CCOF Blog

CCOF Hardship Assistance Grants for Organic Producers—Closing Soon

If you—or an organic producer you know—have experienced hardship during the 2021 calendar year, we encourage you to apply for financial assistance through the Bricmont Hardship Assistance Fund. The application deadline is midnight on November 5, 2021.

Throughout the nation, farmers are…

Monterey, CA (October 12, 2021) — Total organic fresh produce sales for the third quarter (Q3) of 2021 saw a continuation of year-over-year growth, increasing by three percent from the same period last year and nearing $2.3 billion for the quarter, according to the Q3 2021 Organic Produce Performance Report released exclusively by Organic Produce Network and Category Partners. 

As food service sectors continued to reopen, the third quarter of 2021 generated growth in organic fresh produce sales at retail, despite a comp period of Q3, 2020 that was highlighted by pandemic-driven…

Looking up from the sidewalk, you can’t miss which building has the urban farm on top. The rosemary cascades over the roof’s edges, the buckwheat blooms with bushy abandon, and the hedgerows are an unmistakably lush, green beacon against the blue Berkeley skies.

“There’s a lot of life up here,” observes Joanna Letz, founder of Bluma Farms, as she looks out onto the sparkling San Francisco…

The CCOF Foundation is pleased to partner with Community Alliance with Family Farmers and “The Farmers Beet” to launch our new podcast “Radio Organic: Sound Bites from the Organic Community.” 

In our four-part pilot series, we’ll chat briefly each week with long-time organic farmers about marketing techniques that have helped them run successful, resilient organic businesses. As a part of each interview, we ask our guest farmers what recommendations they have for newer farmers on managing resilient organic farms, as well as advice for farmers switching from wholesale to direct-to-…

Interested in trying them?

What: 
Boxes of 1,000 crowns are available. Depending on demand, more than one box per grower may be available.

When:
Dormant crowns are available at no cost to growers starting October 1 through November 12, 2021. Plants will be dug the week of September 27, then maintained at near-freezing temperatures. Once you have the crowns, keep them in the cooler until…

With eight of their locations now CCOF certified, FreshPoint joins CCOF’s multinational membership in creating a world where organic is the norm. 

FreshPoint, a division of Sysco, is an advocate for supporting local supply chains. The benefits of locally grown produce include fewer carbon emissions required for food travel, fewer preservatives required to maintain produce integrity…

The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) part 2 is open for applications only through October 12, 2021, so if you’ve been thinking about applying, now is the time.

The original CFAP program has been expanded to include numerous specialty crops and types of livestock as eligible commodities.  

The calculation for CFAP 2 payments for commodities is based on the total sales that the farmer had in 2018 or 2019 (or, if the farmer began farming in 2020, then year 2020). When applying, first select the year you want to use as the basis. Once a year is selected, payment rates…

Is your food business eligible for a qualified exemption under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule? If so, join us in October for the second webinar in our FSMA 101 for Organic Processors series and find out what you need to do to comply as a Qualified Exempt operation.

Your food business is eligible for a Qualified Exemption under the FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule if it meets the following requirements:  
-    It is a “very small business,” defined as having less than $1 million in annual sales of human food

During the 2021 growing season, California ranchers shepherded legislative change along with their livestock.

Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 888 –  Mobile slaughter operations: livestock (written by Assemblymember Marc Levine, D-Marin County) into law, which allows goats, sheep, and swine to be slaughtered on the ranch where they were raised—the same opportunity granted to cattle ranchers in 2018 with AB 2114. 

Ranchers and a dedicated coalition of stakeholders applied the same care and commitment to AB 888 throughout the legislative process as they…

The CCOF Foundation is pleased to partner with Community Alliance with Family Farmers and “The Farmers Beet” to launch our new podcast “Radio Organic: Sound Bites from the Organic Community.” 

In our four-part pilot series, we’ll chat briefly each week with long-time organic farmers about marketing techniques that have helped them run successful, resilient organic businesses. As a part of each interview, we ask our guest farmers what recommendations they have for newer farmers on managing resilient organic farms.

In our third episode we spoke with Patricia Rodriguez of…

Fellow farmer, for the past three years I’ve been sharing my thoughts and ideas on farming with you in this blog series funded by a grant from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. I’ve enjoyed walking with you on this journey. 

As the grant comes to an end, I’d like to sign off with some lessons I’ve learned as I enter my 20th year of farming.

Being flexible is key to being a successful businessperson. This year’s farm labor shortage forced me to rethink how I manage my farmers’ market stalls as well as my farm. I’ve been reminded that sometimes the best way forward is…

The Future Farmers of America (FFA) Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) grant application period opens October 1, 2021, and applications will be accepted through November 15, 2021, 8:00 p.m. EST. These $1,000 grants given out by the CCOF Foundation support the next generation of Future Organic Farmers (FOF). 

Owen Gould, 2020 FOF grant recipient, focused his SAE project on soil development and…

The Pandemic Response and Safety (PRS) Grant Program provides funding to help small specialty crop producers, food processors, manufacturers, distributors and farmers markets recover costs incurred by responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including for measures to protect workers. 

The minimum funding request amount is $1,500. The maximum funding request amount is $20,000. No cost sharing or matching funds are required. Eligible applicants include small businesses and nonprofits that have 501(c)(3) status.

Grants will cover activities associated with:

The California State Legislature passed several record-setting budget packages last week to complete what has been an unusual pandemic budget process during a time of significant state surplus. The historic budget packages include $1.3 billion for Climate Smart Agriculture programs, farmworker housing, composting facilities, organic transition, school kitchen and food bank upgrades, and much more. The budget packages follow months-long advocacy efforts by CalCAN and our partners in the AB 125 coalition.

The legislature restored funding for all of the state’s Climate Smart…

Join the CCOF Foundation for a casual and informative conversation with Michigan State University student and CCOF Foundation Future Organic Farmer grant recipient Shannon Good on September 30, 2021! Register on Eventbrite to receive a link to this special conversation.

During our time with Shannon, we will hear more about her journey to become an organic dairy farmer by age 16, the transition…