Summer 2020

Cultivation calling: Academic finds a place in organic farming

Casey Holland was vaguely headed on a track to graduate school before stumbling into her true calling as an organic grower. “I was just kind of aimless,” said...

Editor’s Letter: When times get tough, growers get going

The organic growers I’ve met are tough, innovative people. And it’s good they’re tough and innovative, because the COVID-19 pandemic – and the market disruption that it brought...

Farmers’ friend: A Q&A with Kelly Damewood of California Certified Organic Farmers

From international fraud investigations to Super Bowl commercials and serious discussions about the very nature of what it means to be a certified organic grower, California Certified Organic...

From fields to processing facility, Misionero listens to labor

Not all labor and management relationships run smoothly, but agricultural employers sleep better where there’s teamwork. Organic greens company Misionero recently finished a lengthy effort to ensure employees...

Grower column: Growing new farmers at Michigan State University

The Student Organic Farm (SOF) at Michigan State University (MSU) is a 15-acre production farm that gives students and beginning farmers a place to learn the skills to...

Growers pursue expanding niche for organic blueberries

For many blueberry growers, the organic market represents a field of opportunity that offers product differentiation and price premiums. The benefits of organic production are offset by the...

Louis Bromfield paved the way for organic agriculture

He spent much of his childhood on an Ohio farm, but Louis Bromfield grew up to be a Pulitzer-winning author who socialized with the likes of Ernest Hemmingway...

Paper-based, compostable packaging trend underway in Europe

The packaging industry is facing rapid change, and nowhere was this more evident than at Fruit Logistica 2020 in February, where sustainable packaging solutions were virtually ubiquitous. It...

Pennsylvania’s Plowshare Produce practices intensive organic production

Micah and Bethany Schonberg rent the 2.75 acres that they have been farming for the last 12 years from Bethany’s parents Tom and Sharon Spicher who own 50-60...

Playing it safe: Aligning organic production with the Food Safety Modernization Act

Growing organic fruit and vegetables that are typically eaten fresh requires farmers to follow sound practices that take crop health and food safety into account. The overall goal...

Work hard to retain online customers

The COVID-19 crisis has forced many markets to create or enhance online ordering systems and businesses with these platforms which has led to a huge increase in online...