By Gordon Merrick, OFRF Senior Coverage & Applications Supervisor
In at present’s political surroundings, outlined by complexity, shifting political winds, and persistently competing pursuits, readability and consistency matter greater than ever. That’s why it’s all the extra essential that OFRF stays grounded by at all times adhering to 1 easy precept: our work have to be rooted in the actual wants of the natural farming and analysis neighborhood. Whether or not we’re advocating for analysis funding within the halls of Congress, submitting feedback to the USDA, or analyzing the impacts of federal applications and choices, we’re guided by what we hear instantly from farmers, researchers, and companions throughout america.
OFRF Coverage Priorities
OFRF’s coverage work facilities round three core targets:
- Put money into Natural Analysis that helps all farmers in constructing ecologically resilient, economically viable farming operations
- Broaden entry to technical help and monetary instruments that empower producers to implement research-backed, systems-based practices
- Develop natural as an financial engine, particularly in rural communities, by making certain federal coverage acknowledges and helps natural manufacturing programs as a public good
These priorities aren’t summary, they’re rooted in discipline expertise, producer suggestions, and a clear-eyed evaluation of what it takes to make natural agriculture succeed on the bottom and in communities throughout america.
Our dedication to our neighborhood’s wants
OFRF doesn’t set our coverage agenda from an ivory tower or an echo chamber. We’ve dedicated to revisiting and updating our priorities yearly in direct response to suggestions from the communities we serve. We take severely our duty to signify the various views inside the natural sector. Which means staying related to the farmers navigating certification, the researchers looking for funding that may facilitate their work, and the companies and communities that depend upon natural manufacturing.
That’s why we introduced these priorities to our current Natural Stewardship Council assembly. Producers like Anna Jones-Crabtree of Vilicus Farms reminded us that whereas natural programs supply great advantages, too many federal applications nonetheless fail to acknowledge or accommodate how natural works. This on-the-ground story mirrors nationwide analysis findings: present USDA applications are usually not designed with natural and agroecological programs in thoughts. This leads to misplaced help, unfair pricing assumptions, and insurance policies that deal with natural like an outlier, quite than a confirmed system that feeds individuals and restores land (for reference, about 15% of our produce is natural by quantity, however organically managed land represents lower than 1% of all farmland).
The true experiences and tales shared on this dialogue weren’t one-offs. They’re a part of the intentional work we do at OFRF in each dialog, farm go to, and analysis partnership. We goal to replace our priorities yearly in collaboration with farmers, researchers, and motion leaders. By way of OFRF’s work with grass-tops organizations and instantly with farms throughout the nation, we work to construct areas for individuals to inform us their tales about what’s altering on the bottom. Whether or not it’s making certain USDA’s technical and monetary help applications are relevant to natural farms or preventing for parity in analysis investments, OFRF’s priorities are formed by what individuals inform us they want, not what sounds good in D.C.
What you are able to do
There’s a cause this work feels extra pressing proper now. As a number of farmers famous in our current conversations, natural is at an inflection level. Market premiums are narrowing. Different labels and claims are muddying shopper understanding. And greater than 15,000 USDA workers are leaving the company, threatening institutional reminiscence and slowing urgently wanted reforms.
OFRF doesn’t have all of the solutions; however we do have a transparent mission: to domesticate natural analysis, training, and federal insurance policies that deliver extra farmers and acreage into natural manufacturing.
If you’re a farmer with natural acreage, a researcher finding out natural agriculture matters, or simply somebody who has a narrative to share on the significance of natural agriculture, we’re right here to pay attention. If you wish to make sense of the present coverage panorama, we’re right here to assist: our new, free, self-paced Speaking with Legislators e-mail course is designed to help you in telling your story loudly and clearly. Farmers are doing the work. Our job is to ensure coverage catches up.
We’re right here to ensure your voice will not be solely heard, however acted on.
Eat nicely and breathe deeply,
Gordon
P.S. You possibly can compensate for current editions of Gordon’s Coverage Nook right here.
