Blog posts by Guest Blogger

Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The Organic Farmers Association (OFA) has launched a new Farmer Circles program as part of their racial equity initiatives.  Farmer Circles are virtual community-building spaces where farmers can come together to share their experiences, voice challenges, and make new connections. The Circles occur every month, and there is no cost to participate.  OFA’s Farmer Circles recognize the distinct and unique needs, values, and experiences of different farmer identities. The Circles are intended to serve as a landing pad for farmers who are thinking about organic certification, are in transition,…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The USDA is accepting applications for grants to support urban agriculture and innovative production. Applications for USDA’s Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production grants are due April 9, 2024, via grants.gov. “This grant program has proven very popular and impactful in recent years, and we look forward to partnering with more communities nationwide to strengthen local food systems and increase access to healthy foods,” said Terry Cosby, chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which leads USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP). “…
Written by Guest Blogger on Wednesday, March 13, 2024

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) has published a directory of crop insurance agents that specialize in selling Whole-Farm Revenue Protection.  This resource—for which CCOF’s colleagues at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) have advocated—will be an important tool to help farmers locate crop insurance agents who have experience selling Whole-Farm Revenue Protection and Micro Farm insurance in their state.  Background The Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) program is a novel crop insurance product that offers farmers nationwide the…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, March 5, 2024

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for March 2024, which are effective March 1, 2024. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help agricultural producers start or expand their farming operations, purchase equipment and storage structures, or meet cash flow needs. “I encourage our lenders and borrowers alike to work with our local offices and our cooperators to capitalize fully on the existing flexibilities in these important programs,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux.  Operating, Ownership, and Emergency Loans…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, March 5, 2024

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) 2023 to 2024 California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program will award competitive grants to support projects that cultivate equity, nurture students, build climate resilience, and create scalable and sustainable change.  Track 4 (the California Farm to School Producer Grant) will fund California food producers and public-serving aggregation and distribution enterprises to increase production, processing, and/or distribution capacity to sell California-grown or -produced, whole or minimally processed foods to the California school…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Producers across the Texas Panhandle are experiencing the largest wildfire in Texas history.  The National Center for Appropriate Technology has collected the following resources and opportunities to help. CCOF is also monitoring the situation for impacts on our members in the region.  Please donate to any of the organizations below and/or others across your networks.  Animal Supply Points through AgriLife  To donate hay, feed, fencing materials, or equipment, contact any of the following:  Marcus Preuniger, (806) 669-8033 or (325) 728-0477 Clyde Carruth Pavilion, 301 Bull Barn Drive,…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Dairy Cow Herd on Alexandre EcoDairy Farm Applications from dairy processors in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington will be due February 29 for grants that will provide funding for pandemic recovery and for modernizing, specializing, expanding, investigating and/or marketing regionally produced higher-value milk products. According to information provided by the Pacific Coast Coalition’s Dairy Business Innovation Initiative, the majority of available funding is for pandemic recovery grants, which can address price declines and additional marketing costs due to…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Charolette Epps, CCOF Foundation grantee, in the greenhouse with her variety of sweet potato plants The USDA is now accepting applications for grants to help agricultural producers maximize the value of their products and venture into new and better markets.  Electronic applications are due April 11, 2024, and paper applications must be postmarked by April 16, 2024. More information on submission dates below. The USDA is making the grants available under the Value-Added Producer Grants program. The grants help farmers and ranchers generate new products, create marketing opportunities, and…
Written by Guest Blogger on Wednesday, January 3, 2024

There is so much change happening in the organic community. Are you thinking of making a change too? The Certification Process Being certified organic is a journey you take with your Accredited Certification Agency (ACA), which is the formal title for organic certifiers. From the time you submit your application, throughout the time you are certified as organic, it’s the job of the certifier to confirm to your customers that you meet the USDA NOP requirements to label your products as organic. If your current journey isn’t working well, you always have the option of changing certifiers.…
Written by Guest Blogger on Wednesday, January 3, 2024

The Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) USDA Rule is a significant change for the organic community and CCOF is here to help you through it. The SOE rule touches on many sections of the organic regulations, but one of the most significant and time-sensitive updates requires some previously exempt operations to become fully certified by March 19th, 2024.  Every Wednesday from 1 to 2pm PST in January 2024, the CCOF Applicant Support Team will be hosting free-of-charge SOE Office Hours for uncertified operations to discuss compliance under the new rule. We welcome currently uncertified…
Written by Guest Blogger on Wednesday, January 3, 2024

The National Organic Coalition (NOC) is partnering with the Organic Farmers Association (OFA), and Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), to host a series of virtual farmer-to-farmer networking sessions, Seeds of Success. These facilitated events will be interactive, informal spaces for farmers to share their challenges and successes, and will give farmers an opportunity to have open conversations on topics most relevant to them. Join in at 1 pm ET on January 30, 2024 for the second session of the series, Demystifying the National Organic Standards Board: What it is, how it works, and…
Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, December 18, 2023

Farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021 may be eligible for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. This program is an important step in delivering on USDA’s commitment of providing financial assistance to those who have faced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs. USDA continues to accept applications for the program. The deadline to apply is January 13, 2024. Borrowers can apply for assistance online via 22007apply.gov or through a paper-based form. The application process is not on a first…
Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, December 18, 2023

(Future Organic Farmer grantee Angelina Olivia with some of her poultry flock) For the last four years, the National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers) has partnered with Chipotle to support young and beginning farmers and ranchers in starting up and growing their businesses with a flexible funding opportunity each spring.  Young Farmers is now offering $5,000 and a one-year membership to the National Young Farmers Coalition to 50 farmers/ranchers. Applicants are asked about the barriers to their agriculture career and how the funds would help them address these barriers. Young…
Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, December 11, 2023

(Photo by Edible Monterey​)​​​​​​ Are you a farmer who is certified organic or in organic transition who needs help staying in compliance and understanding the organic regulations? Maybe you are a mentor needing to find out how to best help a farmer through the organic process, or an organization tasked with helping a soon-to-be organic farmer?  If so, Organic Office Hours are for you. Join me every week, Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m. to noon (PST) on Zoom, and ask me all of your organic questions. Find the link to join and more info on the CCOF Events Calendar at https://www.ccof.org/page/…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, November 28, 2023

The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) believes in supporting organic farmers and ranchers in their constant search for innovation and farm profitability. The Farmer Led Trials (FLT) program puts farmers in the driver’s seat and recognizes their wisdom, experimentation, and problem-solving skills. Built in the spirit of curiosity and collaboration, this program will support farmers and ranchers in conducting impactful research that can address their unique challenges. Organic farming and ranching take dedication, financial investment, and a great deal of trial and error to adapt to a…