National Organic Coalition

?? What’s Happening with the Farm Bill? ?? The Farm Bill’s future is uncertain, and critical organic programs are on the line. Without Congressional action, programs like the Organic Certification Cost Share, the Organic Data Initiative, and others could lapse—impacting farmers, organic enforcement, and efforts to prevent fraud. ?? Learn more about what’s at stake in our latest blog post: https://lnkd.in/gr3KCYtf ?? Take Action Today: Contact your Member of Congress (here: https://lnkd.in/ghZ-iqQY) and urge them to protect organic programs in the Farm Bill extension. Together, we can ensure the future of organic farming remains strong! #FarmBill #OrganicFarming #Advocacy #ProtectOrganic

With most election results now confirmed, we can see that the path forward for organic farming faces new challenges. In NOC's most recent blog post, we outline some of the potential challenges we identified in our ongoing efforts to expand and protect organic agriculture. These include: 1.????Funding for Organic Programs 2.???The Need to Protect Strong Organic Standards 3. New Legal Risks for Organic Regulations 4. Equity in Organic NOC is committed to advocating for the funding, standards, and legal protections that organic agriculture needs to thrive. Without the right support, organic farmers could face increased costs, unfair competition, and legal uncertainties that make it harder to run successful, sustainable businesses. We must ensure that lawmakers understand the importance of maintaining core organic funding and strong, clear regulations to preserve the integrity of organic farming for the long term. Learn more > https://lnkd.in/gnwYJER8

Last week, NOC hosted a National TOPP Meeting. NOC is convening these meetings twice a year, in connection with National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) Meeting. These meetings provide the opportunity for regional and national TOPP partners to share information and best practices. Last week at the Portland meeting, national and regional leads and partners discussed some of the progress and successes of the TOPP program (thanks to Estève Giraud and Courtney Buzzard from the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems for their incredible work managing the TOPP evaluation), how to support organic farmers in accessing NRCS programs (thank you to Ben Bowell and Marina Oriel from Oregon Tilth for their deep expertise and insights), and strategies to connect with farmers who hadn't yet been reached by TOPP (thanks to Robert Smith, Evie Witten, and Mallory Krieger for sharing their creative and impactful strategies). It was great to reinforce some connections and build new relationships. Some meeting participants had been working together for years and were meeting in person for the first time! Thank you to the many partners who helped make this meeting successful! We look forward to the next meeting in Tempe, Arizona next spring.

We had a great time at the Pre-NOSB Meeting in Portland yesterday! New and deeper partnerships were made to tackle important issues for #organic. Thank you to all who joined! We look forward to being in touch. Thank you to the farmer panelists: ?? Christina Bentrup, Farm on 42nd & Friends of Family Farmers ?? Stewart Kircher, Forest Glen Jerseys ??Ben Larson, My Brothers' Farm ??Inder Singh, Riverland Family Farms the organic seed panelists: ?? Louisa Brower, Ferry Boat Seeds ?? Johanna Phillips, Strengthening Organic Systems, LLC ?? Adrienne Shelton, Vitalis Organic Seeds Americas ?? Aaron Varadi, High Mowing Organic Seeds for sharing their important expertise and experience on a panel facilitated by the wonderful Cathleen McCluskey, PhD. ?? Thank you to Dr Jennifer (Jenny) Tucker, Administrator of the USDA -National Organic Program, for participating in our Q&A. And thank you to our amazing sponsors that made this meeting possible: Center for Food Safety Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) Oregon Tilth Oregon Organic Coalition Organically Grown Company Organic Seed Alliance Organic Farmers Association And thank you to the generous organization who provided delicious organic snacks and beverages for the meeting: @Cafe Mam Equal Exchange Nature's Path Foods Organically Grown Company Hummingbird Wholesale

Attention farmers ?? Our FLT Program application opens next week! This program provides technical support and a small amount of funding to design and implement on-farm trials, collect data, and analyze results in order to address production challenges. It is built around our Farmers Guide to Conducting On Farm Research, a free downloadable resource, and is designed to put farmers in the drivers seat to conduct research that matters to them. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gRbjV8GW #FarmerLedTrials #OnFarmResearch #FarmersAreResearchers

NOC is excited to partner with the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) for this webinar later today! We hope you can join us!

Great opportunity for farmers through our amazing colleagues at the Organic Farming Research Foundation! Please help spread the word!

This is one of the most powerful tools our Nature's Path Foods Creative team has developed to cut through the noise surrounding farming practices and many greenwashing attempts out there ?? Our infographic breaks down the key differences between conventional ??, regenerative ??, organic??, and regenerative organic ?? farming in a simple, clear way. It highlights the tools, impacts, and values behind each approach ???? Kudos to the team for helping educate and inspire meaningful change in our food systems with your art and creativity! ?? This is #regenerativeORGANIC | Regenerative Organic Alliance | Sasha Angel-Malaniya | Carrie-Anne Palmeri — Este es una de las herramientas mas poderosas creadas por el equipo Creativo de Nature's Path Foods para mitigar el ruido e intentos de mentiras en cuanto a practicas de agricultura en el mundo ?? Nuestro infografico detalla las diferencias claves entre agricultura convencional quimica ??, regenerativa ??, organica ?? y organica regenerativa ?? de una manera clara y simple. Te muestra las herramientas, el impacto, metodos, y los valores detras de cada practica ???? Mil felicitaciones a nuestro equipo por ayudar a educar e inspirar un cambio especial en nuestra cadena de suministro de comida con su arte y creatividad! ?? Esto es Agricultura #ORGANICAregenerativa.

Calling all organic advocates! The National Organic Coalition needs your help - the cost share program and other core organic programs are at risk now that the Farm Bill has expired. Can you share this action alert?

?? TIME SENSITIVE ACTION ALERT ?? The 2018 Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2023. Rather than passing a new Farm Bill in 2023, Congress extended the Farm Bill for one year. *But that Farm Bill extension is also expired now!* Without Congressional action, core organic programs including the Organic Certification Cost Share Program will expire, leaving thousands of organic farmers with a huge net increase in their annual certification costs. The Organic Certification Cost Share Program will disappear in 2025 unless Congress passes a five-year Farm Bill with funding or includes sufficient funding in a stopgap bill this fall! Contact your Senators and Representative today to ask them to fund core organic programs in the Farm Bill. Click here to automatically send a message to your Members of Congress! https://lnkd.in/ghZ-iqQY