OFRF to Join National Work on Improving
Conservation Practices

Peggy Greb/Courtesy USDA-ARS
On-farm conservation practices include measures such as restoration of this riparian forest buffer.

The Organic Farming Research Foundation recently learned it has received funding as part of a national collaborative which will review and update federal conservation practices so they work better in organic and other sustainable farm systems.

The collaborative received the Conservation Innovation Grant through the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. The grant also enables the collaborative to provide NRCS staff with training in organic and holistic farm management techniques.

"The Conservation Innovation Grant is a win-win situation for organic and transitioning farmers and for NRCS,” says Ariane Lotti, OFRF’s senior policy analyst.  “Through the Conservation Innovation Grant, we hope to make NRCS programs such as the Organic Initiative and the Conservation Stewardship Program appropriate and accessible for organic and transitioning farmers.  If these changes result in greater organic and transitioning farmer participation in its programs, NRCS will be making significant strides in achieving its conservation objectives.”

NRCS launched the first-ever Organic Initiative in 2009 after Congress said conservation programs should be accessible to organic and transitioning farmers for the conservation benefits organic agriculture provides.  These benefits include improved soil quality, enhanced biodiversity and wildlife habitat, and improvements in water quality and carbon sequestration.

Following the pilot year of the Organic Initiative, OFRF conducted a survey of farmers to determine barriers to participation in the program.  The Conservation Innovation Grant seeks to address certain top barriers identified by survey respondents, including the lack of knowledge by NRCS staff about organic agricultural systems.

The collaborative was awarded over $500,000 from NRCS, and the partner organizations will match that amount.  The lead project organization is the National Center for Appropriate Technology.