Blog posts by Jessy Beckett Parr
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Tuesday, March 26, 2024
CCOF hosted a panel discussion, “Transition to Organic: How Brands & Organizations Can Support Farmer Success,” at the Natural Products Expo West.
The USDA Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt, together with Daily Harvest CEO Ricky Silver, Ryan Laur from American Farmland Trust, and CCOF’s Jessy Beckett Parr spoke about creative strategies to support successful organic transition efforts through public and private partnerships.
The USDA, Daily Harvest, American Farmland Trust, and CCOF create programs that support farmers' transition to organic with direct financial support, one-on-one…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Friday, March 8, 2024
Headed to Natural Products Expo West?
Join CCOF for a panel discussion about Transition to Organic: How Brands & Organizations Can Support Farmer Success.
The USDA Undersecretary Jenny Lester Moffitt, together with Daily Harvest CEO Ricky Silver, Ryan Laur from American Farmland Trust, and CCOF’s Jessy Beckett Parr will talk about creative strategies to support successful organic transition efforts through public & private partnerships.
The USDA, Daily Harvest, American Farmland Trust, and CCOF create programs that support farmers' transition to organic with direct financial…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Monday, December 18, 2023
We at the CCOF Foundation are celebrating a year of giving and growth. Here are four ways the CCOF Foundation made a difference to the organic community in 2023.
Launched the USDA West/Southwest Regional Center for Organic Transition! Together with 30 regional partners, we reached thousands of producers throughout the West and Southwest with education, mentorship, and technical assistance. CCOF led this effort with support from the National Organic Program.
Granted over $750,000 in hardship assistance to dozens of organic farmers and ranchers suffering extreme climate-related hardship…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Thursday, August 24, 2023
Photo by State Farm, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
My heart is with Hawaii.
While processing the news of destruction and loss, I can’t help but think about the long-term agricultural land use of West Maui that led to the deadliest fire in recent US history.
A decade ago, I traveled to visit a friend farming on Maui. Committed to farmer-organizing, he had joined the Hawaii Farmers Union and through their regular community gatherings he’d met farmers across the island. Together, we visited a small organic vegetable farm just up the road from Lahaina. This farmer was rehabilitating…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Monday, January 10, 2022
A second round of funding is likely to be offered later this year to cover expenses from fiscal year 2022. CCOF will notify the community when those funds areThe Bricmont Hardship Assistance Fund—named to honor founding CCOF member Barney Bricmont—is the only fund in the nation that provides direct financial assistance exclusively to organic producers who suffer financial losses due to extreme hardship.
The CCOF Foundation awarded $169,500 in grants in 2021!
This is the highest amount of financial assistance given by CCOF to organic producers who have experienced hardship since the fund’s…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Monday, March 30, 2020
With the advent of shelter-in-place orders across the United States, many may be looking for new ways to access fresh produce.
CCOF’s online member directory allows you to search for organic farmers in your area. CCOF members are hard at work this spring, planting and harvesting healthy organic produce. Many are needing to change their business plans on the fly to adapt to the changes in the restaurant supply chain.
We encourage you to search our online database by city; zip code; or sales method, including Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for home delivery or pick-up of farm-fresh…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Monday, March 2, 2020
Don’t miss your chance to join CCOF and OATS at one of our Organic Malt Barley Farmer Meetings and learn about organic production, the transition process, organic barley, and how Anheuser-Busch’s Contract for Change program can work for you. Everyone is welcome, whether you currently grow barley or are just starting to consider adding it to your rotation.
Contract for Change initiative supports Idaho barley farmers who try organic production for the first time, providing price support through transition and a reliable market for the crop.
At each of these meetings we will talk about:…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Monday, February 10, 2020
The organic industry is growing rapidly, and the beer industry is growing with it. In 2019, Anheuser-Busch launched the Contract for Change initiative that supports Idaho barley farmers who try organic production for the first time, providing price support through transition and a reliable market for the crop.
Join CCOF and OATS at one of our Organic Malt Barley Farmer Meetings and learn about organic production, the transition process, organic barley, and how the Contract for Change program can work for you. Everyone is welcome, whether you currently grow barley or are just starting to…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Monday, February 10, 2020
30 years of Seeding Change: 1990-2020
OFRF is turning 30!
OFRF's annual benefit luncheon helps provide grants that lead to innovation in the organic sector and supports OFRF's programs which foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming throughout the United States.
Come network, celebrate, and hear from organic industry leaders while enjoying the best meal at Expo West!
OFRF's long-standing luscious benefit event features an all-organic menu created by celebrity chefs Christopher Blobaum, Donna…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Monday, January 13, 2020
Join UCSC Farm Garden Manager Christof Bernau for a webinar on organic seedling production and greenhouse efficiencies for small farms.
This session will focus on the management of environmental conditions to optimize germination and development of high-quality transplants, with an emphasis on system efficiencies that can improve seedling quality and your bottom line. From sowing, germination, and seedling development to hardening off and holding strategies, all seedling life stages will be explored.
The session will begin with an examination of a typical seedling life cycle and an…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Monday, December 16, 2019
This season of giving, will you consider a gift to the Future Organic Farmer Grant Fund?
Ignacio Mendoza received two grants through the CCOF Foundation’s Future Organic Farmer Grant Fund. Mendoza is a young organic enthusiast preparing to build on the farming success of his immigrant parents. Coming from a family of farmers (his parents own CCOF-certified Mendoza Farms), Mendoza is focusing his education on skills needed to operate his on organic farm one day. We hope you will watch the video produced by the California Strawberry Commission about the Mendoza family and be as inspired as…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Monday, December 2, 2019
This season of giving, I’d like to ask you to consider a gift to the Future Organic Farmer Grant Fund through an incredible matching opportunity in partnership with Patagonia Action Works. Your gift will be doubled, resulting in changed lives such as that of Celsa Ortega.
Thirteen years ago, Celsa was living in her home community in Oaxaca, Mexico. Her family farmed there without added chemicals, using integrated natural systems to promote healthy soil and grow nutritious fruits and vegetables. When she immigrated to the United States, Celsa never imagined she could have her own organic…
Written by Jessy Beckett Parr on Monday, April 8, 2019
CCOF received a NIFA Food Safety Outreach grant in 2017 to provide Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) required Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) compliant trainings and technical assistance for small scale, organic, and Spanish speaking farmers in California. In collaboration with partner organizations Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) and the California Center for Cooperative Development, CCOF conducted eight trainings and two webinars between January 2018 and January 2019.
Project Results
192 attendees received FSMA PSA training throughout California from 2017-2019…