Join us March 28 from 6PM to 9PM at The LEN RVA in Richmond, as we dine and speak with Virginia farmers in our yearlong listening session series.
So, what's a listening session? It is a farmers-only meeting space designed for open dialogue about the challenges of Black growers. For this one, we're wrapping in conversation around the organic growing traditions of Black growers and how we work to get more farmers USDA certified.
Black farmers carry a legacy of organic farming. Learn more when Dr. Kaia Shivers speaks with OTA's Stephanie Jerger.
In our work, many of the farmers we spoke to grew without fertilizers, pesticides, GMO seeds or any harsh chemicals. Yet, they are severely under-represented as USDA certified organic growers. Since 2021, we've been working with organizations and farmers to increase farmers who are certified, provide educational opportunities on the steps to get there, and offer community building support.
Black Farmers Index partnered with the Organic Trade Association in a commitment to diversify organic agribusiness by getting more Black growers on The Index certified as organic agriculturalists.
How? Join OTA's Diversity and Entrepreneurship Program. Where it says, "How did you hear about us?" Mention Black Farmers Index, trust us there is a perk.
We are working with Florida Organic Growers to assist Louisiana farmers and several other growers in the southeast in transitioning to be certified organic. Learn more about FOG's efforts here.
We are part of the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Partnership for Organic Transition coalition to provide technical assistance and wrap-around support for transitioning and existing organic farmers. Learn more about PCO's efforts here.
Since 2021, we've been working with organizations and farmers to increase farmers who are certified, provide educational opportunities on the steps to get there, and offer community building support. The legacy of Black agriculturalists is a commitment to maintain the health, integrity and fertility of the land. During our journey, we learned through agricultural stories that much of the growing traditions of Black farmers was that many of the growers used no chemicals, no pesticides, non-invasive equipment, no till and other methods that would be called, “organic” and climate-friendly in today's agribusiness.
However, these growers rarely, if at all, used the term “organic”. They described their harvests and animal husbandry as tradition, the old way, heritage crops, the "natural way" or what their parents, grand-parents, and ancestors taught them spanning back into pre-Civil War and even longer for those who ancestry is also rooted in Native nations.
So committed to the land were Black agrarian societies to the environment that farmers in North Carolina protested against toxic soil being dumped in their communities in 1982 that sparked what we call the environmental justice movement in the U.S.
However, we discovered that these growers using organic harvesting methods are largely absent from the organic industry and have yet to reap the rewards of their sacrifices. We found out that these references to ecologically-smart farming had been hijacked and remixed.
Unfortunately, the average Black grower already has a fraught, unstable, or non-existent relationship with the USDA, and its local offices. But we know that if we cannot truly equalize agriculture, the whole industry will be gravely impacted.
As a result, a major part of our commitment is to ensure that Black farmers have more representation as certified organic farmers. Therefore, Black Farmers Index is one of dozens of organizations working to transition as many growers into the certified organic space. In particular, we assist growers of color.
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