a printable PDF document.

Canadian Organic Science Conference &
Science Cluster Strategic Meetings
February 21-23, 2012
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Call for Abstracts
Abstract Submission Deadline Extended to December 1, 2011
The Canadian Organic Science Conference is intended to feature organic research by natural and social
scientists from across Canada and international research of relevance to Canadians.
The primary purpose of this abstract submission process is to allow the Program Committee to select
and place all of the oral and poster presentations in appropriate sections of the conference. Please
indicate on your abstract submission which of the following main subject areas you wish your paper to
be presented in:
• Soil fertility, quality and health
• Livestock productivity, health and welfare
• Greenhouses and season extension
• Food production, sustainability and organic systems
• Horticultural and specialty crops
• Cereal-based cropping systems
• Extension of organic research
• Social science and organic agriculture, including, but not restricted to, such issues as
sustainability, community, gender, food, local economies, fair trade and the rural/urban divide
Those presenters with accepted abstracts will be asked for a full one-page summary of their
presentation/project by January 9, 2012, details will follow. The conference organizers reserve the right
to publish these abstracts and one-page summaries.
Papers may be presented orally or as a poster. Please stay tuned for more details on formatting, etc for
these two formats.

Deadline:
Abstracts must be submitted by email by December 1, 2011 to Joanna MacKenzie
(jmackenzie@nsac.ca). For those wishing to have earlier notification of their abstract's acceptance or
decline, abstracts submitted by the original November 15, 2011 deadline will be reviewed by the
beginning of December. Please indicate in your submission whether you wish to be considered for an
oral or poster presentation. One-page summaries will also be due to Joanna MacKenzie by January 9,
2012.
Abstract Format:
• The abstract is to be single spaced, left justified with 12 point Times New Roman font.
• On the first line, please indicate whether you wish your paper to be considered for an oral or
poster presentation.
• On the second line, please indicate in which subject area you wish your paper to be considered
(see the list above).
• Please place the title in bold on the third line. Capitalize the first letter of all major words in the
title and end the title with a period.
• On the line below the title, please indicate the author(s) of the paper in the following format:
o Initial(s) and Last name1, Initial(s) and Last name2, etc.
o If more than one author, please identify the presenting author with an asterix (*)
following their name.
• On the next line, provide the address of each author with the identifying number supplied in the
author information, as 1. Address; 2. Address, etc., also providing an e-mail address for the
corresponding/presenting author.
• Leave a single space between the author addresses and the abstract text.
• Any scientific names are to be italicized and written in full, accompanied with the authority the
first time they are mentioned. Cultivar names are to have single quotation marks around them.
Abbreviations are to be spelled out the first time.
• On the line following the end of the abstract text, please type the word “Keywords” and provide
up to five keywords relevant to the presentation.
• Please note that editing for typos, clarity or grammar will NOT be done by the compilers.
Abstract Content:
• The abstract should not exceed 350 words in length.
• The abstract should be presented in a format that is easily understood across multiple
disciplines and by audiences that may include scientists, extension specialists, agricultural
professionals, students and farmers.
• The abstract should include: an overview of the nature of the project that will be discussed; key
objectives; expected or achieved conclusions and outcomes of the project; and the relevance of
the project to organic agriculture in Canada. Results of projects may be included as appropriate.

Sample abstract:
ORAL PRESENTATION
Subject Area: Food Production, sustainability and organic systems
Mainstreaming Organic Research: Canada's New Organic Science Cluster.
A. M. Hammermeister1* and R. C. Martin2
1. Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, Truro, NS, ahammermeister@nsac.ca; 2. Department
of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON
Organic research in Canada over the past few decades has been led by a relatively small group
of researchers who’s dedication to finding ecological approaches to crop production has helped
to build the credibility for the science and practice of organic agriculture. The fruit of these
efforts has now been recognized with the development of Canada’s new Organic Science Cluster
(OSC). Research priorities for this cluster were developed from consultation with farmers across
Canada in all areas of organic production. The OSC has identified 10 sub-projects including 30
research activities that will be conducted by over 50 researchers plus 30 collaborators in
approximately 45 research institutions. The OSC is part of the Canadian Agri-Science Clusters
Initiative of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Growing Forward Policy Framework, with
additional support from industry partners across Canada. Activities of the OSC will include work
in fruit horticulture, agronomy, cereal crop breeding, soil fertility management, vegetable
production, greenhouse production, dairy production systems, parasite control in ruminants,
environmental sustainability, and food processing. This research comes at a time when there is
renewed emphasis on innovation, efficiency (energy, labour, economics), and capturing valueadded
markets. Most of this research directed toward organic agriculture can also be applied to
conventional production systems, drawing interest to this cluster from producers across Canada.
Here an overview of the OSC will be provided, with examples of linkages between organic and
conventional.
Keywords: organic, Canada, science