Organic Report Fall 2021 - Flipbook - Page 11
economic, environmental, and social benefits
of organic agriculture.
“We used that peer-reviewed science to
create a report for California’s policymakers
that includes research-based recommendations
to use organic agriculture as a solution to
address the challenges of climate change,
economic insecurity, and health inequities,”
says Damewood.
Damewood notes that while the Roadmap
serves as a blueprint for how California can
expand organic acreage and support the sector,
“many of the recommended policies and
programs can serve as models for other states,
including making organic a part of school
lunch programs, investing in organic research
and extension, and recognizing the soil and
water benefits of organic farming in
environmental regulations.”
CCOF held a series of in-field meetings with organic stakeholders in
developing its Roadmap to an Organic California report.
Photo: Liz Birnbaum – The Curated Feast.
“opportunities are missed to have organic interests
represented in state agencies, to be part of state efforts to
mitigate climate change, or to access needed financial support
to grow the organic trade.”
Steering committee member Kelly Damewood is CEO of
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), the largest
organic certifier in the nation. CCOF was founded in 1973
with 54 grower members, and now claims over 4,000
members. CCOF’s tireless work to promote and advocate for
organic has been instrumental to the success of organic
agriculture in California and beyond.
CCOF’s activities are as diverse as its membership. In
addition to its transition and certification services, CCOF
provides resources and tools in Spanish, supports
disadvantaged organic food producers, conducts hands-on
workshops and online trainings for organic farmers and
businesses, provides financial support for organic education,
conducts consumer campaigns on the benefits of organic, and
advocates in the state capital for organic.
Damewood says that making their member voices heard is
critical to moving organic forward. “We engage and elevate
diverse member voices. We organize advocacy days at the
California State Capitol, sign-on letters, and special meetings
between our members and state decision makers. We train
our members to share their experiences with state and federal
lawmakers.”
And CCOF doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Working in
coalition, and partnering with other experts have been key to
building successful programs and developing new tools. In
2020, CCOF released its Roadmap to an Organic California, a
two-part report that includes a comprehensive analysis of
peer-reviewed scientific research and studies showing the
Organic Report • Fall 2021
Adam Warthesen is head of government
affairs for Wisconsin-based Organic Valley,
the nation’s oldest and largest organic dairy
cooperative. Representing one of the funders of
the State Organic Advocacy Network on the steering
committee, Warthesen says that bringing Organic Valley’s
farmers to the forefront in the cooperative’s advocacy efforts
has had huge impact, and could be a guide for others.
“We have found in our lobbying efforts that bringing
owner farmers to the forefront is very compelling. We also
find sharing the economic vitality that organic can deliver is
an important anchor point for why we are trying to improve
policy or program offerings for organic agriculture,” says
Warthesen.
Organic Valley has grown from a small group of
Wisconsin family farms in the late 1980s to its current size of
2,000 farmer-owners across the U.S., and also in Canada,
Australia and the UK. As a member-owned cooperative, the
success of Organic Valley depends on the success of its
members, and Warthesen and other Organic Valley leaders
are in constant communication with the diverse membership
to enable them to produce a premium product.
“Our members tell us what they need. An example is that
large animal organic care expertise has been pretty insufficient
nationwide. We have four veterinarians on staff for our
members, but they can’t cover the waterfront. So a couple
years back we teamed up with the Wisconsin Department of
Trade and Consumer Protection to co-host a veterinarian
training on organic dairy treatments. We had nearly 90 vets
from three states join the workshops, and armed them with
more knowledge and resources to service their organic dairy
clients,” says Warthesen.
From its dealings with its members, Organic Valley knows
that what works in one region may not work in another. Each
region has its own guidebook. But Warthesen contends that
“the fact that we know how to create guidebooks and
resources could definitely be supercharged’’ in a national
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