The Organic & Non-GMO Report Newsletter

Legal hemp: A 2019 boon for stressed American farmers

U.S. farmers have been hit hard lately—Chinese tariffs impacting sales, tobacco and dairy dipping, commodity prices low. The recently signed 2018 Farm Bill contains one item that could spark optimism: legalization of industrial hemp. Hemp, a non-psychoactive relative of marijuana, is used globally in automotive parts, textiles, furniture, food and beverages, beauty products, and construction […]

Mercaris launches new initiative to see if organic farmland can support higher real estate values 

By Jessie Bovay, Mercaris director of business development United States farmland is a major asset class and its value is important for various players along the agriculture supply chain. Both public and private institutions have conducted extensive research into the financial value of farmland in general; however, very little work has been focused on the […]

2019 Midwest Shippers Association/Specialty Soya & Grains Alliance member commodity grower contracts now available

Midwest Shippers Association/Specialty Soya & Grains Alliance recently announced that their 2019 listings of grower contracts for identity preserved, organic, non-GMO, and specialty grains and oilseeds are now available. The contracts are offered by MSA/SSGA’s member commodity companies and include a range of crops including soybeans, corn, wheat, sunflowers, flax, borage, peas, pulses, and lentils. […]

New Jersey farm brings local, organic food to low-income counties

A 12-acre organic farm will begin growing fresh produce in 2019 for low-income residents of Morris and Passaic Counties in New Jersey—and for some residents, it will be the only fresh vegetables in their diet all year. City Green, an urban farming and environmental education non-profit, is partnering with the Land Conservancy to farm the […]

Growing an organic farming oasis in New York’s Black Dirt region

The jet black, nutrient-dense dirt in Orange County, New York has been compared to “special dark” chocolate as opposed to its “milk” cousin. The Black Dirt region grew conventional onions from the 1950s to 2000; originally swampland, Polish and German immigrants began farming it in the 1800s. Now, thanks to the Chester Agriculture Center (CAC), […]