Latest OFRF News
Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)
NRCS’ CSP program offers financial assistance and technical support for farmer who are looking to increase conservation on their farm by adopting new conservation activities or improving upon existing practices.
New Year, Same Farm Bill… Again.
As we turn the calendar to a new year, we are still operating under an extended version of the 2018 Farm Bill. In this month’s Policy Corner, Gordon provides a quick reset on where things stand, what key players are signaling, and how OFRF is approaching organic agriculture policy advocacy for the year ahead to ensure organic agriculture is fully recognized as a research-driven, conservation-forward, and economically significant part of U.S. agriculture.
Organic Agriculture Research in Action: Navigating Urban Farming with Little Lighthouse Farm
Learn how Little Lighthouse Farm, a small-scale certified organic urban farm, is meeting conservation goals - and what funding for organic research programs can do to support urban producers.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
NRCS’ EQIP program offers financial assistance and technical support to implement new conservation practices on your farm, with additional support for historically underserved applicants including socially disadvantaged, beginning, veteran, and limited-resource farmers and ranchers.
Three Springs Farm: Small-scale Farming Rooted in Organic Principles
At Three Springs Farm in eastern Oklahoma, farmers Mike Appel and Emily Oakley grow over over forty different organic crops and more than 150 individual varieties on three acres of land, showcasing the economic viability of small-scale farming.
Lessons from the Plains on the Transition to Organic
Organic farmers face unique challenges in every part of the country. In this article, we look at challenges faced by organic farmers in the Great Lakes, and dive into resources available on the Organic Research Hub that could help farmers address them.
Something to be Grateful For: Northeastern State Secretaries of Agriculture Send Letter to Secretary Rollins about OREI
On November 20th, the state secretaries of agriculture from Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey joined Pennsylvania Secretary Redding to submit a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, requesting unreleased FY2025 funding for the Organic Agriculture Research Extension Initiative (OREI) be included on top of new fiscal year funds for the program in FY2026.
Farmer-Led Trials Program Spotlight: Oxbow Farm and Conservation Center
Oxbow Farm and Education Center, in the Snoqualmie Valley of Washington, is a nonprofit focused on trialing climate adaptive and resilient agricultural practices. Farm manager, Anthony Reyes, is participating in OFRF's Farmer-Led Trial Program to experiment with seeding rates of cover crop for biomass and nutrient content.
USDA NIFA Announces 2025 Organic Transitions Program Awards
This week USDA-NIFA announced seven new research project awards through the Organic Transitions Program (ORG), totaling over $6 million to support a better understanding of the processes of organic transition and the best ways to support farmers who are in that process.
OFRF Launches National Organic Farmer Survey to Shape the Future of Organic Agriculture
OFRF has launched its National Organic Farmer Survey, which is conducted every few years, to understand the challenges, priorities, and needs of organic and transitioning farmers across the country. Insights from previous surveys, including the 2022 National Organic Research Agenda (NORA), have guided farmer-led research projects, influenced university and Extension priorities, and helped policymakers direct more resources to organic producers.
