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Grassroots and Dirty Boots: A New OEFFA Policy Podcast!
We’re excited to announce the launch of our new podcast, Grassroots and Dirty Boots, which can be found on Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Apple Podcasts. In this podcast, we will talk about movements of change from the ground up and highlight stories from advocates and leaders across the food and farm system. Each episode centers on grassroots movements in the heartland and uplifts the experiences of OEFFA members and others who are part of our vibrant community of changemakers.
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Celebrating Soil, the Foundation of it All
It’s hard to overstate the importance of what lies beneath our feet. Healthy soil is the foundation of clean water, nutritious food, strong economies, and thriving communities. It supports a farmer’s bottom line and, when cared for, it also plays a critical role in storing carbon and helping to mitigate the climate crisis.
Yet despite all that depends on it, this vital resource is being lost and degraded at alarming rates. The value of soil is often overlooked, and even those who understand its importance are left without the tools and support needed to protect it.
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Marker Bills We Oppose
The farm bill expired for the third time on September 30, after little movement earlier last year. While the agriculture community anxiously awaits an updated version better suited to modern farm needs (not those of 2018), marker bills are still regularly being introduced.
As a reminder, marker bills do not get passed on their own. Instead, they’re introduced by members of Congress with the hopes of being included in larger legislative bills—like the farm bill. Think of them as “building blocks” to amass attention and build support for certain policy proposals.
Our team has been tracking OEFFA-endorsed marker bills here. Based on discussions with members of our Consolidation Caucus, we would also like to highlight a few marker bills that we oppose.
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OEFFA Policy Fellow Launches New Guide: ‘Navigating the Agricultural Landscape’
Jennifer Lumpkin lives and grows in Cleveland, Ohio. Drawing from her experiences as a food systems advocate and beginning farmer, she has prepared an all-encompassing guide as our second OEFFA Policy Fellow.
Navigating the Agricultural Landscape provides a firsthand look at the processes involved in communicating with agricultural departments, better understanding farmer support programs, and advocating within various levels of government.
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Unpacking the MAHA Report
In mid-May, the White House released “The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Report.” The report makes proclamations linking food and chemical corporations with our country’s health crises, particularly those impacting children. It sounds the alarm about corporate influence over our food system, the dangers of pesticides, and the increasing concerns brought about by environmental toxins, to name just a few.
Read on to learn what the MAHA Report says about agriculture and what we see as potential implications of its publication.
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The Path to a New Farm Bill (Regularly Updated)
It’s GO time! Our federal policy team has been busy at work keeping up to date with the farm bill action in Congress. In this blog, you’ll find all relevant updates, with the oldest news at the bottom and the most recent updates at the top. Stay tuned for more as things are moving.
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What is Going On with Organic Cost Share?
We reported in our most recent farm bill update that “orphan programs” of the farm bill did not receive additional funding with the most recent farm bill extension (ending September 30, 2025). Orphan programs are those that do not have “baseline,” or permanent, funding in a farm bill. So, their funding does not automatically renew when a farm bill is extended unless they have additional funding written into the extension. One of those programs without permanent funding is very important to our community, organic cost share.
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OEFFA Policy Fellowship Opportunity
Our team has an upcoming opportunity for OEFFA members to get more involved in our policy work.
We hope this will be an experience to broaden your food and farm education and see how it is affected by policy. This fellowship will give you firsthand experience in the food and farm policy world and help illustrate how policy issues influence you and your communities.
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Call for a Resilient, Equitable, and Sustainable 2024 Farm Bill!
On September 11, our partners at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) delivered a letter to Congressional leaders with support from 1,096 groups across the country—including 43 sign-ons from Ohio alone!
The purpose of this letter was to affirm the need for a farm bill to be passed in 2024, without it coming at the expense of policies that address hunger, public health, farmers, workers, and the environment.
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Help Us Celebrate Ohio Soil Health Week!
The Ohio Soil Health Initiative (OSHI), organized by OEFFA, is inviting you to participate in the first annual Ohio Soil Health Week from November 10-16, 2024.
Ohio Soil Health Week provides a time and space to celebrate, honor, and protect Ohio’s soils.
This weeklong celebration of soil health includes education opportunities and events to reach within and beyond the agriculture community and raise awareness around one of Ohio’s most valuable natural resources.
Throughout the week, farmers, gardeners, educators, community members, and organizations from all over Ohio will celebrate with a variety of events and resource sharing.
FARM POLICY MATTERS