Organic Farming Research Foundation OFRFSARE Organic Farming Research Foundation How OFRF and SARE Can Nurture and Grow Organic Agriculture Together by Jonathon Landeck, Deputy Executive Director

 OFRF Mission: Foster the widespread improvement and adoption of organic farming systems) * New focus on “systems” rather than “practices.” Need to cultivate alternatives to an input-substitution paradigm * National Organic Research Agenda  “Organic Farmer First” to promote and highlight organic producer knowledge in research, education, and policy advocacy  Working Assumption: That alleviating production constraints would give rise to widespread adoption. Is this a role for SARE? * Need to analyze best approaches to spur adoption. Is this a role for SARE? OFRF’s Mission and Values

OFRF’s Structure & Scope National organization Grants & advocacy (more $$ for organic R&E) Majority of board is organic farmers 260+ R&E grants made OFRF Grantmaking* Region % Grants % $$ West Northcentral Northeast South 11 5 * OFRF data is from 2006 % Grants & avg grant size Farmers (15%):$ 5,181 Researchers (67%):$ 6,525 Non-profits (18%): $ 5,284

OFRF Grantmaking Typology “Crop” % Grants % $$ Vegetables47 47 Grains12 17 Apples10 9 Fruit (other) 10 7 Tomatoes 5 4 Livestock 4 6 Herbs 4 4 Grapes 3 2 Strawberries 2 2 Citrus 1 1 Mushrooms “Topic” % Grants % $$ Insects23 19 Weeds13 13 Disease13 13 Educational12 9 Systems12 12 Fertility 8 8 Breeding 6 9 Cover crops 5 7 Food quality 4 6 Livestock 2 2 Economics 1 1

OFRF R&E Directives 1.Organic producers should set the research & education agenda 2.Fund research that has practical applicability to large numbers of organic farmers 3.Address nexus of research issues associated with organic farming & the environment 4.Leverage partnerships with producer organizations, commodity commissions, corporations

OrganizationFunding level Non-profits, other groups Land grant Businesses, consultants Individuals SARE Producer grants $1,000- $20,000 Farmer groups No Yes SARE R&E grants $20,000- $200,000 Yes NoYes SARE PDP grants $30,000- $100,000 Yes NoYes IOP$500,000 (est.) Yes OFRFUp to $15,000 Yes Funding Profiles (SARE, IOP, OFRF) OTHER KEY COMPARATIVE ELEMENTS (Producer Grants): SARE vs OFRF  SARE will fund demonstration projects. OFRF does not.  SARE requires producers to partner w/technical consultant. OFRF does not.  SARE has a larger pool of funds to draw from than OFRF.

Questions to Consider 1.How can SARE better use information generated from OFRF-funded research to spur adoption? 2. How can SARE leverage OFRF grantmaking to augment the impact of SARE funding? 3.How can SARE contribute to the development of a Social and Economic Organic Research Agenda?

Thank You ! Jonathon Landeck