The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it is investing US$19m in organic research, education and extension grants to help solve critical organic agriculture issues.
Agriculture deputy secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced that the funding would be divided between 30 universities across the country, with most part of the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative.
Leading recipients of the funding include Cornell University in Ithica (US$1.43m), Washington State University in Pullman (US$1.45m) and the University of Maine in Orono (US$1.32m).
'Organic agriculture is one of the fastest growing segments of US agriculture and the USDA and Congress, through the 2008 Farm Bill, are committed to helping this industry succeed by addressing critical organic agriculture issues through the integration of research, education and extension projects,' said Ms Merrigan. 'These grants are an important part of USDA's new 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative, which will help develop local and regional food systems and spur economic opportunity by assisting organic producers with new production and marketing practices to meet rising consumer demand.'
A USDA statement said that US producers have increasingly turned to organic farming systems as a way of lowering input costs, decreasing reliance on non-renewable resources, capturing high-value markets and boosting farm income.
The country's organic food sales have increased from US$3.6bn in 1997 to US$24.6bn in 2008, according to the USDA, with 28 per cent of US consumers purchasing organic products weekly.
