general organic

Shriya Rangarajan^1,2,5, Mark Lubell², Joji Muramoto^3,4, Houston Wilson^1,5

¹ Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside; ² Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis; ³ Center for Agroecology, University of California, Santa Cruz; ⁴ University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, ⁵University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources—Organic Agriculture Institute

Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation Helps Suppress Weeds, Disease, Without Fumigants

Troubled by puny plants, low yields, and persistent mite problems, third-generation Southern California strawberry grower Glen Hasegawa was ready to give up on his transition from conventional to organic 12 years ago.

“I've always liked a challenge—but it turned out to be more of a challenge than I thought it would be!” he said.

^{Photo by Friedrich Haag via  Wikicommons}

The Department of Pesticide Regulation shared this about the award: Gina Bella Colfer, a pest control advisor (PCA) with more than 30 years of experience in organic agriculture, primarily on California's Central Coast, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work developing and implementing safer, more sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) practices in agriculture.

The buzzword “regenerative” catches consumers’ attention, so it’s often thrown onto product labels. But how many consumers can define with confidence what exactly “regenerative” means? 

In the past 50 years since CCOF’s founding in 1973, research about organic has come a long way. We now know that the benefits of organic our founding members believed in so fiercely are backed by scientific data to have a measurable effect on the wellbeing of our planet, communities, and economy. 

California congressman Sam Farr and Mark Lipson in the early days of creating the organic standards.

The Rodale Institute, a progenitor of the organic movement in the United States that built the scientific underpinnings of organic production, awarded Mark Lipson (CCOF’s first paid employee) the Organic Stewardship Award in a ceremony held at the Rodale research farm in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. 

Written by Aaron McAfee, CCOF Fresno/Tulare Chapter President

I have excellent news to deliver, straight from the local organic legend himself, the great Tom Willey. 

Tom shared with us that Fresno State has officially announced the hire of Dr. Sangeeta Bansal for the position of Professor of Soil Health at California State University, Fresno. 

In this Blog: 

USDA’s 99th Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum will take place over the course of two days, both online and in person in Arlington, Virginia. On Thursday, February 23, between 11:25 and 11:55 a.m. Eastern, Jenny Lester Moffitt, USDA Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, will moderate a session on Strategies for More and Better Markets.