A new online collection of organic research and other resources will enable farmers to search by topic, crop type and region to solve agricultural problems.

The Organic Farming Research Foundation announced its Organic Research Hub April 7.

The platform, available at organicresearchhub.org, was created to serve the needs of U.S. organic farmers and those transitioning to growing organically.

“We created the Organic Research Hub to meet farmers where they are,” said Heather Estrada, the foundation’s research and education senior scientist and architect of the platform.

“Producers don’t have time to dig through academic journals or outdated PDFs. They need credible, practical resources they can use in the field — and that’s exactly what this tool provides,” Estrada added, in a news release.

Support, investment lacking

Brice Tenser, the foundation’s executive director, said the hub was about access.

Organic now accounts for more than 6% of total U.S. food sales and 15% of all produce sales. Research funding remains disproportionately low for the segment, which receives 2% of USDA research funding and less than 1% of the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s budget.

Public investment in agricultural research has declined, leaving many organic farmers to innovate alone.

“For too long, organic farmers have had to piece together information on their own, often without institutional support or public investment,” Tenser said.

“But what’s exciting is that organic research doesn’t just serve organic farmers — it’s useful to any grower seeking healthy soils, resilient systems and non-chemical solutions,” Tenser added, in the news release.

More hub details

The Organic Research Hub includes a collection of factsheets, research summaries, webinars, guidebooks, videos and other technical tools gathered from top agricultural institutions and organic organizations.

It also holds the complete library of nearly 200 final reports from Organic Farming Research Foundation projects.

Users can sign up to receive customized notifications when new content is added to their region or area of interest.

The hub also includes a national Organic Extension Directory, helping connect farmers with trusted agricultural professionals and researchers in their communities.

The Organic Farming Research Foundation, headquartered in Santa Cruz, Calif., works across the U.S. to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems.