Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seed. Photo credit: Micaela Colley, Organic Seed Alliance

Current Projects

• The European Consortium for Organic Plant Breeding (ECO-PB)
  ECO-PB works to: 1) provide a platform for discussion and exchange of knowledge and experiences, 2) initiate and support organic plant breeding programs, 3) develop the scientific principles of organic plant breeding, 4) develop standards for organic plant breeding. http://www.eco-pb.org/
• Louis Bolk Institute
  The Louis Bolk Institute conducts research on, and provides new insight into, organic and sustainable agriculture, nutrition and health care. http://www.louisbolk.org/
• Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society – Farmer Breeder Club
  The Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society has a farmer-breeder club which engages in participatory plant breeding and variety trials focusing on grains and forage crops. They work closely with researchers at NDSU. http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/carringt/05data/05%20Annual%20Report/NPSAS%...
• Organic Seed Alliance
  Organic Seed Alliance engages in participatory, on-farm plant breeding with organic farmers, professional plant breeders, and end users. OSA also teaches classes on fundamentals of organic plant variety improvement. http://www.seedalliance.org/index.php?page=Research

Projects no longer funded

• Organic Seed Partnership
  The Organic Seed Partnership is a consortium of public plant breeders working with organic farmers, organic seed industry and non-profit organizations to breed for organic systems and coordinate organic variety trials nationally. http://www.plbr.cornell.edu/PSI/OSP%20home.htm
• Public Seed Initiative (PSI)
  The Public Seed Initiative (PSI) is a cooperative effort amongst the Cornell University Departments of Plant Breeding and Horticulture, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, Inc, and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s Plant Genetic Resources Unit in Geneva, NY. http://www.plbr.cornell.edu/psi/index.html
• Quality Low Input Food (QLIF)
  A European consortium that seeks to lower production costs while increasing efficiency of farming systems. While not exclusively organic, the project emphasized working within an organic context. http://www.qlif.org/

This is an eOrganic article and was reviewed for compliance with National Organic Program regulations by members of the eOrganic community. Always check with your organic certification agency before adopting new practices or using new materials. For more information, refer to eOrganic's articles on organic certification.

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