General News
Farm Bill Signed into Law
December 13, 2018 – After years of work and months of back and forth negotiations, the 2018 Farm Bill has been signed by the President. This bipartisan bill makes long-overdue investments in organics and the future of American agriculture. The bill provides historic permanent baseline funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), continues to support the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program, provides increased funding and enforcement authority for the National Organic Program, and supports the vital Organic Market and Production Data Initiative. The bill also makes [...]
Historic Permanent Funding for Organic Research Secured in Farm Bill
December 11, 2018—Thanks to the hard work of OFRF and a broad coalition of organic champions, we have secured historic wins for organic agricultural research in the 2018 Farm Bill, which will provide $395 million for organic agriculture research and education over the next 10 years. This milestone is the biggest win for organic farming in the Farm Bill in decades, securing permanent funding for organic research at USDA. These funds will dramatically expand competitive grants through USDA’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), ensuring organic farmers and ranchers have [...]
New Climate Guide Evaluates Best Organic Practices in Curbing Climate Change
December 4, 2018—Today the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) released the eighth guidebook in their immensely popular Soil Health and Organic Farming Series. Organic Practices for Climate Mitigation, Adaptation, and Carbon Sequestration examines research related to the capacity of sustainable organic systems and practices to sequester soil carbon and minimize nitrous oxide and methane emissions. The guide includes practical advice for reducing an organic farm’s “carbon footprint” and adapting to climate disruptions already underway. “Research demonstrates that sustainable organic agriculture has great potential to sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance farm [...]
Senate Holds Hearing for the Chief Scientist at USDA
November 30, 2018 – Even in the midst of a tense Farm Bill negotiation, the Senate Agriculture Committee convened to hear from the nominees for key positions at USDA. The nominees are, Mindy Brashears for Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety, Naomi C. Earp for Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Civil Rights, and Scott Hutchins, for Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics also known as the “Chief Scientist” at USDA. For organic research, it is the “Chief Scientist” who coordinates and oversees a number of federal [...]
OFRF Board Member Heather Darby Receives USDA OREI Grant
November 11, 2018 – Until recently, organic milk was one of the fastest growing sectors in organic agriculture. However, with prices declining, interest in transitioning to grass-fed production methods is increasing. Expansion in this market has been particularly significant in the Northeast where farmers face challenging climate conditions that complicate cropping of traditional feed crops such as corn silage and therefore encourage more grass-based systems. This expansion, now estimated to be over 300 grass-fed dairy farms, has outpaced research, leading to knowledge gaps for both farmers and technical service providers. [...]
Elmwood Stock Farm
October 31, 2018 – Elmwood Stock Farm is a 6th-generation family farm in Lexington, Kentucky that began as a producer of Black Angus breeding-stock cattle. The cattle are still an important part of the farm ecosystem and farm business, though over the past decade the family has branched out to produce a variety of organic vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, and cornmeal. Organic certification and close family involvement ensure that safe and sustainable farming practices are followed, livestock are well cared for, and land [...]
USDA Organic Research Program Stalled Until New Farm Bill Passes
October 26, 2018 – With the expiration of the 2014 Farm Bill on September 30, 2018, Congress allowed a wide range of important food and farm programs to also expire. These programs lost their authority to operate, and in some cases their funding. Among the programs thrown into limbo by this delayed Farm Bill is the main competitive organic research grant program at USDA, the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI). While, USDA was able to make organic research grants for 2018 (a more detailed overview of 2018 projects can be [...]
OFRF at SupplySide West
October 26, 2018 – SupplySide West is coming up in Las Vegas November 6th through the 10th. OFRF's Executive Director, Brise Tencer, will be speaking on "The State of Organic" on Friday, November 9th at 11:30 as part of Esca Bona at SupplySide West Education, a platform to engage and serve companies working to create a better food system. Leading up to the event, Brise was interviewed by Heather Granato, Vice President of Content for SupplyWide West for their Healthy Insider Podcast. Among other things, they discuss: Steps that companies can take [...]
New Study Associates Organic Diet with Reduced Risk of Cancer
October 25, 2018 – A new study reported in the New York Times on October 22nd examines the relationship between an organic food-based diet and cancer risk. Funded entirely by public and government funds at the Center of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics Sorbonne Paris Cite, researchers collected data for five years on the consumption frequency and dietary intake of 68,946 French adults, primarily women. They concluded that a higher frequency of organic food consumption was associated with a reduced risk of cancer. The most frequent consumers of organic food had [...]
New Webinar Series on Soil Health in the Western U.S.
October 11, 2018 – Please join OFRF and eOrganic for a series of eight free webinar trainings on organic farming and soil health in the Western U.S. The webinars will target agricultural professionals including Extension personnel, other agency personnel, and agricultural consultants in an effort to increase expertise in organic practices that promote soil health. As a complement to OFRF's Organic Farming and Soil Health Guidebooks, this series will highlight soil health research and practices specific to the Western Region. The goal is to address the need for region-specific resources [...]
More than 1,100 Scientists Oppose USDA Agency Moves
October 1, 2018 – More than 1,100 scientists and economists from across the country sent a letter to congressional leaders today, opposing the Trump administration’s proposal to reorganize and relocate key research branches at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The proposed changes threaten scientific integrity at the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and could further marginalize their critical research from policymaking, according to the letter. If Secretary Perdue’s plans are realized, the ERS and NIFA will be relocated from their current offices in [...]
Passage of New Farm Bill Unlikely to Meet Deadline
September 25, 2018 – Congress has less than a week to pass a new Farm Bill before the current law expires on September 30th. With the Ag Committee negotiators far apart on major issues, the chances of a Farm Bill getting done on time are slim. The last time this happened, in 2012, Congress passed short term extensions to keep Farm Bill programs running. This time, an extension of current law isn't being considered yet. Both Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts and ranking member Debbie Stabenow have suggested an extension may not [...]
Expo East – Braving the Storm
September 19, 2018 – By Tim Schultz, Vice President of Research & Development for Lundberg Family Farms and OFRF Board Member This year’s Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore began with a flurry of excitement as Hurricane Florence headed for the Southeast Coast of the United States. Early in the week, the Governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency in anticipation of potentially devastating wind, rain, and storm surge. By the time the show opened, it was pretty clear the storm and its horrendous damage, would be focused much further south, [...]
Brise Tencer Interviewed for Food Sleuth Radio
September 11, 2018 – OFRF Executive Director, Brise Tencer was interviewed by Food Sleuth Radio for a podcast that aired August 30th. In the episode, host Melinda Hemmelgarn asks Brise to explain the benefits of organic food and farming and how certification helps both farmers and consumers. They also discuss the challenges facing organic farmers—how research can help—and why there needs to be greater investment in organic research. Give a listen!
OFRF Hits the Road: Spreading the Word on Soil Health
September 6, 2018 – By Lauren Snyder, Education and Research Program Associate at OFRF One of my roles at OFRF is to disseminate information on organic farming practices to diverse audiences. A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to San Luis Obispo to give a presentation on the principles and practices of building soil health at an organic research symposium hosted by Nutrien Ag Solutions, the world’s largest agriculture inputs company. Interestingly, I learned that their crop consultants are increasingly working with organic farmers and Nutrien Ag Solutions has identified [...]
Farm Bill Conference Committee Meets as Deadline Approaches
September 6, 2019 – The Farm Bill Conference Committee, composed of nine Senators and 47 Representatives, met publicly for the first time on September 6th. The House and Senate each passed different versions of the Farm Bill this year, tasking the Conference Committee with crafting a final version that will have to go back to both the House and Senate for approval, before being sent to the President for signature before it expires on September 30, 2018. This is no small task. The hearing was mostly comprised of opening statements, [...]
Why It’s Important to Keep USDA ERS Independent
August 30, 2018 – By Carolyn Dimitri, Associate Professor of Food Studies, New York University, Board Member, OFRF Earlier this month, Secretary Sonny Perdue of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced his intention to move the Economic Research Service (ERS) from Washington, DC and place it under the direction of the politically appointed Office of the Chief Economist. These changes will result in the loss of expertise and jeopardize the quality, relevance, and overall integrity of the agency’s research. As a federal research agency focused on food and agricultural issues, [...]
University of Idaho Expands with New Organic Agriculture Center in Sandpoint
August 30, 2018 – Organic and sustainable agricultural research, education, and outreach will be the focus at a stunning new facility donated to the University of Idaho by Dennis Pence of Sandpoint. The Sandpoint Organic Agriculture Center features 8 acres of organic orchards, surrounded by 8 acres of organic field plots, as well as a dormitory and a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen. Michael Parrella, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences dean, said the new center will help U of I link more effectively with the local community and provide a template [...]
Three Springs Farm
August 30, 2018 – Three Springs Farm is a certified organic farm located in eastern Oklahoma in the Ozark Hills. Farmers Mike Appel and Emily Oakley cultivate over thirty different crops and more than 100 individual varieties on three acres of land. Their goal is to maintain a family operation that demonstrates the economic viability of small-scale farming. Both Mike and Emily studied farming in college, then Mike worked at Full Belly Farm in California while Emily finished grad school at UC [...]
Common Wealth Seed Growers
August 28, 2018 – In 2018, OFRF awarded a grant to Edmund Frost of Common Wealth Seed Growers in Virginia to assess resistance to both Bacterial Wilt and Cucurbit Downy Mildew among selected cucumber and muskmelon seed stocks, and to continue with the development of a pickling cucumber that is resistant to both diseases.
