As consumer demand for organic produce continues to outstrip domestic supply, Rodale Institute is launching a substantial effort to help American farmers close the gap.
The nonprofit organization is launching the “10 Million Acre Solution,” a $139 million comprehensive campaign designed to catalyze the transition of 10 million U.S. farmland acres to organic and regenerative organic practices by 2030. Guided by a new five-year strategic plan, the campaign tackles a critical inflection point in American agriculture: bridging supply shortages while preparing for an estimated 95 million acres of U.S. farmland expected to change hands in the coming decades.
“Rodale Institute has spent nearly eight decades asking what agriculture can do for soil, people and communities,” says Jeff Tkach, CEO of Rodale Institute. “This next chapter is about putting that knowledge to work at a scale that matches the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
At the heart of the campaign is a signature investment: the $24 million Center for Regenerative Organic Innovation, which officially broke ground at the organization’s headquarters in Kutztown, Pa. Supported by $13.1 million in current financial commitments, the project will restore the campus’s historic 1819 Siegfried Barn, transforming it into a modern, national hub for farmer education, technical support and collaboration.
“The Siegfried Barn is part of the history and identity of this farm,” says David Willey, chief operating officer of Rodale Institute. “It dates back to 1819 and has long been connected to the Institute’s work, but it is no longer equipped to support the level of education, collaboration and innovation that farmers need. Restoring the barn allows us to honor that history while preparing it for the future. We are preserving an important place and giving it a new purpose as the engine and hub of the Institute’s next chapter.”
For produce growers and buyers looking to secure robust, domestic organic supply chains, the center aims to turn long-term scientific discovery into actionable field solutions.
“The center will help us connect nearly eight decades of research with the practical support farmers need today,” Tkach says. “This groundbreaking is more than a building; it is about creating the infrastructure to help catalyze the growth of regenerative organic agriculture at scale.”
By 2030, Rodale aims to conduct 10 long-term research trials, educate 100,000 farmers and industry professionals and reach 100 million consumers. Rooted in its flagship Farming Systems Trial — now in its fifth decade of comparing organic and conventional systems — the institute currently manages 33 active research projects alongside 16 Ph.D. scientists working in tandem with global growers, healthcare systems and universities.
“This isn’t a series of separate initiatives. It’s one unified vision for the future of American agriculture,” Tkach says. “Our goal is simple: Give farmers the research, education and support they need to succeed. When they do, the benefits reach far beyond the farm to strengthen our communities and the economy.”
As the organic produce sector continues to expand, Rodale’s leadership views the transition effort as both a duty to the land and a vital solution for future food security.
“My grandfather, J.I. Rodale, and my father, Bob Rodale, believed that caring for the land was one of the most powerful ways to care for people,” says Maria Rodale, co-chair of the institute’s board of directors. “The greatest way we can honor their legacy is by looking ahead and continuing their work.”
