following program available on March 24 in Columbus.
REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio - Farmers: Learn how to get certified organic in a
special one-day training seminar on Wednesday, March 24, in Columbus.
"Organics 201: Developing an Organic System Plan for Organic Certification"
goes from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Bromfield
Administration Building, 8995 E. Main St., Reynoldsburg.
Participants will complete an Organic System Plan for their farm - the
primary requirement for organic certification.
The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) and Ohio State
University's Organic Food and Farming Education and Research (OFFER) program
are the sponsors.
Registration costs $30 for OEFFA members and $35 for non-members. Lunch is
included.
Register by sending your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and
check made payable to OEFFA to: OEFFA Workshops, 41 Croswell Rd., Columbus,
OH 43214.
Call 614-421-2022, ext. 204, for more information.
Funding for the workshop comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
(USDA) Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.
Also on the program:
. Representatives from OEFFA's Organic Certification Program will explain
the organic production standard, the certification process and recordkeeping
requirements.
. Established organic farmers will share their experience working through
the certification process.
. OFFER scientists will report on the current scientific understanding of
organic farming systems in Ohio.
Price premiums for certified organic products may provide Ohio farmers with
increased revenue and access to a growing organic marketplace, the
workshop's organizers say.
Consumer demand for organically produced goods has shown double-digit growth
for well over a decade, providing market incentives for U.S. farmers across
a broad range of products, according to USDA's Economic Research Service.
Nutrition Business Journal says U.S. sales of organic products hit $21.1
billion in 2008 - more than 3 percent of total food sales - and projected
them to reach $23 billion in 2009.
Ohio State's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC)
established OFFER <http://oardc.osu.edu/offer/> in 1998 in response to
requests from organic producers and supporters to provide science-based
information to Ohio's existing organic farmers and to newcomers to organic
production and marketing.
Started in 1979, OEFFA <http://www.oeffa.org/> is a membership-based,
grassroots organization dedicated to promoting and supporting sustainable,
ecological and healthful food systems
Writer:
Kurt Knebusch
knebusch.1@osu.edu
330-263-3776
Source:
Mike Anderson, OEFFA
mike@oeffa.org
614-421-2022, ext. 204
