Hi Friend,
I am pleased to tell you about the Real Organic Project Symposium at Dartmouth College on March 2. Go to this link to learn more and to buy a ticket. The Symposium will take place right after our 2nd annual Standards Board meeting in Fairlee, VT.
At the Symposium we will present our 2018 Pilot Program for our add-on label to USDA certification. We have now inspected and approved 60 Real Organic Project Farms across the country. This has been a true labor of love, visiting some of the best organic farms in the country and recording the words and fields of these wonderful farmers. We have released a number of Know Your Farmer videos recorded during the inspections. Our most popular Know Your Farmer video of The Milkhouse in Maine has gotten over 220,000 views between Youtube, Facebook, and the website.
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One thing is clear: Nothing is clear. The world is changing very fast, and no one knows what is going to happen next. CAFOs (large confinement livestock operations) are getting certified as organic on a massive scale and certified hydros are displacing soil growing in a number of “organic crop” categories such as berries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.
Silence no longer seems like an adequate strategy. The rate and scale of change in our climate, our nutrition, and our food systems are all dizzying. The old strategy of keeping quiet and hoping for the best is not serving us well. Bold moves are called for.
The Dartmouth Symposium will look at what is happening in organic agriculture, and where we are going from here. The Symposium will be a series of TED-style talks from leading farmers and advocates from across the country.
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Keynote Speaker Eliot Coleman.
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There will be two keynote addresses.
Eliot Coleman: Defining Organic Farming. Eliot will also give an earlier talk on the techniques and thinking that have guided his iconic farming adventure at Four Seasons Farm. Eliot has been a flesh-and-blood teacher to many of us, and his books and videos have inspired and educated hundreds of thousands more. Eliot is truly the Elder of the American organic movement. Eliot serves on the Advisory Board of ROP (Real Organic Project).
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Keynote speaker Anne Biklé with co-author David Montgomery.
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Anne Biklé: Soil Health and Human Health; Forever Bound. Anne is the co-author of The Hidden Half Of Nature: The Microbial Roots Of Life and Health, which she wrote with her husband, David Montgomery. Anne’s exploration of health and food was inspired by her experiences working with her own cancer. Anne is an articulate champion of a saner agriculture based on healthy soil ecology, and why that matters for all of us.
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Francis Thicke and Linley Dixon will both speak at the Symposium.
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Other speakers.
Colorado farmer Linley Dixon is the ROP Associate Director. She will describe the ROP pilot program for certifying 60 farms. This group of bellwether farms stretches from California to Maine, down to Florida to Texas, and even to Hawaii. They include every type of farming. They include young and old, pioneers and innovators. They include numerous current and former members of the National Organic Standards Board. They truly represent the organic movement in America. Linley will share stories of the farms and some of their Know Your Farmer videos. Finally, she will describe the program for 2019. Linley serves on the ROP Standards Board.
Francis Thicke runs Radiance Dairy in Iowa with his wife Susan. Radiance is a model of pasture-based dairying and direct sales to customers. Francis’ farewell address to the National Organic Standards Board was widely read and reprinted in a number of media outlets, including The Hill. He is a constant voice on the need to reform the National Organic Program. He has served on the NOSB and as Chair of the Policy Committee of the Organic Farmers Association. Before that, he was the USDA National Program Leader for Soil Science. The Know Your Farmer video of Radiance Dairy is inspiring. Francis’ talk is entitled: “Ecology as a Model For Real Organic Farming.” Francis is chair of the ROP Standards Board and is a Pilot Farmer.
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Jean-Paul Courtens at Roxbury Farm.
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Jean-Paul Courtens is the pioneering organic and biodynamic farmer who, with Jodi Bolluyt, co-founded 450 acre Roxbury Farm in New York. He will show us his new farm as well. Jean-Paul has long been known for his excellent farming practices, extensive cover cropping, for the care of the soil, innovative marketing and the development of CSA on a large scale. He continues to farm and now spends much of his time on educating a younger generation. His talk is entitled, “Roxbury Farm- What Have We Learned? Healthy Soils For a Healthy Climate”. Jean-Paul will describe the positive and negative impacts of agriculture on climate. The Know Your Farmer video of Jean-Paul shows his beautiful Roxbury Farm and records his sane voice. Jean-Paul serves on the ROP Development Task Force and is a Pilot Farmer.
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Harriet Behar on right with the Soil Seven NOSB members in Jacksonville.
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Harriet Behar is a small scale vegetable farmer from Wisconsin. She is also the Chair of the National Organic Standards Board and a board member of the National Organic Coalition. Harriet is a long time trainer of organic inspectors. She is widely respected for her activism in protecting organic integrity. She is particularly expert in enforcing organic standards in livestock operations. She will discuss the challenges and failures of keeping CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) out of organic. Harriet serves on the Advisory Board of ROP.
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Jay Feldman from Beyond Pesticides speaking at Common Ground Fair in Maine.
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Jay Feldman is the executive director of Beyond Pesticides. He has been an environmental activist all his adult life. He served on the National Organic Standards Board, and is a current board member of the National Organic Coalition. Jay will talk about what he learned serving on the NOSB and why the Organic Food Production Act is so important. He will explain why organic must go beyond a simple ban on synthetic pesticides. Jay serves on the ROP Standards Board.
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Alan Lewis from Natural Grocers in Colorado.
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Alan Lewis navigates government affairs and food and agriculture policy for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, a health food store chain operating more than 140 stores in 19 states. Alan is a long-time champion for organic integrity, and speaks regularly to improve our food system. His talk is entitled: “Taking Their Hands Off the Easy Button: Why Retail Stores All Look Alike and How ROP Can Stop It”. Alan serves on the Standards Board of ROP.
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Emily Oakley with Mike Appel and daughter in Colorado.
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Emily Oakley runs a small organic vegetable farm with her husband Mike in Oklahoma. She is also a current member of the National Organic Standards Board. Emily will give a tour of a successful four acre farm that uses minimal inputs. Her farming has been an evolution from adding fertility to growing fertility. She is an inspiring younger farmer who has a national voice in the organic debate. The Know Your Farmer video of Three Springs is a powerful film of a small family farm. Emily serves on the ROP Executive Board and is a Pilot Farmer.
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Hugh Kent and Lisa Munsch from King Grove Organic in Florida.
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Hugh Kent grows famously delicious organic blueberries in Florida at King Grove Organic Farm. Hugh produces for the wholesale market. His talk is entitled: “The Reversal Of Organic Progress”. He will talk about the impact of hydroponics on real organic blueberry farms. Hugh is a Pilot Farmer.
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Cameron Molberg from Greener Pastures in Texas.
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Cameron Molberg is a free-range, organic chicken farmer from Texas. He runs Greener Pastures Chicken Farm. He is well known in the organic world for his excellent farming practices. Cameron is one of the architects of the ROP animal welfare standards. He will demonstrate how it is possible to grow poultry outdoors, and will show the sad alternative that has become the norm in American organic eggs and poultry. Cameron serves on the ROP Standards Board and is a Pilot Farmer.
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Caitlin Frame and Andy Smith from The Milkhouse in Maine.
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Caitlin Frame and partner Andy Smith run a small organic dairy farm in Maine called The Milkhouse. They milk 35 cows, intensively grazed on their beautiful fields. Caitlin will describe the challenges and joys of small scale dairy farming. She will talk about the shifting organic milk market, and why it is putting many family farms out of business right now. The Milkhouse Know Your Farmer video has been seen by hundreds of thousands of people, and has given a note of hope to a desperate situation. Caitlin is a Pilot Farmer.
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Onika Abraham speaking at a rally to Keep The Soil In Organic in NYC.
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Onika Abraham is executive director of the Farm School in New York City. Farm School NYC works to bring people together while learning to grow their own food, and to strengthen communities in the process. She has spoken at conferences and rallies about urban farming. She was the keynote speaker at last year’s NOFA VT conference. Onika’s talk is entitled, “Organic Soil Farming In New York City.”
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NOSB member Dave Mortensen from UNH.
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Dave Mortensen is chair of the Department of Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems at UNH. Prior to this he was the Distinguished Professor of Weed and Applied Plant Ecology at Penn State. Dave is a current member of the NOSB. He has spoken eloquently about the importance of real organic farming in the world today. His defense of organic principles at the NOSB meeting in Jacksonville moved the many farmers present. Dave’s talk is entitled: “The State Of Organic Farming; A Scientist’s Perspective.” Dave serves on the ROP Advisory Board.
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Paul Muller and partner Dru Rivers at Full Belly in California.
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Paul Muller is a farmer from California. He is a co-founder of Full Belly Farm, one of California’s iconic organic pioneers. Full Belly is a 400 acre mixed farm producing vegetables, nuts, and animals since 1987. It is run by 4 partners and now includes three generations living and farming together. The farmers at Full Belly are early pioneers of direct marketing with a large CSA and are active in farmer’s markets. You can hear Paul and see his farm at the Full Belly Know Your Farmer video. At the Symposium, Paul will tell the story of Full Belly and talk about why real organic matters. Paul serves on the ROP Standards Board and the ROP Development Task Force.
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Dave Chapman at Long Wind Farm in Vermont.
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Dave Chapman is a farmer from Vermont. He is also the Executive Director of the Real Organic Project. His talk is entitled, “The Real Organic Project After One Year. Why Were We Created and Where Are We Heading?” He will look at the failures of the National Organic Program, and the growing power of the organic movement. Dave serves on the ROP Executive and Standards Boards.
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Finally, I am sharing a short video from our friend, JM Fortier. JM was originally planned as one of our symposium speakers. A conflict made that impossible, so he filmed this appeal asking for support of the Real Organic Project. JM is an important voice in the organic movement as he helps many farmers improve their growing skills, and learn how to make a living in a challenging world.
Please share this letter. Please come to the symposium!
Dave
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Dave Chapman
Executive Director / dave@realorganicproject.org
Real Organic Project / realorganicproject.org
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So have we won? Not really. The “O” word is now academically respectable, but state and federal funding for organic research remains minimal. More alarmingly, given the entry into the industry of some of the largest multinational food companies, organics seems to be becoming what some of us hoped it would be an alternative to—another industrial food system that ships raw materials from wherever on the planet they can be most cheaply grown to factories producing everything from “organic” TV dinners to “organic” soft drinks.
This isn’t what we meant. When we said organic, we meant local. We meant healthful. We meant being true to the ecologies of our regions. We meant mutually respectful growers and eaters. We meant social justice and community.
—Joan Gussow- The Real Story of O
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