CCOF Blog

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Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Many state and local areas continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and may otherwise be unable to meet certain crop insurance policy requirements due to concerns of spreading COVID-19. Beginning in March, the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) began issuing Manager’s Bulletins to provide program flexibilities in response to COVID-19.

Recognizing the industry, farmers and ranchers continue to face challenges, RMA remains committed to providing flexibility that supports the health and safety of all parties, while also ensuring the Federal Crop Insurance Program continues to…

Written by Noah Lakritz on Tuesday, October 6, 2020

The Agricultural Council of California is providing a video developed with the California Department of Public Health to address topics outside normal employee safety issues surrounding COVID-19. This Spanish language video provides safety practices guidelines to reduce COVID-19 spread outside of the workplace. The video is intended for farmworkers and employees of food processing plants. Topics include, but are not limited to:

the impacts of COVID-19 in the Latinx community how to safely commute in shared transportation keeping COVID-19 germs out of the house how to protect…
Written by Noah Lakritz on Tuesday, October 6, 2020

El Consejo Agrícola ofreció un video desarrollado con CDPH para abordar temas fuera de los problemas normales de seguridad de los empleados relacionados con el COVID-19. Este video en Español proporciona guias de prácticas de seguridad para reducir la propagación del COVID-19 fuera del lugar de trabajo. El video está dirigido a trabajadores agrícolas y empleados de plantas procesadoras de alimentos. Los temas incluyen, pero no se limitan a:

los impactos del COVID-19 en la comunidad Latina cómo viajar de forma segura en transporte compartido mantener los gérmenes del COVID-19 fuera…
Written by Shawna Rodgers on Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Cal Organic-Farms-IMG_5719

CCOF Foundation Visionary Supporters Cal-Organic Farms has taken the next step in its consumer education initiatives by producing a docuseries to engage audiences on the benefits and work behind organic farming practices. While the videos were produced in 2018, their content is increasingly relevant as countless split operations continue to expand…

Written by Shawna Rodgers on Monday, September 28, 2020

doonan

Typically, Natural Products Expo West follow-up happens mid-March, with connections blossoming in the springtime and coming to fruition later in the summer. In February, the CCOF Foundation team was excited to travel to attend Climate Day at Expo West and co-host a lovely cocktail hour in partnership with the UNFI Foundation. While we never got to host our event in Anaheim, we regret more…

Written by Noah Lakritz on Monday, September 28, 2020

The USDA announced a second round of funding for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). CFAP 2 will provide $14 billion in additional direct payments to farmers and ranchers. This new round of includes substantive changes from the first round, some of which may benefit organic producers:

Compensation for losses experienced from April 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020 (or from April 16 for livestock) Additional price loss based payments for commodity crops covered by the first round of CFAP A new fixed $15/acre payment for many grains, oilseed, and hemp crops that were not…
Written by Adrian Fischer on Monday, September 28, 2020

It’s not always easy to transition to certified organic, and we don’t expect farmers to do it alone. That’s why we’ve partnered with Anheuser Busch and their Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Contract for Change program to provide financial support during the critical phase of becoming organic. The CCOF Foundation also offers a wealth of educational opportunities through our Organic Training Institute.

Want to take your farm forward and transition to organic? Maybe you’re already practicing organic methods and needed that final incentive to get certified. Now is your chance to lessen the…

Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, September 21, 2020

OFRF’s free beginning farmer training program for organic specialty crop farmers in California is now available. This online training program is for beginning farmers, existing organic farmers, and farmers in transition to organic production. While it was developed for California specialty crop farmers, the content is based on foundational principles that are relevant to all organic farmers and our hope is that growers across the United States find it to be a useful resource. 

The program contains six learning modules: 1) soil health, 2) weed management, 3) irrigation and water…

Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, September 21, 2020

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) today announced that the counties of Kings, Riverside and Tulare will participate in Housing for the Harvest, a program announced by Governor Gavin Newsom in July to provide temporary hotel housing options for farm and food processing employees to self-isolate if they are COVID-19 positive and do not require hospitalization, or have been exposed and cannot properly self-isolate at home. Six counties are now participating in Housing for the Harvest: Kings, Riverside, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Fresno, and San Joaquin.

The state is…

Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, September 21, 2020

El Departamento de Alimentos y Agricultura de California (CDFA) anunció hoy que los condados de Kings, Riverside y Tulare participarán en Housing for the Harvest, un programa anunciado por el gobernador Gavin Newsom en julio para brindar opciones de alojamiento temporal en hoteles. para que los empleados de granjas y procesamiento de alimentos se autoaislen si son COVID-19 positivos y no requieren hospitalización, o han estado expuestos y no pueden aislarse adecuadamente en casa. Seis condados participan ahora en Housing for the Harvest: Kings, Riverside, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Fresno y…

Written by Noah Lakritz on Monday, September 21, 2020

The deadlines to submit public comments and register for oral comments to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) at their virtual fall meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota, are approaching! We encourage members of the organic community to submit public comments on the substances up for re-listing or removal from the National List of Allowed & Prohibited Substances and the other NOSB agenda items.

Read NOSB's meeting materials (discussion documents, petitions, proposals, and Sunset Reviews).

Handling Substances:

Kaolin Sodium bicarbonate Waxes - nonsynthetic (Wood…
Written by Guest Blogger on Monday, September 21, 2020

Going directly to those hurt most by the devastating citrus greening disease, researchers are asking organic citrus growers and other organic stakeholders to help them develop a holistic research program in their fight against the ruinous disease.

Citrus greening disease has been decimating domestic citrus in the United States over the past decade, and organic growers have been hit especially hard with few effective tools to control the disease. A research team led by the University of Florida is collaborating with The Organic Center; University of California, Riverside; a number…

Written by Adrian Fischer on Tuesday, September 15, 2020

transition-carousel

It’s not always easy to transition to certified organic, and we don’t expect farmers to do it alone. That’s why we’ve partnered with Anheuser Busch and their Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Contract for Change program to provide financial support during the critical phase of becoming organic. The CCOF Foundation also offers a wealth of educational opportunities through our …

Written by Kelly Damewood on Tuesday, August 25, 2020

resilience2020

Dear CCOF Family,

2020 has been a wild ride. A national pandemic, a looming recession, a racial injustice reckoning, and now unprecedented wildfires sweeping through CCOF’s hometown of Santa Cruz, California and across Northern California.  

But, despite it all, CCOF is stronger than ever before. We implemented successful emergency preparedness strategies,…

Written by Noah Lakritz on Tuesday, August 18, 2020

California state legislative leaders and California Governor Gavin Newsom are considering how the state can assist communities in recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. As these conversations get underway, it is essential to promote food and agriculture as solutions to economic recovery. One of the ways the state can easily invest in California agriculture is through CDFA’s Healthy Soils Program. The program has been increasingly popular with the state’s farmers and ranchers, including organic farmers and ranchers. The Healthy Soils Program turns farm-based climate solutions into rural…