CCOF Blog

Last Thursday, February 18, CCOF held its first fully virtual annual meeting, Cultivate and Nourish. While we look forward to being together again soon, holding this event virtually allowed for unprecedented attendance and participation. Farmers, ranchers, and producers who typically lack time to attend conferences were able to log in from the comfort of their homes and hear directly from CCOF’s CEO Kelly Damewood and CCOF Board Chair Phil LaRocca.

David Robles, program manager for food justice organization Food, What?! and former participant in CCOF Foundation’s Future Organic…

PHOTO: Josh Loeb & Zoe Nathan, by Rick Poon

The CCOF Foundation is thrilled to announce its newest Visionary-level supporter, the Rustic Canyon Family. This independent restaurant group in Santa Monica, California, features a variety of neighborhood dining destinations in partnership with talented and award-winning leaders in food and wine. Learn more about the family at their website.  

Since the 2006 opening of farmers’-market-driven and Michelin-starred Rustic Canyon, the family has expanded to include Huckleberry Bakery & Café, Sweet…

An Organic Agriculture Seminar Series for Growers is offered via Zoom on Tuesdays from 12-1 p.m., now through May 4.

University of California Cooperative Extension Small Farms and organic advisor Margaret Lloyd have organized the series aimed at providing useful information on organic topics for growers.

Each seminar features a guest speaker and a group conversation with questions from the audience. No pre-registration is required. The Zoom meeting link is the same each week.

The series began on January 26 of this year with a talk on biochar. Recordings of past seminars,…

University of California, Davis wants to hear from California dried fruit processors.

California is a major producer of dried fruits, and we at UC Davis want to support the production of high-quality dried products. A team of researchers in the Food Science and Technology Department is interested in developing guidance on the best practices to ensure the safety and quality of dried California specialty crops.

To support our California dried fruit producers, we need information on the most common industry practices currently being employed for dehydrating. Do you sun dry or use…

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) will be holding stakeholder meetings in February to solicit feedback from the public and agricultural stakeholders on farmer- and rancher-led climate solutions that sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gases, and enhance biodiversity.

“These outreach meetings are essential to ensure we gain information and knowledge from the people who live and work on the land and the organizations that support them,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “We want to hear from all those interested in discussing farmer- and rancher-led efforts…

In my last blog post, "Reflect, Refine, and Refresh for a Long Farming Career," I talked about the importance of setting boundaries between farming and personal life to sustain a farming business over the long haul. This week, I’ll go into more depth on how I reflect on the past season to make time for personal activities, improve my business, and maintain my passion for farming.

A simple way to do this is to grab a piece of paper and a pen and list what did work over the past farming season and what didn't.

Nothing is too little or too odd to add to the list. The point is…

It’s the start of a new year, and CCOF has set a bold, new goal for organic: Thirty percent of California’s farmland will be organic by 2030. We know it will take hard work to get there, but that’s nothing new for organic farmers. Here’s the plan for moving forward in 2021.

In partnership with ranchers, policymakers, and farm and environmental groups, CCOF is working to create economic opportunities for small organic ranches. Expanding on-farm slaughter options for small ranches raising goats, sheep, and swine will strengthen these…

Last month, CCOF hosted a virtual screening of the critically acclaimed film Gather, a documentary directed by Sanjay Rawal. Gather tells the stories of Native Americans in the United States reclaiming and reigniting sacred connections to food and land through the traditional teachings of their elders as political, social, and economic forces threaten their ways of life.  

Attendees included hundreds of CCOF-certified members, organic supporters, and representatives from the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Gather sheds light on how the shadowed history of food…

CCOF is deeply saddened by the news of Amigo Bob Cantisano’s passing in late 2020. Amigo Bob was a tireless organic farmer, advocate, and educator who devoted his life to supporting and growing organic agriculture. 

CCOF Board Chair Phil LaRocca said, “Amigo Bob Cantisano was a close friend. As an early innovator and true believer, he dedicated his life to growing and strengthening the organic movement. He never gave up his belief in and support for organic farmers. His energy and knowledge will be missed but his impact will never be forgotten.”

Amigo, along with other…