By Gordon Merrick
To continue to efficiently utilize organic research funding, it is important to have multiple conduits of information between farmers, the larger organic sector, and the researchers investigating the topics and questions needed to continue the sector’s significant growth. That is why OFRF continues to advocate for research that is farmer-informed, systems-based, and currently relevant. There is no more important conduit and platform for this work than the National Organic Standards Board’s (NOSB, the Board) annual research priorities and the process to develop them.
This month, OFRF submitted formal written comments and delivered oral testimony to the NOSB during its Spring 2025 Meeting held virtually. These comments emphasize the Board’s unique and crucial role in guiding national organic research investments, address some persistent gaps plaguing organic producers and the community, and present possible new research priorities for the NOSB to discuss.
Why the NOSB Matters
The NOSB’s research agenda-setting may not generate headlines like some of its other works, but the impact is still significant. These priorities serve as a research roadmap for USDA agencies, including the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and the Economic Research Service (ERS). They’re referenced in NIFA’s competitive grant Request for Applications, policy briefings, and even Congressional Appropriations materials.
Most importantly, these priorities reflect the lived experiences of the entire organic sector, from production to processing to consumers. Public comment, materials reviews, and real-time farm and organic business feedback shape the priorities, ensuring they remain responsive to emerging challenges.
As OFRF emphasized in our comments, this process bridges the gap between science and policy. It validates grassroots knowledge and channels it into formal research that drives practical solutions, builds trust between diverse communities, and informs the future of organic agricultural production and supply chain management.
Persistent Gaps
OFRF’s comments call for a renewed focus on several long-standing research gaps that are vital to regulatory compliance and farmer success:
- Copper fungicide alternatives: A decade-old priority still lacking scalable, crop-specific solutions.
- Methionine replacement in poultry feed: Critical for maintaining animal welfare and production benchmarks while meeting organic standards.
- Livestock breeding: More work is needed to evaluate and develop breeds suited to pasture-based and organically managed systems.
- Organic pork production: With the Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards (OLPS) rule finalized, the sector needs research on compliant housing, feed, and market development.
- Organic nursery stock: A foundational gap for orchards and vineyards that remains largely unstudied in a systematic way.
- Microbial inoculants and biostimulants: Widely marketed but under-evaluated, these products are a source of frustration and uncertainty for farmers.
These are not niche concerns but barriers to growth for entire segments of the organic industry. OFRF has recommended that the NOSB continues to reaffirm these issues as research priorities moving forward.
New Frontiers
In addition to persistent gaps, OFRF’s comments elevate emerging issues that are gaining urgency within the organic community but have yet to be formally recognized by NOSB as research priorities. These priorities are less agronomic, but social and economic topics, like:
- Farmer mental health and quality of life;
- Labor conditions in organic production;
- Urban and peri-urban organic systems; and
- Organic risk management tools
Each of these issues touches on the broader vision of what organic can be: a model for ecological stewardship, social fairness, and economic resilience. As the organic sector continues to grow and diversify, these priorities reflect the lived experiences of producers and communities who are shaping its future. Without research to back that vision, the sector risks stalling in the face of increasing complexity, and missing opportunities to lead on truly transformative change.
Path Forward
OFRF’s message to the NOSB is hopefully clear: Don’t Stop Now. Keep setting bold, responsive research priorities. Keep building partnerships that turn those priorities into funded, actionable projects. And keep amplifying the voices of farmers, farmworkers, organic businesses, and communities that make the organic food system a living, evolving sector. With USDA research funding already stretched thin, it’s more important than ever that every dollar is guided by a grounded, farmer-centered vision. NOSB’s research recommendations play a pivotal role in ensuring that happens.
We thank the NOSB for its continued leadership and look forward to collaborating with the organic community to turn these priorities into reality. Stay tuned for more updates on our advocacy, and if you’re a researcher, technical service provider, or farmer with a story to share—we want to hear from you!
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