Development of a Multi-State Consortium Directed Toward Organic Agriculture Research and Education

The Ohio State University led the effort to create the Organic Agriculture Consortium (OAC) with the goal of catalyzing new opportunities for small and mid-sized farm families through integrating multidisciplinary research, education, and extension of organic agriculture, a rapidly growing sector of the US food industry.  Major support was provided by a USDA Integrated Food and Farming Systems grant. Four universities and over 20 research and extension faculty participated in this project. Collaborative work built capacity beyond what one organization could do and was organized around three objectives.

1.   Facilitate collection, integration and dissemination of existing and consortium-generated production, environmental, and economic information on organic agriculture.  These were accomplished through training manuals, a website, a webcast course, lender institution education, the Scientific Congress on Organic Agricultural Research, and whole farm planning workshops for transitional and organic farm families.

2.   Conduct production research that will support transitioning and existing organic farmers’ at the component, system, and whole farm levels.   We conducted on-station and on-farm studies directed to increasing whole-farm efficiency, reducing economic risk, and enhancing profitability in organic production.

3.   Facilitate the development of local, regional and international market opportunities for organic farmers.  Four activities were carried out: international marketing manual; new community-based marketing initiatives; consumer research, and scientific review of nutritional value of organic produce.

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