In the past 50 years since CCOF’s founding in 1973, research about organic has come a long way. We now know that the benefits of organic our founding members believed in so fiercely are backed by scientific data to have a measurable effect on the wellbeing of our planet, communities, and economy.
California congressman Sam Farr and Mark Lipson in the early days of creating the organic standards.
The Rodale Institute, a progenitor of the organic movement in the United States that built the scientific underpinnings of organic production, awarded Mark Lipson (CCOF’s first paid employee) the Organic Stewardship Award in a ceremony held at the Rodale research farm in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.
Written by Aaron McAfee, CCOF Fresno/Tulare Chapter President
I have excellent news to deliver, straight from the local organic legend himself, the great Tom Willey.
Tom shared with us that Fresno State has officially announced the hire of Dr. Sangeeta Bansal for the position of Professor of Soil Health at California State University, Fresno.
USDA’s 99th Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum will take place over the course of two days, both online and in person in Arlington, Virginia. On Thursday, February 23, between 11:25 and 11:55 a.m. Eastern, Jenny Lester Moffitt, USDA Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, will moderate a session on Strategies for More and Better Markets.
Erin DiCaprio, associate professor of cooperative extension at the Department of Food Science and Technology at University of California, Davis has summarized information and resources for assessing crop food safety after a flooding event.
The publication includes links to the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement flood fact sheet and also a presentation made by Trevor Suslow, emeritus UC Cooperative Extension specialist.
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Although the final regulations have yet to be released, the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) will soon implement a new rule called Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE). NOP has stated that they will publish the rule in a matter of weeks. Once the rule is published, there will be a one-year implementation timeline before full compliance is required. This rule will increase oversight of organic products throughout the supply chain.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has established a new goal that 20 percent of California’s cultivated land be farmed organically by 2045.
Beginning January 1, 2023, all growers with ranches located in Groundwater Phase 1 Areas must start maintaining records for all nitrogen applied to crops, total nitrogen removed during harvest, and irrigation management information. This information will be used to submit the Irrigation and Nutrient Management Plan (INMP) summary report, which is due March 1, 2024.
Underscoring more than a half century of pioneering work in organic farming, University of California President Michael V. Drake announced today that UC Santa Cruz will be designated as an Agricultural Experiment Station (AES).
UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced are the first campuses to receive this designation in 50 years and join UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and UC Riverside as AES campuses.