Haley Baron (she/her/hers) is OFRF's Partnership & Development Manager. Haley joined the organization's Research & Education program in 2019 before stepping into her current role in early 2020. She is based in San Francisco and has over a decade of experience championing sustainable and equitable food systems. When Haley isn't building strong collaborative relationships with OFRF partners, she enjoys visiting farms and farmers markets, cooking, gardening, and recently took up ceramics. Haley enjoys exploring her home state of California, from hiking to "walking on Ocean Beach and in Golden Gate [...]

By Trevor Findley, OFRF Senior Policy Associate The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) had a busy year advocating for policies that benefit organic farmers. The following are excerpts from several policy articles that highlight the breadth of issues that OFRF worked on this year. They demonstrate the progress we’ve made, the relationships we’ve established, and ongoing work advancing OFRF’s mission to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems. 1.  OFRF Attends USDA Briefing with Under Secretary Moffitt and Rep. Panetta In October, OFRF attended a USDA press [...]

By Haley Baron, OFRF Partnership & Development Manager As the OFRF team walked into the large conference room filled with people at the 2021 Organic Grower Summit (OGS) in Monterey, CA last week, it was hard to believe we were actually there… in person! OGS is a gathering of organic farmers and industry professionals to share ideas and new techniques, and connect with our organic community. After canceling OGS 2020 and nearly two years since our last in-person event, we were excited (and a little nervous!) to finally be there. [...]

Sheila Golden (she/her/hers) is OFRF's Finance & Operations Director and has been with the organization since 2018. She is based in the Santa Cruz area and has over a decade of program development and management experience in sustainable agriculture and cooperative extensions. In her free time, Sheila plays music and runs a concert series in a cave. A lover of adventure, Sheila enjoys hiking and biking. "I also spend a lot of time throwing balls in the river and frisbees at the beach for my dog, Scruggs," says Sheila. Tell [...]

On October 28, 2021, President Joe Biden announced the Build Back Better framework, which includes a historical push to address climate change and a $555 billion investment in a clean energy economy. The framework proposes a 50-52% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in 2030, amounting to roughly over one gigaton. Funding for research and research facilities, including organic research, has been designated in the framework. Increasing resilience and natural solutions by investing in soil conservation is also specifically addressed in a White House statement.  ”OFRF is very pleased that Congress [...]

Organic Farming Research Foundation created a 5-minute reel of highlights from this past year. Watch this video for updates from its Research, Education, and Policy and Advocacy departments. Program successes include: The soon-to-be released National Organic Research Agenda (NORA) report; The 2021-22 organic research grant cycle that focuses on climate mitigation and resilience and prioritizes early career and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color researchers, farmers and ranchers; Educational materials addressing the challenges of Southern US farmers; A multi-year partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); and Advocacy efforts [...]

Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) has entered into a 3-year cooperative agreement with USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). OFRF will be tasked with analyzing investments in organic made through two key programs: the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) and Organic Transitions (ORG) grant program by commodity, region and research topics.

 As part of the 3-year agreement, OFRF will compare priorities identified in 2016 and 2021 National Organic Research Agenda (NORA), a report OFRF conducts and releases every five years. NORA contains comprehensive recommendations for future [...]

Trevor Findley (he/him/his) is OFRF's Senior Policy Associate and has been with the organization since 2021. He is based in Washington, DC, and has been working in food and agricultural policy since 2015. His belief that everyone should have access to healthy, nutritious, and culturally-relevant food makes Trevor a strong advocate for farmers and ranchers who are helping make that a reality. When Trevor isn't focused on policy work for OFRF, he enjoys triathlons, mountain biking, cooking and baking.   Tell us about yourself. I grew up in rural Oregon [...]

Over 20 years ago, I joined the OFRF team to help advocate on behalf of organic farmers across the country. Organic was a fledgling industry with farmers in grave need of science-based resources and support. As part of these efforts, OFRF successfully advocated for Congress to create a new staff position at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Salinas research station that would focus fully on organic agriculture research, the country’s first.  Dr. Eric Brennan, the scientist who took that role 20 years ago and continues to hold it today, was [...]