OATS is excited to share a unique and much needed opportunity to grow the organic industry through training agronomists, crop consultants, and others who work directly with farmers in the art and science of organic grain production. With your help, we are investing in the health and resilience of farms throughout the U.S. by expanding farmer access to qualified and trusted organic technical assistance.
Reliable one-on-one technical assistance is a key part of the pipeline that moves farmers from curious observers to successful certified organic producers.
What's more, together we are evolving the conversation about organics in farm country from one of caution and skepticism to one of curiosity, exploration, and eventually adoption. The organic industry as a whole benefits greatly from this injection of training and cultural sea change at the headwaters of the supply chain. Your business benefits directly by having more acres under certified organic management.
Our goal is to raise $620,000 in industry support by the close of 2021 to bring the OATS Strategic Plan to reality.
With the help of your valued contribution, more farmers will overcome barriers to organic transition through improved access to trained and reliable organic technical assistance. We have started this endeavor, but we need your help to bring the OATS training to scale.
Section 1
WHAT IS OATS?
We train agricultural professionals who provide one-on-one guidance and support to organic and transitional farmers.
Because organic production requires a systems-based approach to farming, we take a holistic approach to training agricultural professionals. Our training materials address, one-by-one, each of the many challenges a farmer will face, including:
Basics of organic production - weed control, nutrient management, crop rotation, pest management
Systems thinking & long-term strategies for success in organic production
Managing risk during transition
Certification and record-keeping
National Organic Program (NOP) rules and regulations
Marketing and Profitability
On-farm & hands-on experiential learning on organic operations
OATS materials and curriculum are science-based, research-supported, and expert-vetted.
In 2019, we held a series of 3 pilot trainings on organic grain production in the Midwest. These trainings proved that our approach is effective and needed. Among the many lessons we learned in our pilot year was that agricultural professionals want training solutions that they can access at their own pace. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic halted our in-person offerings, but also provided us the opportunity to develop training materials that build on the lessons from our pilot year.
About OATS
OATS, the Organic Agronomy Training Service, is a collaboratively-managed training program for agricultural professionals working with organic or transitioning farmers in the United States. We seek to grow domestic organic production by strengthening the educational support network of agronomists, certified crop advisors, extension agents, and technical service providers. Our aim is for every transitional and certified organic farmer to have robust access to technical service expertise to provide unbiased, science-based agronomic support for their farming operation.
OATS programming and management is governed by a consortium of university researchers, agronomists/crop consultants, nonprofit educators, and industry representatives from throughout the country. OATS is fiscally sponsored by the Organic Trade Association who provides nonprofit oversight, financial accounting and reporting, grant administration, fundraising, and general guidance.
"There's hope to change from conventional to organic in a way that is profitable...There's a lot of promise."
- Participant at Idaho training, 2020
Section 2
WE DRIVE IMPACT
Training technical assistance professionals results in compounding effects. The returns are not merely 1:1, they are 1:43!
For every agricultural professional trained, 43 organic/transitional farmers on average receive the advice and guidance they need to make their farms profitable and environmentally beneficial.
We’ve already impacted an estimated 490,000 acres with our trainings to date. By the end of 2022, we project 1.8M acres of organic/transitional crops will be influenced by OATS-trained agricultural professionals.
Our training approach is proven to bring agricultural professionals into the organic movement. Technical assistance advisors leave our training equipped with the science-based knowledge they need to serve farmers.
"I constantly apply things I have learned in advising farmers... the ideas presented were great!"
- Participant at 2019 pilot training
Section 3
OUR AUDIENCE/WHO WILL YOU REACH?
OATS trainings focus on agricultural professionals who serve organic and transitional farmers We trained 140 agricultural professionals through our in-person trainings in 2019-2020.
We aim to train 375 additional agricultural professionals by the end of 2022 through our innovative hybrid course.
Our past participants advise an average of 3,500 acres of organic/transitional crops and 43 organic/transitional clients, in addition to their many conventional clients and acres.
While we complete development of our new suite of training materials and curriculum, agricultural professionals are eagerly awaiting our upcoming launch.
"Take this information to other agronomists across the US."
- Participant at 2019 pilot training
Section 4
WHY SPONSOR OATS?
A rising tide lifts all boats
Enhanced farmer-access to technical assistance benefits the entire organic industry.
Your support will make it possible to provide organic agronomy training to 375 agricultural professionals and influence management decisions on 1.8M acres by the end of 2022.
A sponsorship with OATS will help you:
Gain access to influencers of farmer decision-making. Purdue University researcher Dr. Linda Prokopy's 2012 survey for Sustainablecorn.org/Useful2Usable has found that consultants and ag. retailers are the most influential groups on farmer decisions about agricultural practices and strategies, second only to family members, and ranked higher than landlords and other farmers.
Get more acres under organic management. Our participants advise an average of 43 organic/transitional farmers. Most of our participants advise even more conventional growers. By helping skeptics become advocates, our training influences the certification decisions of thousands of farmers who manage hundreds of thousands, even millions of acres. That is more organic farmers available to purchase organic seed, fertilizer, and specialized equipment.
Source more domestically-grown organic crops for your supply chain and customers. With more acres under organic management, you will have more access to reliable and high quality organic crops.
Improve the environmental impacts of your supply chain. The science-based organic production methods taught by OATS increase biodiversity, soil health, and water quality. We work with researchers across the country to gather the best known information about the environmental impacts of organic production methods and then train advisors with our vetted curriculum.
"There's a great opportunity and there's a lot of strategy for success. This training changed my opinion on a lot of things."
- Participant at Idaho training, 2020