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Calling student and
faculty papers on organic research!
The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Educational
Service (MOSES) and Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) are organizing a
Midwest Organic Research Symposium to be held in conjunction with the Upper
Midwest Organic Farming Conference Feb. 21-23, 2008, in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
This symposium offers a unique opportunity for students and scientists
investigating organic topics to engage with a knowledgeable audience. The
symposium will offer small group discussions between organic practitioners and
researchers, providing both with an opportunity to discuss research at a depth
rarely achieved at meetings.
The symposium will begin with a
mini-symposium on Day 1 that provides an opportunity for undergraduate and
graduate students who are conducting research on organic topics to present
their work to an informed audience.
Days 2 and 3 will be devoted to presentation and discussion of work
on the following topics:
I: Weed management in organic row crops.
II: Issues in organic vegetable and fruit management.
III: Organic dairy production
IV: Economic and marketing research in organic agriculture.
V: Organic livestock production (other than dairy) and crop-livestock
integration in organic systems.
VI: Insect and disease management strategies on organic farms.
You are invited to submit papers for presentation at the symposium and posters
to be displayed at the poster session. Please carefully consider the following:
1. The research must have been conducted in or be relevant to farming in the
Upper Midwest (core states include Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, the Dakotas,
Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana).
2. The research must focus primarily on production, marketing, social, or
economic issues in organic agriculture.
3. We encourage presentation of research that is a farmer-led or the result of
farmer-researcher collaboration.
4. Submitted papers may be assigned to be presented orally or in poster format.
5. Presentations will be limited to 5 minutes each followed by small group
roundtable discussions of the content.
6. Each presenter will be expected to interact with a small group of audience
members in a roundtable discussion following their presentation. This
opportunity to engage is just as important as the presentation of research
findings.
7. Posters are limited to a maximum size of 4’ x 4’.
8. All presenters will be given admission to the Upper Midwest Organic Farming
Conference, which includes breakfasts and lunches.
Application process
Submit the title of the presentation and/or poster, name and role of
presenter(s), name and role of other participants, and project summary of no
more than 100 words by July 20 to [log in to unmask]. Make
sure to specify where the project was conducted and how it relates to Midwest
growing conditions.
A farmer-scientist committee will evaluate the titles and select presentations
in late July. Invitations to present will be sent by mid-August. Abstracts will
be required to be submitted for each presentation by Sept. 7.
Should we have to choose from among applicants in the interests of time or
space, the following criteria will be used to assess the applications: explicit
organic context; grower participation in research design or conduct; regional
representation; scientific quality of research; implications of results for
application or new research.
Limited stipends are available to reimburse participants for costs associated
with attending the meeting. Information on applying for stipends
will be provided to invited participants.
For further information, contact Jane Sooby, Organic Farming Research
Foundation, phone 831-426-6606, e-mail [log in to unmask],or [log in to unmask].
For more information about MOSES and the Upper Midwest Organic Farming
Conference, please see http://www.mosesorganic.org/index.html
For more information on OFRF, please visit http://ofrf.org/index.html
 
*****************************************************
Vicki Morrone
Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist
Michigan State University
C.S. Mott Sustainable Food Systems
303 Natural Resources Bldg.
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-353-3542
517-282-3557 (cell)
517-353-3834 (fax)
http://www.MichiganOrganic.msu.edu/
http://www.mottgroup.msu.edu/
