CCOF Blog

Sierra Torres has a deep desire to return to her community where she knows how to affect the most change. Torres will finish her third and final year at university with a bachelor’s degree in sustainable agriculture in 2019. Over the course of the next year, she will continue to take classes in agriculture education, small farm husbandry,...

In late December, President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill into law. Crucially, the farm bill includes provisions to authorize and fund the National Organic Program (NOP), the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program (NOCCSP), and other organic programs.

CCOF and our members worked hard to build support for organic priorities in the farm bill throughout 2018. The...

In December, President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill into law after passage earlier in the month by Congress. The new laws contain many wins for organic, including funding for the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program (NOCCSP) and the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI). Additionally, the new farm bill legalized the commercial production of hemp,...

The USDA released its final rule for labeling genetically modified (GM) foods in December, two-and-a-half years after Congress passed a federal labeling law.

In a significant win for organic, all certified organic products, including the label categories “100% Organic”, “Organic”, and “Made with Organic” are exempt from the labeling requirement. The exemption does not apply to products with less than 70 percent organically produced ingredients.

Very small food manufacturers, restaurants, and retailers who prepare food on-site are also exempt from the labeling rule. For the...

Photo: John Taylor, co-owner of Taylor Brothers Farms

While prunes may not be #trending the way we’ve seen kale, sweet potatoes, or açai trend in recent years, prunes have reclaimed their status as a superfood in farmers’ markets across the globe. Prunes provide countless benefits for their consumers. With more antioxidants than blueberries, prunes slow and...

CCOF Certification Services, LLC is seeking a Chief Certification Officer (CCO). This position is responsible to the Management Committee of CCOF Certification Services, LLC for the successful execution of certification programs. The CCO reports to the CEO of CCOF, Inc. in the CEO’s capacity as chair of the LLC Management Committee and works collaboratively with the executive leadership team to further CCOF’s mission of advancing organic agriculture for a healthy world. 

Learn more about this position.

If you are considering implementing new practices on your farm to promote healthy soils and build resilience, you might be eligible for up to $75,000 in cost-share grants. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)’s Climate Smart Agriculture Program is allocating $15 million for Healthy Soils grants for the coming year. Applications are due March 8, 2019. 

Help with Paperwork

Free assistance with planning and completing the grant application is available. Wild Farm Alliance will assist growers who contact them at info@wildfarmalliance.org. Together with...

Tickets for the CCOF Foundation food safety workshops in Pacific Grove, CA are going fast. While our workshop in English has sold out, there is still space left in our Spanish food safety workshop. Hosted on January 23 in conjunction with the 2019 EcoFarm Conference, the workshop meets the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) training requirement for produce growers. Thanks to a grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, tickets cost only $35. Don’t miss the January 15 deadline to purchase tickets!

You do not need to attend the entire EcoFarm conference to...

HarvestPort is excited to announce HarvestPort INPUTS, a full-service crop input procurement service with many options for the organic grower community, and we want to earn your business. For a limited time, HarvestPort will reimburse the full cost of your 2018 annual CCOF renewal bill.

Check out HarvestPort INPUTS, a full-service crop input procurement program, and HarvestPort DEALS, an opt-in platform (similar to Groupon) with time-sensitive discounts on agricultural products, services, and technology. 

Growers looking for a procurement partner to source the right inputs...

The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board is updating the agricultural order that regulates discharges from irrigated farmland. A comment period is now open with comments due by 8 a.m. on January 22, 2019.  

Submit comments to AgNOI@waterboards.ca.gov and indicate in the subject line “Comments to Ag Order 4.0 Options Tables.” Read the notice of public comment period.

The regional water board will accept comments on any topic related to the new version of the ag order. The board specifically requests comments on an “options table” that lays out existing and...

Organic farming is a trade and lifestyle that naturally lends itself to storytelling. Makshya Tolbert first found that to be true as an undergrad, studying the intersection of nature poetry and black history and wanting to write poems that expressed the intimacy between the two. Tolbert began learning to grow food on campus farms and gardens and felt empowered to write about her experiences...

Join the CCOF Foundation on January 23, 2019 in Pacific Grove, California for the final trainings in our FSMA food safety workshop series. The workshops will be offered in English and Spanish and meet the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) training requirement for produce growers. 

Thanks to a grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, workshop tickets only cost $35 per attendee. Without grant support, these trainings can cost hundreds of dollars per person. 

Our January trainings are hosted as pre-conference events at the 2019 EcoFarm conference. You...

Organic producers are busy and have a lot going on, especially during harvest. Overlapping regulations and requirements for a modern farm and all the inspections that result have many producers experiencing “audit fatigue.” Since the inception of CCOF’s food safety program, organic growers have been asking for a combined food safety and organic inspection to reduce the amount of time these inspections take them away from what they love to do: work their farms. 

CCOF, an organization that is governed by a board of organic producers, heard you loud and clear. We began cross-training...

Photo: Haleigh Jones, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student, Future Organic Farmer Grant Fund grant recipient

You may have heard of the CCOF Foundation or our Future Organic Farmer Grant Fund or Organic Training Institute. You can support these programs by donating to the CCOF Foundation! 

Your support of the CCOF Foundation can help you make an impact in...

PHOTO: Darrell Wood

We’re still buzzing with inspiration following our CCOF Annual Meeting and Conference in Sacramento on February 23. This year, 175 attendees joined us to explore the factors that have made California a hotbed of organic hotspots activity and discuss...