Co-managing biodiversity conservation and food safety on organic farms

Jo Ann Baumgartner, Wild Farm Alliance

Conflicts between food safety requirements and conservation practices have made it essential for organic farmers and agricultural resource professionals to understand how to co-manage these two areas. Following the E. coli O157:H7 spinach contamination in 2006, which led to misguided habitat destruction, there was confusion regarding how organic farmers could continue to meet the National Organic Program’s rules on conserving biodiversity. With support from the Organic Farming Research Foundation and others, Wild Farm Alliance (WFA) responded by co-publishing three resources with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) to address the co-management of food safety and conservation:

More than 3,000 organic and sustainable farmers received information from these publications—either the guides themselves or summaries—through distribution by two organic certifiers, eight sustainable agriculture nonprofits, and five organic and sustainable businesses. WFA staff shared insights from these publications at three farmer workshops, a forum for farmers and conservationists, a California Department of Food and Agriculture Board meeting, a Center for Produce Safety meeting, and at the USDA Outlook Forum.

Region

Western

Topic

Conservation and Habitat, Cropping Systems, Post-Harvest Quality and Safety

Date Range

2001-2010

Download Final Report

Funding Amount

$15,000

Funding Year

2010

Location

Watsonville, California

Collaborators

Phil Foster, Phil Foster Ranches

Ken Kimes, Greensward Nurseries

Rob Gularte, Rincon Farm

Harriet Behar, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service

Stacy Barlsen, Marin County Agricultural Commissioner

Garth Kahl, Oregon Tilth

Dave Runsten, Community Alliance with Family Farmers

Kristin Rosenow, Ecological Farming Association

Dan Kent, Salmon Safe

Randy Gray, NRCS