Organic Report Fall 2021 - Flipbook - Page 12
network.
“Organic success stories are essential to convince both
“The state advocacy network will be an extension of
farmers and institutions to move beyond their conventional
knowledge transfer and learned experiences in how to move
mindsets. We need state and local leaders to understand the
an agenda to garner attention for organic agriculture. The
opportunity organic represents for agriculture, farmers, rural
playbook will look different for each state but we all know we
communities and local economies so they will advocate for
need a playbook, and it can be more easily created if we have
us,” stresses Rolls. “By sharing best practices from state to
previous examples to learn from,” says Warthesen.
state, we can accelerate this movement and provide more
Steering committee member Alice Rolls, president of Georgia
boots on the ground. If I can tell a Georgia legislator, ‘Hey,
Organics, has helped to double Georgia’s number of organic
look what they are doing in Texas or North Carolina,’ then it
farmers in her 17 years at the helm of the non-profit. Georgia
can help paint a picture of what is possible.”
Organics provides direct support to small organic farmers
through education, training and mentoring on organic
Steering committee member Jeff Moyer has been on staff at
production best practices, business development and marketing. the respected Rodale Institute for more than 40 years, and
The small but mighty organization holds educational
was named CEO of the non-profit research center in 2019. His
conferences, conducts online learning, and sponsors
years of working in the fields with organic farmers and in the
workshops and field days for the state’s organic farmers and
halls of the State Capitol with lawmakers have given Moyer
those who want to become organic. Through its Accelerator
valuable perspective on the most effective ways to advance
Program, it provides targeted support, services and financial
organic agriculture.
resources for up to 10 farmers per year.
“In terms of our work at the state government level, the
Georgia Organic also works with the communities that
secret is to not focus on the word organic,” says Moyer. “The
surround and support small organic farmers. Rolls explain,
word organic can be challenging to many people, so we focus on
“First, it was with convening and educating farmers at our
soil health, and then we get very little resistance from farmers
annual conference, which built a peer-to-peer network, and
and consumers. The other thing is that we focus the
later we connected those farmers to consumers through the
conversation on improved soil health and economics. We point
Good Food Guide to advertise markets, CSAs, farm stands and out that when you improve the health of your soil, it makes
other outlets. Later, our work expanded to include schools,
sense economically too. You’ll make more profits. If you can talk
communities, restaurants and families and ways they could
about economics and soil health, it’s a winning strategy.”
support farmers while planting seeds for future generations.
In 2019, Rodale scored a major victory for Pennsylvania’s
This is why we developed our Farm to School, Georgia Food
organic farmers — and aspiring organic farmers — when
Oasis and Farm to Restaurant programs.”
lawmakers approved the “Pennsylvania Preferred Organic
A recent Georgia Organics success story is the growth of
Program” as part of the state’s farm bill. Pennsylvania’s
organic peanut production in the state.
In 2018, several farmers at the Georgia
Organics conference met to formally
kick-start the Georgia Organics Peanut
Association cooperative. Thanks to a
Google grant received in 2020, Georgia
Organics was able to make a $25,000
grant and a $75,000 low interest loan to
the cooperative to provide working
capital. Sales started off slow, but now
the co-op is nearly sold out of its 2020
crop and is contracting for the 2021
harvest. The co-op now provides
peanuts to Georgia Grinders, a local
artisanal nut butter company, and in
February the first jars of Georgiagrown organic peanut butter rolled off
the company’s line. Whole Foods
Market has agreed to carry the Georgia
Grinders organic line in the state, and
at least 15 more farmers have expressed
interest in joining the peanut
cooperative.
Rolls says it’s important that these
success stories — whether in Georgia
or elsewhere — get communicated not Perri Cooper, co-director of the Georgia Organic Peanut Association, shows off
jars of Georgia-grown organic peanut butter made by Georgia Grinder, a local
just to other farmers, but to
artisanal nut butter company.
policymakers.
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Organic Report • Fall 2021
