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.
Media
Uneasy with herbicides and sensing opportunity, some Northwest Iowa farmers go organic
It’s Time to Break Our Addiction to Farm Chemicals
Organic Plant Breeding Yields Superior Varieties for Cucurbit Growers
2019: Be a part of the solution, and make your new year an organic one!
Opinion: The Climate Change Mitigation Potential of Organic Agriculture
Organic Farm on Cutting Edge of New Fruits and Consumer Education
Environmentally friendly farming practices used by nearly 1/3 of world’s farms
Opinion: Senate Farm Bill Supports Agricultural Research
Microgreens business, Yah-Whooo, hits 20-year mark
At FARM, Veterans FInd Peace Through Organic Gardening
Like your organic food? Pennsylvania’s young farmers are growing it.
In High Demand, Organic soy and Corn Farmers Stand to WIn
Rural Kansas is dying. I drove 1,800 miles to find out why
Organic Pioneer Growing in Paradise
Tiny but mighty: Farm bill programs punching above their weight
Brise Tencer: Research, Education and Policy is essential for Organic Agriculture
OFRF News
OFRF Asks Congress to Increase Funding for Organic Research
The OFRF policy team has been hard at work advocating for more federally funded organic agriculture research. Congress is currently in the midst of budget reconciliation, a process that allows them to fast-track legislation related to spending, revenue, the surplus or deficit, and public debt. The current budget resolution calls for $3.5 trillion in spending, and OFRF wants to make sure that organic research receives a share of the increased spending. More specifically, OFRF has asked members of the House and Senate to support an increase in funding for the [...]
OFRF Meets with Under Secretary Lester Moffitt to Ask USDA to Prioritize Support for Producers Transitioning to Organic
OFRF and its advisors recently met with organic farmer and newly-confirmed USDA Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt and Senior Advisor Mike Schimdt to discuss the department’s plans to help producers transition to organic production. USDA Secretary Vilsack has previously announced that the department will spend a couple hundred million dollars to help farmers and ranchers transition to organic. Given OFRF’s research focus and in-depth analysis in the National Organic Research Agenda, OFRF is well-equipped to provide the department with recommendations that will help producers transition to organic farming. Based on [...]
OFRF Staff Participates in Virtual Fly-In to Ask Congress to Bolster Organic
The Organic Farming Research Foundation’s (OFRF) Senior Policy Associate, Trevor Findley, participated in the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA) virtual fly-in, where organic supporters asked members of Congress to support a bill to increase accountability in organic standards. The National Organic Program is run by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and includes a federal advisory committee that makes recommendations to improve and advance organic standards. This committee, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), meets twice a year and accepts public input at its meetings. Since inception, the NOSB has made 20 consensus [...]
Creating a Southern Soil Health Course
By Shelby Kaplan, OFRF Research and Education Intern She recently graduated from University of Wisconsin Madison with a degree in plant pathology and a minor in food systems. She will continue her studies in the fall at ASU to receive a graduate certificate in food policy and sustainable leadership. As an OFRF intern this summer, I have been working with Thelma Velez, the Research and Education Program Manager, to create a free soil health course titled, Organic Soil Health for the Southern Region. This course builds on a recent OFRF [...]
