Organic Farming Research Foundation

Organic Farming Research Foundation OFRF fosters the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems.
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Since its founding, OFRF has provided 337 grants to organic researchers and farmers, investing more than $3,000,000. OFRF grants have lasting impacts on organic farming knowledge and the lives of farmers and researchers. Overall, OFRF grant funding has advanced scientific knowledge and improved the practices, ecological sustainability and economic prosperity of organic farming. OFRF grants have pl

ayed a crucial role in advancing the careers of young scientists, enabling them to leverage significant additional funding from state and federal agencies.

Your cover crop game plan starts here! Join us and Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education on September 1...
09/05/2026

Your cover crop game plan starts here! Join us and Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education on September 10, 2026, at 1 pm EST for a webinar packed with research-backed strategies for cover cropping in organic and transitioning systems.

OFRF Conservation Scientist Rebecca Champagne, PhD, will present current research on cover crops for western organic systems, covering soil health, nutrient and w**d management, pollinator support, and grazing integrations. She’ll be joined by Shannon Cappellazzi, PhD, Soil Health Extension Specialist with Oregon State University, and Anthony Reyes, Director of Agriculture at Oxbow Farm and Conservation Center.

You won’t want to miss these insights into cover crop selection and management, including an introduction to the Western Cover Crops Council selection tool and NOP compliance context.

Register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_L6qZfXG5TZK7G80ciTwzZQ #/registration

Rodale Institute's Pacific Northwest Center sits on 90 acres in Washington, between the Skagit River and the North Casca...
09/02/2026

Rodale Institute's Pacific Northwest Center sits on 90 acres in Washington, between the Skagit River and the North Cascades, land once farmed by Cascadian Farm before General Mills donated it to Rodale in 2022 in recognition of the organization’s leadership in organic and regenerative agriculture.

Washington’s organic sector is thriving, with more than 900 certified organic farms generating $795 million in farmgate sales across 145,000 acres. In late July, Rodale’s PNW team welcomed local farmers, conservation district professionals, and researchers to a Field Day showcasing new perennial plantings of aronia berries, elderberries, hazelnuts, and kiwi berries, alongside cover cropping trials and the farm’s established blueberry fields.

Western Region Research Director Arianna Bozzolo says the goal is to prove that organic and regenerative farming can support both the land and the people who work it: “I'd like to see this be a farm that’s up and running as organic and regenerative, demonstrating to farmers that you can farm organic and regenerative and still have an income and support your crew and your employees.”

Read the full story on Rodale’s PNW Center: ofrf.org/news/growing-perennials-in-the-pacific-northwest

OFRF recently hosted a Researcher and Extension Regional Meetup at this year’s Southern Family Farmers & Food Systems Co...
09/01/2026

OFRF recently hosted a Researcher and Extension Regional Meetup at this year’s Southern Family Farmers & Food Systems Conference at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

Researcher and Extension Regional Meetups (RERMs) are dedicated spaces for researchers, extension personnel, and technical service providers to network at regional agricultural conferences. These unique sessions were developed in response to feedback from organic researchers that (1) meeting other organic researchers/professionals within a region can be difficult, and (2) organic research is frequently left out of broader ag conversations.

Check out the recap from Texas in OFRF's latest blogpost:
https://ofrf.org/news/ofrf-in-texas-a-researcher-and-extension-regional-meetup-in-the-heat/

Chestnut Acres Farm is experimenting with organic solutions for parasite-load in sheep. 🐑Farmers Amy and Madeline Lucas ...
08/31/2026

Chestnut Acres Farm is experimenting with organic solutions for parasite-load in sheep. 🐑

Farmers Amy and Madeline Lucas in Kelso, TN, are testing an organic drench (black walnut powder, organic garlic powder, and organic molasses) to reduce parasites in their lambs. The data from his Farmer-Led Trial will help organic livestock producers manage parasites while complying with organic certification standards.

You can read more about their experiment in our latest Farmer-Led Trials Program Spotlight: https://ofrf.org/news/farmer-led-trials-program-spotlight-chestnut-acres/



Join OFRF at Oregon State University's Lewis-Brown Hort Farm in Corvallis, OR, for an afternoon in the field learning ab...
08/28/2026

Join OFRF at Oregon State University's Lewis-Brown Hort Farm in Corvallis, OR, for an afternoon in the field learning about organic vegetables. This field day features the latest research and production wisdom from a variety of speakers.

📅 Monday, September 14
🕑 2:00–6:00pm PT
📍 Lewis-Brown Hort Farm, Corvallis, OR

Topics covered include the Tomato Organic Management & Improvement Project (TOMI), managing symphylans with rotations and biopesticides, and updates on dry beans, cover crops, and other projects.

This event is a perfect way for farmers and technical service providers to learn about the principles of organic management and see how they are being applied in both production and research settings.

Register here for the field day at OSU, and we will see you there: https://events.oregonstate.edu/event/organic-vegetables-field-day?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=Oregon+State+University

Your cover crop game plan starts here! Join us September 10, 2026, at 1 pm EST for a Western Sustainable Agriculture Res...
08/27/2026

Your cover crop game plan starts here! Join us September 10, 2026, at 1 pm EST for a Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education webinar packed with research-backed strategies for cover cropping in organic and transitioning systems.

OFRF Conservation Scientist Rebecca Champagne, PhD, will present current research on cover crops for western organic systems, covering soil health, nutrient and w**d management, pollinator support, and grazing integrations. She’ll be joined by Shannon Cappellazzi, PhD, Soil Health Extension Specialist with Oregon State University, and Anthony Reyes, Director of Agriculture at Oxbow Farm and Conservation Center.

You won’t want to miss these insights into cover crop selection and management, including an introduction to the Western Cover Crops Council selection tool and NOP compliance context.

Register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_L6qZfXG5TZK7G80ciTwzZQ #/registration

Pests keeping you up at night? If you're farming organically in the Northwest, join us this Thursday, August 27, at 12 p...
08/24/2026

Pests keeping you up at night? If you're farming organically in the Northwest, join us this Thursday, August 27, at 12 pm PT for a webinar built for you with practical, region-specific pest management strategies.

We’re diving into field-tested tactics for managing crop-specific insect pressure and disease, featuring a panel of expert organic farmers and researchers:
Ellie Costello, Trust Land Farm, Missoula, Montana
Sarahlee Lawrence, Rainshadow Organics, Sisters, Oregon
Robert Orpet, Assistant Professor of Entomology, Oregon State University

If you’re looking for new management strategies or have specific questions for our panel, this session is for you.

Register to save your spot: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cnt3P5TRSji-8DvU0VwFLw #/registration

Better hay. Better soil. 🌾At O'Meara Family Farm in Northern Maine, Farmer John O'Meara is a committed to the health, ha...
08/20/2026

Better hay. Better soil. 🌾

At O'Meara Family Farm in Northern Maine, Farmer John O'Meara is a committed to the health, happiness, and longevity of his animals and land. In his Farmer-Led Trial, he's looking for a forage crop that can do double duty—increase hay quality and build soil health. This summer he'll be comparing sunn h**p grown alone with sunn h**p interseeded with Japanese millet to see what works best for his farm.

Read the full blog here: https://ofrf.org/news/farmer-led-trials-program-spotlight-o-meara-family-farm/

Say hello to Mary Elizabeth Kidd (aka M.E.), who's helping out as our Communications Associate this summer! 🐕 🪉 🍑For the...
08/19/2026

Say hello to Mary Elizabeth Kidd (aka M.E.), who's helping out as our Communications Associate this summer! 🐕 🪉 🍑

For the last 15 years, Mary Elizabeth (aka M.E.) has built a career in food and farming communications—from promoting local restaurants and community food events, to 5+ years in digital marketing for multi-unit restaurants and consumer packaged goods brands, to serving as Georgia Organics' Communications Director. Along the way, she's also gotten her hands dirty on organic and urban farms and at Atlanta farmers markets, staying rooted in the everyday work of growing and sharing good food.

At the heart of it all: M.E. is passionate about connecting people to food and to each other, and she's all in on OFRF's mission to advance organic farming.

Outside of work, she's usually walking her Great Pyrenees, George, or playing harp in hospitals through a therapeutic music program. 🎶

Welcome, M.E.! We're glad you're here!

Pests keeping you up at night? If you're farming organically in the Northwest, join us Thursday, August 27 at 12 pm PT f...
08/19/2026

Pests keeping you up at night? If you're farming organically in the Northwest, join us Thursday, August 27 at 12 pm PT for a webinar built for you with practical, region-specific pest management strategies.

We’re diving into field-tested tactics for managing crop-specific insect pressure and disease, featuring a panel of expert organic farmers and researchers:
- Ellie Costello, Trust Land Farm, Missoula, Montana
- Sarahlee Lawrence, Rainshadow Organics, Sisters, Oregon
- Robert Orpet, Assistant Professor of Entomology, Oregon State University

If you’re looking for new management strategies or have specific questions for our panel, this session is for you.

Register to save your spot: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cnt3P5TRSji-8DvU0VwFLw #/registration

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95060

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