Cultivating Connections
EcoFarm 2024 & OFRF's Organic Agriculture Research Forum This January, almost half of the OFRF team traveled to Monterey, CA to meet in-person for the OFRF Organic Agriculture Research Forum (OARF) which was held in conjunction with EcoFarm. Considering we are a fully remote team spread across the country, this was a big opportunity for us to connect and showcase our work. OFRF research forum consisted of eight workshops embedded within the 2024 EcoFarm conference. The forum focused on sharing the latest research relevant to organic producers, with a [...]
Organic Transition Initiative (OTI) Deadline Announcement
Thanks to the Organic Transition Initiative (OTI), USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has made $75M in cost-share grant funding available to certified organic and transitioning-to-organic growers under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to meet the Conservation Practice Standard for Organic Management (CPS-823). This post and the PDF below provide step-by-step instructions for contacting your local NRCS office to inquire about available financial and technical assistance programs available to you. OFRF has developed a PDF to help farmers communicate with NRCS about accessing the [...]
From Regulations to Legislation: Advocating for Organic Agriculture in 2024
2024 presents a challenging political landscape with pending appropriations, a new Farm Bill deadline, and a Presidential election fast approaching. OFRF chooses to view all these events as opportunities to advocate for increased public investments in organic agriculture research and to ensure that organic agriculture gets its fair share of USDA research funding.
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.
Organic Agriculture Shines in the Face of 2023’s Challenges
2023 has been a year marked by environmental distress and political upheaval, but the organic sector emerged as a stronghold of resilience and progress. Amidst the disquieting headlines of the hottest recorded summer and unprecedented political twists, there are several organic milestones worth celebrating. This blog post focuses on those moments of light amid the darkness.
Reflections on the 2023 Latino Farmer Conference
Jose Perez, OFRF's Research & Education Engagement Coordinator, shares some highlights and takeaways from the recent Latino Farmer Conference.
Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP)
The process of obtaining and maintaining organic certification can be costly. The good news is that financial assistance is available through the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) to help ease this burden.
Organic Researcher Spotlight: Dr. Amaya Atucha
Federal support is bringing new production systems and researchers to organic agriculture in the upper Midwest Written by Brian Geier Dr. Amaya Atucha is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW), specializing in crop ecophysiology and production of small fruit and cold climate viticulture. Until recently she had not worked with organic production systems. “One of the reasons why I was not working on organic production,” she explains, “is because of the difficulty of being able to produce organic fruit in climates like the upper midwest.” [...]
Conservation Agriculture webinar series
OFRF, in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), has co-created a webinar series focused on soil health and organic farming. This series is facilitated by Jennifer Ryan and Lindsay Haines of NRCS and Thelma Velez and Mary Hathaway of OFRF. Each of the webinars is led by Mark Schonbeck, OFRF’s Research Associate. Topics covered in this series include soil health, nutrient management, weed management, cover crops, plant genetics, water management, conservation tillage, and climate resilience. Each webinar shares organic farming practices and research findings, and many share [...]
Respecting the Roots: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Organic Agriculture
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is a concept refers to ecological knowledge that is place-based and also inherently tied to a culture. It is not only a system of knowledge that has been handed down generationally, but a holistic way to view all living things in relationship to the landscape. This is a perspective that's incredibly valuable for organic agriculture - if we can learn to appreciate it without appropriating it.
