Ensuring a Sustainable Future With My Legacy to OFRF

Written by Katrina Heinze, OFRF Board Member from 2014-2023

A planned gift is a gift to the future. I support organic farming and OFRF because I care about the future health of our planet and its people. A planned gift to OFRF is a tangible way for me to pay it forward.

My mom fed me organic milk before “organic” was even a label. I grew up cooking and connecting with people through food. Later in my career, these interests led me to work in organic foods and organic policy. What a gift! Through my work, I learned about the care, hard work, and amazing knowledge that organic farmers bring to growing our food, as well as the challenges that make farming organically and bringing a farm’s goods to market difficult. 

In 2014, I joined OFRF’s board. Our farmer board members and farmer listening sessions taught me that organic farmers are experimenters and that we still have much to learn about the best production practices to nurture our environment, deal with and address the impacts of climate change, and provide healthy food for all—all while ensuring sustainable economics for farmers and farming communities.

OFRF’s mission is to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems. I love OFRF’s farmer-centered, science-based approach. Our work is long-term and requires long-term funding. For example, OFRF publishes the National Organic Research Agenda (NORA) every 5-6 years. The NORA Report is used to ask for Congressional funding for organic research, influence USDA’s grant funding, and help those of us in the organic food industry rally to support our farmers’ most important production (and non-production) needs. All of this contributes to new knowledge and support for organic farmers.

My husband and I have included OFRF in our will in addition to our regular OFRF donations. We did this to model our values for our family, demonstrate how we align our resources to those values, and be clear about the legacy we want to leave behind.

Estate planning can be easy to put off or avoid. However, we found that having conversations with our family about our wishes enriched our relationships. By discussing what mattered most to us and how we could best use our resources now and in the future, we’ve become better stewards of our resources today. We are glad we did this now instead of waiting or missing the opportunity altogether.

Planned giving can take place during your lifetime or at death, and it is a crucial part of your overall financial and estate plan. Typically larger than donations from ordinary income, planned gifts can provide income, financial security, and tax savings to you and your family, depending on how they are structured. In our case, our planned gift includes a multi-year commitment to OFRF now and a designation of a percentage of any remaining estate at our deaths.  

Planned giving is crucial for non-profits like OFRF, who depend largely on annual giving to “keep the lights on.” Although OFRF receives grants for key program initiatives, these grants don’t often pay for staff development, accounting, and the time-consuming work of helping policymakers understand the needs of farmers. Planned gifts build year-to-year stability for now and create a “savings account” for later.

I have seen the impact of planned gifts on OFRF. When I was on the Board of Directors, we received a planned gift. This single donation enabled us to hire a paid intern to support our research program. It also demonstrated to a future grant maker the value of our work, which has now resulted in a multi-year grant. Better still, the donor was unknown to us, and learning about why OFRF was important to them brought us joy and a renewed commitment to our mission.

A planned gift does not have to be complicated. Including OFRF as a beneficiary in your will or naming OFRF as a full or partial beneficiary of a life insurance policy or retirement account is a simple way to make a planned gift. Consulting with your financial and legal advisors can help you determine what is best for your situation and values. Once you have put a gift plan in place, let the beneficiary non-profit know. They will benefit from understanding what motivated you, and you will get to enjoy the impact of your thoughtful gift.

Together, let’s ensure the widespread adoption of organic farming practices. Our earth and farming communities depend on it. Please join me in planting a seed for the future by making a planned gift to OFRF today.

Sincerely,

Katrina

Written by Vinnie Trometter

When people think of organic food these days, they might picture a well-stocked grocery store, a local farmers’ market, or their favorite organic snack. What most people don’t picture? A day of meetings on Capitol Hill.

But that’s precisely where you’ll find us.

With the future of agricultural policy in flux and renewed attention on domestic food security, climate resilience, and sustainable farming practices, it’s more important than ever that organic farmers—and the science that supports them—have a seat at the table.

OFRF has been working hard to increase our presence in Washington, D.C., to make sure organic farmers have a voice in the decisions shaping agriculture policy. And what’s been especially encouraging lately is this: organic farming is something both sides of the aisle can get behind.

As OFRF’s point person in D.C., I spend my days walking the halls of Congress, meeting with lawmakers and their staff, and talking about the value of organic farming research. We work closely with coalition partners and farmer representatives to ensure organic perspectives are heard and reflected in policy decisions. What’s striking is that whether I’m in a Democrat’s office or a Republican’s, the conversations almost always land in the same place: organic farming research matters.

With some offices, the conversation might start with a concern about the trade deficit, increasing domestic food production, or improving public health. For others, conversation may focus on sustainability, conservation, and environmental health. But in the end, the key point is the same—investing in organic research benefits farmers in all parts of the country.

Left to right: Rep. Nunn (IA-3, R), Alice Runde (NOC), Gordon Merrick (OFRF Sr. Policy & Programs Manager), Vinnie Trometter (OFRF Policy Fellow) during the 2025 NOC Fly-In

I usually begin with a simple fact: the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) has said that innovation and technology are the main contributors to economic growth in U.S. agriculture. Then, I connect the dots. For example, investing in organic research helps reduce the organic trade deficit, supports American farmers, and ensures consumers get access to food that’s both nutritious and responsibly grown.

From there, we talk specifics. At OFRF, we’re focused on a handful of key programs in this year’s federal budget:

• The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI)
• The Organic Transitions Program (ORG)
• The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program
• The Organic Data Initiative (ODI)

We shape our advocacy based on what farmers tell us they need—through direct conversations, guidance from our Organic Stewardship Council, and insights from thousands of survey responses in the National Organic Research Agenda (NORA).

Each one plays a unique role in boosting productivity, supporting farmer-led innovation, and helping small and mid-sized organic producers thrive. And when we show congressional offices how these programs are already helping researchers and farmers in their own states? That’s when the conversation really clicks.

We’ve found that staying rooted in the facts builds trust. We keep our messaging focused on economic impact, real-world results, and the growing demand for organic food, which now tops $71 billion annually. That resonates whether someone’s priority is market competitiveness or environmental stewardship.

And yes, we’re hearing the concerns about tight budgets. But we also hear this: “These are small investments with big returns.”

The truth is, organic agriculture doesn’t belong to one political party. It’s about innovation, health, economic opportunity, and smart stewardship of our land. And that’s something everyone can get behind.

As OFRF continues to expand our presence in D.C., we’re proud to be a bridge between science, policy, and the people who grow our food. We know this work matters—and we’re grateful to be carrying it forward, one conversation at a time.

From DC, 

Vinnie

Written by Elizabeth Tobey, OFRF Communications Manager

In 2019, Dr. Joji Muramoto became the first Cooperative Extension Specialist in the University of California (UC) system dedicated specifically to organic agriculture. This week, he will receive an award from the Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI) at UC Davis for his contribution to organic agriculture research.

The 2025 Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award recognizes and honors the legacy of Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger by celebrating the leadership of an individual who has worked to promote agricultural sustainability.

Some of the most significant scientific advancements in strawberry research have been made by Dr. Muramoto and Dr. Carol Shennan at UC Santa Cruz, where they have pioneered alternatives to methyl bromide in commercial strawberry production. The practices of anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD), an alternative to soil fumigation for the control of soil pathogens and nematodes, developed by Dr. Muramoto and colleagues, have been widely adopted among organic and conventional strawberry growers in California.

From an early age in suburban Tokyo, Japan, Dr. Muramoto was interested in the organic movement. “Organic farmers there told me repeatedly, ‘Soil is the foundation of farming.’ That’s when I got interested in soil science,” he says. As he advanced in his career, he found that helping growers was especially rewarding. “My passion is to help organic and conventional farmers make their farms more sustainable: ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially just.”

Dr. Muramoto’s influential research focuses on enhancing soil health and promoting the sustainability of organic agriculture in California through transdisciplinary agroecological approaches. Since 1996, he has conducted research and extension on fertility and soil-borne disease management in organic strawberry and vegetable production and fumigant alternatives in conventional strawberry production in coastal California.

The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) began following Dr. Muramoto’s research in 1997 when we helped to initiate the work with a research grant. OFRF awarded additional grants in 2003 and 2010, which have since been leveraged to secure more than $5 million in funding from state and federal agencies to support this pivotal work. “I thank OFRF for its support from the beginning of my career at Santa Cruz,” Dr. Muramoto said when we reached out to congratulate him on this award. We applaud researchers like Dr. Muramoto, whose work exemplifies the ways that organic research can lead to innovative solutions that benefit the whole farming community, conventional and organic alike.

With organic agriculture as the fastest-growing sector in the United States’ food market, accounting for over 6% of total food sales and 15% of all produce sales, we believe it should receive a proportionate amount of research funding. However, organic research currently receives less than 2% of USDA’s research funding, and less than 1% of the Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) research budget. Additionally, the research agencies at the USDA have not been spared from the current administration’s budget cuts and widespread firings.

Agricultural research is the backbone of the technical and financial assistance programs operated by the USDA that ensure food security, food safety, environmental sustainability, and economic vitality for the United States. We are committed to continuing to advocate for the funding that organic agriculture research deserves, enabling scientists like Dr. Muramoto to continue to pave the way towards sustainable solutions for all farmers.

Read more about our Policy Priorities here, and explore additional research in our new searchable resource database, The Organic Research Hub.

This story was adapted from a press release by UC Davis and a previous story OFRF released about Dr. Muramoto’s work.