Webinar Series on Soil Health Now Available On-Demand

May 30, 2019 – OFRF’s wildly popular webinar series on soil health and organic farming is now archived and available to view on-demand. Registration numbers for the live webinars were off the charts, causing eOrganic to have to upgrade their platform to handle the volume. Thousands of farmers, agriculture professionals, and researchers from 48 states and 14 countries attended the live webinars. The archived versions have been viewed over 7,000 times!

The webinars align with topics covered in OFRF’s Soil Health and Organic Farming Guidebooks to explore the most recent research on soil health practices, while offering practical guidelines for building healthy soil.

Building Organic Matter for Healthy Soils: An Overview
The attributes of healthy soil, the central role of organic matter, and how to monitor and enhance soil health in organic production.

“New to farming, I have struggled to grasp some of the concepts of building and maintaining good soil. The ‘light’ went on while watching this webinar.”
Watch now.

Weed Management: An Ecological Approach
Integrated organic weed management tools and practices that give crops the edge over weeds, build soil health, and reduce the need for soil disturbance.

“These workshops are really helpful. I’m an organic seed farmer, so I’ve been able to access a treasure trove of information about growing organic, running variety trials, and plant breeding.”
Watch now.

Practical Conservation Tillage
The impacts of tillage on soil health, including practical, soil-friendly tillage practices for organic systems.

“It was a GREAT webinar! Thanks so much for making it available to those of us in isolated areas! Mark was one of the best presenters I have seen. He is both so very practical and up on the science and all the latest data.”
Watch now.

Cover Crops: Selection and Management
Selecting the best cover crops, mixes, and management methods for soil health, including crop rotations and cropping system biodiversity.

“This was a great webinar. I appreciated it wasn’t overly technical and easy to follow. Thank you!”
Watch now.

Plant Genetics: Plant Breeding and Variety Selection
Plant breeding and variety selection for performance in sustainable organic systems, including nutrient and moisture use efficiency, competitiveness toward weeds, and enhanced interactions with beneficial soil biota.
Watch now.

Water Management and Water Quality
The role of soil health and organic soil management in water conservation and water quality.

“Extremely good! This speaker was excellent and presented the material in a useful and informative fashion. I will most likely go back and watch it again and recommend it to others.”
Watch now.

Nutrient Management for Crops, Soil, and the Environment
The role of soil health and the soil food web, including practical guidelines for optimizing crop nutrition, minimizing adverse environmental impacts of organic fertility inputs, and adapting soil test-based nutrient recommendations (especially N) for organic systems.

“Keep doing webinars, they are very helpful, organized, and well delivered. I have gotten a lot out of this particular series.”
Watch now.

Organic Practices for Climate Mitigation, Adaptation, and Carbon Sequestration
Practical guidelines for optimizing the organic farm’s “carbon footprint” and adaptability to climate disruptions already underway.

“I’m glad climate change and farming was a major topic. Here in the interior of Alaska, we see the effects of climate change every day.”
Watch now.

Understanding and Managing Soil Biology for Soil Health and Crop Production
The functions of the soil food web and key components in promoting soil health and fertility and sustainable organic crop production, with research-based guidance on organic practices and NOP-approved inputs for improved soil food web function.

“Excellent knowledgeable speaker. Exactly information that I was interested in for my small farm and goal of soil improvement.”
Watch now.

Download the guidebooks.

Thank you to the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation for supporting this project

By office|2020-01-08T18:13:40+00:00May 30th, 2019|News|

OFRF at Organic Week in DC

May 28, 2019 – Last week, OFRF and the organic community were in Washington, DC in full force advocating on behalf of the organic sector. Organic Week provides a great opportunity to bring the needs of organic farmers and ranchers to Congress and USDA, discuss issues, showcase outstanding work, and thank our organic champions.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) named Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) the 2019 Organic Champions. Working in a strong bipartisan fashion, Newhouse and Pingree introduced and advanced the Organic Agriculture Research Act of 2018, which led to permanent baseline funding for OREI in the 2018 Farm Bill. This historic investment in organic agriculture research more than doubled the current funding for the Organic Research and Extension Initiative.

Even with significant wins for organic agriculture, there is still much work to be done to ensure USDA properly implements the law and enacts regulations that continue to support the $52B organic sector in the U.S.

The annual appropriations process is part of the ongoing work. Last week, OFRF spoke with members of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee as they were preparing to take action on the Fiscal Year 2020 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. The bill seeks to increase funding to $18M for the National Organic Program, which is charged with developing and enforcing the USDA organic standards. This increased capacity will help ensure the continued integrity of the USDA organic seal.

The appropriations bill also seeks to address a regulatory issue that has been impacting organic dairy producers, allowing some operations to transition cows rapidly into organic production. The bill seeks to close the loophole by directing USDA to engage in rulemaking and issue a final regulation for how dairy cows transition to organic production within 180 days.

The appropriations bill will also increase the funding of the cutting-edge Organic Transitions Program (ORG) to $8M, including $45M for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Both of these programs provide research, education, and outreach on organic and sustainable practices that help farmers be more sustainable and resilient.

Finally, the appropriations bill also includes language that would block the administration from moving two key research agencies outside of Washington, DC. Moving the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and relocating and reorganizing the Economic Research Service (ERS), would undermine the overall integrity of agriculture research, impact the administration of key research programs that farmers around the country rely on, and further politicize agriculture research. Already, OFRF has noticed the impacts these relocation efforts have had on the research and administration of programs that support organic agriculture around the country.

While this is just the first step in the Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations process, it is a step in the right direction. OFRF would like to thank the 2019 Organic Champions, Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME), as well as Chairman Sandford Bishop (D-GA) and Ranking Member Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) of the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.

By office|2020-01-08T18:13:40+00:00May 28th, 2019|News|

OFRF Grantee to Examine Barriers to Adoption

May 21, 2019 – OFRF has awarded a grant to Aysha Peterson at UC Santa Cruz to examine barriers to adoption of plant-based nutrient management strategies among organic, socially disadvantaged farmers in Salinas, California. Peterson hopes to bridge the gap between research and implementation by using qualitative data to answer questions about adoption and decision-making processes.

Collaborating with Nathan Harkleroad, Program Director with the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA), Petersen will recruit 30 organic Latina/o farmers to participate in five in-depth, semi-structured focus groups at ALBA’s Rural Development Center to examine (1) farmers’ current knowledge and utilization of plant-based nutrient management practices, (2) field-level challenges to implementation and strategies for overcoming these challenges, and (3) economic, educational, and infrastructure barriers to implementation.

The transcripts will be qualitatively analyzed to examine emergent themes and explore how responses vary as a function of farmers’ structural arrangements and social stratication. The findings will directly inform educational programming via ALBA’s Farmer Education Course and will be incorporated into economic and infrastructure assistance available through ALBA’s Organic Farm Incubator. Empirically based conclusions will provide for comparative analysis with other agricultural regions of the U.S. and will allow for the widespread improvement of organic farmer assistance services.

“This project is exciting because we are sorely in need of more social-science research aimed at alleviating socio-economic and cultural barriers to organic production,” said Brise Tencer, OFRF’s Executive Director. “The outcomes of this project have the potential to influence education and outreach programs for socially-disadvantaged farmers across the U.S.”

Overall, OFRF grant funding has advanced scientific knowledge and improved the practices, ecological sustainability, and economic prosperity of organic farming. These successes support their goal of researchers and farmers working collaboratively to support the improvement and widespread adoption of organic agriculture. Project results are shared freely at ofrf.org. OFRF also provides free access to all of its educational materials and resources.

Thank you to our Research Program Partners:

(OFRF) is a non-profit foundation that works to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems. OFRF cultivates organic research, education, and federal policies that bring more farmers and acreage into organic production.

By office|2020-01-08T18:13:40+00:00May 21st, 2019|Press Release|

Muramoto to Lead Statewide Program Supporting Organic Growers

May 15, 2019 – Congratulations to longtime research associate at UC California Santa Cruz, Dr. Joji Muramoto, who recently became the first Cooperative Extension Specialist in the UC system dedicated to organic agriculture. Leading a statewide program focused on organic production of strawberries and vegetables, Muramoto plans to focus on soil fertility and the organic management of soil-borne diseases.

Some of the most significant scientific advancements in strawberry research have been made by Muramoto and Dr. Carol Shennan at UC Santa Cruz, where they have pioneered alternatives to methyl bromide in commercial strawberry production. OFRF initiated this research with grants in 1997, 2003, and 2010, which have since been leveraged to secure more than $5M in additional funding from state and federal agencies.

There have been tremendous impacts for organic growers from this research. Focused on anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD), an alternative to soil fumigation for the control of soil pathogens and nematodes, ASD was primarily developed with the goals of controlling Verticillium dahlia, a pathogen that causes verticillium wilt and reduced yields in strawberry fields.

Today, the practices of ASD have been widely adopted among organic strawberry growers in California, and most commonly utilized in the areas of Ventura, Watsonville, and Santa Maria. Although 80% of farms that use ASD are organic, conventional farmers are also exploring the use of ASD and adoption is expected to increase.

As a long-time advocate for more extension serving the organic community, we couldn’t be more excited about this new position and the appointment of a respected soil scientist like Joji. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Read about the impacts of OFRF funded berry research.

By office|2020-01-08T18:13:40+00:00May 15th, 2019|News|

Organic Research Matters

Photo of OFRF Board President, Jeremy Barker-Plotkin

Jeremy Barker-Plotkin, OFRF Board President and Farmer, Simple Gifts Farm, Amherst, Massachusetts

May 8, 2019 – Greetings! With just days to spare, we exited 2018 with a Farm Bill that makes long overdue investments in organic agriculture, including $395 million for organic research and education over the next ten years.

Thanks to the hard work of OFRF and a broad coalition of organic champions, we achieved historic permanent baseline funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI).

For nearly 30 years, OFRF has played a critical role in funding innovative, scientifically impactful organic research. It makes me proud to be part of an organization that is so dedicated to cultivating the improvement of organic farming practices and ensuring the unique needs of organic farmers are being met.

OFRF puts farmers first—ALL of their resources are available to farmers for free. This is one of the many reasons why I proudly serve on the board.

Your donation today ensures OFRF can continue to help organic farmers access critical resources and make the most of the opportunities before them.

Please join me in supporting OFRF’s work in 2019!

Donate now Your Support is Making an Impact!

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By office|2020-01-08T18:13:41+00:00May 8th, 2019|News|

Proceedings from 2019 Organic Agriculture Research Forum

May 5, 2019 – Proceedings from the 2019 Organic Agriculture Research Forum are now available. This day-long event held on February 16th in Portland Oregon, featured innovative presentations from researchers across all disciplines related to organic farming and food systems.