Improving Carbon and Nutrient Modeling Tools for Organic Farming to Reduce Climate Change Impact
The 2022 Organic Center-FFAR joint Organic Research Program awards up to $200,000 per project focused on organic techniques for improving mitigation and resiliency to climate change, with a priority on systems-based approaches and a commitment to cross-sector partnerships. TOC and FFAR selected projects in regions typically underrepresented in organic research and with plans to expand their results to the greater organic farming industry by making their data open and accessible to the public.
Why this research is important
Organic farming is poised to be part of the climate change solution; organic farmers do not rely on fossil-fuel intensive synthetic inputs to manage pests or increase soil fertility and use farming techniques that sequester carbon in the soil. However, more work is needed to understand specific strategies organic growers can adopt to mitigate climate change, while managing the negative effects climate change is having on their farms through drought, flooding, invasive pests and extreme weather events.