Two men standing together in the middle of a wheat field, both looking down at the laptop computer in the hands of the man on the right Two men standing together in the middle of a wheat field, both looking down at the laptop computer in the hands of the man on the right

Iowa State University Organic Agriculture Program (ISU OAP)

Generating Agroecosystems Solutions
Generating Agroecosystems Solutions

Program Contact

Dr. LaKisha Odom
lodom@foundationfar.org

Year Awarded  2022

Total award amount   $50,000

Location   Ames, IA 

Matching Funders   The Organic Center

Grantee Institution   Iowa State University Organic Agriculture Program

To Advance Organic Agriculture, Training and Technical Support is Needed

The $350,000 Organic Training for Agricultural Professionals Prize recognizes extraordinary contributions to training farmers, agriculture professionals and community organizations in organic production. In selecting the 2022 prize winners, The Organic Center and FFAR prioritized farmer-led projects with the potential for expansion and multi-regional impact. Organizations were also selected based on their project’s ability to increase diversity, equity and inclusion among participants and on the extent to which they included measurable, in-person and online knowledge exchange between farmers and organic agriculture professionals. Applicants were required to match the award amounts.

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.

Transitioning to organic farming can be confusing, costly and labor-intensive. This partnership with The Organic Center provides a much-needed opportunity for agriculture professionals to educate more farmers about organic farming best practices so we can sustainably meet consumers’ growing demand for organic products and support thriving farms. LaKisha Odom, Ph.D.
Scientific Program Director
Sustaining Vibrant Agroecosystems

Details About this Research

Matching Funders

The Organic Center's mission is to convene credible, evidence-based science on the health and environmental impacts of organic food and farming and to communicate the findings to the public. The Center is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) research and education organization operating under the administrative auspices of the Organic Trade Association.

Connect: @OrganicCenter

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The Latest

Insights

Our Insights highlight unique perspectives from across the food and agriculture community.

See all Insights

Advancing Ecosystem Service Markets for Sustainable Farming

LaKisha Odom & DJ May

A Place for Everyone in Agriculture

Dr. LaKisha Odom & Jocelyn Hittle

Finding a New Way to Control Weeds in Cotton.

Sarah Chu

Sarah Chu

FFAR Fellow, Texas A&M University

The “Good Soil Discount” — A Game Changer for U.S. Agriculture

Harley Cross

Harley Cross

Land Core Co-founder & Director of Strategy

Organic Ag Podcast Features Innovative Industry Topics

Kathleen Delate

Professor, Organic Agriculture Program, Iowa State University 

Building Bridges Between Academics & Farmers

Elizabeth Ellis

FFAR Fellow, Elizabeth Ellis

Manure – Waste or Resource?

Manny Sabbagh

University of Minnesota

Diversifying the Future of Venture Capital

The first cohort of the HBCU Kirchner Fellows are Bryana Pittman, Kwame Jackson and Martin Adu-Boahene who co-wrote this Insights piece to share the value of this fellowship and its potential impact.

Can Adding Carbon to the Soil Help us Manage Weeds?

Maria Gannett

2019-2022 FFAR Fellow

Taking Science Beyond the Bench: Critical Reflections for Change-Oriented Research

Krista Marshall

2019-2022 FFAR Fellow

Soil is Not Dirt

Aaron Prairie

2020-2023 FFAR Fellow

Fine-tuning photosynthesis

Dhruv Patel

2019-2022 FFAR Fellow

Can biochar help adapt agriculture to a hotter, dryer climate?

Shelby Hoglund

2018-2021 FFAR Fellow

Milkweeds: Medicine for Monarchs?

Annie Krueger

2018-2021 FFAR Fellow

The Time is RIPE for Agricultural Innovation

Sally Rockey, Ph.D.

Executive Director Emeritus

News

The latest news and updates from FFAR.

See all News

FFAR & FoodShot Global Announce GroundBreaker Prize Winners in Water Research

FFAR & The Organic Center Invest $632,000 into the Future of Organic Farming

FFAR Grant Reduces Nitrogen Inputs, Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Grant Transforms Wastewater to Crop Fertilizer

GroundBreaker Prize to Fund Critical Water Research

FFAR Renews ESMC Partnership to Grow Ecosystem Services Market Program 

Mitigating Farm Risk Through Improved Soil Health

FFAR & OCP North America Announce Fertilizer Fellowship Awardees & 2023 Opportunities

FFAR and The Organic Center Announce $2.4 Million in Funding for Organic Outreach and Research

RIPE research proves potential for measuring root biomass throughout growing season

Producers and Researchers Agree, Scale Up of a Sustainable Biochar Industry is Critical to Meet Climate Targets, and Build Agricultural Resilience and Soil Health

FFAR and FoodShot Global Announce GroundBreaker Prize Winners

Advancing DEI in Sharing Carbon & Ecosystems Services Information

FFAR Announces $1 Million for Organic Research to Tuskegee University

FFAR & The Organic Center Advance Organic Agriculture

RIPE Researchers Report Faster Screening of Photoprotection in Crops

RIPE Researchers Prove Bioengineering Better Photosynthesis Increases Yields in Food Crops for the First Time

RIPE Shows Potential for Improved Water-Use Efficiency in Field-Grown Plants

UC Davis Receives FFAR Grant to Help Improve Vineyard Soil Health

FFAR and OFRF Announce Six Organic Farming Research Project Awardees

Breakthroughs

Tools, technologies and strategies from the research we fund.

See all Breakthroughs

New Study Shows AI & Supercomputing Can Quantify Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Individual Farms

Breakthrough for FFAR Grant Quantifies Organic Carbon to Improve Agricultural Productivity

Building Collaborations for Technology-Driven Solutions in Agriculture

Breakthrough for Open Technology Ecosystem for Agricultural Management (OpenTEAM)

Documenting Adaptive Multi-Paddock Grazing’s Benefits

Breakthrough for Quantifying the Advantages of Multi-Paddock (AMP) Grazing in the U.S. Southeast & Northern Great Plains

RIPE Researchers Prove Bioengineering Better Photosynthesis Increases Yields in Food Crops for the First Time

Breakthrough for Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) Reinvestment

ID: 22-000521-MOU-2021

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