Blog posts by Guest Blogger
Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, September 21, 2020
OFRF’s free beginning farmer training program for organic specialty crop farmers in California is now available. This online training program is for beginning farmers, existing organic farmers, and farmers in transition to organic production. While it was developed for California specialty crop farmers, the content is based on foundational principles that are relevant to all organic farmers and our hope is that growers across the United States find it to be a useful resource.
The program contains six learning modules: 1) soil health, 2) weed management, 3) irrigation and water management, 4…
Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, September 21, 2020
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) today announced that the counties of Kings, Riverside and Tulare will participate in Housing for the Harvest, a program announced by Governor Gavin Newsom in July to provide temporary hotel housing options for farm and food processing employees to self-isolate if they are COVID-19 positive and do not require hospitalization, or have been exposed and cannot properly self-isolate at home. Six counties are now participating in Housing for the Harvest: Kings, Riverside, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Fresno, and San Joaquin.
The state is securing…
Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, September 21, 2020
El Departamento de Alimentos y Agricultura de California (CDFA) anunció hoy que los condados de Kings, Riverside y Tulare participarán en Housing for the Harvest, un programa anunciado por el gobernador Gavin Newsom en julio para brindar opciones de alojamiento temporal en hoteles. para que los empleados de granjas y procesamiento de alimentos se autoaislen si son COVID-19 positivos y no requieren hospitalización, o han estado expuestos y no pueden aislarse adecuadamente en casa. Seis condados participan ahora en Housing for the Harvest: Kings, Riverside, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Fresno y San…
Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, September 21, 2020
Going directly to those hurt most by the devastating citrus greening disease, researchers are asking organic citrus growers and other organic stakeholders to help them develop a holistic research program in their fight against the ruinous disease.
Citrus greening disease has been decimating domestic citrus in the United States over the past decade, and organic growers have been hit especially hard with few effective tools to control the disease. A research team led by the University of Florida is collaborating with The Organic Center; University of California, Riverside; a number of organic…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, August 4, 2020
The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model has seen a resurgence since COVID-19. This mutually beneficial relationship provides the community with fresh harvested produce each week, supports the farmer with funds at the beginning of the season for growing their crops to harvest, and gives farmers the peace of mind knowing their crops are sold. The traditional CSA model requires the customer to pay in advance for a “share” in the farmer’s crops, over a period of 4 weeks, 12 weeks, or the full season.
During the pandemic, a CSA can be a good way to connect with your customers and be a…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, August 4, 2020
A new technical but approachable guide developed by the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) offers small- and medium-scale organic growers valuable information on organic and sustainable seedling production.
The 20-page guide describes how to effectively and efficiently grow vegetable and flower seedlings for organic operations using environmentally responsible practices. It offers an overview of greenhouse structures and basic cultural requirements and environmental management techniques to optimize germination and…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, August 4, 2020
What strategies do you implement in order to respond to climate change impacts? What regulations or programs have you found encourage or discourage you responding to the changes you face? My family’s involvement in agriculture through the dairy industry has long shown me that our farmers and farmland are essential to the livelihood of California and its people. A driving force of my research is to understand how climate change impacts agriculture, how the farmers involved in these businesses respond to those impacts through their actions, and why farmers make the decisions they do regarding…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Healthy PlanEat is a new sustainable food startup based in Southeastern Connecticut which exists to connect people to local farms that use sustainable growing practices. Are you interested in creating an online presence and helping customers conveniently pre-order food from your farm?
Using Healthy PlanEat, you can easily upload inventory, set distribution options, and manage incoming orders from local individuals and wholesale buyers. Local customers can find your farm and place an order to pick up at the farm, farmers’ market, pop-up location, or get delivery if that’s a service you’d like…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, July 7, 2020
California’s newly approved 2020-2021 budget bears almost no resemblance to its rosy origins back in January, as we continue to weather the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is one bright spot in the otherwise mixed outlook: the legislature approved Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to create a $10 million California Farm-to-School program, which includes about $8.5 million in school grants as well as $1.5 million for sustained staffing at the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Office of Farm to Fork to implement the program in the…
Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, June 29, 2020
If there has been anything I have learned from experiencing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic these past few months, it is how amazing my farming community has been in rising up to meet the needs of their community and supporting each other. We make up truly important, interconnected food webs within the local food shed. We may grow different crops, but we all have a strong work ethic and the desire to feed people local food. I believe it is crucial that we see our farmer peers not as competition, but as collaborators working towards the same goal. There is plenty to go around. We are…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, June 23, 2020
To better understand produce industry’s education and training needs on topics related to cleaning and sanitizing, the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety invites you to take a short survey. It should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
The survey is a collaboration among Oregon State University - Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety, United Fresh Produce Association, Produce Marketing Association, National Farmers Union, and the Food & Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN).
The results of the survey will help guide the…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, June 23, 2020
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a temporary guidance on the requirements that farms must meet to be considered qualified exempt under the Federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). This is important for small farms to be aware of if you have less than $561,494 in gross food sales annually (adjusted for inflation and averaged over the last three years), as your farm may be eligible for a partial exemption from the FSMA, if your farm meets one other criteria.
The other criteria is what the law refers to as sales to a “qualified end user.” Farms that sell at least…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, June 23, 2020
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is announcing four vacancies on the Fertilizer Inspection Advisory Board (FIAB) Technical Advisory Subcommittee (TASC). This subcommittee serves as an expert scientific panel on matters concerning plant nutrition and environmental effects related to fertilizing materials use. It reviews all research and education proposals for the annual Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) grant program and recommends to FIAB which projects should receive funding.
Applicants must demonstrate technical, applied, and scientific expertise in the…
Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, June 16, 2020
In celebration of world soil health day, join the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT/ATTRA) on June 23 for a webinar on soil heath principles.
Hear from farmers Paul Kaiser and Ward Burroughs on how they invest in their soils by applying the five principles of healthy soil management on their farms. Two very different farms growing different crops in different locations show how these principles are applied at different scales. NCAT’s Rex Dufour will introduce the topic, providing context about how we got to where we are with respect to soil health, and the urgent need for all…
Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, May 18, 2020
Farmers are currently facing unprecedented challenges as supply chains quickly and radically change. Our local food systems can be strengthened by building consumer awareness of local farms using sustainable growing practices.
Healthy PlanEat is a new online platform for farmers using sustainable growing practices to sell directly to local customers so people can have a healthy and sustainable diet. The platform enables farmers to create their own page, upload inventory, set distribution options, and manage incoming orders from individuals and wholesale buyers. The platform will be launched…