Organic Farming Research Foundation

What Organic Farming Research Foundation does

The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1990 and headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, with a fully remote team. Its mission is to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems through research, education, and federal policy advocacy. OFRF serves certified organic and transitioning farmers, agricultural researchers, technical service providers (including NRCS staff and Extension agents), and policymakers across North America. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and led by Executive Director Brise Tencer, with a small staff including Research & Education Program Director Thelma Velez and Research & Education Program Manager Mary Hathaway.

OFRF's core offerings are structured as a portfolio of free programs rather than commercial products. The Organic Research Hub, launched in 2025, is a first-of-its-kind searchable database aggregating organic farming research and science-based resources. The Farmer-Led Trials Program (cohorts launched in 2024 and 2025) provides funding and technical assistance for farmer-conducted on-farm research. The OFRF Grant Program awards up to $20,000 per project to organic researchers, with 361 grants totaling over $3 million disbursed since 1990. Supporting these are the National Organic Research Agenda (NORA) reports, end-to-end Organic Research Amplification Services for scientists, the annual Organic Agriculture Research Forum held in conjunction with EcoFarm, Seeds of Success farmer-to-farmer networking sessions, free online courses in English and Spanish, and topical toolkits on crop-livestock integration, organic regenerative systems, and organic-for-climate messaging. All resources are freely distributed.

OFRF generates no revenue from sales; it is funded through individual donations, foundation and corporate grants, and federal government grants. Named funding and strategic partners span USDA NIFA and USDA NRCS (federal), General Mills, Whole Foods Market, Clif Bar Foundation, UNFI Foundation, Globetrotter Foundation, and the Ceres Trust (foundations and corporates), and the Organic Seed Alliance, National Organic Coalition, Organic Farmers Association, Oregon Tilth, and Western SARE (peer nonprofit and research organizations). In 2025, OFRF directly supported 600+ farmers and connected 71,000+ farmers, researchers, and agricultural professionals with free resources, and earned the Candid Platinum 2024 Seal of Transparency for nonprofit accountability.

Name

Organic Farming Research Foundation

Legal name

Organic Farming Research Foundation

Website

https://ofrf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Organic Farming Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds organic farming research, delivers farmer education and technical assistance, and advocates for federal organic agriculture policy, serving certified and transitioning farmers, researchers, and policymakers across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Research and Education

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (1151)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

Keywords

• Organic farming research
• Agricultural grants funding
• Sustainable agriculture education
• Farmer-led research trials
• Organic policy advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Cruz

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Individual donors contribute to OFRF's mission. The organization states they fundraise for every dollar and make those dollars go directly to on-farm research, educational programs, and advocacy. OFRF accepts various forms of giving including donor advised funds, stocks, bequests, personal property, life insurance plans, and retirement plans.
2. Foundation and Corporate Grants: OFRF receives support from foundations (Globetrotter Foundation, Clif Bar Foundation, Ida and Robert Gordon Foundation, Ceres Trust) and corporate partners (General Mills, Whole Foods, UNFI Foundation). These partnerships provide programmatic and general operating support.
3. Government Grants: OFRF receives USDA funding including NIFA grants and cooperative agreements with NRCS. They have been awarded cooperative agreements to support organic farmers and NRCS collaboration.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds on-farm organic research, delivers free educational resources to farmers, and advocates for federal policies that support organic agriculture. It awards research grants (up to $20,000), runs the Farmer-Led Trials program with technical assistance, maintains the Organic Research Hub database, and produces reports such as the National Organic Research Agenda (NORA). All resources, guides, webinars, and toolkits are provided at no charge to farmers, researchers, and the public.

Product overview

Organic Farming Research Foundation operates as a non-profit organization offering a unified portfolio of research, education, and advocacy programs for organic farming. The core offerings include the Organic Research Hub (a searchable database of scientific resources), the Farmer-Led Trials Program (providing funding and technical assistance for on-farm research), the OFRF Grant Program (awarding research grants up to $20,000), and the Organic Agriculture Research Forum (annual conference). Supporting these are educational resources including Organic FAQs, the Organic is Regenerative Toolkit, Crop-Livestock Integration Resources, TOPP Resources for organic transition, NRCS Resources, the Organic for Climate Toolkit, the Farmers Guide to Conducting On-Farm Research, Seeds of Success Events, and Online Courses. All resources are freely available to farmers, researchers, and advocates seeking to improve and adopt organic farming systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Organic Research Hub A first-of-its-kind searchable database aggregating organic farming research, grower assistance resources, and science-based materials organized by region and production topic for organic farmers, researchers, and educators.
• National Organic Research Agenda (NORA) A comprehensive research report informed by surveys and focus groups with organic and transitioning farmers, identifying priorities and challenges in organic production systems. Used by farmers, researchers, and policymakers.
• Farmer-Led Trials Program A program providing farmers with funding and technical assistance to conduct on-farm research trials investigating solutions to their most pressing production challenges. Open to certified organic and transitioning farmers.
• OFRF Grant Program A research grant program awarding up to $20,000 to organic researchers and farmers for projects on certified organic land that address organic production systems. Mandatory farmer involvement in project design and implementation.
• Organic Agriculture Research Forum An annual forum held in conjunction with the EcoFarm conference featuring workshops, presentations, and farmer-to-farmer panels on soil health, pest management, weed management, and organic integrity.
• Organic Research Amplification Services End-to-end research outreach services including listening sessions, content creation, media outreach, virtual workshops, and research spotlight videos to help researchers maximize their project's reach and impact.
• Organic is Regenerative Toolkit A messaging toolkit with resources designed to help organic advocates articulate the benefits of organic farming systems and its regenerative potential, including presentation slides, social media graphics, and flyers.
• Organic for Climate Toolkit A toolkit for consumers, advocates, and policymakers explaining how organic systems help farmers increase resilience to climate change through carbon sequestration and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
• Crop-Livestock Integration Resources A resource series including farmer stories, video presentations, and factsheets on integrated crop-livestock systems covering benefits, food safety, infrastructure, and crop rotations.
• TOPP Resources Step-by-step guides, printable tools, and farmer experiences to help farmers access USDA programs and funding through the Transition to Organic Partnership Program.
• NRCS Resources Resources facilitating collaboration between organic producers and USDA NRCS staff, including guidebooks, toolkits, farmer stories, and conservation agriculture webinars.
• Farmers Guide to Conducting On-Farm Research A free downloadable guide providing step-by-step instructions for designing and implementing on-farm research trials, available in English and Spanish.
• Seeds of Success Events Interactive virtual farmer-to-farmer networking sessions designed to empower organic producers and transitioning farmers with peer-to-peer conversation on organic research topics.
• Online Courses Free self-paced training programs including foundational beginner series and regional soil health deep-dives, available in both English and Spanish.
• Organic FAQs A comprehensive FAQ resource addressing common questions about organic farming, certification, environmental benefits, and regulatory frameworks.

Quantifiable outcome

• 361 grants totaling over $3 million invested in organic research since 1990
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and moderate.

• Organic Seed AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published the 2022 National Organic Research Agenda (NORA) and 2022 State of Organic Seed (SOS) reports together. Partnership for research and advocacy on organic seed and farming systems.
• National Organic CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolicy advocacy partner collaborating on organic farming issues. OFRF works with NOC on federal policy and the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP).
• Organic Farmers AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFarmer membership organization partnering with OFRF on TOPP programs, Seeds of Success events, and farmer advocacy initiatives.
• USDA NRCScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency with cooperative agreements with OFRF to improve NRCS understanding of organic production and help organic farmers access conservation programs. OFRF has developed resources and training for NRCS staff.
• Oregon TilthmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Seeds of Success farmer-to-farmer networking sessions. Oregon-based sustainable agriculture organization collaborating on organic farming education.
• Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (Western SARE)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Seeds of Success events. USDA-funded program supporting sustainable agriculture research and education in the Western U.S.
• Tuskegee UniversitymoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organized the 2020 Organic Agriculture Research Forum. Historically Black land-grant university partnering on organic farming research.
• Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSDA Organic Transition Initiative program where OFRF serves as a partner, providing research hub, farmer-led trials, and Seeds of Success networking. OFRF creating resources and support for transitioning farmers.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Organic Seed Alliance: Nonprofit focused on organic seed research, education, and policy advocacy. Co-publisher of the 2022 State of Organic Seed report with OFRF; both organizations target organic farmers and researchers with grant programs and federal policy advocacy in the same niche.
• Rodale Institute: 501(c)(3) nonprofit running long-term organic agriculture research, farmer training, and consulting. Comparable to OFRF in mission (organic farming research and education), though operating its own research farm rather than funding external researchers.
• National Organic Coalition: Federal policy advocacy alliance for organic agriculture. OFRF works directly with NOC on farm bill and organic transition policy, making it a closely aligned peer in mission and policy work, though NOC is coalition-driven rather than a grantmaker.
• Organic Farmers Association: Membership organization representing certified organic farmers in U.S. policy. OFRF partners with OFA on TOPP and Seeds of Success events, sharing the same organic-farmer-advocacy and policy niche.
• Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE): USDA-funded program supporting sustainable agriculture research and education across four regions. OFRF partners with Western SARE on Seeds of Success sessions; SARE is a comparable research-and-education grantmaker operating at larger scale and federal scope.
• EcoFarm (Ecological Farming Association): Nonprofit host of the annual EcoFarm conference where OFRF runs the Organic Agriculture Research Forum. Closely aligned mission on organic and ecological farming education, networking, and farmer-researcher community-building.

Broad incumbents

• Ceres Trust: Private foundation that has historically funded organic agriculture research and supported OFRF's Organic Agriculture Research Forum. Comparable as a grantmaking peer in the organic agriculture funding ecosystem, though operating more broadly across organic research and education grants.
• ATTRA / National Center for Appropriate Technology: USDA-funded sustainable agriculture information service providing free resources, technical assistance, and publications to farmers. Comparable to OFRF in delivering free educational resources and farmer support, though covering sustainable (not exclusively organic) agriculture.

Emerging players

• Food Tank: Nonprofit think tank focused on sustainable agriculture and food systems through research, media, and convenings. Overlapping audience and advocacy mission with OFRF, particularly around organic agriculture policy and farmer storytelling, though broader in food system scope.

Others

• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS): Federal agency that partners with OFRF through cooperative agreements to help organic farmers access conservation programs (EQIP, CSP). Included as an ecosystem partner rather than direct competitor — comparable only in jointly serving organic farmers through research and technical assistance.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/OFRFinfo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/organic-farming-research-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/organicfarmingresearch
• Xx.com/ofrf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Organic Farming Research Foundation