News From Other Sources
There’s a lot going on in the world of organic farming. Our community is always striving to grow and educate. We’ll aggregate and share other organic news from a variety of sources in this section.
OFRF News
FFAR Awards Matching Funds for OFRF’s 2019 Research Grants
January 29, 2019 – OFRF’s research program got a big boost thanks to a matching grant from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR). The $66,000 match will be used to support OFRF’s 2019 organic research grant awards related to soil health, including carbon sequestration, reduced tillage systems, and fertility management focused on reducing environmental impacts and improving soil health. “While modest in size, our competitive grant program plays a crucial role in advancing innovative projects on working farms and ranches, with strong collaboration between organic farmers and researchers,” [...]
April Joy Farm
January 2, 2019 – April Joy Farm is located near Ridgefield, Washington on 24 acres above the Columbia River Slough. The farm was purchased on contract from Annie Peterson in 2003. Coming “home” to this farm was the realization of a dream for April Thatcher née Jones, who spent many happy childhood days helping the previous owners with farm chores. Today, April and her husband Brad provide healthy food to over sixty families in Clark County through their CSA, as well as top local restaurants. “I grew up down [...]
Legislation Introduced to Preserve and Protect the Scientific Integrity of USDA
December 20, 2018 – Earlier this year, the Administration proposed to reorganize and relocate key research branches at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). There has been widespread concern within the research and farming communities about how the proposal could disrupt the scientific integrity of the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), and further marginalize critical research. In an effort to address these concerns, OFRF and the Union of Concerned Scientists sent a letter to Congressional leaders from over 1,100 scientists and economists, urging Congress to [...]
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 [...]
