Organic Research and Education at the University Level

Respect for soil, plants, animals, air and water contributes to respect for people and the planet

The Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC) was founded in 2001, and as the only institution of its kind in Canada, plays a leading role in organic research and education. Our vision is “Sustainable and science-based organic agricultural systems supporting healthy Canadian communities” and our mission is to “facilitate research and education for organic producers and consumers to build sustainable communities”. The team at OACC has a high degree of enthusiasm for our mission and a strong commitment to academic rigour. With our associated colleagues in each province we link organic knowledge across Canada.

OACC is dedicated to farm profitability and enhancing the environmental and social integrity of agriculture. This will be achieved through scientific analyses of methods to improve the sustainability of farming. The results of this research are available to farmers and the public through our web site, bulletins, news articles and web-based courses.

OACC is funded primarily by the ACAAF program of AAFC and NSERC. Additional funding is provided by the Canadian Wheat Board, Home Hardware, the EJLB Foundation and the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island with significant in-kind contributions from our home base, the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC). Research in-kind contributions are also provided by the universities of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta and Guelph.

In affiliation with agricultural schools at the universities of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Guelph, McGill, and Laval and NSAC, OACC coordinates and collaboratively develops research projects and web-based courses in organic agriculture. We also collaborate in research with AAFC researchers across Canada. Currently there are 9 courses available in English and 4 courses available in French. All courses are accredited for university students and are also available on a non-credit basis for farmers.

OACC staff participate in on-farm research and report to conferences and field days of the Canadian Organic Growers, the Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia, the Alberta Organic Associations, the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate, the Organic Producers Association of Manitoba, the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario and the Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network. We regularly publish research results and information geared to help farmers and other practitioners of organic agriculture. These are published in bulletins and in farm papers across Canada, including The Western Producer and Ontario Farmer.

The OACC website provides research summaries, files of all OACC newspaper articles, links to Canadian organic organizations, virtual farm tours, and many other resources. Traffic on our website has grown to above 4 million hits per year.
OACC provided leadership for the National Organic Strategic Plan, initiated a National Expert Committee on Organic Agriculture, hosts Organic Extension Specialist meetings, facilitates research discussions and organizes Research Symposia and actively participates in the National Organic Standard process and Organic Value Chain Round Table discussions.

General Information brochure about OACC (PDF)