Tag Archives: organic

New Guides for Organic Operations

  By Farm Aid | February 23, 2013 - 10:17 am | , ,
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To describe the relevant organic requirements, provide best practices, and further explain the certification process for certified organic farmers, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) has partnered with the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) to provide the following detailed guides:

These guides provide helpful information for both beginning farmers and current organic operations looking to adopt new management approaches. Digital downloads of all guides are free, and print versions are $3.00.

Organic Dairy and Field Crop Conference from NOFA-NY

  By Farm Aid | February 13, 2013 - 9:00 am |
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NOFA-NY has announced their 2nd Annual Organic Dairy and Field Crop Conference will take place on Friday, March 1st in Auburn, NY. The conference will consist of business, dairy, and field crop workshop tracks, including a half-day intensive workshop on the “Transition to Organic Dairy Management.” A pre-conference field day on February 28th at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, will focus on “Cereal Grains Seed Production and NYS Certified Foundation Seed Program.”

Register by February 15th for a $5 discount. Visit www.nofany.org/dairyconference for more information about the conference, including specific workshops and speakers.

Winter Webinar Series on Cover Crop Innovations

  By Farm Aid | February 4, 2013 - 10:43 am |
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Penn State Extension is offering a “Cover Crop Innovations” webinar series, starting February 4th. Five webinars will cover topics such as using winter-killed cover crops to reduce tillage in organic vegetable production, interseeding cover crops in standing corn fields, cover crops for small dairy farms, managing insects following high-residue cover crops, and more.

Webinars are free and open to the public, and will take place on Mondays from 12-1pm EST in February and March. For more info and to register, visit here.

Upcoming Webinar on Organic Farm Conservation

  By Farm Aid | January 30, 2013 - 9:30 am | ,
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This week, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT/ATTRA) will present a webinar with Harriet Behar, an organic specialist at the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES). The webinar, “Virtual Tour of Organic Farm Conservation Activity Planning,” will take place on Thursday, January 31st at 1pm EST.

This webinar is the third in a four-part series established for people interested in becoming NRCS-approved Technical Service Providers (TSPs). Behar is an approved TSP and will lead a virtual farm tour, identifying conservation concerns and possible mitigation strategies, as well as areas that affect organic certification. This unique webinar is helpful not only to potential TSPs, but any organic farmer interested in conservation practices on the farm.

To register for the webinar on January 31st, visit: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/576856170

The final webinar will be on Thursday, March 21st, on the topic of how NRCS TSPs can support biodiversity conservation in organic systems. See below for the first two webinars in the series:

Title:  Doing NRCS Conservation Activity Planning for Organic Farmers and Ranchers
Presenter: Katy Green of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA)

Title:  Becoming a Technical Service Provider for NRCS: An Introduction
Presenter: Harriet Behar of Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES)

New Organic Certification Guides from ATTRA

  By Farm Aid | December 21, 2012 - 2:19 pm | , , , ,
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Earlier this year, USDA launched its new Organic Literacy Initiative, an effort to help connect current and prospective organic farmers, ranchers, and processors with the USDA resources available to them.

As part of this initiative, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) has partnered with the National Organic Program (NOP) on four new guides with detailed information about organic certification.  They include information about organic requirements and best practices, and also further explain the certification process:

The guides can be downloaded for free or ordered as a paper publication for a small handling fee either at the links above or on the ATTRA website.

Accepting Applications for The OEFFA Investment Fund

  By Farm Aid | December 11, 2012 - 3:17 pm | ,
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Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA), in partnership with the Sustainable Agriculture Fund, LLC announces the establishment of The OEFFA Investment Fund, to “promote sustainable agriculture in Ohio by making flexible and affordable capital available to farmers and farm-related businesses.”

In its pilot phase, the Fund has made $500,00 available as loans, land leases and equity investments for organic OEFFA members in Ohio. Typical investments range from $5,000 to $50,000, but requests for other amounts between $2,500 and $250,000 will be considered. These funds may be used for:

  • Capital investments and expenses that improve efficiency, quality or expansion of business production and sales
  • Repairs necessary to maintain business operations
  • Short-term operating needs, such as inventory, supplies or labor for expansion
  • Emergency funds to deal with business interruptions due to fire, natural disasters or other unforeseeable events
  • Other uses subject to the Fund’s Investment Committee approval

Visit the OEFFA Investment Fund’s webpage for more information on loan terms and conditions and application process guidelines. For information about the Fund contact the OEFFA office at (614) 421-2022 ext. 202, or OIFinfo@oeffa.org.

 

 

Free Webinar: “Understanding Whole-Farm Insurance for Specialized, Diversified, and Organic Farms,” Presented by NCAT

  By Farm Aid | November 26, 2012 - 11:48 am | , ,
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The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) will present a free, hour-long webinar on Thursday, November 29th at 1 pm EST, providing guidance for farmers and other professionals on the Adjusted Gross Revenue Lite (AGR-Lite) crop insurance program and its potential to serve small-scale, diverse, specialty crop, organic and direct-market farmers.

AGR-Lite is a unique type of federally subsidized crop insurance that is based on whole-farm revenue, rather than a specific crop or commodity. With AGR-Lite, farmers of diverse operations, specialty and high-value or organic crops and livestock can insure based on their farm’s historic revenue.

The webinar will also introduce NCAT’s new AGR-Lite Wizard assessment tool, which assists farmers in determining how whole-farm insurance can benefit their operation. The tool is available at www.agrlitewizard.com or by calling 1-800-346-9140.

OFRF Leads First-ever Organic Phone Flash Mob!

  By Farm Aid | September 18, 2012 - 12:56 pm | , ,
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Pick up the phone and join Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) in their first Organic Phone Flash Mob to Congress! At 3:00 pm on Wednesday, September 19th, OFRF will lead the callers at the Organic Trade Association’s annual Organic Summit and at home in dialing their representatives to ask for their support of organic initiatives, research, cost share and transition assistance programs for farmers in the 2012 Farm Bill.

For more information and a short prepared script, visit OFRF’s blog. For your representatives’ contact information, view this public database and search by zip code or by state.

Farmers’ Guide to Navigating Organic Contracts

  By Farm Aid | September 7, 2012 - 5:00 pm | , ,
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In response to the growing use of written contracts in the booming organic sector, the Farmers’ Legal Action Group (FLAG), one of our Resource Partners, just released the Farmers’ Guide to Organic Contracts. The guide was created to help USDA-certified organic farmers make informed decisions and offer solutions when negotiating with organic buyers about their contracts. The guide assists farmers in evaluating offers, negotiating contract terms, managing performance, and finding solutions to contract disputes.

The guide is organized into the following sections:

  • Overview of Contract Laws Relevant to Farmers
    A basic overview of contract law helpful for farmers, including creating an enforceable agreement and successfully changing formal agreements within a contract period
  • Practical Contracting Toolkit
    A primer on contract basics, negotiation strategy tips and advice to manage an agreement
  • Explaining How Organic Regulations Interact with Contracts
    How contracts may affect farmers’ compliance with organic regulations, and how regulations can affect farmers’ ability to satisfy contracts
  • Examples of Unfavorable and More Favorable Contract Language
    A detailed examination of 100+ types of organic contract provisions from price to GMO testing
  • Information About Solving Common Contract Disputes
    How to enforce an organic contract against a buyer and tips for finding a qualified contract attorney and handling a lawsuit, including ten common contract dispute situations

To access a free download of Farmers’ Guide to Organic Contracts and for other FLAG publications and agriculture contract resources, visit the FLAG website.