The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Educational Service (MOSES) announces the second Organic Research Forum to be held in conjunction with the Organic Farming Conference Feb. 25-27, 2010, in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This event, first held in 2008, is intended to become an annual part of the conference in future years.

The Research Forum offers a unique opportunity for students, scientists and farmer researchers investigating organic topics to engage with a grower audience. The forum also provides a chance for researchers and educators to network with one another and stay informed about current research in organics.

The forum will begin on Thursday with a workshop for educators and researchers that will provide background on methods for establishing and facilitating the development of sustainable agriculture education programs, student farms and experiential learning as well as a panel discussion on strategies for researchers to successfully to build an organic agriculture research program. These workshops will be followed by the opening of the poster session, held in conjunction with a mixer. Friday and Saturday will include six workshops highlighting research related to organic production occurring simultaneously with the other conference workshops. The poster session will continue throughout Friday and Saturday.

Researchers, including government scientists and staff, academic faculty and staff, graduate and undergraduate students and farmer researchers, are invited to submit posters to be displayed at the conference as part of the Research Forum.

Submission of poster abstracts devoted to the following topics will be accepted for review:

• Weed management in organic vegetable and row crops.
• Organic dairy production.
• Economic and marketing research in organic agriculture.
• Organic livestock production (other than dairy) and crop-livestock integration in organic systems.
• Insect and disease management strategies on organic farms.
• Nutritional quality of organic foods.

Summaries of research submitted for consideration should be clear, descriptive and not longer than 400 words. They should contain the following specific information: purpose of study, experimental treatments used, results obtained, significance of findings, conclusions, and implications of results. Keep in mind the research forum audience will predominantly include growers and the general public, so focus on the implications and applications of your work.

Please submit summaries to jeff@mosesorganic.org either as a Microsoft Word compatible attachment or simply in the text of your email on or before Wednesday, November 25, 2009. Owners of accepted summaries will be notified soon after.

A limited amount of funds are available for student scholarships to cover or off-set the cost of attending the conference. Scholarships are in the amount of $500. If you would like to be considered for a scholarship please submit an additional summary, by the same date and not to exceed one page, outlining your educational and professional background, your experience with and commitment to organic agricultural research and the research you are involved in and its relevance and value to organic growers.