Call for Curiosity 2024: Cultivating farmer knowledge with farmer-led research

Oct 3, 2023 | Conference, Education, Farmer-Led Research, Seeds

Call for Curiosity 2024

Farmer-led research is a flexible and powerful tool that can help improve your farm practices. Working with your farm systems and goals, farmer-led research helps you assess the ecological and economic impacts of your innovations, ideas, and comparisons.

 

October is a great time to start thinking about your burning on-farm questions! 

Do you have an idea on how to improve your farm system and need help designing an experiment?    Are there new crops or varieties you want to trial on your farm?    Do you have a need for a new locally adapted variety?   Do you want to improve the regenerative capacity of your farm, and want to test a new method of doing so?

Working in cooperation with EFAO’s Farmer-Led Research Program, you will receive financial support and individualized technical support to help answer your questions with confidence.

Where do you start?

A great place to start is the Farmer-Led Research Program webpage, here you can find information about the program and how to get involved. You can also find helpful links like our FAQ page where you can learn about trial design and more, or our Research Library where you can read and download protocols and reports from previous farmer-led research projects. You can also check out the application forms for research funding at efao.ca/research-funding/ or get involved by applying to be a member of the Research Advisory Committee.

 

How to learn more and get involved

In addition to online resources, there are a number of upcoming events that can help you learn more about the process and impact of farmer-led research, and how you can use it on your farm.

November

Research Advisory Committee Application Deadline

Maybe you aren’t interested in conducting farmer-led research on your farm but you’d like to engage with the program in other ways? We are looking for members to be a part of the Research Advisory Committee. Terms last for two years and members are compensated for their time.

  • November 1, 2023 deadline

Read the Research Advisory Committee Terms of Reference for more details

Apply to be part of the Research Advisory Committee

If you have additional questions, please contact Sarah Larsen, sarah@efao.ca 

Research Symposium

The virtual Research Symposium is an online gathering where EFAO members share their findings and insights from the 2023 research season. This year’s projects focused on easy to pick bush beans; beetle banks in small scale market gardens; seeding and transplant methods for ez leaf lettuce; season extension for cilantro and kale; no-till potato production; quinoa selection for landrace breeding; fava and okra variety trials; and more. If you want to learn about this year’s projects or are interested in conducting research in the future or, please join us! 

  • November 27, 2023, 9:30am – 12:30pm (online)

Register for the Research Symposium

December

Virtual Office Hours

EFAO’s research team will hold virtual office hours on Wednesdays in December and January for prospective farmer-led research applicants to ask questions and discuss their applications. If you can not make these hours please feel free to schedule an appointment with one of our research team members. 

  • Wednesdays, December 6 and 13, 2023 from 1-2pm (online)

Sign-up for the virtual drop-in office hours on December 6

Sign-up for the virtual drop-in office hours on December 13

 

Contact information to arrange an appointment at another time:

January

Virtual Office Hours

EFAO’s research team will hold virtual office hours on Wednesdays in December and January for prospective farmer-led research applicants to ask questions and discuss their applications. If you can not make these hours please feel free to schedule an appointment with one of our research team members. 

  • Wednesday January 10, 2023 from 1-2pm (online)

Sign-up for the virtual drop-in office hours on January 10

 

Contact information to arrange an appointment at another time:

Application Deadline

The deadline for applications for the 2024 farmer-led research season is January 14, 2024 by 11:59pm.      

Once you submit an application, EFAO’s Research Advisory Committee will then evaluate the applications and applicants will be notified of funding decisions in early to mid-February.

Apply for funding!