Groups invest more than $632K to advance organic farming

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and The Organic Center have announced five awards totaling around $632,000 to advance organic farming.

The awards fund much-needed training, technical support and innovative climate research, according to a news release.

“Organic farming is complex and nuanced work that requires innovative, collaborative solutions,” LaKisha Odom, FFAR scientific program director, said in the release. “The Organic Center and these prize recipients are taking steps to make organic farming practices more accessible and equitable, so farmers have the tools they need to combat climate change.”

TOC and FFAR partnered on two funding opportunities, the Organic Training for Agricultural Professionals Prize and the 2023 Organic Center-FFAR joint Organic Research Program, according to the release.

The Organic Training for Agricultural Professionals Prize recognizes extraordinary contributions to training farmers, agriculture professionals and community organizations in organic production, the release said. In selecting the 2023 prize winners, TOC and FFAR said they prioritized projects that increased organic agriculture by training farmers in organic practices and created access for farmers to agronomical professionals.

Recipients were also selected based on their ability to increase diversity, equity and inclusion among participants, the release said. TOC and FFAR further focused on projects that included measurable knowledge exchange between farmers and organic agriculture professionals. Prize winners secured matching funds, according to the release.

The Organic Research Program awards grants of up to $200,000 per project that focus on organic techniques for improving mitigation and resiliency to climate change.

“This year we received a large number of highly competitive proposals and were thrilled to see such innovative solutions that top candidates proposed for impactful research that will build farm reliance and outreach methods that will meet a wide range of audiences,” Amber Sciligo, director of science programs at The Organic Center, said in the release.

The three Organic Training for Agricultural Professionals Prize winners include:

• Kalona Regenerative Network — This nonprofit arm of the organic dairy company Kalona Supernatural is educating farmers to use regenerative and organic farming methods to restore ecosystem health, grow more nutrient dense food and create profitable farms, the release said. With this $77,777 prize, KRN is offering organic certification in-house and implementing a pay-what-you-can and scholarship model for its Producer Education Program. The prize also supports KRN’s goal of providing accessible education and guidance to help producers and consumers drive change within the U.S. food system.
• Oregon Tilth — This offers education programs for certified organic producers and those interested in transitioning to organic production practices, the release said. The organization also builds organic farming support networks with agriculture professionals at state and federal agencies, universities and other organizations. This $63,173 prize is an extension of the 2022 award Oregon Tilth received. The 2023 prize allows Oregon Tilth to train additional farmers and agriculture professionals in organic certification, organic regulations, production practices and profitability tools. The prize also funds convenings for organic certifiers that explore ways to streamline linkages between USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service support and the organic certification process. Lastly, the prize supports the Know Your Cost to Grow program, an online curriculum and cost calculation app developed to help producers develop and use cost information.
• Rodale Institute — The institute is growing the organic movement through rigorous research, farmer training and consumer education, the release said. This $96,694 prize allows the institute to expand its online educational portal to further reach and train farmers and agricultural professionals across the U.S. Specifically, the institute is creating greater access to its “Transition to Certified Organic Agriculture” online course by translating it into Spanish, creating a scholarship program to provide free access to its online courses and expanding the types of courses offered.

The two 2023 Organic Center-FFAR joint Organic Research Program recipients include:

• Moriah Bilenky, Purdue University — Bilenky received a $199,256 award to investigate how integrated cropping systems on organic fields can reduce input costs and enhance biodiversity above and below ground, the release said. Specifically, Bilenky and her team are investigating the impacts of adding small ruminants to an integrated cropping system on soil health, microbiome health and presence of food pathogens on vegetable farms. The researchers aim to identify integrated cropping system best practices and plan to disseminate educational materials to increase adoption of these practices.
• Kathleebn Delate, Iowa State University — Delate received a $195,124 award to study the effects of organic management on nutrient and soil water cycling and storage, the release said. Delate aims to quantify the optimal combinations of soil, greenhouse gas emissions and economic modeling for ecosystem health. She will compare agricultural system management, manure management and alternative cropping systems. Delate plans to share her results with the farming community to encourage farmer participation in data collection and practice adoption. She is also training multicultural farmers on the identified practices to spur adoption of her research recommendations.