Rodale Institute joins $500M organic farming partnership
Rodale Institute, the Berks County nonprofit known for its research in organic farming, has partnered with two agribusinesses, one of them also in Pennsylvania, to expand nationwide production of organic corn and soybeans.
The project is designed to help more farmers adopt organic practices and fill a gap in domestic organic animal feed. The deal also involves chicken producer Bell & Evans of Lebanon County, as well as Cargill Inc. of Wayzata, Minnesota, the largest privately owned agribusiness company in the U.S.
Bell & Evans will invest $500 million toward the program, which was announced Feb. 9. The money, which will be used to transition 50,000 acres to certified organic farming of corn and soybeans during the next five years, will include paying for education and support provided by Rodale Institute.
According to a news release:
Cargill already operates a corn- and soy-supply chain that includes providing the crops to Bell & Evans. It will recruit farmers in several states, including Pennsylvania, who are willing to transition to organic farming.
Rodale, which is along Route 222 in Maxatawny Township, near Kutztown, will help with such work as organic system planning, certification assistance, weed management and crop rotation planning to address the technical challenges involved in switching from a conventional to an organic system.
Farmers will be given a twoto five-year contract, guaranteeing a buyer (Bell & Evans) for the organic grain. That increase in organic supply will help Bell & Evans continue to expand its organic chicken production.
Bell & Evans, which plans to increase chicken production by 50% in 2022, will simply need more organic feed. Nearly half of its 63 million chickens were raised last year on feed not containing synthetic additives.
Bell & Evans, a fifth-generation, family-owned business that is in Fredericksburg, near Interstate 78, also said 1% of total U.S. farm acreage is certified organic, with total farmland estimated at nearly 898 million acres.
Rodale Institute was founded in 1947 by entrepreneur J.I. Rodale, who also started a publishing company in his name and took a keen interest in healthy living. The farm was initially in Lower Macungie Township. Rodale Inc., the publishing arm, was sold in 2017 to Hearst Corp.
After J.I. Rodale died in 1971, his son, the late Robert Rodale, purchased 333 acres and moved the farm to its Berks site. It’s where cutting-edge research is being conducted, and farmers are being trained about such things as organic farming and regenerative agriculture.