Join eOrganic for a live broadcast of selected presentations from the 2016 Organic Agriculture Research Symposium!

The Organic Agriculture Research Symposium (OARS) will be held at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California on Wednesday, January 20, 2016. The plenary and key workshop sessions will be broadcast as webinars. Plenary speakers will be André Leu, President of Organic International / IFOAM and Mathieu Ngouajio, USDA/NIFA National Program Leader in Cropping Systems. Also livestreamed will be workshops on soil health, long-term and strategic research, and innovative educational systems. Funding for this live broadcast of the OARS is provided by USDA NIFA OREI and the event is being hosted by the UC-ANR Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center and the Organic Farming Research Foundation.

This webinar broadcast is free and open to the public. You can join and leave this webinar as many times as you wish on January 20th, but advance registration is required. Start time is 9AM Pacific Time.

Register now at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5589622818350441474

Attendees will see the presentations and listen to a live broadcast of the speakers (we won't be showing video of the speakers). Many additional presentations from the conference will also be recorded and made available later on the eOrganic YouTube channel and in our webinar archive. This is a broadcast from a live conference, so exact start and end times cannot be guaranteed, and the program may be subject to change. There will be several breaks in the program--see the schedule below and make sure you note the time zones!

Broadcast Program

9:00AM – 10:00AM Pacific Time (10AM Mountain, 11AM Central, 12PM Eastern Time)
Opening Keynote and Thematic Presentations

• André Leu, IFOAM / Organics International President. The Vital Role of Research to Advance Organic Agriculture Worldwide.
• Mathieu Ngouajio, USDA/NIFA National Program Leader in Cropping Systems. USDA- NIFA support for Organic Agriculture Research, Education and Extension.

10:30AM – Noon Pacific Time (11:30AM Mountain, 12:30PM Central, 1:30PM Eastern Time)
Soil Health

• Anthony Yannarell, University of Illinois. Management affects the weed suppression potential of soil microorganisms and green manures
• James Stapleton, UC-ANR-KARE. Advances in Biosolarization Technology to Improve Soil Health and Organic Control of Soilborne Pests
• Doug O’Brien, Doug O’Brien Agricultural Consulting. Trends in soilborne disease on two long-term organic vegetable farms in the west.
• Moderator: Heather Darby, University of Vermont

1:00PM – 2:30PM Pacific Time (2PM Mountain, 3PM Central, 4PM Eastern Time)
Long-term and Strategic Research 

• Amélie Gaudin, UC Davis, Long-term research in organic system at Russell Ranch: Results and opportunities to build sustainable and resilient systems
• Randy Jackson, University of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial: 26 years of research in agricultural sustainability
• Diana Jerkins, Organic Farming Research Foundation. Assessment of Future Organic Research Needs
• Moderator: Mark Lipson, UC Santa Cruz
  

2:45PM – 4:15PM Pacific Time (3:45 Mountain, 4:45 Central, 5:45 Eastern Time)
Innovative Educational Systems

• Damien Parr, UC Santa Cruz. Integrating undergraduate interns in organic farming research and beginner farmer programming at the University of California, Santa Cruz
• John Hendrickson, University of Wisconsin: Coordinating a Three-Ring Circus with Lions and Cubs: Beginning Grower Training Programs at the University of Wisconsin
• Raul Villanueva, Texas A&M. Linking Organic Farmers and Students On Organic Production through Small Projects in South Texas
• Moderator: Mark Van Horn, UC Davis

System Requirements

Please connect to the webinar 10 minutes in advance, as the webinar program will require you to download software. To test your connection in advance, go here. You can either listen via your computer speakers or call in by phone (toll call). Java needs to be installed and working on your computer to join the webinar. If you are running Mac OSU with Safari, please test your Java at http://java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp prior to joining the webinar, and if it isn't working, try Firefox or Chrome. Find more detailed system requirements here.