Twenty years ago, farmers embracing organic agriculture faced a huge challenge. Scientific research to improve organic production methods did not exist. While the USDA dedicated, and still dedicates, millions of dollars every year to conventional farm research, funding organic science was so far outside mainstream farm thinking it was simply not an option. Policy makers, administrators, and researchers themselves risked ridicule for even suggesting organic research projects.
That left organic pioneers like California’s Warren Weber and Mark Nielson struggling to find answers to their production problems.
“In those days, practices were really just a result of what a few people were talking about--basically it was growers learning from each other, getting together at meetings and such. We just knew so little about weed and pest control, and we didn’t know where to reach out,” says Weber.
Nielson, an organic kiwi grower, agrees. Without organic research in the toolshed, organic farmers had to rig up systems on the fly.
“It was a common conversation that we organic farmers were having. It was typical to not have any research base for what we were trying to do. So, we would be piecing together, kind of at a 90 degree angle, the conventional research and trying to apply it to organic,” says Nielson.
Nielson and Weber were not content to struggle on alone. They saw value in bringing organic producers together to advance organic research not only for themselves, but to help build an organic farm economy.
“What we really wanted to do was to push forward organic practices and the economic viability of organic agriculture,” says Weber.
By 1990, the need for common action was clear and pressing. Pesticide worries, environmental concerns, and economic opportunity driven by consumer demand converged, creating a tremendous surge in farmers seeking organic status. California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), the state’s leading organic farms certifier, saw a huge increase in certification applications.
Enthusiasm and interest in organic propelled these farmers, but the information gap
remained. Working with then CCOF Executive Director Bob Scowcroft and other group members, Weber and Nielson resolved to fill the void with a new organization dedicated
to fostering the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming practices.
“The thought with the foundation was – well, let’s stop complaining about this and do something about it,” says Nielson.
The farmer-led group did act. It created the Organic Farming Research Foundation, received its not-for-profit status from the IRS in April 1990, and true to its mission, initiated a nationwide competitive grants program to support organic research and education. Still led by organic farmers today, OFRF continues to make grants, and works to secure a fair share of federal resources to advance organic agriculture.