An official website of the United States government.
Long-term goal: The long-term goal of this project is to develop eOrganic, in partnership with other organic agriculture information providers, as an effective, national, internet-based, interactive, user-driven, organic agriculture information system for farmers and agricultural professionals. eOrganic will develop and deliver organic agriculture information that is accessible, reliable, credible, and up-to-date.<P> Supporting objectives: <OL> <LI> To develop and evaluate a vision and framework for eOrganic, including partnerships with ATTRA, National and regional SARE programs, OrganicAgInfo, National Agricultural Library, and other organic agriculture information providers. <LI>To develop in-depth eOrganic content in a) diversified vegetable production and marketing systems, and b) dairy production and marketing systems <LI>To evaluate eOrganic process, content, delivery, and outcomes <LI>To market eOrganic to farmers and agricultural professionals
Non-Technical Summary: The organic marketplace is growing rapidly, outpacing the availability of high quality, science-based information for farmers and agricultural professionals. This project will develop model livestock (dairy) and crop (vegetable) information for eOrganic, the new eXtension organic agriculture website. <P> Approach: A vision and framework for eOrganic is being developed and evaluated in partnership with key organic agriculture information providers such as ATTRA and OrganicAgInfo. eOrganic will initially offer searchable content consisting of brief articles, nationally compiled FAQs, interactive Ask-the-Expert, regionally-specific case studies, certification and decision tools, and a portal to in-depth information available from eOrganic, ATTRA, OrganicAgInfo, and other sources. Over time, eOrganic will offer video streaming of expert presentations and certificate and continuing education courses. Organic systems researchers will be convened and IOP, SARE, and other research results will be collected, discussed, distilled, and translated into eOrganic content to deliver missing systems information to farmers and increase impact of federal research dollars. eOrganic will provide timely information on critical issues such as systems-level soil and pest management, animal health, grazing, feed supplements, community food systems, and international certification requirements. eOrganic will be evaluated from the beginning to the end of the project by organic farmers, conventional farmers, and agricultural professionals to develop the highest quality content and most effective delivery systems for these user groups.