"This partnership helps to maintain some of the good work that we've seen come out of the OSU Extension Service's small farms program," says Chris Schreiner, executive director of Oregon Tilth, which educates the public about sustainable agriculture.

"Through this partnership, we can leverage the trust, integrity and rigor that exists at OSU to develop a research and education agenda to help support organic farmers," he adds.

Oregon Tilth brings to the partnership "a deep understanding of organic market trends, the regulatory environment, and industry connections," says Garry Stephenson, OSU small farms program coordinator.

With the new funds, the small farms program will be able to continue offering its eight-week Growing Farms workshop series that teaches new farmers about topics like labor, cash flow, marketing, financing, pest management and liability, says Stephenson.

Workshops are set this year in Albany, Aurora, Central Point, Newport and Redmond.

The funding also will allow OSU to continue its research on cover crops on farms in the Willamette Valley. Small farms Extension Agent Nick Andrews and OSU soil scientist Dan Sullivan have been looking at how much nitrogen these cover crops produce for the soil and the crop that follows. They'll use the data to develop an Excel-based downloadable spreadsheet that farmers can use to calculate whether it's more cost-effective to   plant a cover crop or just apply nitrogen.

Another advantage of the collaboration is that university will be able to continue organizing an annual educational workshop in Canby for organic farmers as well as producers who are transitioning to organic farming.

The money will allow OSU to assess organic farmers' needs in terms of research and knowledge, says Stephenson.

"This is important in terms of guiding OSU's outreach efforts and its research agenda for organic and sustainable systems," he says.