Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
While national organic sales and certified acreage is growing, organic production is historically low in the Southeast (SE). SE organic producers face challenges of more intense pest pressures from warmer climates and longer growing seasons, poor soils with fertility and carbon building limitations. A lack of regional research is a critical limitation for SE growers. The goal of this proposal is to bring together regional researchers, farmer organizations and growers in a one-day Southeast Organic Agriculture Research Symposium to identify farmer-focused research priorities. This symposium has two objectives: 1) share current SE organic research together with farmer-identified challenges and 2) identify SE research priorities that increase production, economic returns and improve environmental factors. Research sharing and priority setting will focus on systems-level topics from plant breeding, pest management, soil health, and cover crops. Organized by the Carolina Farm Stewardship (CFSA) and the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) at North Carolina State University (NCSU), the symposium will occur in conjunction with the NC Organic Commodity and Livestock Conference (OCLC) providing an opportunity for a large diversity of farmers to hear from research across the Southeast. Symposium participants will be invited to participate in OCLC and the Southeast Organic Agriculture Research Symposium will occur the day afterwards. An outcome of the symposium will be a conference report: Research and Extension Priorities for Advancing Southeast Organic Agriculture Production. Our aim is to increase multidisciplinary and inter-institutional collaborations to support and expand SE organic agriculture and a team ready to address these.
Animal Health Component
60%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
30%
Applied
60%
Developmental
10%
Goals / Objectives
While national organic sales and certified acreage are growing, organic production is historically low in the Southeast (SE). SE organic producers face challenges of more intense pest pressures from warmer climates and longer growing seasons, poor soils with fertility and soil carbon building limitations. A lack of organic agriculture research targeted for the SE conditions is a critical limitation for regional organic producers.The overall goals of this project are to identify the farmer-focused research and extension priorities to strengthen organic agriculture production in the Southeast (SE) and to develop an interdisciplinary and cross-institutional team ready to address those.We will accomplish this by bringing together multidisciplinary researchers across SE land-grant universities, key farmer support organizations and invited farmers across the region together for a one day Southeast Organic Agriculture Research Symposium. Organized by the Carolina Farm Stewardship (CFSA) and the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) at North Carolina State University (NCSU), the symposium will occur in conjunction with the NC Organic Commodity and Livestock Conference (OCLC) providing an opportunity for a large diversity of farmers to hear from research across the Southeast.The objectives of the symposium are to:1) share current multidisciplinary research focused on organic agriculture in the Southeast (SE),2) describe barriers to SE organic agriculture production from systems-based approach spanning soil health, pest and fertility management, breeding, climate adaptation and resilience, market access, and certification challenges,3) identify and prioritize research and extension needs for strengthening and expanding organic production in the Southeast, and4) disseminate current research and extension priorities for SE organic agriculture with growers, extension agents, farmer organizations and researchers throughout the region
Project Methods
The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) at NC State University together with the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA) is proposing to organize a one day Southeast Organic Agriculture Research Symposium in Raleigh, NC. This forum will be in conjunction with the Organic Commodities and Livestock Conference in March 2025 that brings together hundreds of growers, researchers, extension agents, and stakeholders from across North Carolina and South Carolina each year since 2011. CEFS and CFSA have co-hosted this conference and have many years of experience organizing successful conferences, have staff support to help with meeting and travel logistics as well unique network collaborations to engage diverse organic researchers, farmers, and support organizations.This proposed symposium will provide a unique opportunity for a wider range of regional stakeholders to share their knowledge and experience in organic production challenges and research priorities for the SE. Researchers from diverse disciplines (crop science, entomology, horticulture, plant pathology, soil science, nutrition and food safety, agriculture extension, etc.) at regional universities that are leading organic agriculture research are already engaged as key collaborators and are in strong support (See Support Letters). Moreover, many of the PIs have co-authored the NC Organic Commodity Production Guide (https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/north-carolina-organic-commodities-production-guide), a resource for farmers across the region. Key farmer organizations that provide important support for organic agriculture research, extension and education in the region are already engaged in this proposal including Georgia Organics, Florida Organic Growers, and the Clemson Organic Certification Program. These organizations and selected organic growers will provide key guidance on farmer-centered research needs and effective communication strategies for farmers. Key collaborators will meet monthly prior to the symposium to finalize agenda and presentations and organize research briefs that can be shared at the symposium. The breadth of disciplines already engaged as key collaborators ranging from soil health, sustainability, plant breeding, pest management, to support organizations, will generate wide interests among stakeholders. Once funded, we will engage other regional researchers more broadly and announce the symposium through CEFS, CFSA and collaborator websites in fall 2024. It is critical that participants are working in the region to understand the challenges and research priorities unique to the SE.All symposium participants will be invited to attend the Organic Commodities and Livestock Conference (OCLC) on day one in Raleigh, NC and some will be asked to present their research at OCLC to expand grower knowledge of research across the region. Participants will gather for dinner the first day for network building. The symposium will occur on day two located in the new NC State Plant Sciences Building, a state-of-the-art space that has a large auditorium, various breakout rooms and technology for interactive discussions and live broadcasting for participants that cannot be in person. The first half will focus on research presentations that highlight holistic systems-level SE organic challenges. The afternoon will focus on discussions to ensure these groups share their ideas.