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Join eOrganic, the Organic Farming Research Foundation and the Organic Seed Alliance in May for webinars about the results of two major surveys of organic producers: the National Organic Research Agenda, and the State of Organic Seed.
May 5, 2022 Webinar: National Organic Research Agenda: Understanding Organic Grower Needs and Challenges Across the U.S.
The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) regularly surveys organic growers, farmers, ranchers across North America to understand their challenges and research needs. The findings are published in the National Organic Research Agenda (NORA) report, which informs OFRF research, education and advocacy programs and has also historically served as a roadmap to inform the USDA and Congress on how to leverage public investments in organic research and technical assistance. In 2019, OFRF surveyed over 1,000 farmers and held 16 focus groups with both established certified organic growers and transitioning growers. In this presentation, we will summarize the findings of the most recent NORA report.
Survey respondents provided input and perspectives on their current organic production systems, including the use of regenerative soil health management practices, water conservation, organic inputs, and organic seed. Findings confirm that organic producers lead the nation in adoption of soil health management and climate-friendly practices. The 2022 NORA also examines current farmer concerns in organic agriculture, farmers’ preferred sources and modes for information-sharing, and the impacts of COVID on organic producers. Respondents also shared their production and non-production challenges, which OFRF then analyzed by region, farming experience, and race/ethnicity.
Register for the NORA webinar here
Find a link to the NORA report here
May 17, 2022 Webinar: State of Organic Seed
Join the Organic Seed Alliance’s Kiki Hubbard and Jared Zystro for a timely webinar on May 17, 2022 at 11AM Pacific, 12 Mountain, 1 Central, 2 Eastern Time. Organic seed represents the first link in the organic supply chain, serving as the foundation of organic integrity from seed to plate. Every five years, OSA releases the State of Organic Seed report as a progress report and action plan for increasing the organic seed supply while fostering seed grower networks and policies that aim to decentralize power and ownership in seed systems. OSA recently published a third update to this report. The 2022 report represents 15 years of data that helps the organic community understand trends in organic seed sourcing, organic seed research investments, and more.
There was very little organic seed available when the National Organic Program (NOP) was implemented in 2002. Twenty years later, the organic seed supply has grown tremendously, and certified organic growers are still required to plant organic seed when commercially available. OSA’s newest findings show that most organic growers still plant non-organic seed for at least part (if not all) of their operations. While there’s evidence that organic seed sourcing is increasing among smaller vegetable producers, progress across crop types is generally stagnant. In other words, OSA’s most recent findings demonstrate no meaningful improvement in organic producers using more organic seed compared to five years ago.
This webinar will share the report’s findings and recommendations, which are informed by numerous surveys and data sets. Webinar topics include:
- Trends in how much organic seed is being planted in the U.S.
- Barriers to growing the organic seed supply
- Challenges in enforcing the organic seed regulation
- Organic seed production challenges and needs
- Organic seed producer networks
- Investments in organic plant breeding and organic seed research
- Perspectives on intellectual property rights (IPR)
- Perspectives on climate change
- Organic seed policy solutions
Register for the State of Organic Seed webinar here
The 2022 State of Organic Seed report can be found at this link
More Upcoming Virtual Events
April 26: Webinar on Integrated Soil Management
The Organic Plant Breeding Institute at Clemson University is hosting a webinarby Joji Muramoto of the University of California Santa Cruz on "Integrated Soil Management for Plant Health and One Health". It takes place on April 26 at 11AM Easterh Time. He will discuss soilborne disease management and pest management in strawberry production, and an article about this project is available at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.839648/full
Register for this free presentation in at https://clemson.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DIOJ4OauSIul5lcU2ixNoA
May 3, 2022: NRCS Transition to Organic Plan Updates: Understanding the New CPA 138 and DIA 140
This webinar, by NRCS in partnership with Oregon Tilth, will provide an overview of the new EQIP Conservation Planning Activity (CPA), Design and Implementation Activity (DIA), and Conservation Evaluation and Monitoring Activity (CEMA) system and pairing options, and then focus on CPA 138: Conservation Plan Supporting Organic Transition and DIA 140: Transition to Organic. The process, requirements, and deliverables for each transition to organic plan will be discussed in detail, including potential opportunity for a transition to organic CEMA to be developed in the future. A Q&A session will be included. This webinar is geared towards technical service providers, NRCS staff, and anyone who is interested in learning more about CPA 138 and DIA 140. Advance registration is not available but instructions on how to join and obtain continuing education credits are available here.
June 6-8, 2022: California Variety Showcase
Join the Culinary Breeding Network and Organic Seed Alliance on June 6-8, 2022 from 10am-2pm Pacific Time, live on the Culinary Breeding Network YouTube channel. Learn about California organic breeding of celtuce, dry beans, tomatoes, onions, squash, miner’s lettuce and more. Tune in for TED-style talks, interactive Q&A sessions, culinary demos, and virtual field tours.
Presenters include:
- Artisan Seeds / Baia Nicchia Farm w/ Fred Hempel
- Forno Fama w/ Hans Fama
- Open Circle Seeds w/ Gina Covina
- Quail Seeds w/ Jamie Chavalier
- San Diego Seed Company w/ Brijette Pena
- Second Generation Seeds w/ Kristyn Leach
- Seed rEvolution Now! w/Steve Peters
- The Plant Good Seed Company w/Quin Shakra and Steve Sprinkel
- UC Davis SCOPE w/ Charlie Brummer, Antonia Palkovic and Laura Roser
Funded by California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crops Block Grant program
The event is free but please register at https://seedalliance.org/events/california-variety-showcase/
New Final Origin of Organic Livestock Rule Published
On April 5, the USDA published a new final orgin of livestock rule in the Federal Register to clarify the standards for organic transition of livestock. This rule has been a priority for organic farmers and activists for many years, and it goes into effect on June 6, 2022. The rule:
- Specifies that a dairy livestock operation transitioning to organic, or starting a new organic farm, is allowed to transition non-organic animals ONCE.
- Prohibits organic dairies from sourcing any transitioned animals. Once a dairy is certified organic, any new animals must have been born as certified organic (managed as organic from the last third of gestation).
Find the rule at:
USDA Seeking Comments on Barriers to Competition in Agriculture as a Result of Consolidation and Intellectual Property Restrictions
Until May 16, 2022, the USDA is soliciting comments in response to a series of questions about how farmers are affected by issues related to consolidation and intellectual property restrictions and whether these stifle innovation and reduce competition. Find details and submit a comment at this link.
According to the request:"We are particularly interested in what effects various forms of IP, such as patents, have on small to mid-sized seed businesses and plant breeding programs. Other important input markets include those for equipment; fertilizer; feed; pest control; chemical management agents; animal breeding and genetics; storage and transportation; hatcheries; or pre-farm markets, including farm input derivatives, processing, trading, and financing.
We are further interested in comments addressing the role of fair and competitive markets in promoting local and regional food systems, creating new market opportunities (including for value-added agriculture and value-added products), advancing efforts to transform the food system, meeting the needs of the agricultural workforce, supporting and promoting consumers' nutrition security, particularly for low-income populations, and supporting the needs of underserved and small to mid-sized producers and processors."
eOrganic Mission and Resources
eOrganic is a web community where organic agriculture farmers, researchers, and educators network; exchange objective, research- and experience-based information; learn together; and communicate regionally, nationally, and internationally. If you have expertise in organic agriculture and would like to develop U.S. certified organic agriculture information, join us at https://eorganic.info
- Find all eOrganic articles, videos and webinars at https://www.eorganic.org
- Connect with eOrganic on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel!
- Have a question about organic farming? Use the eXtension Ask an Expert service to connect with the eOrganic community to get an answer!
