OFRF News Archives

The Organic Farming Research Foundation 2022 National Organic Research Agenda (NORA) is a report informed by surveys and focus groups conducted in 2020 with over 1,100 certified organic farmers and ranchers across North America. What Farmers Said In the NORA report, two-thirds of survey respondents (67%) cited weed management as a substantial production challenge. Specific feedback from organic farmers also underscores the need for additional research on controlling weeds such as nutsedge. Knowing Your Weeds Farmers and researchers alike acknowledge that weeds pose the greatest barrier to building healthy soils [...]

Help OFRF Support Organic Farmers For many organic producers, organic is a way of life and they can’t imagine farming any other way. Mary Phipps is one of those farmers. She joined the OFRF board in 2021, but has been using OFRF resources for nearly 15 years. "I first heard about OFRF from another organic farmer in our area in 2008 and started using OFRF information on our farm to help us solve the many challenges we were facing. I immediately signed up for the newsletter and have been following [...]

The Organic Farming Research Foundation 2022 National Organic Research Agenda (NORA) is a report informed by surveys and focus groups conducted in 2020 with over 1,100 certified organic farmers and ranchers across North America. What Farmers Said In the NORA report, two-thirds of survey respondents (67%) cited weed management as a substantial production challenge. Specific feedback from organic farmers also underscores the need for additional research on controlling weeds such as Canadian thistle. Knowing Your Weeds Farmers and researchers alike acknowledge that weeds pose the greatest barrier to building healthy [...]

Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), in partnership with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture (FFAR), is pleased to award a 2021-22 Organic Research grant to Alejandra Guzman-Luna, affiliated with Universidad Veracruzana and in collaboration with the Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative at the University of Vermont. Guzman-Luna has nearly 15 years of experience working with farmers and Indigenous communities in Mexico. OFRF’s grant program funds research on organic production systems and the dissemination of these research results to organic farmers and agricultural research communities. The 2021/22 grant cycle prioritized early career [...]

Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), in partnership with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), is pleased to award Kanalani Ohana Farm a 2021-22 Organic Research grant. OFRF’s grant program funds research on organic production systems and disseminates these research results to organic farmers and agricultural research communities. The 2021/22 grant cycle prioritized farmers, early career researchers and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) applicants, and awarded research projects focused on climate mitigation and building on-farm resilience. Kanalani Ohana Farm will research organic farming system options for control of Coffee [...]

Every five years a U.S. Farm Bill is voted into law by Congress, directing hundreds of billions of dollars to flow into the food and agriculture systems. The 2023 Farm Bill is right around the corner and now is the moment to act. Help support farmers and advance organic agriculture in the 2023 Farm Bill. Thanks to a generous donor, contributions made today will be matched dollar for dollar up to $5,000! OFRF heard loud and clear from organic and transitioning farmers and ranchers about their needs in the 2022 [...]

The Organic Farming Research Foundation 2022 National Organic Research Agenda (NORA) is a report informed by surveys and focus groups conducted in 2020 with over 1,100 certified organic farmers and ranchers across North America. What Farmers Said In the NORA report, 83% of respondents reported used crop rotations at least sometimes, with the majority responding usage as very often. 88% of survey respondents used cover crops and green manures, with almost half of respondents indicating they cover crop very often. Only 19% of respondents indicated they intercropped very often and [...]

Join us online as OFRF Research & Education Manager Thelma Vélez, PhD, discusses results from the 2022 National Organic Research Agenda (NORA). This free webinar from OFRF and eOrganic takes place on Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 11AM Pacific / 12PM Mountain / 1PM Central / 2PM Eastern Time. Advance registration is required. "The 2022 NORA is the most comprehensive and thorough iteration of OFRF's national farmer studies to date. Over 1,100 organic producers gave us their opinions and the stories the data tells is striking. We need to continue [...]

Organic production starts with healthy soils which regulate water, sustain plant and animal life, filter and buffer potential pollutants, manage nutrients, and provide physical structure to support strong plant roots. According to the 2022 National Organic Research Agenda (NORA), organic producers lead the nation in adoption of soil health and environmental stewardship practices. Such practices include cover cropping, crop rotations, and perennial conservation plantings. Cover crop plants include legumes (such as clover, vetch, peas, and beans) and non-legumes (including cereals, grasses, and broadleaf species). Approximately 76% of organic field crop [...]

Dominica Navarro Martinez (she/ella/they) is OFRF's new Deputy Director. She brings to this role an extensive background in nonprofit management, finance, administration, and strategic programmatic development. She has direct organic farming experience and previously worked for OFRF in an office management and programs capacity from 2015-2018. Dominica currently resides in Central Oregon with her family and dog Xochitl (pronounced Sochi), and enjoys sailing, hiking, seeking out hot springs in remote locations, growing food, and processing and preserving goods her family has grown, foraged, caught, or hunted. Tell us about yourself. [...]

By Ferd Hoefner, OFRF policy advisor On March 9, Congress finally produced the government funding bill for the fiscal year that started last October. Since October the government has been funding by a series of continuing resolutions that tracked the previous year’s budget amounts. Congress will now vote on the new final appropriations bill over the course of the next week, at which point it will be signed into law by the President. With April 1, the halfway point of every federal fiscal year, close at hand, it thankfully will [...]

Organic Farming Research Foundation is hosting the 2022 Organic Agriculture Research Forum (OARF) at the 42nd Annual EcoFarm Conference. This year's event will be held virtually, March 9-18, with field days scheduled in April-June 2022. The following OARF workshops will be conducted online: Research Report-Back: Soil Health on Organic Farms in the Central Coast Tuesday, March 15, 1:15PM-2:30PM PT Scientists from the UC Berkeley Soil Health Project will present the results of their soil ecology, bird ecology, and social science research on the topic of soil health on organic vegetable [...]