The most important function of CSANR is to catalyze and incentivize new scientific activity in support of improving the sustainability of farm and food systems. In recent years, the most crucial tool we have had to do this is the BIOAg Grants Program (Biologically Intensive and Organic Agriculture). Over the past decade, CSANR has provided more than 100 seed and project grants to scientists conducting research or education to benefit agricultural sustainability. Our grants database catalogs funded projects with summaries and project reports. To date, our investments have leveraged more than a dozen fold return on investment in extramural funding to develop solutions to problems facing Washington agriculture.
The 2012 BIOAg solicitation is complete and 13 new BIOAg Projects were funded. As with past rounds, the creative and innovative project ideas that were funded represent a breadth of issues, production systems, and disciplines. Follow the links below to read project summaries.
BIOAg Project Grants
In addition to the Project Grants, 3 Planning Grants and 4 Extension Grants have also been funded to date.
Planning Grants
Extension Grants
David Granatstein & Andy McGuire | Combined Soil Quality Workshops for Irrigated Ag |
Debra Hansen | Assessing Production Issues for Direct Marketing of Beef in Northeast Washington |
Carol Miles | Workshops: Tomato Grafting Techniques for Soil-Borne Disease Resistance |
Karen Killinger | Enhancing Grower Knowledge and Implementation of On-Farm Food Safety Practices |
2012 Planning Grant and Extension Grant proposals are still being accepted until funds are exhausted. The next Request for Proposals for 2013 BIOAg Projects is expected to be released in early fall of 2012.