The organic community came together on August 31st to celebrate the achievements of Representative Sam Farr, who will retire in January 2017 at the end of his current term. Farr is the Central Coast’s 20th district’s longest serving member of Congress and is the ranking member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture.
We gathered to celebrate his tireless leaderiship in the organic farming sector, especially as a steadfast leader in creating and securing funding for organic programs. During his 23 years in Congress, Representative Farr was a champion of many causes including affordable housing, the oceans, the Peace Corps. At the event he inspired guests at the event to keep working hard at the local level to effect change, recalling the grassroots efforts in Santa Cruz in the early 70’s that helped establish standards for organic agriculture and more support for organic farmers.
OFRF strongly encourages farmers to apply for the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program. Organic cost share reimburses individual organic operators up to 75% of their organic certification costs, with a maximum of $750 for each NOP scope of organic certification.
The Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR) held its second annual Public Board Meeting Session in Washington, D.C. on October 5th. Michael Stein, Policy Associate for OFRF and Dr. Dianna Jerkins, OFRF’s Research Program Director, attended the meeting and submitted 
In preparation for the upcoming 2018 Farm Bill, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) is seeking input from organic producers and handlers regarding future organic policy priorities. This information is vital to support and advance organic agriculture and we strongly enourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to weigh in.
OFRF, in partnership with the University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University, presents the 
After compiling and analyzing data from 12,818 certified organic producers, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the 2015 Certified Organic Survey. This survey collected information from certified organic producers to assess the amount of land under organic certification, the marketing practices of certified organic producers, and the sales of certified organic products.
The Soil Health Institute (SHI), an organization consisting of a broad collaboration of agricultural leaders, held its first annual meeting July 27-29 in Louisville, Ky. OFRF’s Research Program Director, Diana Jerkins and OFRF Board member, Klaas Martens serve on the board of the Institute, which includes farmers, land grant university specialists, USDA scientists, conservation leaders, soil laboratory scientists and foundation/non-governmental organization leaders.