Organic oats production plus grain merchandising prospects for 2025 were key topics of the day-long annual meeting of the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) Nebraska in Norfolk on Saturday, Jan. 4. OCIA Nebraska, consisting of about 70 organic farm producers statewide, welcomed membership at the Elkhorn Lodge at Ta-Ha-Zouka Park to get updates on the chapter's accomplishments and share organic farming practices. There are about 220 certified organic farm operations across the state. Matt O'Hern, grain merchandiser for Scoular Grain, increased understanding about the effect of tariffs on international trade in addition to providing a marketing outlook.
Margaret Smith, a forage agronomist with Albert Lea Seed and a longtime organic farmer, talked about the feasibility of organic oats production in Nebraska, including recommended varieties to grow.
Amongst other action in 2024, board members reported on the organic farming scholarship fund and involvement with the USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). A high - light of the meeting was a video farm tour available on YouTube and at www.nebraskaocia.org. The featured farm is owned and operated by Larry Stanislav of Linwood. Additional videos, designed to help with the tran sition to organic, certification, recordkeeping, regulation requirements, and more are forthcoming.
In addition to membership dues, the OCIA Nebraska chapter has the following sponsors - Grain Place Foods, Sunrise Foods International, S&G Commodities, Albert Lea Seed, Scoular Grain, Green Cover Seed, Central Plains Organic Farms, Reinke's Farm & City Service, Inc., and Nature Safe Fertilizers. Officers for 2025 are Simeon Mosel of Page, president; Rick Schuchardt of Elgin, vice president; Karen Ostry of David City, secretary, and Dustin Blair of Creighton, treasurer. OCIA International, headquartered in Lincoln, is one of the world's old- est, largest, and most trusted leaders in the organic certification industry. It continues to gain top rankings amongst certifiers in the United States and around the world.
The Nebraska OCIA chapter is a membership organization focused on environmentally sound stewardship, mentorship, sharing of best practices, and the promotion of certified organic production. For more information, contact Kim Mosel, OCIA Nebraska program administrator, 402-620-2701, [email protected], follow on Facebook, or see www.nebraskaocia.org.
