Blog posts by Shawna Rodgers
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Join us for a special session with USDA Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt at the Ecological Farming Association (EcoFarm) conference in Monterey on Thursday, January 18 from 12:30 to1:30 p.m. in Chapel.
Under Secretary Lester Moffitt will speak about the new $300 million USDA Organic Transition Initiative, which includes funding for organic marketing, organic crop insurance for disasters, technical assistance, and new Natural Resources Conservation Service resources for current and future organic farmers. A child of organic walnut farmers here in California, Lester Moffitt now serves in…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Thursday, October 26, 2023
This fall season, join the CCOF Foundation in honoring the dedication, triumphs, and challenges organic farmers experience when growing our food. As we begin to gather in community around various fall and winter holidays, let us all remember to thank a farmer for our delicious and healthy organic meals.
Yadira Mendiola, Queen of Vegetables farm owner and operator, welcomed us onto her farm to experience a day in her life.
Watch her story and learn more about the CCOF Foundation’s Organic Transition program on YouTube.
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Monday, October 2, 2023
On Friday, September 25, 2023, CCOF hosted 150 of our closest friends, certified members, and organic movement leaders for a meal to celebrate 50 years of dedication to the organic certification movement in the United States. Sonoma Hills Farm provided an intimate, rustic setting for the gathering. CCOF members left farms as far away as Mexico to help celebrate this special moment in time.
Our event hosts at Sonoma Hills Farm proudly bear the CCOF client ID OCal001 for their innovative approach to outdoor comparable-to-organic cannabis in Petaluma, California.
Many who attended the…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Tuesday, August 15, 2023
The CCOF Foundation offers relief funding for organic farms experiencing hardship, often due to climate disasters. When fires affect small organic farms, like the recent fires that devastated many communities on Maui and on several of the Hawaiian Islands, the CCOF Foundation is here to help.
Please consider donating to the CCOF Foundation’s Hardship Assistance program. When we respond to climate disasters like this one, 100 percent of your donation will go directly to farmers in need.
Donations can be made online at www.ccof.org/donate. Contact CCOF Foundation Donor Relations Manager…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Monday, April 3, 2023
The newest CCOF Foundation supporter Anaerobe Systems has partnered with University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) to launch a research project featuring their organic input, approved by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
Anaerobe Systems is the culmination of 40 years' worth of dedicated science and research, led by company founder Dr. Mike Cox. This partnership between UCSC and Anaerobe Systems will open up new opportunities for research on products aimed at promoting sustainable and organic farming practices to improve soil health, soil quality, and crop yield…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Monday, March 27, 2023
RSVP online by April 1, 2023.
New CCOF Foundation partner Ancient Nutrition is hosting an event to celebrate its founders and farmers on their Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) farm in Summertown, Tennessee. Join us on April 19, 2023, to step into the vision for the future of regenerative agriculture, namely the Regenerative Organic Certification. This will be a chance for us to come together to learn, give back to the soil, and inspire transformation in the health of people and the planet.
The Center for Regenerative Agriculture in Summertown, Tennessee, is a Regenerative Organic…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Monday, March 27, 2023
Fatima Salazar & Alejandro SalazarThe CCOF Foundation offers direct financial and technical assistance to organic farmers across the United States, regardless of their certifier affiliation.
In 2022, we launched the newest iteration of our Organic Transition program, supporting eight farmers in California transitioning part of their acreage to organic agriculture. In just one year, the program has expanded to serve a total of 20 farmers! This is due in part to the generous donors who have committed to fund this program with multiyear commitments. It is also due, in large part, to support…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Tuesday, March 14, 2023
It may come as no surprise to learn that those in the CCOF community are often connected through multiple generations of organic farming and community. It is never easy to say goodbye to a member of our community, but it is easy to honor the life and legacy they leave behind. The following obituary was provided to CCOF by Molinari's granddaughter, Tessa Molinari.
“Organic, CCOF-certified farmer and grape grower Peter E. Molinari passed away peacefully at his Marin home the morning of December 25,2022, nine days before his 98th birthday. In memory of our beloved husband, father, grandfather…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Monday, February 6, 2023
CCOF Foundation’s Technical Assistance Specialist Brian Coltrin (middle) with Carlos Gonzalez and his wife Maria, farmers in our current Organic Transition program cohortThe CCOF Foundation launched a new cohort of Organic Transition grantees in 2022 with the help of our thoughtful partners. With your support, we were able to fund 12 farmers in the Salinas Valley as they expanded organic acreage on their farms. In addition to providing our grantees with funds, the CCOF Foundation was able to hire a bilingual organic technical specialist to provide technical assistance to the grantees. As of…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Monday, January 30, 2023
The Central Coast of California was recently barraged with the highest rainfall it has seen in decades. The deluge has brought flooding, landslides, and loss of life and has destroyed homes and building structures. Notably, there is also ongoing damage to crops and fields. Many berry farmers have experienced an entire loss of crop within the span of a week. Others have lost farm labor support with closed roads and the inability to access fields.
The CCOF Foundation will be offering hardship assistance grants again this spring. We can earmark funds to a restricted geographical location. If…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Tuesday, December 6, 2022
In 2020, the CCOF Foundation partnered with Anheuser-Busch to allocate half a million dollars to farmers across the United States that were in the process of transitioning to organic through our Contract for Change partnership. Jared Siverling of Siverling Centennial Farms was one such grantee. This is his story about transitioning from conventional to certified organic production.
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Monday, November 21, 2022
Becky Blythe pictured leftThe CCOF Foundation honors longtime organic advocate Becky Blythe as our 2022 Organic Champion.
For 16 years, CCOF certification staff Becky Blythe brought integrity to the organic standard. A longtime Santa Cruz local, Becky was active in the environmental activism community on the Central Coast. Becky passed away this summer. She is survived by her husband, Jim Cockrell, and her son Sam Littman.
An immigrant, Becky moved to California with her family from her native Germany when she was in middle school. After studying wildlife biology at Oregon State…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Monday, May 16, 2022
On Thursday, May 5, 2022, CCOF hosted California State Senator Eggman and Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry for an important discussion around organic transition.
We were joined by more than 30 leaders from organic farms, businesses, and partner organizations for a farm tour, lunch, and discussion about all that it takes to become certified organic. The event took place at the Lucas Winery & Vineyard in Lodi, California—an 18-acre, family-owned operation that has had several acres certified by CCOF since 2009.
CCOF’s goal in bringing policymakers, partners, and farmers together was to share a…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Monday, May 9, 2022
In honor of National Agriculture Week, longtime CCOF Foundation supporter AgroThrive partnered with its home gardening community to support up-and-coming farmers with a donation of more than 300 gallons of its unique liquid organic fertilizer. Between March 21 and 28, for every purchase of liquid organic fertilizer made on AgroThrive.com, the company donated the same amount to the organic farmers-in-training at the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA).
“Matching [the] flurry of [home gardeners’] purchases, we are able to donate more than 300 gallons of liquid organic…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Monday, May 9, 2022
Last month, the CCOF Foundation hosted its third virtual teatime. Organic industry leaders, CCOF Foundation supporters, and farmers alike joined us via Zoom to hear from organic regenerative farmer Jared Siverling of Siverling Centennial Farms in Bloomer, Wisconsin. Jared and his wife Vanessa have spent the last five years transitioning the Siverling multigenerational farm from conventional to organic with support from family, friends, the CCOF Foundation, and Anheuser-Busch’s Contract for Change program.
Through the Contract for Change grant, the CCOF Foundation allocated more than $500,…