University studies of alternative farming methods -- as well as thefarmers who grow produce without pesticides -- will be spotlighted during National Organically Grown Week, Sept. 16-22. During the past four years, the UC Davis-based UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program has funded 52 research projects aimed at helping farmers reduce their use of pesticides and petroleum-based products and aiding farmers' transition to environmentally sound agricultural products, according to program director Bill Liebhardt. "The thrust of these projects, from a pest management standpoint, is preventive," Liebhardt says. "If you don't have to use pesticides, you don't have to worry about managing them in the environment," he says, adding that this is a benefit to both consumers and farmers. Liebhardt notes that if environmentally sound alternatives existed for most of the toxic materials currently in use, tragic incidents such as the recent spill on the Sacramento River could be avoided.