Today’s organic farmers, like all farmers, are consummate problem solvers and masters of many skills. However, reliable assistance and educational tools to successfully deal with the daily challenges of their operations are often lacking.

Two individuals and a farming couple receiving Organic Leadership Awards from the Organic Trade Association in September have the drive to make a difference, a strong belief that organic practices are the way to go, and a commitment to mentoring others.

Successful farming requires careful planning and the right tools. A new crop budgeting tool developed by the U.S. Organic Grain Collaboration enables organic farmers—and those producers interested in transitioning to organic—to zero in on their specific operations and provides a new resource to help improve their current organic operation or to make the choice to go organic.

The CCOF Foundation is launching “Roadmap to an Organic California,” a new project for 2018 that will make the case for increasing certified organic land in California and recommend state policies to achieve 10 percent certified organic agricultural land by 2030.