 7-8, 2002. The afternoon session on Feb. 7th will discuss research needs related to production, marketing and environmental assessment of organic livestock operations. Funds are available from OFRF to help cover travel costs for organic growers attending the SCOAR session. For the WSAWG meeting agenda, visit: http://www.westernsawg.org/. Applications for travel cost support are available at: http://ofrf.org/scoar/events.html. For more information contact Brise Tencer at SCOAR@ofrf.org or call her at 831-426-6606.

USDA Organic Research Funds available!

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Services (CSREES), as part of their pest management competitive grants program, have made funds available for research in organic transition. The funds are available through the Integrated Research, Education, and Extension-pest management (IREE-Pest management) competitive Grants Program. There is about $1.4 million available to fund new organic transition research grant proposals for FY02. The deadline for applications is February 20, 2002! For more information and the FY2002 Request for Applications, visit: http://www.reeusda.gov/integrated/pestmgmt.pdf.

SCOAR Conference Results on the Web.

Outcomes from the 2nd Assembly of the Scientific Congress on Organic Agricultural Research, held Nov. 4-5 in Rock Hill, South Carolina are posted on the Organic farming Research Foundation’s website at: http://ofrf.org/scoar/fallMeeting-01/meetingindex.html. Most of the meeting results are posted now, and the remainder will be posted soon.

SCOAR Event on Social/Economic Research, June 2002.

A proposal has been submitted for a SCOAR-led panel on social and economic research needs related to organic agriculture, for the annual joint meeting of the Agriculture Food and Human Values Society/ Association for the Study of Food and Society (AFHVS/ASFS) in Chicago on June 13-16, 2002. Abstracts are due by February 12th. For more info on the meeting, see http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/rhaynes/afhvs/2002call.html

For more information about the SCOAR session, watch the SCOAR website or contact us at 831-426-6606.

Sustainable Ag Faculty Position.

Michigan State University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources is inviting applications and nominations for the Charles Stewart Mott Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Agriculture in East Lansing, Michigan. The individual awarded this tenured full professor position will be responsible for providing leadership to a campus-wide program of excellence in sustainable agriculture through research, teaching, and extension activities. Applications must be received by February 15, 20002. For more information visit: http://www.msue.msu.edu/misanet/Mott.htm.

Report on Organic Pest Control Methods.

Check out the workshop report entitled “ Farming to Manage Pests and Diseases- the Latest Developments for Brassicas and Carrots” by Gareth Davies of Henry Doubleday Research Association (November 5, 2001). The report is available at: http://www.organic-research.com/research/papers/hdrapdw.htm.

IFOAM Meeting August 2002

The International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) will hold its 14th Organic World Congress in Victoria, BC, Canada from August 15-27, 2002. The theme will be "Cultivating Communities". The Organic World Congress will bring together representatives of the organic movement from around the world. For more information, visit: http://www.ifoam.org/conf/. OFRF staff has submitted an abstract for a paper on the SCOAR project.

Great CSARE Newsletter

The Consortium for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (CSARE) publishes a free newsletter entitled Inquiry in Action. The latest issue (Fall 2001) has several articles very pertinent to the SCOAR project. For a free copy of the quarterly newsletter, Inquiry in Action, email your postal address to: cekruger@students.wisc.edu. For more information, visit their website at: http://www.csare.org/pubs/signup.htm.