Demand for organic cotton fiber from consumers in the U.S. has increased dramatically, from personal care items to home furnishings and apparel, but despite this, organic cotton acreage in the U.S. declined in 2022 by roughly 25 percent. To help solve this dilemma, researchers are working with cotton producers to study practices and identify opportunities that enhance sustainable cotton production through organic regenerative farming. Their goal is to share these successes with growers to increase acreage of organic cotton sustainably and reduce the need for imports.

Program Description

The Organic Center and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) is announcing the 2023 Organic Center-FFAR joint Organic Research Program and is inviting applications for innovative research that supports our 2023 focus on connecting soil health to farm productivity and resiliency to climate change, with a priority on projects that emphasize systems-based approaches and a commitment to cross-sector partnerships.

Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Organic Rice 

Demand in the U.S. for organic rice exceeds domestic supply encouraging significant competition from imports. While there is substantial potential for growth and expansion of the U.S. organic rice sector, the industry needs insight about the economic opportunities in the organic rice market to take advantage of this potential.  

Since it was first discovered in the United States in 2005, the bacterial disease known as citrus greening, or Huanglongbing, has devastated millions of acres of citrus crops throughout this country and abroad, ravaging citrus groves in Asia, Africa and South America.