This manual is an educational resource and introduction to handling, storing and selling organic products in the United States, and is designed to provide insight on how to protect the organic integrity of the products through retail channels.

This keynote video discusses profitability planning, marketing, and value-adding ventures, as well as farm diversification strategies for organic grain producers looking to build resilient, less conventional, higher-margin farm business models.

Farm Pulse is self-guided online course from UW-Madison Extension that helps farmers explore financial statements and strategic management, teaching them how to evaluate their finances and take the pulse of their business and goals.

In this podcast episode, produced by the Kansas Rural Center, organic grower and certifier Demetria Hill discusses her farm operation, the organic certification process, and how Farm Bill programs — including crop insurance and FSA programs — can support organic producers. The conversation also touches on barriers faced by women in agriculture and whether interest in organic is growing in Kansas.

Biobased plastic mulches could many of the same benefits as a conventional plastic mulch, but without relying on single-use, petroleum-based plastic. Multi-layer biobased fabrics have been created out of polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable plastic material that can be manufactured from vegetable starch. Researchers at the University of Nebraska and 3M created a set of field experiments to determine how PLA mulch could be deployed as a plastic mulch in organic carrot production systems.

Supplying adequate nitrogen (N) to organic crops is challenging. Our research team is developing a system to grow cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer (cyano-fertilizer) on farms and apply it via irrigation. Cyanobacteria fix nitrogen from the air…

This facsheet highlights key takeaways and buyer information from the 2025 High Plains Organic Conference, covering organic grain and livestock marketing considerations specific to producers in the High Plains region of the country.

Three farmers share their efforts and journey marketing a diverse grain rotation, from direct-to-consumer sales to wholesale buyers and beyond, offering practical perspectives on diversifying organic grain marketing channels and strategies.

This free, 10-minute self-assessment tool helps farmers evaluate their readiness for USDA organic certification under the crops scope. It covers eight key areas: farm parcels, record keeping, soil and water management, seeds and planting stock, pest management, inputs and equipment, harvest and transport, and handling — giving producers a clear picture of where they stand before pursuing certification.

This K-State Agriculture Today podcast episode covers three topics: (1) Kansas USDA state statistician Doug Bounds discusses findings from the latest Kansas Certified Organic Data Report; (2) K-State's Beef Cattle Institute experts share practical record-keeping strategies and insights on wintertime listeriosis in cattle; and (3) horticulturist Ward Upham offers tips for planning the vegetable garden as seed catalogs arrive.

Soil microorganisms are an important component of soil health, as they drive nutrient cycling and organic matter accumulation. Agriculture impacts soil microbial populations, with management practices such as tillage and fertilization often disrupting microbial community function. This study evaluated the long-term impacts of different fertilization and tillage practices on soil health and microbial communities in a continuous corn production system.

Maize (corn) is an incredibly productive and profitable crop that works well in organic crop rotations in many parts of North America. Since the release of transgenic (GMO) varieties of maize in the mid-1990s it has become increasingly diff…