About the Organic Agriculture Research Forum

This website contains archived materials from organic research conferences entitled the Organic Farming Research Symposium and the Organic Farming Research Forum. The purpose of the conferences was to bring together researchers, farmers, and other beneficiaries of organic agriculture and farming systems research and to create lasting relationships among the participants. The conferences provide the latest results of research to farmers, ranchers, extension agents, educators, agricultural professionals, and others interested in organic agriculture. Farmers, agricultural advisors, and practitioners have an opportunity to learn about and advance the state of the art of organic farming in partnership with the research community. See below for more information about the organizers of these conferences. eOrganic was a collaborator to record and archive presentations and proceedings from 2015-2020, with funding from several NIFA OREI grants.

2015 Organic Farming Research Symposium

The 2015 OARS was held in LaCrosse Wisconsin on February 25-26, 2015 immediately prior to the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES) Organic Farming Conference. The program consisted of 11 workshops with 33 speakers, including three speakers who connected remotely from France. Six workshops and the keynote were also livestreamed via eOrganic webinars. Find the recordings on the 2015 section of this website.

In addition, two listening sessions were held the afternoon of February 26. The sessions were attended by approximately 50 participants that included farmers, researchers, practitioners and activists. The listening sessions were organized into four tracks: soil and plant health, livestock, seeds and breeds, and a range of miscellaneous topics. The participants identified research gaps and topics that need to be addressed to advance organic agriculture. These outcomes from these listening sessions are also summarized and included with the proceedings on the 2015 section of this website.

The event was funded by grants from the USDA NIFA Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) and from Ceres Trust. The University of Wisconsin and The Organic Center (TOC) co-sponsored with MOSES, and Brian Baker was the organizer.

Marbleseed (formerly MOSES) hosted an Organic Research Forum at their annual conferences after 2015. Some archived materials may be available from Marbleseed at https://marbleseed.org/shop/merchandise.

2016 Organic Farming Research Symposium

The 2016 OARS was held at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 as a pre-conference event at EcoFarm. The plenary speakers were André Leu, President of Organic International / IFOAM and Mathieu Ngouajio, USDA/NIFA National Program Leader in Cropping Systems. Workshops on soil health, long-term and strategic research, and innovative educational systems were livestreamed as eOrganic webinars, and the recordings will be posted on this website. Funding for the  live broadcast of the OARS was provided by USDA NIFA OREI and the conference hosts were the UC-ANR Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center and the Organic Farming Research Foundation. Find recordings and proceedings on the 2016 section of this website.

The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), which is a non-profit foundation that works to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems. OFRF cultivates organic research, education, and federal policies that bring more farmers and acreage into organic production. The Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension (KARE) Center, founded in 1965, is one of nine world-class agricultural research centers operated by the University of California.

2017 Organic Farming Research Symposium

The Organic Farming Research Foundation, in partnership with the University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University, presented the 2017 Organic Agriculture Research Symposium (OARS), which took place on January 25-26, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky, immediately preceding the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference (SAWG).The symposium featured researchers from all disciplines related to organic farming and food systems, and other systems of sustainable agriculture that employ techniques compatible with organic standards. The intent of the symposium was to provide current information to farmers, ranchers, extensionists, educators, agricultural professionals and others intererested in organic agriculture. Find recorded presentations and the conference abstracts on the 2017 section of this website.

2019 Organic Agriculture Research Forum

The 2019 OARS took place in collaboration with the Organicology conference in Portland, Oregon on February 16, 2019. Proceedings and recorded presentations are available on the 2019 section of this website. The conference featured innovative presentations from researchers across all disciplines related to organic farming and food systems.

2020 Organic Agriculture Research Forum

The Organic Agriculture Research Forum, organized by Tuskegee University and the Organic Farming Research Foundation research forum featured oral presentations, facilitated round table discussions, and a robust joint poster session with SSAWG. It took place in Little Rock, Arkansas on January 23, 2020. The agenda is available here, and you can find archived presentations and proceedings on the 2020 section of this website.

2022 and 2024 Organic Agriculture Research Forums

These conferences took place in conjunction with EcoFarm. Recordings are available on the EcoFarm Mighty Networks platform at at https://secure.eco-farm.org/https%3A//eco-farm.org/listen-learn-grow. Access is free, but you have to create an account.