The Organic Farming Research Foundation announced on May 6 that the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a federal agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, provides technical and financial assistance to help farmers adopt conservation practices. These efforts include programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and a new Regenerative Pilot Program.
These programs are important because they aim to address resource concerns related to soil, water, plants, animals, air, and energy while supporting sustainable agriculture. Organic and transitioning-to-organic farmers are required to prioritize ecological vitality as part of their certification process but often face barriers due to limited resources.
EQIP offers financial assistance for implementing practices such as cover cropping, composting infrastructure, efficient irrigation systems, and rotational grazing. CSP is intended for those already meeting certain conservation thresholds who want to further enhance their sustainability efforts over a five-year contract. The recently launched $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program operates within both EQIP and CSP and focuses on practices that align with organic farming standards.
Despite these opportunities, certified organic farms represent only a small percentage of those receiving support from EQIP or CSP. The article highlights individual experiences from Three Feathers Farm in California and Mora Mora Farm in Oregon with these programs. April Thatcher of April Joy Farm said: “We like to do a lot of dividing and putting farmers in different buckets. But at the end of the day, farmers are farmers. We care about our land, we care about our communities. Maybe the strategies and techniques that organic farmers are using may be different than farmers you’ve worked with in the past, but we’re still farmers at heart. So coming from that place of ‘what are the goals’ and ‘what are the farmers trying to achieve’.”
The Organic Farming Research Foundation encourages both producers and NRCS staff to build relationships by reaching out locally or accessing resources such as toolkits or educational materials available online. The foundation also promotes contacting elected officials about funding for research benefiting conservation across all types of farming systems.
The Organic Farming Research Foundation operates as an independent non-profit organization committed to supporting organic growers nationwide; it advances adoption through research initiatives while promoting equitable food systems according to its official website. The group has allocated more than $3 million across 355 grants despite maintaining a modest staff size; it receives financial support from donors including non-cash contributions like stocks or vehicles according to its official website.
