Notes & correspondences

Events and activities related to research in organic food and farming

> Initiation of European Consortium for Organic Animal Breeding

> Better understanding of organic food quality

> Feasibility of energy reliance in organic farming

> What will Organic Farming deliver?

> Communicating organic research online - Survey on user needs and interests

Initiation of a European Consortium for Organic Animal Breeding

A new European association with the name: “European Consortium for Organic Animal Breeding” (Eco-AB) is to work on the development of organic animal breeding. The organisation is parallel to the already existing European Consortium for Organic Plant Breeding (Eco-PB).

The goal of Eco-AB is to stimulate organic agriculture through animal breeding directed at the needs of organic farming systems. For this Eco-AB will work on:

1. Initiation and support of organic animal breeding programmes, organizations and individuals, which will make available information and material to European organic farmers and which will correspond to the principles of organic agriculture
   
2. Development and investigation of concepts and scientific basis of organic animal breeding
   
3. Development and promotion of appropriate standards and practices as well as an appropriate legal framework for organic animal breeding
   
   

Eco-AB will celebrate its birth by having a start-up workshop held in connection with the Joint Organic Congress in Odense, Denmark. More….

FQH workshop on " better understanding of organic food quality"

On May 29 a FQH workshop aims at intensifying the scientific discourse on future research methods and on the concepts underlying organic food quality. The workshop is held in connection with the Joint Organic Congress. More…

Feasibility of energy reliance in organic farming

An ISOFAR workshop held 1 June in Odense, Denmark aims to bring together interested scientists and others for the following purposes:

• To review the knowledge on energy use efficiency and renewable energy production
• To identify research and development needs within energy use efficiency in OF
• To identify research and development needs within renewable energy production in OF
• To form a network for international collaboration, eventually a section/working group on energy under ISOFAR
  
  

The organizers expect that the workshop will identify research needs and make way for a research network on energy research in organic farming organized under ISOFAR. More

What will Organic Farming deliver?

This conference, held September 18-20 in Edinburgh, UK, is organised by the Association of Applied Biologists in conjunction with COR - the Colloquium of Organic Researchers.

Organic farming systems are increasingly recognised throughout the world as a realistic alternative to intensive industrial agriculture. Consequently there is also an increasing amount of research activity both formal and informal linked to the study of organic farming systems. This biennial conference aims to provide a forum where approaches to, and unresolved issues arising from research in organic farming systems can be aired and new thinking enabled.

The themes identified for the main platform sessions are consequently broad; the widest possible interpretation should be made about topics suitable within each of the following themes: Health, Profit, and better environments. More…

Communicating organic research online

- Survey on user needs and interests

An online questionnaire survey on users and their use of organic research online was announced in the last core organic newsletter. The aim of the survey is to get a better understanding of the web users and their needs for and interest in information on organic research.

The survey is now closed and we would like to thank all of you who took the time to fill in the questionnaire. We are at the moment analysing the data and the results will be communicated in a forthcoming issue of the newsletter.

Visit the stand at the joint organic congress

For at discussion of the survey and issues related to science communication online, please visit the project stand at the exibition at the Joint Organic Congress May 30-31 2006 in Odense, Denmark. At the congress I plan to do some research interviews and I am very interested in discussing your experiences with communication on organic research.

See you at the congress: www.organic-congress.org

Further information

For further information on the survey and the project please visit: www.web-communicate.com or contact Signe Herbers Poulsen. E-mail: SigneH.Poulsen@agrsci.dk