Progress 09/01/14 to 04/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project was organic and transitioning to organic producers. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Funding from OREI supported three day-long intensives at the 2015 Organicology conference: Growing the Market for Organic Farming; On-Farm Food Safety, and Organic Seed Production; and two workshops: Crop Rotations for the Pacific Northwest andSoil Health on Organic Farms. The two workshops and the Organic Seed Production intensive were offered as live and recorded webinars through eOrganic. Two hundred and sixteen individuals attended the in-person workshops and the webinars have been viewed over 1,400 times. Additionally, we hosted a poster session. The research poster session included eleven posters that were on display throughout the conference. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Oregon Tilth and OSA work through diverse networks of farmers, processors and handlers,researchers, NRCS and Extension service providers, and partner nonprofits, many of which alsowork on the ground with individual farmers. The Organicology communications team provideinformation and resources through this network and conducted media outreach to publicize the eventand promote scholarship applications. We worked with eXtension to live broadcast and record the Soil Health and CropRotation Workshops and record the Organic Seed Production Intensive. These three sessions wereproduced as webinars and madepublicly accessible. ? What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Current supply gaps in the organic market and the projected rate of growth of the organicindustry represent tremendous potential to engage more farmers in transitioning to organic,expanding their operations, and serving new markets. Developing and conducting a focused producer education track at the 2015 Organicology conference, offeringfarmer scholarships, and producing eOrganic/eXtension content met the needs of farmers fortraining and information to increase productivity, improve ecological outcomes, diversify theirenterprises, and access new markets. Intensives, workshops, and eOrganic/eXtension webinarsaddressed producer-identified priority topics: access to wholesale markets, seed production andmarketing, regional crop rotation systems, soil health management, and on-farm food safetypractices. The Organicology Conference was held February 5-7, 2015.1107 people attended the conference and 248 were self-identified farmers. Funding from OREI supported three day-long intensives: Growing the Market for Organic Farming; On-Farm Food Safety, and How to Produce Quality and Quantity of Organic Seed on Your Farm; and two workshops: Crop Rotations for the Pacific Northwest andSoil Health. The seed intensiveand the two workshops were made available as eOrganicwebinars.Attendees of thisproducer trackwalked away with increased knowledge, skills, and resources for improving environmental and economic outcomes on their farms. Ultimately, their success will help foster the growth of organic farming and the organic industry. 1. Increased knowledge of regional supply gaps and market opportunities and how to pursue these; The 'Growing the Market for Organic Farming' all-day Intensive was attended by 72 people: 16 farmers, 32 agriculture service providers, and 12 processors. Buyers representing high volume markets, including wholesale distribution, retail grocery, food processing, restaurants, and institutional buyers shared their perspectives on demand and explained how growing for and selling to these channels works for producers. On the supply side, producers shared their experiences growing for high volume markets. Industry representatives presented strategies for investing in and supporting the expansion of organic production. Key outcomes of this intensive include 6 buyers noting that they will develop strategies/investigate opportunities to increase organic purchasing and 7 producers noting they have new contacts to follow up with or new ideas about expanding into wholesale/new markets. 2. Increased understanding of wholesale market channels and selling requirements; This objective was largely addressed by the 'Growing the Organic Market' all-day intensive mentioned above. An additional workshop, entitled 'Making the Jump', was also hosted.Participants heard from a farmer who recently made the leap from small CSA to wholesale markets. Atina Difley, organic farmer-educator,shared her insight into successful farm growth: assessing on-farm resources, meeting largescale buyer demands, and evaluating the change from the lifestyle of a small farmers to the business of farming. There were over50 attendees. Farmers reported they would: reevaluate the efficiency of equipment, write contracts with their buyers, track their time to develop cost of production information, and ask further questions before entering into new buyer relationships. In general farmers reported being more confident in approaching wholesale buyers and knowing what questions to ask. 3. Increased ability to implement crop rotations that incorporate crops that complement their growing systems and address demonstrated supply shortages; 'Crop Rotations for the Pacific Northwest'focused on presentation and discussion of key crop rotations that include high demand/low supply crops that can be grown in the Pacific Northwest. The session covered key considerations for producers to integrate these crops into current rotations, including acreage needs, variety selection, planting schedules, equipment, etc. Buyers discussed how farmers can work with wholesalers to plan production and the producerdiscussed the challenges and benefits of integrating new crops and his experiences working with buyers. This workshop was attended by approximately 50 farmers and recorded as a webinar for eOrganic. The eOrganic webinar has been viewed 163 times. Of the who have viewed the recorded eOrganic Organicology webinars, over 95% have reported an improved understanding of the content and over 88% intend to apply the knowledge gained. 4. Increased ability to develop and implement effective food safety plans to meet their farm goals; The all-day On-Farm Food Safety intensive gave small to mid-sized fruit and vegetable farmers the tools they need to comply with food safety best practices and requirements. The training was led by FamilyFarmed.org, a nonprofit focused on expanding local and sustainable food systems. Course content covered food-borne illness and contamination, how pathogens get on the farm, the prevalence in in domestic and wild animals, and environmental factors that influence pathogen reduction, risk assessment, worker health, sanitation and hygiene, recordkeeping, and traceability. It also addressed conservation practices that help to reduce pathogen survival, key post harvest topics, including harvest, cleaning and drying, cooling, and transport safety considerations. Forty-six participants engaged in hands-on mapping exercises to survey and identify risks on their farms. They were introduced to the food safety online tool and guided on how to write a food safety plan. Participants left this intensive with new decision-making skills and knowledge to better manage for food safety on their operations. 5. Increased ability to implement conservation practices for managing soil nutrition, organic matter, and structure to improve soil health and prevent erosion; Oregon Tilth developed and moderated the 'Soil Health in Organic Farming Systems' workshop. This session featured experts from WSU and Rodale Institute who presented new research focused on improving soil health in organic systems. Participants learned about soil health principles and practices for building healthy soils such no-till and minimized tillage, cover crops, and crop rotations. This workshop helped organic and transitioning farmers identify soil health issues and improve soil health management on their farms. The workshop also provided an overview of common soil health challenges for organic farmers and discussed the latest information on the topic from the National Organic Program/NOP and National Organic Standards Board/NOSB. The session covered information on federal conservation programs that provides financial and technical assistance for conservation projects. Sixty-five of the 75 individuals who attended this session were producers. Many producers who filled out the evaluation noted interest in adapting or refining no-till techniques on their operations. 6. Increased ability to begin producing and selling high-quality seed at a commercial scale. Organic Seed Alliance developed and moderated 'How to Produce Quality and Quantity of Organic Seed on Your Farm', a day-long intensive. The fundamental skills to produce seed and adapt varieties to organic farm conditions was the primary topic. Expert seed growers and Organic Seed Alliance's seed specialists for a provided practical farm-based knowledge and covered the basic skills necessary to begin growing seed on a professional scale on organic farms. Topics included the fundamentals of seed production, seed harvest and cleaning; seed business planning and management; maintaining the genetic integrity of varieties; and basic on-farm breeding techniques. Seventy-five individuals attended this intensive. Of the evaluations received, 70% reported that they would begin to experiment with seed saving or improve their seed saving systems.
Publications
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