In reinstating the grants program, OFRF is releasing an open request for proposals in all subject areas, but particularly encourages proposals in the following topic areas: · organic livestock systems; · economic constraints and opportunities relevant to the viability of small- and medium-scale organic farms and ranches; · projects that investigate the interactions between components of organic systems and that take a systems-management (rather than an input-substitution) approach to solving production problems.

OFRF encourages organic farmers and ranchers to apply for a grant. Many producers find that working with a small group, or with an extension educator or university-based researcher, can make it easier to design and carry out a research project. OFRF encourages applications from such partnerships, and will try to link interested farmers with research partners.

Projects must involve farmers in both design and implementation and take place on working organic farms whenever possible.

One finding of OFRF's evaluation of its grantmaking, presented in the report Investing in Organic Knowledge: Impacts of the First 13 Years of OFRF's Grantmaking Program, is that all farmer grant recipients interviewed for the evaluation said that their research findings had been of practical use to them and had resulted in their changing production practices on their farms.

OFRF has funded the largest number of organic agriculture research projects of any foundation in the U.S. in its 13 years of grantmaking, disbursing $1.3 million to support 213 projects.

To apply, eight copies of a proposal must be submitted to the OFRF office by Dec. 15, 2006. For more details, please refer to the updated request for proposals on the OFRF website at http://www.ofrf.org/research/application.html.

Jane Sooby, Technical Program Coordinator
831-426-6606
jane@ofrf.org

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