Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) and Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) will combine their national grower survey to identify research priorites for organic and transitioning farmers and ranchers. An open web-based survey will be emailed and postcards with the survey link will be sent to the entire National Organic Producer list. A random sample of 2,000 growers from that list will include email, phone, and mailings. There will also be a minimum of 15 listening sessions to collect additional qualitative data from growers. Data will be analyzed and included in two reports. The National Organic and Research Agenda (NORA) will provide an overview of production and economic research needed in organic and transitioning production, while the State of Organic Seed (SOS) will specifically look at findings related to organic seed supply and plant breeding. Both reports will be used to inform funders, policy makers, researchers, and extension on the most pressing research and education needed to advance organic production.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Both the National Organic Research Agenda (NORA) and State of the Seed (SOS) reports needto be updated to provide a current detailed roadmap for organic research, education, and outreachactivities, with the goal of strategically accelerating the next era of growth for organic agricultureand seed systems. By identifying current research needs, the Organic Farming ResearchFoundation (OFRF) and Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) hope to significantly increase knowledgeand expertise in scientifically based organic practices and principles that help organic farmers besuccessful in meeting the growing demand for organic products. Together, the NORA and SOSreports will provide comprehensive information on the needs of organic and transitioninggrowers with the goal of understanding barriers and challenges that have prevented the growth oforganic production.
Project Methods
There will betwo national surveys. One will target organic farmers and ranchers (Organic Survey), the other will focus onproducers transitioning to organic practices (Transitioning Survey).National Organic Survey. The national organic survey will assess the needs of organic farmersand ranchers for research-based production, economic, and social information. More specifically,the survey will identify the most pressing production and environmental challenges for organicfarmers and ranchers, as well as evaluate the social, economic, and policy barriers to organicproduction.The organic survey will be partitioned into two phases: 1) a mixed mode survey of a randomsample of organic producers (closed distribution survey) followed by; 2) an open distributionconvenience non-probability web survey (open distribution survey). The random sample surveyoffers a statistically sound approach that enables us to capture a representative sample of thelarger organic production community, while the open distribution survey will give us theopportunity to hear from a larger number of respondents.With the closed distribution survey, we will select a random sample of 2,000 organic farmers andranchers from the NOP list with a target goal of a 20% response rate. This phase of the surveywill be implemented as a web-based and paper survey (e.g., mixed mode). The online survey willbe developed by SESRC using their DCWorks software. The closed survey will be initiated withan introductory postal letter to over 14,000 farmers and ranchers on the NOP list that havecontact information available with a weblink to the survey, followed by personalized emailinvitations and reminders. SESRC's mail survey unit will track responses and schedulefollow-ups using its electronic tracking system. If a response is not elicited, a paper survey willbe mailed via USPS. OFRF, OSA, and our advisory team and outreach partners will publicize thesurvey to our farmer networks. The closed distribution survey will remain open for six months.Following the closed, random distribution survey, SESRC will implement the same survey via anopen distribution method. OFRF, OSA, and our advisory committee and outreach partners willadvertise the survey through multiple mechanisms: electronic announcements via organizationwebsites, newsletters, social media, and organizational publications. Direct mailings toorganizational lists will announce how to access the online survey. Once the survey is live, allcertified organic producers will be sent an email at their NOP-listed email address. The emailwill introduce and explain the survey, and provide a web link and unique access code for therecipient. Three email reminders will be sent, along with a postcard reminder via USPS.National Transitioning Survey: A separate survey will be sent to farmers and rancherstransitioning to organic production. In addition to containing core questions from the organicsurvey, the transition survey will explore challenges and barriers specific to transitioning farmersand ranchers. For example, questions will address the ability to access land or start-up capital,acquire new agronomic and production knowledge to be successful as an organic practitioner,and overcome social stigmas associated with organic production systems (Moncada et al. 2010).Unlike the NOP list of organic producers, no national list of transitioning producers exists.Therefore, OFRF & OSA will collaborate with partner organizations to identify transitioningproducers. In particular, Oregon Tilth is connected to 20 transition leads (individuals workingdirectly with transitional producers) across the country. This network will allow us to reachtransitional producers directly, as well as connect with other organizations that work withtransitioning farmers and ranchers. Similar to the open distribution national survey, thetransition-specific survey will be advertised by OFRF, OSA, and our Advisory Committee andoutreach partners.Both the organic and transitioning survey will be designed based on the Tailored Design Method(TDM) model of social science survey principles, practices, and protocols (Dillman et al. 2009).TDM protocols guide survey content and design to maximize user comprehension, ensure ease ofnavigability, and accommodate accessibility needs. Question types will be predominantlyclosed-ended, including a mix of dichotomous, rating scale, Likert scale, semantic differential,rank order, and/or multiple choice. We will include several open-ended questions to capturemore detailed feedback. Questions will be included to filter, cross-tabulate, and cross-referenceresponses, including those pertaining to length of time farming, length of time farmingorganically, production system/key product category, size of farm, etc. The organic andtransitioning surveys will be piloted by 20 farmers and ranchers who will provide feedback andrecommendations for final revision regarding content, format, and navigability.Core Listening Sessions: Five core listening sessions will be conducted with a focus groupformat at key organic grower conferences around the country: MOSES, SSAWG, EFA,NOFA-NY, and NFU (see conference outreach partners). The goal of the focus group format isto delve deeper into the broad themes gleaned from the national surveys and to generate a morenuanced perspective of organic farmer and rancher opinions and perceptions. SESRC will workwith OFRF and OSA to develop a focus group protocol and set of questions for the focus groups.The protocol will include stimulus material to promote discussion around the production, environmental, economic, and social issues pertaining to organic production systems.Participants will be asked to respond to the information provided and the moderator will probefor additional detail. Conference outreach partners will advertise the focus groups as aconference workshop and participation will be strictly voluntary. Written consent will beobtained from all participants before data collection. SESRC will coordinate with local courtreporters who will provide verbatim transcripts of the focus group discussions. Transcripts willbe analyzed using RQDA, an R package for qualitative data analysis (Huang 2018), to examinethemes and emergent patterns from the focus groups.Additional Listening Sessions. An additional 10-12 listening sessions will be hosted at farmerand rancher conferences and meetings across the country. OSA will conduct a listening sessionwith seed growers during the 2020 Organic Seed Growers Conference. Other organizationsparticipating in these listening sessions will be chosen through an RFA process. Priority will begiven to organizations that host outreach events attended by socially disadvantaged, beginning,and transitioning farmers. Training and a listening session protocol will be given to selectedorganizations along with a financial stipend once data is received.Listening sessions will expand the project's reach to farmers who don't participate in the survey,as well as provide additional insights and context for interpreting survey results. Listeningsessions with beginning, transitioning, and socially disadvantaged farmers will contribute anuanced understanding of these stakeholders' specific needs for information and support. Thepurpose of these sessions is to: 1) compare these populations with the more quantitative onlinesurvey data, and 2) to learn how the survey results can inform learning, implementation, andoutreach to socially disadvantaged and underserved populations.