USDA will sponsor a conference on March 16-18, 2011 in Washington DC to examine findings from research on organic farming systems, including many longstanding projects. The audience for this conference includes researchers, policymakers, farmers, ranchers and others who are interested in exploring the implications of organic farming systems research.

Conference objectives:

• To examine findings from U.S. research on organic farming systems, including two key types of research—long-term farming experiments and nationwide economic producer surveys.

• To explore the implications of these findings for U.S. agricultural productivity, economic viability, environmental stewardship, and quality of life goals.

• To facilitate dialogue among the various disciplines, farm groups and other stakeholders involved in organic farming systems research, and to generate recommendations for improving the way this research is conducted.

• To create new ideas for future research in organic farming systems.

The conference is free and open to the public, but space is limited and registration is required.