By Rebecca Champagne, PhD, OFRF Conservation Scientist

Each year, as part of our Cooperative Agreement with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) publishes a research summary and holds webinars on various organic topics to help build NRCS staff knowledge of organic systems and equip them to better support the unique needs of organic and transitioning-to-organic farmers across the country. This summer we published our 2026 annual summary on the latest organic research and led accompanying webinars.

Annual Research Summaries from OFRF

These annual research summaries provide a look at the latest organic agriculture research across a variety of topics, and are meant to provide NRCS staff, service providers, organic farmers, and other interested parties with in-depth educational information on the conservation benefits of organic systems. These summaries provide both brief research highlights and comprehensive summaries for each topic, along with connections between the research and NRCS Resource Concerns and Conservation Practice Standards.

Our 2026 summary covered research on pest and nutrient management in organic production, diversified cropping systems, building soil health and soil organic carbon, and other agronomic research such as organic dry bean cultivar evaluations and organic sweet potato growing practices. You can check out these research summaries on our website!

> Read our 2026 Annual Research Summary on Conservation Benefits of Organic Management

Organic Research Updates: Two-Part Webinar Series

Rebecca Champagne, OFRF’s Conservation Scientist, led a two-part webinar series for NRCS this summer to accompany the 2026 research summary. The webinars provided detailed information on the different research areas, offering insight into peer-reviewed research treatments and results, and the connection between the research topics and National Organic Program (NOP) regulations for organic production.

The first webinar, held on July 14, dove into the topics of pest and weed management, nutrient management, and soil organic carbon. Some of the research covered included:

  • Cultural and mechanical weed control strategies.
  • Organic methods for managing insect pests such as spotted wing drosophila, alfalfa weevil, and wireworms.
  • Using cattle manure to supply nitrogen and phosphorus in semi-arid growing environments.
  • Practical conservation takeaways for building soil organic carbon.

The second webinar, held on August 18, covered research on soil health, diversified cropping systems, and other research such as organic crop cultivar evaluations and agronomic trials. Some of the research covered included:

  • Soil health challenges in high tunnel production.
  • Integrating chickens into diversified organic vegetable production.
  • Using mushrooms as feed additives for animal nutrition.
  • Living cover crop mulch versus plastic mulches.

Nearly 250 attendees tuned in across the two webinars. Both webinars concluded with a Q&A session so participants could ask follow-up questions and get clarification on the research and relevant NOP regulations.

Interested in viewing these webinars? Recordings are available online through Conservation Webinars — check out webinar one here and webinar two here!

Upcoming Organic Farming Webinars with NRCS

OFRF will be hosting several webinars for NRCS over the next few years, covering different topics related to organic farming. Webinar participants also have the chance to test what they learn and earn Certified Crop Advisor Continuing Education Units (CEU) by answering quiz questions at the end of each webinar. By identifying and summarizing the latest peer-reviewed research and highlighting practical conservation takeaways, we aim to help NRCS staff and Technical Service Providers better understand organic production requirements, challenges, and what successful conservation practice implementation on organic operations can look like.

To learn more about our Cooperative Agreement with NRCS, contact Rebecca Champagne at rebecca@ofrf.org. 

To stay up-to-date with the latest organic farming news, research updates, and opportunities for advocacy, sign up to receive the OFRF newsletter at https://ofrf.org/get-involved/receive-news/!