Blog posts by Jane Sooby

Written by Jane Sooby on Tuesday, March 26, 2024

CCOF is gathering input from our members on their marketing practices, challenges, and needs through an online survey. The information collected through the survey will be used to develop tools and resources to help your organic business succeed. These marketing tools will be available at no cost to all CCOF members in fall 2024. Take the survey online. It should take three to five minutes to complete. We have already collected a few dozen responses from our members, and the results are very informative. Our goal is to gather input from 250 organic producers. We will share the results in a…
Written by Jane Sooby on Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The National Organic Program has released the agenda for the spring National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) Meeting, which will be held April 29 through May 1, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The deadline to register for oral comment and to submit written comment is 11:59 p.m. Eastern on April 3, 2024. More information on registering and submitting comments is below. See the USDA website for information on attending the meeting in person. The NOSB is a federal advisory board that makes recommendations on organic standards and materials to the USDA secretary. During the spring meeting,…
Written by Jane Sooby on Wednesday, March 13, 2024

CCOF is gathering input from our members on their marketing practices, challenges, and needs so that we can develop tools and resources to help your organic business succeed. These marketing tools will be available at no cost to all CCOF members in fall 2024. Please take the survey online. It should take three minutes or less to complete. The survey is intended primarily for small to midsize organic farmers, ranchers, dairy producers, and “multi” operations, and we also invite organic processor/handlers to take the survey. All responses are completely confidential. The survey will be open…
Written by Jane Sooby on Tuesday, March 5, 2024

CCOF has received a grant to launch an organic market development campaign, and one part of the project is to develop marketing tools for small and underserved organic farmers (which includes beginning farmers and military veterans as well as historically excluded groups).  CCOF is soliciting assistance in conducting Spanish language outreach to our certified organic producers to gather their responses to a survey on marketing practices and needs. We are seeking bids for the following three outreach activities: Activity 1: Review a professionally translated Spanish document of…
Written by Jane Sooby on Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Regenerative practices begin with soil health. Photo by Liz Birnbaum at The Curated Feast The Marin Agricultural Land Trust’s (MALT’s) small grants program is opening a round of funding in late February that will focus on protecting biodiversity in agricultural working lands.  The goal of this small grants cycle is to provide resources to help agriculturalists promote biodiversity in their working lands. Funding Focus Grants up to $50,000 will fund practices that promote biodiversity through innovative approaches and techniques. Projects will help increase understanding of the connection…
Written by Jane Sooby on Monday, February 5, 2024

University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Monterey County will highlight compliance with the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Ag Order 4.0 at its upcoming Irrigation and Nutrient Management meeting on February 20. The free workshop will feature lunch and live translation to Spanish. It will be held at the UCCE Agriculture Conference Room at 1432 Abbott Street, Salinas. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m.; the program will start at 7:55 a.m.; and the program will end at 2:15 p.m. Presentations will include  Managing runoff during the growing season and…
Written by Jane Sooby on Wednesday, January 31, 2024

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California is accepting applications for three popular conservation priorities through February 16, 2024. This funding is in addition to the millions available to California’s agricultural producers through the regular Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the new Inflation Reduction Act. “NRCS California is committed to assisting agricultural producers to address critical resource needs across the state, and these three popular initiatives go even further with strategic enhancements on farms and ranches,” said NRCS…
Written by Jane Sooby on Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Español The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is pleased to announce the availability of approximately $12 million in grant funding for Healthy Soils Program (HSP) Incentive Grants. The program is currently accepting grant applications through 5:00 p.m. PST, Friday, February 9, 2024.  The objectives of the program are to increase statewide implementation of conservation management practices that improve soil health, sequester carbon, and reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs).  California farmers, ranchers, business entities, California Native American tribes, and…
Written by Jane Sooby on Tuesday, January 16, 2024

As utility companies announce significant increases in energy costs, now is a good time to consider installing energy-conserving improvements in your farm or business.  CCOF will host a webinar on the State of California’s GoGreen Business Energy Financing program on Tuesday, February 6, at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time. The GoGreen Business Energy Financing Program offers support for small and medium-sized businesses in California to invest in energy-saving building retrofits and installations, including pump motors, refrigeration, and horticultural lighting. Read a comprehensive list of pre-…
Written by Jane Sooby on Monday, December 18, 2023

(Wildfire remains Solano, CA by Fusaromike via Getty Images) CCOF has long offered support to its certified organic members who have experienced losses due to natural disasters including wildfires, earthquakes, and floods. In response to increasing frequency of such disasters, CCOF has created a communications and outreach strategy that will be initiated when a state or federal disaster has been declared.  CCOF will reach out directly to its members in areas that have experienced a natural disaster to document any impacts it has had on them. CCOF will provide members with lists of local,…
Written by Jane Sooby on Monday, December 11, 2023

(Biofach 2023 courtesy of NuernbergMesse / Thomas Geiger) Booths are available in the American Pavilion at the upcoming BioFach organic trade show in Nuremberg, Germany, February 13–16, 2024. Billed as the world’s largest trade fair for organic food, BioFach is the place to be each year for businesses that have organic product for export. Exhibiting at BioFach allows companies to showcase their innovative products and practices in the organic food industry. The trade fair provides a stage to highlight eco-friendly packaging, ethical sourcing, and cutting-edge production methods. Exhibitors…
Written by Jane Sooby on Monday, December 11, 2023

(Organic pepper plants with drip irrigation system courtesy of Diyana Dimitrova) Note as of 12/19/2023 - CDFA is pausing the SWEEP solicitation. Please refer to the SWEEP website for further updates: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/sweep/  Español The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is now accepting applications from farmers and ranchers for the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP), a competitive grant program that incentivizes farmers to invest in irrigation water and energy efficiency.  Agricultural operations can apply for up to $200,000 for projects…
Written by Jane Sooby on Tuesday, November 28, 2023

The latest addition to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) series of crop cost and return studies describes the practices and associated costs of producing organic processing apples grown on the Central Coast, including land preparation, fertility and pest management, irrigation, labor, and harvest. The reports also include tables reporting potential profits under various price and yield scenarios. Processing apples grown in the Central Coast are typically used to make juice and sparkling cider. All cost and return studies are available for free download…
Written by Jane Sooby on Tuesday, November 28, 2023

The California State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) has been a popular program for producers and will be open for applications at the end of November.  SWEEP offers grants to update irrigation systems to reduce greenhouse gas release and improve water efficiency. Eligible system components or improvements include (among others) soil moisture monitoring, drip systems, switching to low-pressure irrigation systems, pump retrofits, variable frequency drives, and installation of renewable energy to reduce on-farm water and energy use. The California Department of Food and…
Written by Jane Sooby on Monday, November 20, 2023

Español The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), in collaboration with the State Board of Food and Agriculture, will be hosting the first of five public listening sessions on December 6, 2023, via Zoom to receive comments that will help define “regenerative agriculture” for state policies and programs. CCOF encourages our members to participate in the December 6 listening session to remind the state that organic agriculture is regenerative agriculture and that the state’s definition must build on organic agriculture and focus on cultivating soil health as a foundational…